Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori chicken is an immensely popular Indian and Pakistani dish consisting of roasted chicken prepared with yogurt and spices. The name comes from the type of cylindrical clay oven, a tandoor, in which the dish is traditionally prepared.

Ingredients:

1.    Chicken, whole 800 grams

2.    Kashmiri red chilli powder 2 teaspoons

3.    Lemon juice 3 tablespoons

4.    Salt to taste

5.    Yogurt 1 cup

6.    Ginger paste 2 tablespoons

7.    Garlic paste 2 tablespoons

8.    Garam masala powder 1/2 teaspoon

9.    Mustard oil 2 tablespoons

10. Butter to taste

11. Chaat masala 1/2 teaspoon

12. Onion, cut into rings as required

13. Lemon, cut into wedges as required

Method:

1.    Make incisions with a sharp knife on the chicken breast, legs and thighs.

2.    Apply a mixture one teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder, one tablespoon lemon juice and salt over the chicken and set aside for half an hour.

3.    For the marinade, tie up yogurt in a piece of cloth and hang over a bowl for fifteen to twenty minutes. Remove the thick yogurt into another bowl. Add the remaining Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt, ginger paste, garlic paste, remaining lemon juice, garam masala powder and mustard oil. Rub this mixture over the chicken and marinate for three to four hours in a refrigerator.

4.    Skew the chicken onto a skewer and cook in a moderately hot tandoor (clay oven) or in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F for ten to twelve minutes, or until almost done.

5.    Baste chicken with a little butter and cook for another four minutes.

6.    Remove and set aside. Sprinkle chaat masala powder and serve with onion rings and lemon wedges.

Mutton Rogan Josh

Rogan josh (or roghan josh), is an aromatic dish of Persian origin, which is one of the signature recipes of Kashmiri cuisine. Roughan means "clarified butter" or "fat" in Persian, while juš (alternatively romanised josh), gives the figurative meaning of "intensity" or "passion" and ultimately derives from the verb jušidan meaning "to heat or boil". Rogan josh thus means cooked in oil at intense heat. Another interpretation of the name rogan josh is derived from the word rogan meaning "red color" (the same Indo-European root that is the source of the French "rouge" and the Spanish "rojo") and josh meaning passion or heat.

Rogan josh was brought to Kashmir by the Mughals, whose cuisine was in turn influenced by Persian cuisine. The unrelenting summer heat of the Indian plains took the Mughals frequently to Kashmir, which has a cooler climate because of its altitude

Ingredients:

1.    Mutton,cut into 1½ inch pieces 800 grams

2.    Oil 4 tablespoons

3.    Asafoetida 1 1/4 teaspoons

4.    Cinnamon 2 one-inch sticks

5.    Cloves 6-8

6.    Black peppercorns 5-6

7.    Black cardamoms 4

8.    Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tablespoon

9.    Fennel seed (saunf) powder 2 teaspoons

10. Dry ginger powder (soonth) 1 tablespoon

11. Coriander powder 1 tablespoon

12. Salt to taste

13. Yogurt, whisked 1 cup

Method:

Heat oil in a thick-bottomed pan. Add asafoetida, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns and black cardamoms. Sauté till fragrant.

Add lamb pieces and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly till lamb pieces turn a nice reddish brown colour. This may take twelve to fifteen minutes.

Sprinkle a little water and continue cooking for twelve to fifteen minutes more on low heat. Make sure to stir constantly and scrape all the sediments from the bottom of the pan. Add Kashmiri red chilli powder, fennel powder, dry ginger powder, coriander powder and salt.

Add yogurt and two cups of water. Cook, covered, till lamb is tender, stirring occasionally. Serve hot with rice.

Litti Chokha

Ahh, Litti! J

Litti is a snack food found in India's Bihar state. It consists of balls of wheat and sattu (powdered gram or lentil) formed into balls with spices, and then filled with or dipped in ghee. Although very often confused with the closely related Baati, it is a completely different dish in terms of taste, texture and preparation. It is usually eaten with chokha, which is similar to baingan/aloo/tomato bharta. The litti are traditionally baked over a cow-dung fire, but in the modern day a wok of boiling oil may be used.

Ingredients:

Ingredients for Litti

To make dough:

1.    Wheat flour - 400 grams (2 cup)

2.    Ajwain - 1/2 tsp

3.    Ghee - 2 tbsp

4.    Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

5.    Salt - 3/4 tsp

Ingredients for stuffing

1.    Sattu - 200 grams (1 cup)

2.    Ginger - 1 inch long piece

3.    Green chilly - 2 to 4

4.    Green coriander(dhaniya) - 1/2 cup(finely chopped)

5.    Jeera(cumin seeds) - 1 tsp

6.    Ajwain(carom seeds) - 1 tsp

7.    Mustard oil - 1tsp

8.    Pickle spices - 1 tbsp

9.    Lemon - juice of 1 lemon (if you prefer)

10. Salt - add to taste ( 1/2 tsp)

Ingredients for Chokha

1.    Brinjal(big) - 400 grams (1 or 2)

2.    Tomatoes - 250 grams ( 4 medium sized)

3.    Green chillies - 2 to 4 (finely chopped)

4.    Ginger - 1 1/2 inch long piece ( finely chopped)

5.    Green coriander - 2 tbsp ( finely chopped)

6.    Salt - add to taste (1 tsp)

7.    Mustard oil - 1 to 2 tsp

Method:

Prepare dough for Litti

Filter the flour and keep it in a utensil, put Ghee, baking soda, Ajwain and salt in flour then mix well. Knead a soft dough using warm water. Cover the dough and keep aside for 30 minutes. Dough required to make Litti is ready.

