Roasted Chicken

Roasted Chicken is popular all over India, but it can be ubiquitously found on the menus of take-away joints of Punjab. Served with mint and coriander chutney, this hot, crispy chicken, tender from inside is a favorite snack of Punjab. In the evenings in bustling market-places when you walk around on foot you can actually feel your senses tingle with the aroma of roasted chicken and fresh green chutney. 

The recipe I am giving below will give the same taste and aroma as the popular chicken joint near you. It is also very easy to achieve. Another plus point is that this recipe requires no garlic & ginger, thus saving you a lot of time gone in peeling and chopping. The chicken is cooked with whole spices and marinated with cream melts in the mouth. Do give it a try. You will love the taste and recipe too. 

We need :

• 2 Chicken ( 1400 gm) 

• 200 gm Dairy Cream

• 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

• 2 Tbsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder

• 2 Tsp Salt

• 4 Green Cardamom

• 2" Piece of Cinnamon Stick

• 1 Tbsp Whole Black Pepper

• ¼ Tsp Nutmeg Powder

• 2 Tbsp Chat Masala for sprinkling

• 1 lemon for Garnish. 

Here We Go:

1. Cut the Chicken into big pieces. One chicken ideally cut into eight pieces. Wash the chicken. Keep aside to drain water. When the water is completely drained, wipe the chicken pieces with a kitchen towel. When the chicken is dried make an incision on every piece for the marination to be fully absorbed. 

2. Rub salt, Kasmiri red chilli powder and lemon on the chicken pieces and set aside to Marinate for 15 minutes. 

   

3. Meanwhile Grind whole black pepper, cinnamon stick, green cardamom and nutmeg powder. Add cream to this masala powder and set aside. 

   

4. After fifteen minutes , add masala mixed cream to the marinated Chicken. Mix everything together. Keep it in a refrigerator for 5 to 6 hours for Marination. 

   
   

5. After the Marination process, take out the chicken and let it come to room temperature. Meanwhile preheat OTG at 250 degree for 15 minutes with both rods on. When the oven is preheated, assemble chicken pieces on the middle grill inside it. Set the temperature at 180 degrees and cook for 30 minutes. You can cook it in an air fryer too. The process is the same. Preheat Air fryer at 200 degrees for 10 minutes. Keep marinated chicken pieces and roast for 25 minutes at 160 degrees . 

6. When the chicken is done take out and sprinkle some chat masala and lemon juice. Serve with Coriander Chutney and onion wedges . 

   

Preparation Time : 30 min. 

Marination Time : 5 to 6 hours

Cooking Time : 45 min. 

Tips:

The longer the Marination Time, the better the taste. 

Do slit chicken pieces for better absorption of Marination. 

Amritsari Fish Fry

Amritsari Fish fry is a street food originated from the streets of Amritsar, a city in Punjab and famous all over the world. Boneless and skinless cubes of fish are marinated, deep fried and then served with green chutney and radish salad. For this recipe you can use any river-water fish (white Fish eg Basa, Soul.) The reason behind using river-water fish is that these fish have a long skeleton which can be removed without much difficulty. And in Amritsari fish we use a skinless and boneless fish. Big fish fillets are cut into smaller cubes and marinated with spices and chickpea flour or 'Besan' and deep fried. 

This recipe requires two very simple types of marination. The first marination is gently rubbing some salt and lemon juice and keeping it for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes the marination of spices and flours is given. But this marination is not to be kept for too long, because fish is delicate in texture, if kept too long in marination it is bound to lose its crispness. The recipe is very simple and requires not much active effort. So let us get started. 

 We Need:

• 500 Gm Boneless skinless Fish cut into cubes. 

• 1 Tbsp of Lemon Juice. 

• 2 Tbsp Chickpea flour (Besan) 

• 2 Tbsp Corn flour

• 2 Tbsp Rice Flour (Mandatory) 

• ½ Tsp Turmeric Powder

• 2 Tsp Red Chilli Powder

• 1 Tbsp Carom seeds (Ajwain) 

• 1 Tbsp Dhania Powder. 

