Tuesday, 22 March 2016

Dhaba Chicken

What comes to your mind when you think about going on a highway trip? I am sure there will be loads of things and one thing which you really can not forget is having an awesome meal at some road side Dhaba. Dhaba foods have their special aroma and taste all together. I don’t know if it is the hunger that makes the food so tasty or the journey; no matter what might be the reason, the actual fact is that we all love Dhaba food. The delicious chickens they make,  the makhhan wala egg tadka, lassi mmmm aweosme, isn't it? Well I'm sure it is. There are many people I know who can any day pick Dhaba food rather than any urban restaurant, well without any doubt I fall under this category.

Dhaba Chicken
Though me and my family love Dhaba food, it is always not possible to get some, so I make them at home only. Last night I made a chicken curry which we usually get to eat at the Dhabas, so I just named it ‘Dhaba Chicken’.  
Dhaba Chicken

It is a 10 step recipe which makes it very easy to make. Here I am providing the recipe in pictorial format as I usually do. 


So here it comes
Put the pan on the oven and fry 2 tsp kasoori methi without oil
2. Take approx 1 kg chicken pieces in a bowl, add 2 tbsp coriander power, 1 tsp black pepper powder, salt, turmeric, 1 chopped tomato, 10 sliced green chillies, 2 tbsp garlic paste, 2 tsp ginger paste, 1 tbsp green chilli paste, fried kasoori methi. Mix well. Keep it aside for 10 to 15 minutes.
Marinate the chicken
3. The actual recipe calls for mustard oil but I opted for refined oil. The choice is yours.
Fry till the seeds turn darker in colour
4. I usually cut the onions in thin slices and cover the pan while frying as it cooks faster and saver fuel too.
Fry till golden
5. Adding the red chilli powder at the beginning actually brings a nice colour as you can see in the picture below.
Fry until the onions look like this
6. Mix the chicken well and cover it.


7. After cooking the chicken under closed lid for near about 5 to 10 minutes, add 2 tbsp of curd. Mix well, cover the lid and let it cook for 10 minutes more.

8. Open the lid and give it a stir. Check if salt is needed. Cook it without the lid for 2 minutes more.

9. Add 4 tbps of fresh coriander leaves.


10. Serve hot with parantha, chapathi etc. . 

Wednesday, 5 August 2015

Eastern Pepper Chicken Review

Pepper Chicken has always been my one of the favorite starter and I always wanted to make it in gravy form. With the help of Eastern Pepper Chicken Masala I finally made it and it turned out really well.

Pepper Chicken
Eastern Pepper Chicken Masala
A very few easily available ingredients are required. Here I have tried to give the whole process in pictorial format here.
The ingredients
Eastern Pepper Chicken Masala
Marinate the chicken for 15 minutes with the masala and salt
Add some water and mix well
Cook till oil starts oozing out
Fry the chopped onions in refined oil
Add the chopped ginger and garlic
Add the curry leaves
Fry and add some tomatoes and chilli if you wish
Add the already cooked chicken along with some more Eastern Pepper Chicken Masala
Add water and let it cook for another 10 - 15 minutes
After the 15 minutes open the lid and add 2 tsp black pepper powder and turn off the heat.
Eastern Pepper Chicken
Review:

Colour and texture: This masala from Eastern condiments wont give a rich look and as you don't add turmeric the colour of the dish wont reflect any yellowness in it. It has a thick consistency and the masala has cornflour in it. This masala is quite different from others and really giver the ordinary chicken a different look. I rate it 8/10 for colour and texture.

Aroma: This masala has very different kind of smell and when added with curry leaves this really imparts a very nice aroma which is enough to make any chicken lover to drool over it. But people who do not like not-so-rick-chicken-curry may not like this particular recipe. So I rate it 8/10.

Taste: This is suitable for those who does not like spicy food. I really had to add a lot of chilli and pepper power to make it suitable for our taste buds. The name "Pepper Chicken Masala" does not justify the taste of the recipe. Otherwise the taste is nice and lite and goes well with rooti or parantha. I rate it 6/10.


