Roasted chicken stuffed with Khushka/kuska/khusqa (Biryani rice)

Roasted chicken is usually stuffed with variety of stuffing. I tried this roasted chicken stuffed with khushka (Biryani rice) and the try was worth it. I stuffed chicken with almost done khushka rice and then roasted it. For roasting chicken I followed the same recipe of poulet roti except for the marination and cooking time (Roasted for 20 at 240 degrees and then 40 min at 200 degrees). Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:

All ingredients of poulet roti
(I used 2 chicken)

For the Khushka:
Basmati rice - 4 cups
Onions (large) - 4 nos
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Tomatoes - 3 nos
Green chillies - 2 nos
Mint and coriander leaves (chopped) - 1 cup
Curd - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 1tbsp
Red chilly powder - 4 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 3/4 cup
Salt for taste

Whole spices like:
Cloves - 6 nos
Cardamom - 6nos
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Bay leaves - 2 nos
Mace - 2-4 nos
Star aniseed - 2 nos
Aniseed - 1 tbsp

Method:
Marinate chicken overnight (refer poulet roti for marination)
Heat ghee in a broad bottomed vessel, add whole spices and fry till all the aroma is released. Add finely sliced onions and fry till golden brown. Now add ginger-garlic paste and saute for a min. Add chilly powder and give it a stir. Add finely chopped tomatoes and saute for 2 min. Add curd, lime juice, finely chopped mint and coriander, green chillies (slit lengthwise) and stir well.Add garam masala powder, add basmati rice (soaked in hot water for 30min), 8 cups of hot water, salt for taste. Cover and cook till its almost done (not fully done). Stir well and turn off the flame.
Now, Stuff this almost done khushka rice in marinated chicken as much as possible. Continue to cook the remaining rice till its done.
Now roast the stuffed chicken in a preheated oven at 240 degree Celsius for 20 min. Then reduce the oven temperature to 200 degree Celsius and continue to roast for 40 min or till its done. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve it with the remaining khushka rice.

Note:
Can garnish with some freshly chopped coriander leaves. Can exclude tomatoes, chilly powder etc. and can prepare a plain and simple khushka rice only with basmati rice, onions and other whole spices.

Tandoori Prawns

Traditionally any tandoori recipe needs to be done using a tandoor oven. But, I have used a traditional charcoal grill. I followed same method which I used for tandoori chicken. Only changes were like the quantity was used as per requirement, chicken stock cube was replaced with prawn stock cube, most importantly, the marination time is very less in this recipe. Here it goes.


Ingredients:
Tiger prawns - 8 nos
Butter for basting

For the marinade:
Thick yogurt - 1 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder -1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Aniseed powder - 1/2 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 1/2 tbsp
Red color drops (optional) -1/2 tsp
Prawn stock cube - 1 nos
Salt for taste

Method:
Mix all 'for the marinade' ingredients to form a thick paste. Clean the prawns and mix it well with this paste. Marinade for 2 hours. Take out from the fridge 1/2 hour before grilling. Grill it on hot charcoal grill for 5 min, baste with butter and cook until done. Serve with lemon wedges, onion rings,etc.

Note:
I used a red chilly powder which was not only spicy but gave nice rich red color. If less spice is preferred kashmiri chilly powder can be used. Can also add paprika powder. Butter can be substituted with olive oil while grilling. The tail of the prawn maybe retained for better looks, But, I have cleaned it since I was grilling it after skewering it.

Grilled fish (Indian style)

For diet food lovers, this one is simply perfect. Usually the entire fish is grilled and served along with some salad. But, I have used only a small portion of a large carpe rouge fish (used the remaining fish for making fish curry). I trust the food is best when it is simple. In simplicity there is so much of taste, aroma, flavour. Therefore the spices used were also very minimal. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Fish of choice (I used carpe rouge) - 1 nos
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 1/4 tsp
Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Salt for taste
Olive oil for basting

Method:
Mix all ingredients except fish and make a paste out of it. Rub this paste on the fish and leave it for 1 hour. Now grill the fish using a hot charcoal grill. Baste oil and cook till its done. Serve hot along with salad of your choice.