• 1 Tbsp Sour Curd / 1Egg

• 1 Lemon. 

• Salt to taste or 1 Tsp. 

• 1 Tbsp Chat masala 

• Oil for Deep frying

• Garlic- 10-12 cloves

• Green chillies- 2

Let us start:

1. Marination One: In a bowl take the cubes of fish, lemon juice and salt. Mix everything and keep aside for 15 minutes. This helps to remove smell from the fish and it also becomes tangy and tasty. 

   

2. Grind garlic cloves and green chillies to a fine paste. 

   

3. Marination Two: In another bowl mix chickpea flour, rice flour and corn flour. To this add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, carom seeds, dhania powder, garlic and green chilli paste and sour curd or one egg. Add fish pieces. Mix everything together with your hands rubbing each piece. Set aside for another 15 minutes. 

   

4. Heat cooking oil in a pan on medium flame. When heated add fish pieces. Fry them till half done and the fish pieces are of golden  colour. Drain them on tissue. Fry all pieces like this. Set aside for 5 minutes. 

   
   

5. Again fry them in medium hot oil till reddish brown and crisp. This double frying method makes the fish pakodas nice and crisp. Sprinkle some chat masala for extra tang. Serve them hot with green chutney and grated raddish . Enjoy them as evening snacks. 

   

Preparation Time 10 min

Marination Time 30 min

Cooking time 20 min. 

Tips:

Unlike chicken, fish needs less time in Marination as it is very delicate and cooks early. 

You can fry once also but frying twice makes it more crispy. 

I recommend mustard oil for frying as it enhances the taste of the fish. 

Apple Salad

This sweet and savoury Apple salad is  a treat in itself whether you serve it as a side dish or make a lunch of it. It is simple to make and hardly takes 15 minutes to assemble it. Diced apple, cucumber and deseeded tomatoes tossed in mayonnaise and topped with pumpkin seeds is my version of Apple Salad. Either you serve it on a bed of Lettuce or you chop Lettuce leaves and add to it. I prefer the second option. You can top it with toasted walnuts too. If you are health conscious then you can substitute Mayonnaise with yoghurt. But then add a bit of Honey too. However I prefer the Mayonnaise version. 

We Need:

• 2 Medium Red Apple cored and Diced

• 2 Tomatoes 

• 1 Cucumber Diced with skin

• 4 Lettuce Leaves

• 2 Tbsp Mayonnaise

• 1 Tsp Black Salt

• 1 Tsp Red Chilli Flakes

• 1 Tsp Mustard Sauce

• 2 Tbsp Pumpkin Seeds/Chopped Walnuts

Here We Go:

1. Cut Apple & Cucumber  into cubes with their skin. 

2. Remove the seeds of tomatoes and cut it into squares. 

3. Roughly Chop lettuce leaves. 

4. Take a large Bowl and add mayonnaise, mustard, salt and chilli flakes. Mix everything . 

5. Now toss Apple, cucumber and tomatoes in this dressing and serve it topped with Pumpkin Seeds. Enjoy my version of Apple salad. 

       

Preparation Time: 10 min

Assembling Time: 5 min. 

Tip:

Serve it as a Side dish with roasted or fried Chicken. You will love it. 

Zafrani Kheer

In traditional Indian cuisines, sweet dishes hold a special place. According to ayurveda , the food should have three elements ie. savoury, sour and sweet. Therefore, Every Indian meal is incomplete without a sweet dish. Kheer has always been a favorite of everyone. It has many varieties. Zafrani kheer is one of them. This recipe includes a tip which reduces cooking time and effort. I have taken full fat milk and added soaked and ground rice and almonds to it, thus making it an easy and quick recipe. For extra flavour saffro jin or Kesar has been added. To make it more rich some more dry fruits are added. Do try it once you will love the Royal flavours it has. 

We need:

• 1 Litre Full Fat Milk (8%) 

• 75 gm Rice

• 50 gm Almonds

• 4 Green Cardamom / 1 Tsp Cardamom powder

• 75 gm Sugar

• Few Strands Of Saffron or Kesar

• Cashews and raisins to garnish

Let us get started:

1. Soak rice and almonds in water for 15 minutes. 

   
   

2. Boil 1 litre of milk in a heavy pan. When it boils, keep the flame on low and let it boil for 5 minutes. Keep on stirring otherwise milk will stick to the bottom of the pan. 

