Tandoori Tofu & Tandoori Chicken

Good morning friends! As most of you might know, my in-laws reached here on (early morning) Tuesday and I've been pretty busy with them most of the time. They are getting used to the weather and schedule in the US despite their jet-lag and fatigue! We have been to some nearby parks and malls already!! I apologise for not visiting your blogs everyday as I used to (I still do on alternate days!). I guess you all could understand that it would get hectic when you have family visting. Anyways, I am hoping to post regularly like this throughout their visit. We've already made a few traditional Kerala recipes about which I will be posting soon. Thanks a lot for the support shown for my earlier posts.

Coming back to the recipes, we actually grilled these tikkas some time back along with the Chicken tikkas. I had substituted tofu for paneer in the recipe for Tandoori paneer. Eventhough I knew that JM hates tofu (I have a strong dislike too), I wanted to give it another try. I thought the tandoor marinade would mask the distaste that we feel and make it something that we could accept without much fuss. The marination is kind of short (3 hours) when compared to overnight marination for non-veg stuff. I bought the firm tofu available at the grocers and the veggies mentioned and marinated them in the spices for 3 hours. After grilling, we thoroughly enjoyed the tandoori veggies, but the tofu, not so much. Infact JM was not at all willing to try, since he had told me earlier on about his dislike. I tried to enjoy it, but again, it wasnt something that my palate agreed with. I wished I had followed the recipe exactly and bought paneer too!!

Verdict :

Anyways, the marinade is EXCELLENT. Use paneer for this recipe and it would be an awesome tikka for sure. The marinade would also be perfect for just a veggies-only tikka as we thoroughly enjoyed the bell peppers and tomatoes skewered with the tofu. For those who have a seasoned palate for tofu, go ahead and enjoy an Indian treat with soy cheese!!

Recipe (Serves 4) :

Paneer/Tofu - 11 oz
Green bell peppers - 2
Onion - 1
Tomatoes - 2 firm
Thick plain yoghurt - 1 1/4 cups
Ground turmeric - 1 tsp
Ginger - 3/4", grated
Garlic cloves - 4, crushed
Lemon juice - 1 1/2 tbsp
Mint leaves - 2 tbsp
Chopped cilantro - 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

Cut the tofu/paneer into cubes.

Cut the capsicums into squares, the onion into chunks and the tomatoes into cubes.

Mix the yoghurt, turmeric, ginger, garlic and lemon juice, together with a little salt, in a large bowl.

Stir in the herbs.

Add the paneer and vegetables, cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Preheat the grill (broiler) to its highest setting.

Using 8 skewers, thread onto each, 5 pieces of paneer/tofu and some capsicum, onion and tomato.

Brush with the oil, season with salt.

Grill (broil) on all sides for 3-4 minutes, or until the paneer/tofu and vegetables are cooked and slightly charred around the edges.

Serve hot.

Source: The Food of India by Priya Wickramasinghe.

I am sending this Tandoori tofu to the "JFI : Soya event" over at Sia's Passionate about Life 'n Spice.

Recipe :

Tandoori chicken - check out my Chicken tikkas post for detailed recipe and tips.

I used a cut-up whole chicken (bone-in) and trimmed them into slightly smaller pieces and used the same marinade as for the Chicken tikkas. Due to our inexperience in grilling, they didn't get cooked completely, which was made right by popping it in the oven for about 15 minutes. I think that without the grill, the Tandoori Chicken would be probably done in about 30 minutes or so in the oven. Look for signs of charring on the sides of the chicken and the juices would run clear when pierced. The oven temperatures and other suggestions are given in the Chicken tikka post. The picture actually shows a boneless whole chicken breast that I cut out of the bone-in chicken.

The Tandoori Chicken is on its way to "Monthly Mingle : Grill It! Summer Fun" event at Sig's Live to Eat. Here's a couple more of pictures.

I am happy to pass on a beautiful award bestowed upon me by a few of my dear blogger friends. Srilekha of Me and My Kitchen, Skribles of Food with a pinch of love and EC of Simple Indian Food passed on the "Blogging Friends Forever" award to me. Thanks a lot friends!! I really am happy and honored to receive these awards from you guys!! Thanks a lot!

I would like to pass these onto,

Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner

Maheswari of Beyond the Usual

Vandana of Cooking up something nice

Laavanya of Cookery Corner

Sonu from Melbourne, Australia, who is new to my blog, but is a very enthusiastic and ardent supporter of my blog and I !!

Thanks to each and everyone of you, for supporting me. Have a great weekend!!