Note:
I have used lemon wedges, grilled onions, and chillies to garnish the fish. And served it along with sliced cucumbers.

Roasted chicken thighs (Indian style)

Accidentally or deliberately I always add Indian spices and masalas in everything I cook. I love the Indian twist in all that I prepare, may it be a pasta or a soup or salad, etc. This roasted chicken thighs was also marinated with Indian masala. This one is packed with proteins, it has it all the taste a non-veggie foodie would crave for. Simply perfect diet food for lunch or dinner. Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Chicken thighs - 4 nos
Butter for basting

For the masala:
Yogurt - 1 tbsp
Kashmiri chilly powder -1 tbsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Aroma cube (tomato flavour) - 1 nos
Salt for taste



Method:
Slit 2-3 lines on the chicken using a knife (helps in penetration of masala). Mix all the ingredients except butter. Now coat the chicken pieces with the masala and marinate for 3-4 hours. Preheat the oven at 240degree. Place the marinated chicken in a greased pan (place a aluminium foil paper on the pan, baste that with olive oil). Roast at the same temperature for 15 min. Baste with butter. Now reduce the temperature to 200 degree Celsius and roast for another 25-30 min or till its done. Baste again with butter. Garnish with onions rings, lemon wedges and serve with roti, bread, pita etc.

Note:
As a healthy option, Olive oil can be used instead of butter.
Click here for (full chicken Roasted) Poulet roti

Tandoori chicken (Tandoori murg/murgh)

This tandoori chicken makes me feel nostalgic about Tanzania where we used to get so many colorful kebabs and grills. We were fascinated by the colors. Some colors of grills and kebabs were golden, yellow, orange, red, green,etc...Tanzania was very much like India. Due to the large Indian crowd there, everything from Indian clothes to food were all easily available. We had so many good Friends there and was always invited for some lovely Gujarati lunch and dinner. I miss them all now...
Tandoori chicken is a famous Indian grill. It is chicken marinated with yogurt and tandoori masala (usually a mixture of chilly powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder, aniseed powder etc) for 48 hours or more (I usually marinate for 72 hours) and then grilled in tandoori oven (I used charcoal grill) at high temperatures. The world famous chicken tikka is derived from this tandoori chiken. The Moti mahal restaurant in Delhi is very famous for this. So, when I visit Delhi, I just want to sneak into Moti mahal Restaurant's kitchen just to find out their secret recipe... Here goes my recipe....

Ingredients:
Chicken leg pieces - 4 nos
Butter for basting

For the marinade:
Thick yogurt - 4 tbsp
Red chilly powder - 4 tbsp
Coriander powder -1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Aniseed powder - 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 4 tbsp
Lime juice - 1tbsp
Red color drops (optional) -1 tsp
Chicken stock cube - 1 nos
Salt for taste

Method:
Mix all 'for the marinade' ingredients to form a thick paste. Slit the chicken legs and mix it well with this paste. Marinade for 72 hours. Take out from the fridge 1 hour before grilling. Grill it on hot charcoal grill for 5 min, baste with butter and cook until done. Serve with lemon wedges, onion rings, chips etc.

Note:
I used a red chilly powder which was not only spicy but gave nice rich red color. If less spice is preferred kashmiri chilly powder can be used. Can also add paprika powder. Butter can be substituted with olive oil while grilling

Chicken tikka ( skewered chicken/ Brochette de poulet)

Chicken tikka is a spicy sizzler chicken. This is authentic chicken tikka recipe where boneless chicken peices are grilled in a tandoor over or charcoal grill (I used a charcoal grill). I have tried cooking in ovens (not tandoor oven) also but it does not appear the same in taste as well as appearance. I just try chicken tikka in oven, just in case I'm in a hurry or want to use it as a filling in wraps or rolls etc.. Moreover, I'm such a big fan of Indian grills and love everything tandoori way. This must have been a mughals contribution to India. The Persian and Arabic grills are very similar . This chicken tikka recipe is cosmopolitan in nature found worldwide. This chicken tikka is added to masala gravy to get the famous chicken tikka masala. The Punjabi style chicken tikka is usually different from this one as they use chicken leg piece with bones (I have tried cooking that one also, and it tastes equally good). Here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:
Boneless chicken - 1 kilo
Butter for basting


