The Super Quick Indian-style Blackened Chicken

Indian-Style Blackened Chicken

Hii..
On a cold winter evening when you really don't want to do anything else but just snuggle up in your quilt, this is one of the tastiest and easiest things to cook. It matches perfectly with a bowl of hot soup and some bread. The best part it can be prepared in such a short time. I found this one while browsing the net.Its a recipe by Ruchi Airen from her blog Foodfellas. (I have made a minor modification here n there)
So without wasting much time I ll straight jump to the recipe..

INDIAN STYLE BLACKENED CHICKEN

Makes: Around 8 Chicken Legs (Serves 4)

Ingredients

Ingredients

Chicken Legs - 8pcs
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1.5 tablespoons
Vinegar - 2 tablespoons
Soya Sauce- 2 tablespoons
Red Chilli Powder - 1 teaspoonful
Garam Masala Powder - 1.5 teaspoonful
Black Pepper Powder - 1 teaspoonful
Salt - to taste
Refined Oil - 1 tablespoon

Procedure

1. Prick the Chicken Legs with a fork on all sides

2. Marinate the Chicken with all the above ingredients (Except for the Oil)

Marinated Chicken

3. Keep Aside for 30-35 minutes
4. Heat the Oil in a Wok and put the marinated chicken (along with the left over marinade) into the wok.

Stir Fry

5. Fry for a few minutes, then sprinkle a little water and cover and cook until done (around 20mins)
6. Once the chicken looks done, Remove the cover and stri fry on high heat to dry up all the liquid.
7. Serve Hot (You can garnish with some sliced onions and lemon wedges)

Enjoy the Blackened Chicken

Thanks for taking out time to read this!! Ciao Ciao!

The Easy Peasy Chicken Malai Tikka

Chicken/Murg Malai Tikka

Hiii...I doubt there will be anyone in this world (non-vegetarians ofcourse) who doesn't drool over Murg/Chicken Tikka.. Well I am no different..Be it the usual Chicken Tikka or the Reshmi Tikka or the Malai Tikka I am in love with every flavour possible..
So this time on the Bengali New Year Along with the Stuffed Meat Buns (Click for the Recipe) I decided to club it with some Chicken Malai Tikka. And Lazy Me I had to find a recipe which would be really easy to make without much efforts.. So after some research I combined 2-3 recipes for Malai Tikka and thankfully this turned out to be finger-licking good.. Well I did it in my regular oven but if you can do it in a proper Tandoor Oven I am sure it will enhance the flavours..

Note: The Important thing I learnt about Tikkas from various recipes is that the tikkas always go through a 2-step marination. The first one being a basic one (Ginger Garlic etc) and the second one is the main flavour for the Tikka

You can obviously try the same recipe for Paneer Tikkas also. This is an extremely simple take on the Malai Tikka and takes very little time for preparation and also time taken for marination is also quite less (2.5hrs) as compared to other recipes where overnight marination is required.

CHICKEN MALAI TIKKA

Makes: 20-22 tikka pieces
You will Need - Satay Sticks/ Bamboo Skewers soaked in water (around 7-8)

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken Pieces - 750gms
Fresh Ginger Paste - 1 teaspoon

First Marination

Fresh Garlic Paste - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Black Pepper Powder- 1 teaspoon
Nutmeg Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Lemon Juice - 2 teaspoons
Fresh Cream - 1 cup
Grated Processed Cheese - 1 cup
Cheese Spread - 3/4 cup
Curd (beaten) - 1/4 cup
Kasoori Methi Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Green Cardamom(Elaichi) Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Cornflour - 1/2 tablespoon

Procedure:

1. Properly Wash the Boneless chicken pieces and place in a bowl

Getting Ready with the Second Marination

2. Step ONE Marination - Add the Ginger Paste, Garlic Paste, Salt, Black Pepper Powder, Nutmeg Powder, Lemon Juice to the chicken and mix well and Keep aside for around 30 minutes
3. Take the grated cheese on a plate and mash the properly with your palm and fingers.
4. Now add the Kasoori Methi Powder and the Green Cardamom(Elaichi) Powder to the mashed cheese and mix well.
5. Step TWO Marination - Add this mixture to the marinated chicken