How to make Stuffing for Litti

Wash, peel and finely chop ginger (you can also grate it). Break the stems of the green chillies, wash then finely chop them.  Clean green coriander, wash then finely chop the leaves. Take out Sattu in a utensil put chopped ginger, green chillies, coriander, lemon juice, salt, Jeera, Ajwain, mustard oil and pickle spices in it. Mix all the ingredients properly, if the stuffing seems dry, then add 1-2 spoons of water to it.

How to make Litti

Break off medium sized pieces from the dough. With the help of your fingers expand the pieces 2-3 inches in diameter. Place 1- 1 1/2 tsp stuffing on it, wrap up the dough piece and close from all sides. Press this stuffed pieces to flatten it a bit, Litti is ready for frying.

Heat the Tandoor (furnace), place the stuffed pieces of dough in the Tandoor and cook it by turning sides regularly till they turn brown (traditionally Litti is cooked on Upla).

How to make Chokha for Litti

Wash brinjals and tomatoes then fry them. Allow them to cool, peel the skins, keep them in a bowl and mash with a spoon. Put the chopped spices, salt, oil and mix properly. Brinjal Chokha is ready.

If you prefer garlic and onion, then peel 5-6 cloves of garlic then finely chop them. Peel 1 onion, chop it finely and mix these with brinjal.

Aloo ka Chokha

Peel 4-5 boiled potatoes break them into small pieces, add chopped ginger, green chillies, green coriander, red chilly powder and salt to it then mix well. Aloo ka Chokha is ready.

Serve

Put Chokha in a bowl, dip hot Litti in melted Ghee, Litti can also be broken at the centre and then dipped. Serve with Chokha and green coriander chutney.

Murg Musallam

Ingredients:

1.    1 kg Chicken

2.    4 Medium-Sized Onions (sliced)

3.    1 tbsp Raw Papaya Paste

4.    1 tsp Coriander Seeds

5.    2 tsp Red Chilli Powder

6.    1 tsp Turmeric Powder

7.    1 tsp Cumin Seeds

8.    2 Green Chillies

9.    4 Garlic Flakes

10. 2 Ginger Pods

11. 250 gms Ghee

12. Salt to taste

13. 1 cup Curd

Masala:

1.    8 Cloves

2.    5 gms Cinnamon

3.    5 gms Black Pepper

4.    8 gms Green Cardamom

5.    5 gms Poppy Seeds

6.    50 gms Coconut (desiccated)

Method:

1.    Wash the chicken thoroughly and prick it all over with a fork.

2.    Marinate it with papaya paste and salt. Keep it aside for at least 2 hrs.

3.    Heat ghee in a pan and put the sliced onion pieces in it.

4.    Fry the onions till it turns golden brown. Put off the flame and keep it aside.

5.    Now grind half the onions to a paste and keep aside.

6.    Grind garlic and ginger to make a paste.

7.    Dry roast the masala ingredients on a griddle and grind them to a paste.

8.    Now roast cumin seeds and coriander seeds on a griddle and grind them as above.

9.    Now take curd in a bowl and add all the grinded and roasted masala in it. Blend well.

10. Add the chicken to the above and marinate for about 25 minutes.

11. Heat oil in a pan and add fried onions, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, green chillies, ginger garlic paste to it. Fry till they turn brown.

12. Now add the chicken along with the marinade to the above. Allow it to boil till the ghee appears on the sides and chicken pieces turn tender.

13. Empty the contents into a dish. Murg Musallam is ready to eat. Serve it hot.

Penne in White Sauce

I am not much of a Pasta person, but then there are always people around you who love to have it, and so being a responsible cook, it becomes your duty to keep them happy. The recipe that I have written below is a standard recipe, however, when I cooked, capsicums and broccoli were missing. Either ways, turned out to be a delicious affair!

Ingredients:

1.    1 packet of penne

2.    1 each of red capsicum and yellow capsicum

3.    2 tsp cornflour or plain flour (maida)

4.    1 cheese cube

5.    1 tsp dried oregano and dried thyme

6.    Dry red chilli flakes (paprika)

7.    1 cob of sweet corn , boiled

8.    salt and black pepper (kalimirch) powder to taste

9.    3 florets of broccoli

10. 1 tbsp butter

11. 4 big cloves of garlic, grated

12. 2 cups milk

Method:

For white sauce

1.    Heat butter in a pan. Add the grated garlic and saute for a minute

2.    Once it’s done, add the cornflour, saute for a second, do not let it turn brown.

3.    Add milk and stir it continuously to avoid lumps.

4.    Once the mixture starts thickening, add oregano, thyme, salt, pepper powder and red chilli flakes.

5.    Add grated cheese.

6.    Keep this sauce aside.

For the vegetables

1.    Boil peppers, sweetcorns and broccoli together with little salt.

2.    Don’t over boil the vegetables. It has to be crunchy.

For the pasta

1.    Boil the pasta as per the instruction in the packet.

To serve

Put the sauce back on flame. Add all the boiled vegetables and the boiled pasta. At the time of serving you can add more cheese. Serve hot.