For the marinade:
Yogurt - 1 cup
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 4 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Mace and nutmeg powder - 1/2 tsp
Lime juice - 1 tsp
Chicken stock cube - 1 nos
Salt for taste

Method:
Mix all ingredients and marinade overnight. Take out of the fridge 1 hour before grilling. Skewer them. Grill on hot charcoal grill, baste with butter and turn over and cook (or rather rotate well and cook, so that its cooked equally on all sides). Cook till its done. Garnish with onion rings, tomato slices, green coriander and serve.

Note:
I used a spicy red chilly powder which also gives a rich red color. Can use kashmiri chilly powder if less spice is required. Olive oil is a healthy option to butter.

Poulet roti ( roasted chicken - Indian style)

I'm such a great fan of Indian tandoori. I just love cooking everything in tandoor style. I have never ever felt the need to use a convectional oven since I was always sticking on to Indian way of cooking( using tandoor and charcoal). This time, I gave it a try to cooking inside my kitchen using oven and it was worth trying. I did this classic " poulet roti (roasted chicken)" in completely Indian style. I marinated the chicken for about 36 hours (usually I marinate for even longer) and then straight into the oven, then on the plate served with chips. I can't imagine anything better than chicken and chips for a lazy Sunday lunch. Chicken and chips , huh!!! Food combo forever. Here is the recipe...

Ingredients:
Chicken - 2 nos

For the marinade:
Yogurt - 2 tbsp
chilly powder - 4 tbsp
garam masala powder - 2 tbsp
nutmeg and mace powder - 1/2 tsp
coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
ginger- garlic paste - 2 tbsp
lemon juice - 1 tsp
chicken stock cube - 1 nos
salt for taste

olive oil - 2 tbsp
butter for basting

Method:
Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and make a thick paste. Rub it over the whole chicken and marinade for 36 hours or more. Take the chicken out of the fridge 30 min before cooking. In a roasting try, place the chicken, drizzle olive oil over it and place it in a preheated oven at 240 degree c/475 degree Fahrenheit/gas 9 and cook for about 15 min (this will make the outer crisp and hard). Remove and baste well with butter. Now reduce it to 200 degree c/ 400 degree Fahrenheit and cook for another 75 min. Now this done. Serve hot with chips.

Note:
A medium sized chicken would require about 1 hour 20 min for perfect cooking. 1st cooking on high for short duration, then cooking on low for a long time will make the out layer crisp and the inner layer of chicken soft like butter. This chicken can also be stuffed with some whole spices, lemon, dry herbs like oregano, sage, chive, dill etc.

Barbeque meat

 

Indian grills are outstanding due to their perfect blend of spices.It can be preferred due to its very less oil cooking concept.The flavours are brought out by using charcoal heat.Marinating meat in India has a unique concept because the meat is soaked in yogurt for several hours along with other spices (I personally prefer to marinate for 24-36 hours). If marinated along with raw papaya, minimum of 4 hours should be fine(unless you expect a mealtable piece of meat in your mouth).Grills are great at outdoor parties, camping and also at any other food party.

Ingredients:

Boneless meat - 1 kilo
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
lime juice - 1 tsp
ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
red chilli powder - 2 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
red color - few drops( optional)
salt for taste
onions-2 nos
capsicum or bell peppers - 2 nos
tomatoes- 2 nos

Method:
Dice the meat into cubes and marinade in yogurt along with lime juice, ginger-garlic paste,red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder,and salt for 24 hours or more. Just before grilling add color (optional). Skewer the meat along with diced onions, tomatoes and peppers in between and roast on a charcoal grill for 8-10 min. Add leftover marinade and baste with oil in between and roast again for 5 min. Garnish with green coriander, onion rings, lime wedges and serve.

Note: We can also marinate with different combinations of spices and sauces.