Thursday, 30 July 2015

Eastern Shahi Paneer Review

Whoa ! I never thought that making Shahi Paneer will be this easy, and yes the ready made masala wont compromise in the taste.
Shahi Panner made using Eastern Easy to Cook Masala
Eastern Shahi Paneer Masala
Review:
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Required ingredients
Requires ingredients: 150 gm chopped tomato, 250 gm paneer cube, 1 cup milk, 2 tbsp butter and the easy to cook Shahi Paneer Masala.
Eastern Shahi Paneer Masala
The masala needs to be mixed with 1 cup milk.
Mixed with milk
Heat 2 tbsp butter in the pan and add the chopped tomatoes.
Chopped tomatoes added to 2 tbsp butter. I added chopped chilies too
After 2 minutes add the milk mixed masala and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the milk mixed masala
After cooking for 2-3 minutes add the paneer cubes and saute for another 1 minute.
Add the paneer cubes
Add 2 cups of water and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add water
Open the lid and cook for few more seconds and turn off the light. Serve hot and indulge into the divine. :)
Eastern Shahi Paneer Butter Masala
Colour and texture: As the picture is shown in the pack, the dish comes in a whitish yellow colour. The colour is not very rich. It contains cashew that imparts a creamy texture and as the masala gets mixed with milk it brings a thick gravy. The masala it self is not very dark in colour and when it gets mixed with milk it automatically becomes a little liter in colour and later when it gets mixed with tomatoes, it brings a nice colour to the dish. I rate it 8/10 for the colour and texture.

Taste: This masala has a very nice taste but nothing very strong. The masala is not strong enough to get into the paneer cubes and increase its taste. The taste of the paneer remains same as it would be in the raw state. The gravy is very tasty and is capable alone to make you eat an ample amount of rice or chapatti :). The masala requires salt as it has lack of it. I would rate it 7/10 as many people would not like the raw taste of the paneer in such a delicious gravy.

Aroma: oh the aroma ! seriously its awesome and will make you fall in love with it. The nice aroma of the masala and the smell of the paneer makes it a dish to crave for.I totally loved it and so my family. I rate it 10/10 for it. 

Tuesday, 14 July 2015

Eastern Paneer Butter Masala Review With Recipe

This is the first time when I made some thing with ready made masala, and believe me it is so easy to cook and yummy to taste. Yesterday I made Paneer Butter Masala with Eastern Easy 3 Step Cooking Paneer Butter Masala. It took all together 20 minutes to prepare the whole thing.
Paneer Butter Masala Made With Eastern Easy 3 Step Cook Masala

Eastern Easy 3 Step Cooking Paneer Butter Masala
The masala is offered in paper made packing and comes in 40 grams quantity.
The masala is made using onion, cashew, milk, powder, tomato, salt, chilli, coriander, sugar, garlic, turmeric, fenugreek leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, clove and nutmeg.
Here you can see the ingredients
The required ingredients for making Paneer Butter Masala is, 150 g tomato puree, paneer 200 gm cut into cubes ( I made 250 gm ), 1 cup milk, butter 2 tbsp, salt if you need.
The ingredients
Step 1# Heat 2 tbsp refined oil in the pan, add the Paneer cubes and fry for 1 to 2 minutes and quickly remove from heat and keep it in normal temperature water. This prevents the Paneer from breaking. Mind it that the Paneer should not be brown.
Fry the Paneer cubes and after 2 minutes immediately shift it to normal temperature water 
Step 2# Heat 2 tbps butter in the pan and add the tomato puree.
Add tomato puree in heated butter
Step 3# in a bowl mix the Eastern Paneer Butter Masala powder with 1 cup of milk.
Mix the masala with milk
Step 4# After sauteing the tomato puree for 2 minutes add the milk mixed masala in to it and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the fried Paneer cubes into the masala.
Add the Paneer cubes and cook for 2 minutes
Step 5# After cooking the Paneer for 2 - 3 minutes add some water and cover the pan and let it cook for another 5 minutes in lower medium flame.
Add water
Your Paneer Butter Masala is ready to be served hot with rice/ roti/ paratha etc.

REVIEW OF EASTERN EASY 3 STEP COOKING PANEER BUTTER MASALA

1. The aroma of the raw masala itself is very tempting, it carries a lite smell of kasoori meethi. I rate it 9/10 as few people might not like the smell of kasoori methi though me and my family totally love it :)
After preparing the item, it generates a very nice smell, actually the smell is very similar to the one which you get hen you eat Paneer butter masala in a restaurant. Its lite, nice and tempting.

