Hariyali Murghi- Grilled Chicken in a Green Masala Marinade

Apologies for being absent so long. In the last one month life has become a total roller coaster leaving me no time to breathe, leave alone blog! I went back to work after a loooooong hiatus. Four years to be precise. To teaching. In the same play school as my son. It has taken all of us a month to settle down to some order and routine even though cooking has been happening on a regular basis ofcourse. I mean the 'good food' kinds. I managed to tkae pictures and download them too. But thats just about it! My head keeps buzzing with so many posts and pictures and recipes to be shared with you all which never see the light of the day! I do post somewhat more frequently on my facebook page so if you want to remain connected to the fabulous me, please go and check it out and while you are there, click on the 'like' button too. Yes, I do 'like' collecting 'likes'. Thank you.

Now on to my recipe for this post. Easy and quick but requiring a decent (read as long as possible) marination time. I had some frozen chicken in the freezer, about half a kilo and knew it would not be enough to be made in to a curry or even pulao/biryani for three adults in the house currently. Hubster's childhood friend is shifiting base from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, and untill he can move in to his new flat, he will stay with us. So there, we are three of us. Anyhow, I decided to make an easy vegetable curry with rice and this chicken as a side. Plus ofcourse, no meal in my house is ever complete without a big 'desi' salad. :) The marinade is super easy to make and any extras can be used as a chutney/dip/spread or frozen for use later.

Here's how.

1/2 kilo of chicken, medium sized pieces, washed and drained.

For the marinade:

1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves
1 cup of fresh corriander/cilantro leaves
1tbsp of roasted and coarsely ground coriander seeds
1tsp of roasted and crushed ground cumin seeds
1 tsp of heaped chaat masala (avlbl in all Indian/asian stores)
1tsp of turmeric powder (optional)
1tsp of freshly cacked black pepper (optional)
1 tbsp of sour cream or fresh thick plain yoghurt (optional)
Juice of one large lemon or 2 tbsp white vinegar
1'knob of fresh ginger
5-6 cloves of fat garlic pods
4-5 fresh green chillis (adjust according to pref)
3-4 tbsp of mustard oil (or butter or Desi Ghee)

Take all the ingedients meant for the marinade and make a paste in your blender. Marinate your chicken in this paste and forget about it for at least 4 hours if not more. I marinated mine for about 6 hours. Just 30 minutes or even 15 minutes before you start to grill/pan fry/barbeque the chicken, take out of the fridge and drizzle some mustard oil over the pieces. Using mustard oil gives it a nice kick. One can use butter or even pure Desi Ghee (clarified butter). Say about 4 tbsp, if using mustard oil. Use a little less, if using oil/fat other than mustard oil.

This is how my marinade looked. Nice huh? Love the colours. Do shake off the extra marinade before girlling.

 

Once the chicken has been well marinated, line them up in a greased and foiled tray.

 

 

I also spread some finely sliced onions over the chicken before putting it in for the grilling. Grilling times depend upon your stove. I grilled mine for about 30 minutes, medium flame, 15 min one both sides. Adjust your cooking time accordingly. My contraption isnt the best!

 

 

 

And here it is!

 

 

 

And some of my lovely salad....

 

 

Do try this recipe today!

 

Note: vegetarians, you may substitute chicken with big chunks of Paneer squares, but do remember to not skip on the sour cream then, it will keep the paneer moist and prevent it from becoming rubbery after grilling. Also, paneer wont require a very long marination time, 2 hours should be enough.

My Star Pork Ribs in a fiery, chilli-garlic sauce!

I have been dying to share this recipe with you all out there. It is that good, trust me on this one. Years ago, I tasted some buffalo wings brought to work by a Vietnamese colleague. The wings were to die for and I begged him for the recipe. He said it was all in the marinade. Ok, so give me the marinade recipe, I asked him. He was not too willing and was vague. I dont get it. Good food and good books are meant to be shared. Some people might want to add 'good music' to that list too. Anyhow, I have come across enough people who are unwilling to share their recipes/food tips. I think such people are plain mean.

Now, on to the recipe I want to share today. So, I was saying, this colleague did not give me much and for quite some time I was left trying to replicate that same taste. Over last week, I am super-duper pleased to inform you that I not only got the same taste as his buffalo wings marinade, but mine was better and how! Come now, let us not waste anymore time bitching about 'vague' colleagues and get down to producing some serious flavours...

Here's what you need to do first off,  prepare your marinade. This is how.

• 10-15     small Thai red chillis
• 10          cloves of garlic- chargrilled or boiled- skin included
• 2            large tomatoes- chargrilled or boiled, skin removed
• 2            tbsp of soy sauce or any fish sauce
• 2            tbsp of any rice vinegar
• 2            tbsp heaped sugar
• 2            tbsp of oil, I used sesame oil, salt to taste.

How To:

Chargrill Tomatoes, chillis and the garlic pods untill only slightly charred. Cool and clean the tomato skin if grilling. Else, if you are boiling the three, boil them  together untill the tomatoes are softened. Remove skin. Now, cool and blend everything together, except the oil, in to a coarse or fine paste, depending upon your preferance. Keep the skin of the garlic on, it gives a lovely texture.

*Take a tbsp of extra sugar if you like your marinade on the sweeter side, can substitute with honey too, in which case you will have to take more as compared to sugar. I'd say another 2 tbsp more. If you want a tangier kick, take extra vinegar. As usual, do a taste test and decide.

*I recommend using thai red chillis not only because it is fiery hot but also for the lovely red colour it imparts. However, if you cant find these, use any red chillis-fresh or dry, and adjust according to your preferance.

Heat the sesame oil in pan and pour this sauce in. Cook on medium flame untill the oil floats on top. That's it.

*This paste is rather hot and I have used it also as a dip/chutney and a  marinade. Works both ways.

Edited to add: The measurements in the ingredients will yield about 1.5 cups of paste. I used only 6 ribs and used just half cup in the ribs. The entire amount will be good for at least a kilo of any meat easily or even more. Use as per your requirement and store the rest in the refrigerator for use later. Will stay upto a week easily.

Marinate the prok ribs in this marinade for as long as you can. I did not have much time on hand, so made do with only 2 hours. It was all good anyway. Grill on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes on each side. If you marinate the meat longer, you might need to grill less. Adjust according to your grill settings.

 In the mean time prepare your sides. I usually serve pork ribs with chunky bites of grilled veggies and mash potatoes and sometime not even that. Just a big, garden salad is good for us. This time I did make an effort and served up some veggies with Halloumi cheese- all seasoned simply with salt, pepper, dried herbs, whole pods of garlic and a generous drizzle of extra virgin oilve oil. I also made some garlic dinner rolls, mashed potatoes and a salad. I was in a good mood obviously!

And the veggies....

Slices of zuchini, jalapeno, bell peppers, red onions, garlic and halloumi cheese...I love grilled Halloumi.

That cutlery belonged to my grandparents, from the 1950's, Sheffield, England. Now, they belong to me and shall be passed on to my grandchildren one day! :)

 Weeknight inspiration folks! Hubster loved it.

PS- Use this marinade for chicken wings, shredded lamb or duck, boneless beef kebabs or simply cottage cheese. Or use as a dip/sauce with fries and nachos.  100% heaven assured.