   

3. Drain water from rice and almonds and coarsely grind them.

   

4. Add these ground almonds and rice to the milk. Keep on stirring milk while adding them otherwise lumps of rice will be formed. 

   

5. Keep the pan on low flame foranother ten minutes. Meanwhile keep on stirring the milk mixture. Scrap the milk which sticks to the side of the pan. 

6. Take two tbsp of warm milk and mix  saffron strands to it. Keep aside. 

   

7. Crush cardamom and add it to the rice, almonds and milk mixture. Let it boil for another 2 minutes. Add the saffron milk to the pan and continue to stir for another 2 minutes. 

8. The Zafrani Kheer is now ready. Garnish it with chopped almonds, raisins and cashews. Refrigerate it for two hours and enjoy this Royal Zafrani Kheer. 

   

Preparation Time : 10 min

Cooking Time : 30 min. 

Refrigeration required: 2 hours. 

Pav Bhaji .... Mumbai Street Food

Pav Bhaji is a Mumbai Street Food popular all over India. It is sold in every nook and corner with the name 'Bombay Pav Bhaji' written on the stalls. The basic ingredients in this mouth watering dish are potatoes and tomatoes. While cooking this dish at home I try to make it healthy by adding as many vegetables as possible. You can add whatever veggies are available at your home. Cut them in bite-size pieces and pressure cook them with water for 7 whistles or slow-cook them for 10 minutes after one whistle. Mash the cooked mixture and temper with ginger & garlic paste, onions and butter. Street food is always prepared with lots of butter. But you can adjust the quantities if you are calorie conscience. However the taste will be a little different if you use less butter. My family loves to have it as breakfast on Sundays. The recipe I am sharing today is very easy to prepare. You can boil vegetables a day before, store it in the refrigerator (without mashing) and use it the next day. This way you can enjoy Pav bhaji even on the days when you are too lazy to cook, because the subsequent steps don’t take much time.

Traditionally, the Pav is cooked on the Tawa (Girdle) with Bhaji but that way the paav soaks up a lot of butter. Therefore, there is a twist here. I cook it on an electric griller to reduce butter. Please try it once. I am sure you will like it. 

So without wasting much time let us start with the dish. 

We need: 

• 1 Cup Peas

• 1 Large Capsicum

• 200 Gm Potatoes

• 250 Gm Tomatoes

• 12 Cloves Of Garlic

• 2" inch Ginger

• 1 Green Chillies

• 1 Large Onion. 

• 1 Lemon

• 2 Onions Chopped. 

• 1Tbsp Oil

• 2 Tbsp Butter

• 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds (Zeera) 

• 1 Tsp Kasuri Methi

• 2 Tbsp Chopped Coriander

• 3 Tbsp Pav bhaji Masala 

• ¼ Tsp Red food Colour (optional) 

• 1 Tbsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder. 

• 1 Tsp of Salt. 

Let us Start:

1. Wash all the vegetables . Peel potatoes. Cut them into cubes. De-seed Capsicum and cut into cubes. Chop tomatoes. Grind ginger, garlic and green chilli together to a fine paste.

   

2. Add all the vegetables to a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water along with salt and 1 Tsp of Pav bhaji masala. Cook it till 6 whistles. Don't release the pressure, let it cool on its own. Open only when the pressure is totally released.

   

   

3. All the vegetables are soft by now. Mash them well with a hand masher. Don't use a blender otherwise bhaji will become like a chutney without any texture! 

   
   

4. After everything is blended together , keep another pan on flame. Add butter and oil to it. It is always advisable to add oil along with butter to prevent the butter from burning into an ugly brown colour. Add 1 Tsp of zeera. When it starts sputtering, add chopped onions to it. Saute them on low flame till translucent brown. 