After the Second Marination

6. Step TWO Marination Cont..Add the Fresh Cream, Cheese Spread and Beaten Curd to the chicken and mix slowly with your hands. Keep aside for around 2 hours. 7. Preheat your oven and baking dish at 180 °C.
8. Spray some Oil/butter over the baking dish
9. Now Skewer the chicken pieces (Smear the extra marinade over the chicken pieces) and Bake for around 20 minutes  (Don't forget to turn the sticks in between)
10. Serve Hot with Chutney

Ready to be put in the Oven

Ready to be served

As you can see this is a really simple recipe and a must try at home!! So Bon Appetit!

When 'Cooking' was a far fetched idea - Piquant Chicken Legs

Hii...

Years ago.. Yes I am the younger one who looks like a complete nut-case

Bengali parents are always very particular when it comes to Studies (Pora-Shuna) and Extra-curricular activities. Well so were mine. 
A (sis) was the perfect all rounder child every Bong parent would want. She was great in studies, an amazing elocutionist, amazing leadership qualities and obviously the teacher's favourite. And  Me, Ahem obviously the opposite, Yes I was great with 'talking' but that was mostly during the classes when the teacher was trying to teach, for me Sports was not playing a particular sport and excelling in it but rather jumping and running around. Whenever A was on 'Prefect' duty in the school corridors, she mostly used to find me outside the class or outside the headmistress's office 'PUNISHED'. But she was my greatest Saviour too. Never ever did she go and complain to Maa or Baba about her naughty little sis.

At Home, we were always occupied with either studies or some fun activities. In our house, kids doing any 'ghar ka kaam' was a strict no-no. It used to be always managed by Maa and Baba. (Though we had to polish our own shoes :( hehe ).

My Nani had been unwell from a young age so my Maa had to take up the kitchen responsibilities at an extremely tender age, She used to manage her studies and the household work since she was twelve. So Maa had been VERY particular that neither A nor Me should start cooking or do any household tasks until we grew up enough or felt like doing it ( Well I am 31 now and A is 35 and Maa still doesn't let us do so technically we are still not grown up enough) hehe.. But that is how 'Mothers' are!!

But what I used to love then also (though I didnot cook) was watching cookery shows. A and me used to always fight over the remote cause she wanted the HBO and I wanted some cookery show. On one such day (when I won the fight) I saw this dish being prepared by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and it was so simple that even a novice like me could cook this for everyone at Home and Maa Baba and A loved it!!

You can say this was my Début Match in Cooking.. Though my next cooking trial was after 5-6 years I guess!!!

So here goes the Recipe:

PIQUANT CHICKEN LEGS                                
Makes: 4-5 servings

Ingredients:  

Ingredients

Chicken Legs - 16 pieces
Orange Juice - 1.5 cups
Chilli Flakes - 1 teaspoonful
Black Pepper- 1 teaspoonful
Lemon Juice- 3 tablespoons
Cornflour - 1 tablespoons
Honey - 3.5 tablespoons
Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Marinate the Chicken with the Orange Juice and some salt for about 15-20mins
2. After 15 mins take out the chicken legs and keep aside
3. In a saucepan pour the Orange Juice (from d marinade) and reduce it over heat
4. Add the chicken pieces and cover and let it cook
5. When the chicken is almost done add the Chilli Flakes, Black Pepper, Honey, Lemon Juice and Salt (if reqd)
6. Mix well and cook further.

Almost Ready

7. When the chicken looks done, mix the cornflour with half a cup water and pour it into the saucepan.
8. Let it simmer till it reaches a sauce like consistency.
9. sprinkle some more black pepper and serve hot!

P.S: The flavors are a combination of tangy, sweet and hot !





This is still one of my favourites and if you notice there is NO-OIL in the recipe so technically very healthy too yet extremely unique and delicious. Try It!!
Thanks and see you in my next post!

Piquant Chicken Legs