2. The colour of the food is very rich and the texture of the gravy is smooth and thick. The raw masala is yellow in colour but not the dark one. Later while cooking, the masala gets mixed with tomato puree and milk so the colour changes and becomes very rich and yummy in texture. The look of the dish is alone enough to make any body drool over it. I rate the look 10/ 10. Its just too tempting.

3. According to my taste buds the masala lacks salt content, so you need to add salt as per your taste. The masala is not very spicy or hot, so anybody with any taste can consume it. But for people who like a little spicy, they can easily add pepper or chilli to it. Has no pungent taste so no need to any other ingredient to make it tasty. Has a creamy like gravy which keeps the paneer cubes soft. I rate it 10/ 10.

Paneer Butter Masala


The whole experience of making Paneer Butter Masala with Eastern easy 3 step cooking masala was very good as it makes restaurant style curry. Me and my family loved it. :)

Monday, 22 June 2015

Chicken Tikka Kebab in Wooden Skewers (Microwave and Tawa version)

Chicken Tikka Kebab is one of those items which I make sure that I eat whenever I get the chance to order the starter J. I just blindly love it and I am sure, many of you love this too. Today, I am presenting the authentic Chicken Tikka Kebab Recipe in pictorial format. I have made it both in microwave and tawa, so if you do not have a microwave, not to worry, there is a tawa version too.
Chicken Tikka Kebab
Ingredients: 
Part 1# Bone less chicken cubes 15-18 pieces. Capsicum, tomatoes (remove the pulp) and onions cut into cubes.
Fresh vegetables cut in cubes
Part 2# 2 tbsp gram flour, 1 tbsp butter, 5 tbsp curd, 1 tbsp ginger garlic chilli paste, 1 tsp aamchur powder, salt to taste, turmeric powder and food colour.
Part 3# Coriander, saunf, black pepper, cloves, cumin, cardamom. All whole spices roasted and made into powder.
Part 4# Butter and lemon juice 2 tbsp. Wooden skewers as per need.

Stage 1 # Take all the ingredients except Part # 1 in a bowl, mix it well. Then add all the ingredients of Part 1 # and mix all very well so that every chicken piece gets coated with the masala and the vegetables too. Refrigerate for minimum 2- 5 hours. If possible, do it for overnight.
Marinate the chicken atleast for 2 - 5 hours.
Stage 2 # In a bottle put the wooden skewers and fill it up with normal water. Keep the skewers soaked in it for atleast 30 minutes, no harm if you overdo it.
Soak for minimum 30 minutes.
Stage 3 # Take out the refrigerated chicken. Add the lemon juice and mix it well. Keep it in the room temperature for atleast 30 minutes.
Add lemon juice after taking the chicken out from fridge and keep it in room temperature for atleast 30 minutes.
Stage 4 # Take a skewer, pin up a capsicum piece, then onion, then tomato and then finally a chicken piece. Repeat the process for three times so that a single stick contains three to four pieces of chicken and other vegetables. Apply the same procedure for all the wooden skewers.
Arrange the chicken pieces and vegetables in the skewers.
Stage 5 #
Microwave Mode: Take the microwave grill plate and grease it with some butter. Put up the kebab sticks carefully one by one. Put the whole grill plate on a microwave safe plate so that the juices coming out from the kebab do not make your microwave dirty.
Put it in the microwave and cook it in full power for 10 minutes. Then set it in microwave and grill combination mode and cook for another 20 minutes. Do not forget to turn those over in between and to add some butter.
Microwave Mode
Tawa Mode: Take a flat pan which has a proper lid, apply some butter. Place the pan on the gas, arrange the sticks in it but make sure that you do not over crowd it. Cover the pan. Turn on the flame and keep it in the low flame. Let it remain like this for atleast 10 minutes. Then turn it over and apply some butter on the kebabs and close the lid once again and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes on the lowest flame.
Tawa Mode
P.s It is a old pic, so pardon me for being not specific.

Take it out and serve hot with some chutney or sauce J
Chicken Tikka Kebab
Chicken Tikka Kebab in Wooden Skewers