   

5. When the onions turn to translucent brown add ginger, garlic and chilli paste to the pan. Saute for one minute. 

6. Add a pinch of salt, turmeric powder, Coriander powder, Kasuri methi, 2 tsp of Pav bhaji Masala and kashmiri red chilli powder. Add 2 tbsp of water and saute till oil separates out on the sides. Adding water prevents the masala from burning. 

   
   

7. Now our masala is ready. Add mashed vegetables to it. If you want market style red colour of Bhaji then you can dissolve ¼ tsp of food colour in 1 Tbsp of water and add to the bhaji . Give it a good mix. ( I am not using red colour)Now let the vegetables simmer for 4 to 5 minutes to absorb all the flavours in it. 

   

8. After 4 to 5 minutes of simmering,  bhaji is ready to serve. Just squeeze one lemon on it and mix well, right before serving it to give it a tangy taste.

   

9. Heat an electric griller. Soften around 3 Tbsp of butter. Now paste the Pav with the softened butter. Put it in the griller and grill it till your desired level of crispness. Avoid tightly closing the griller. Just keep the lid softly otherwise the pavs will become hard and crisp. 

   
   

10. Pav Bhaji is ready to be served! Just top the bhaji with butter, serve it with grilled pavs, green chutney and chopped onions. Enjoy the street food of Mumbai in the hygiene of your kitchen.

    

Tips

The masala should not be over-cooked, it should be lightly cooked only, else the taste of bhaji will be spoiled.

Squeeze the lemon juice only when you are ready to serve, because if it stands for long it will make the bhaji bitter.

Avoid using electric blender, use hand mixer only to mash the vegetables.

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves: 4-5 people

Shalgam Ka Saag

Winter is a season of Saags in North India especially Punjab. There are variety of saag cooked ie. Sarson ka saag, chaulai ka saag Or Shalgam ka saag. With lots of butter and Desi ghee accompanied by bajre Or Makki ki roti, saags rule the winters. In rural Punjab, saag is cooked in batches so there are enough servings ready to be consumed anytime of the day. These saags are very Nutritious as well as delicious. 

Shalgam or turnip by the way is the most hated vegetable. I myself despised it till I ate it at a village in Punjab. Believe me now it is the most liked dish in our family. Years after I came to know that turnips  are loaded with fibres and vitamins and are very nutritious . They are also rich in magnesium, copper, iron , potassium, calcium and omega3 fatty acids as well as protein. 

Shalgam ka saag is made by boiling turnips with ginger, garlic and tomatoes which are later mashed and tempered with Desi ghee and onions. All saags are loaded with ghee and Shalgam ka saag is no exception. So keep the calorie count for summers and enjoy the delicacies of winters. 

We Need:

• 500 gm Turnips 

• 2 Medium Tomatoes

• 2 Green Chillies

• 6 to 7 cloves of Garlic

• 2" Piece of Ginger

• 2 Medium Onions finely chopped

• 1  Tbsp Sarson Oil

• 1Tsp Turmeric Powder

• ½ Tsp Red Chilli Powder.

• 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds. 

• 3  Tbsp Maize Flour

• Salt to taste

• 4 Tbsp Pure Ghee

• 1 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder

Let us get started:

1. Wash and peel Turnips. Cut them into medium sized cubes. Peel garlic pods and ginger. 

   

2. Grind tomatoes, ginger and garlic together. Make a smooth paste. No need to add water while grinding. Add turnips, tomato paste , salt, turmeric powder and 1 tsp of oil to a pressure cooker.

   

3.  Add 300 ml of water. Close the lid and keep it on high flame. After one whistle ,keep the saag for another 15 minutes on SLOWEST FLAME. Let the pressure release on its own. 

   

4. After the pressure has been released, open the pressure cooker. Add Maize flour ( Makki ka Atta) to the turnips. Mash them thoroughly till smooth. You can use either a wooden masher or the steel one. Put it again on the slow flame. Place the lid and Let it boil for another 10 minutes. Placing the lid is important as while simmering the saag will come out of the pan after adding Maize Flour ( Makki ka Atta). Be careful while handling this part. 