Chicken tikka masala

Chicken tikka masala is probably the most popular Indian dish in the Western countries. For me it is definitely not surprising that perfectly grilled chicken cubes slathered with a rich and delicious sauce of almonds and tomatoes are well-loved and in demand. The tomatoes make the curry mild for those who dont have a fiery palate and the almonds lend their rich nutty flavor to make it all the more irresistible. I have always loved the tandoori dishes be it naan or tikkas or tikka masalas. So it was taken that when we grill the tikkas, I would make Chicken tikka masala with it. The recipe I used was perfect, with the spices and the tomato gravy balanced well to make a decadent rich curry. We enjoyed it very well with hot naan. The recipe starts with marinating and grilling the chicken cubes to make chicken tikkas. I have given the recipe for the marinade and grilling instructions in a previous post. Hope you all would enjoy this delicious chicken tikka masala. Have a great day!!

Recipe (Serves 6) :

Oil - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Cardamom pods - 2
Garlic cloves - 2, crushed
Chopped tomatoes - 14 oz, can
Ground cinnamon - 1/4 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Jaggery or soft brown sugar - 1 tsp
Cream - 1 1/4 cups
Ground almonds - 1 tbsp
Chicken tikka - 1 recipe
Chopped cilantro - 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over low heat.

Add the onion and cardamom pods and fry until the onion is soft and starting to brown.

Add the garlic to the pan, cook for 1 minute and then add the tomatoes.

Cook until the paste is thick.

Add the cinnamon, garam masala, chilli powder and sugar to the pan.

Cook for a minute.

Stir in the cream and almonds.

Add the cooked chicken tikka pieces.

Gently simmer for 5 minutes or until the chicken is heated through.

Garnish with chopped cilantro/coriander.

Source: The Food Of India by Priya Wickramasinghe.




I am sending this yummy curry to "Eat Healthy-Protein Rich" event at Sangeeth's Art of Cooking Indian Food. My other entries include:

Noodles with Peanut Sauce
Stir-fried Chicken with Mango
Baked Buffalo Wings
Chicken tikka
Diced Chicken with Vegetables
Hot and Sour Pork with Celery
Sweet and Sour Chickpeas

Chicken Tikka & a Winner's Ribbon!!

We are not experts on the grill! That was once again proved on the 4th Of July weekend, when I decided that we would try our hands at grilling again! But this time I chose Tandoori delicacies as our food. So a lot of work went into it for marination and prepping the meat. We planned ahead as to how we would light the charcoal and how long we will wait etc. We lit the coal successfully and waited for the time specified on the instructions. I set out to do the cooking whereas JM and the lil one were walking around taking pictures. This time I thought I was super patient and allowed a long time for the food to get cooked. After the long wait, these tikkas looked perfect and so I served them and saw that it wasnt cooked on the inside! JM was disappointed. He was saying if we cant eat grilled food then and there, what was the point of grilling!! Anyways, since the recipe actually had instructions on baking in the oven, I came back home and popped them in the oven. Within 15 minutes, I had beautifully cooked chicken tikkas and tandoori chicken, all hot and delicious from the oven. I will post the pictures and recipes of the Tandoori Chicken and Paneer tikkas shortly. So if you are an expert on grilling, try these on your grill, otherwise trust me, the oven baked ones taste just as good, if not better!! It sure was deeelicious!! You can use these tikkas to make tikka masala too! And the pictures JM took, I loved them!! :-) Enjoy!!

Recipe (Serves 4) :

Skinless chicken breasts - 1 lb 2 oz (500g)

Wedges of lemon - for garnish

Marinade:

Paprika - 1/2 tbsp

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 2 tbsp

Tandoori food coloring - 1/4 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 1/2 tbsp

Garlic cloves - 4, roughly chopped

Ginger - 2" piece, roughly chopped

Cilantro leaves - 1/2 cup, chopped

Thick plain yoghurt - 1/2 cup

Method:

For the marinade, blend all the ingredients together in a food processor until smooth or chop the garlic, ginger and coriander leaves more finely and mix with the rest of the marinade ingredients.

Season with salt, to taste.

Put the chicken cubes in a bowl with the marinade and mix thoroughly.

Cover and marinate overnight in the fridge.

Heat the oven to 400 F.

Thread the chicken pieces onto four metal skewers and put them on a metal rack above a baking tray.

Roast, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and bowned around the edges.

Serve with wedges of lemon.

Source: The Food Of India by Priya Wickramasinghe.

Tips:

1. I only chopped the ginger, garlic and cilantro finely before adding to the marinade.
2. I didnt use paprika, but only chilly powder and red food coloring.

As many of you know, I participated in the Great Cooks Community: Kid Friendly Cooking event and had won the third place. I would like to thank everybody who showed their support by voting for my entry : Black Forest Cake. I received the third place winner's ribbon yesterday, and would be more than happy to show it to everyone. Some friends were interested enough to ask me about the competition even after the voting was over. Once again a big thanks to friends and family who supported me whole-heartedly.

I am sending the tikkas to the "Eat Healthy Protein Rich" event at Sangeeth's Art of Cooking Indian Food.

I am also sending this to the "Swiss National Day" event at 1x umrühren bitte. See you tomorrow with a new recipe! Have a nice day!!