   

5. After 10 minutes when the Maize flour has been cooked, put off the flame. Time for the tempering. Heat a pan and add 2 Tbsp Desi or Pure ghee to it. Add 1 tsp of cumin to it. When the cumin seeds start sputtering, add chopped onions. Fry until golden and then Add red chilli powder to it. Add Mashed saag to the pan. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. 

   
   

6. Now the saag is ready to be served. Take this out in a serving dish. Again heat 2 Tbsp of Ghee. Add Kashmiri Chilli powder to it. Put the tadka on top and serve hot with Parathas or rotis. It tastes best with makki ki roti and radish salad. 

   

Preparation Time : 15 min

Cooking time : 45 min. 

Cooking Tips: 

Add makki ka atta only after the saag has cooled down otherwise it will form lumps. 

Keep on stirring saag after adding Makki ka atta otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan. 

Chilli Garlic Mushrooms

Chilli Garlic Mushroom is cooked just like any other Indo Chinese dish. Button mushrooms are cooked in chilli sauce and served as a starter or along with fried rice and noodles. Button mushrooms are deep fried and tossed with capsicum and onion cut into squares. Since mushrooms are full of moisture they need a firm and crispy coating. I have used corn flour and rice flour to make it firm and crispy from outside. This dish is made dry as well as with gravy. I have taken a middle path. I have made it slightly moist and juicy by coating it with a thick sauce. I have not added the ajino motto but if you desire you can add it. 

I suggest using firm and fresh button mushrooms which are full of moisture. As they will then be firm from outside and juicy inside. If you wish you can add more gravy by doubling corn flour slurry and water. Serve them as a snack or accompany them with fried rice and noodles. 

We need:

For Frying Mushrooms

• 200 gm Mushroom

• 2 Tbsp Garlic minced

• 3 Tbsp All purpose Flour( Maida) 

• 3 Tbsp Corn flour

• ½ Tsp salt

• ½ Tsp Turmeric Powder

• ½ Tsp. Red chilli Powder

• Oil for Deep frying

For The Sauce:

• 2 Onions Chopped in quarters

• 1 large Green Capsicum cut into quarters. 

• 3 Green Chillies diagonally slit

• 6 to 7 Cloves of Garlic chopped

• 1 Tbsp Chopped Ginger

• 2 Tbsp Cornflour 

• 2 Tbsp Tomato Sauce

• 1 Tbsp Soya Sauce

• 1 Tbsp Red Chilli  Sauce. 

• A pinch of Red food Colour ( optional) 

• 2 Tbsp Cooking Oil. 

Let us get Started:

1. Wash Mushrooms thoroughly in water removing all dirt and grime. Rinse and keep it in a strainer to remove all water. When the water is rinsed, cut the mushroom head into quarters and chop the stems separately. 

2. Take a bowl and add cornflour and all purpose flour. To this add salt, red pepper powder, turmeric powder and minced Garlic. Add a little water and make a batter of coating consistency. 

3. Heat oil for frying. Coat the mushrooms with the batter and deep fry them till crisp on medium heat. All the water in the mushrooms should dry up. Otherwise the mushrooms will turn soggy . Drain them on paper towel and set aside.  

   

4. Heat a wok or nonstick pan. Add  2 Tbsp of cooking oil in it. When the oil is heated add garlic and ginger to it. Saute till the raw smell of garlic goes away. 

   

5. Add capsicum, green chillies and onions to it. Saute till vegetables are bit transparent but crunchy. The capsicum should not lose their colour . It will take around 2 minutes. 

   

6. Time to add all the three sauces ie tomato, soya and chilli sauce. and mix everything properly. 

   

7. Dissolve 2 Tbsp corn flour in 100 ml water and add this slurry to the vegetables in the pan slowly, stirring constantly till glossy. Avoid lumps. When the sauce starts boiling, add fried mushrooms to it. Coat them well with sauce . 

   

8. Serve hot and Enjoy this snack with noodles, fried rice or simply on its own. 

   

Tips:

While washing mushrooms don't leave them for too long in water as they will retain too much water. 

As there is enough salt in the sauces, there is no need to add salt. If you are making the gravy version only then add a little salt after tasting.