Recipe : Super Spicy Roast Leg of Lamb with Mushrooms

This is one of those recipes I eyeballed it for.

Clean and dry the meat.

Pierce the meat, so the marinade can penetrate well.

First marinade is lemon juice and salt for 10-15 minutes.

Main Marinade is

yoghurt, / curd / dahi

chilli powder

jeera powder

coriander powder

amchur

garam masala powder

ginger paste

garlic paste.

Marinate in the fridge overnight or longer.

Take out the meat from the fridge and bring it to room temperature.

Put just the meat in a preheated oven and roast at 160C fan oven/ 180C regular oven for 30 mins per half kilo.

Take out the meat from the oven, add the rest of the marinade and pop in the oven for another half hour.

If you feel that it's burning on the thinner end, cover that with foil.

Rest for 10-15 minutes in a warm location before slicing.

I added the mushrooms in the last 10 minutes of cooking.

If you want to make this with potatoes, you will need to add them earlier.

Eid Mubarak : Recipe : Murg Mussallam

Eid Mubarak to all my friends, especially my companions from mt Egypt & Dubai sojourns.

I've been terribly remiss about blogging, but there's been so much to see and do in London, that the only thing I seem to have the time for, when I turn on my laptop is to book tickets and pay bills. :)

I check facebook on my phone, when I'm one the move and one of the groups that I belong to - "Chef at Large" had many members posting wonderful photos and recipes of Ramadan specialties.

I was really missing my annual trips to the Ramadan Food Markets in India, whether Mohammed Ali Road in Mumbai or Chandni Chowk in Delhi or Charminar in Hyderabad or Juhapura in Ahmedabad and the mouth watering delicacies on offer.

Then I came across a gorgeous picture by Imbesat of KhanPaan of a succulent Murg Mussallam. I have never eaten this dish before, but I think it was one of the first printed recipes I had seen as part of a food advertisement as a child. I forget which product it was for, but they would advertise in the Femina or Eve's Weekly or Readers Digest alternating 2 recipes. Murg Mussallam and another. This dish always intrigued me, but with all the processes involved and the slightly more expensive ingredients (dry fruits etc), I was subtly discouraged from trying this out by the adults at home.

The picture posted by Imbesat, made me sit up and decide to put in more effort at cooking than a stir fry, or quick grill and I decided to make it on Wednesday, when we had a few friends over for dinner. There's no fun cooking an entire chicken if there aren't enough people to share it with. Imbesat was hugely encouraging and on Wednesday morning, I got myself a whole chicken.

She was very clear about skinning the chicken before cooking and since I am in the UK and whole chickens come with the skin on, I had my first experience of skinning one. It wasn't too tough, I just used the kitchen scissors occasionally to negotiate the tricky bits near the joints.

I made a few adjustments to the original authentic recipe. I don't have access to Khuskhus in this country (poppy seeds and all of that) and I decided to roast it in the oven instead of pan frying and then pressure cooking it.

For the original recipe and Imbesat's gorgeous pictures take a look at the original on her blog - Khan Paan My friend Rhea of Euphorhea was so excited, she cooked it the next day itself.

I had to wait until the 15th, before I got around to cooking it. Make no mistake, this dish does involve a lot of time and effort and shouldn't be rushed. But believe me, the kitchen smells so good and the soft succulent meat is so good, that it is worth the effort.

My Edited Recipe:

Ingredients:

For Marination
1 Chicken(whole, skinless, about 1kg)
1tbsp Curd
1tbsp Garlic paste
salt to taste

For the Stuffing
4 Eggs(boiled, fried)
A handful or 2 Mixed Nuts
1 Onion (sliced, fried crisp, crushed)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste

For the Spice Paste
3 Onions (finely sliced, fried crisp)
2 Onions
1" Ginger
3 pods Garlic- 3 pods
4 cardamom
4 Clove
1" Cinnamon

For Cooking
2 tsp Chilli Powder
1 tsp Pepper Powder
2 Bay leaves- 2
3-4 tsp ghee / Clarified Butter
100gms curd / greek yoghurt
2-3 tbsp oil- 2-3tblspns
salt to taste


Method :
For Marination
Wash & clean the skinned chicken. (I reserved the skin & used it while cooking for extra flavour and a bit of fat, just added it in the end, before the whole dish went into the oven)
Prick with a fork at regular intervals.
Mix the curd, salt and garlic paste and apply all over the chicken - inside & outside
Let it rest for at least 2 hours. (this is critical)

For the Stuffing
Take a large pan and fry the onions required for the stuffing and the spice paste (if you don't have fried onions kept aside - I always fry up large batches and put them in the fridge, so they are always on hand for topping biryanis or using in masalas)

Boil the eggs, cool and peel them.
The boiled eggs then need to be fried (no batter).
Deep frying is recommended, but I just fried them in the same pan.
Try and make sure the eggs are dry, before you start frying them, otherwise the oil will splatter all around your kitchen.
(I used 8 eggs, so there would be one for everyone at the table, those that didn't fit inside were arranged around the chicken)

In the same pan, fry the dry fruits.
Mix the dry fruits, fried onion, sugar, lemon juice & salt and crush lightly.

Stuff this mixture inside the chicken, with the fried eggs (as many as you can fit and seal the opening with an egg)

While Imbesat recommends frying and browning the chicken on all sides, after stuffing it, I fried my chicken in the same pan, before I stuffed it - made it easier for me to maneuver the chicken, without worrying about bits and pieces falling out.

For the Spice Paste
Roughly chop the onions and ginger, before blending them all into a smooth paste - you can use a mixi / food processor.

For Cooking
Heat the oil in the same pan.
Add the spice paste, Red chilli powder, black pepper powder, salt and bay leaves and saute the mixture until the oil begins to separate.

Lightly mix the curd until smooth and add to this spice mixture, stirring it for another 5 minutes.

For Roasting
Preheat the oven to 180C
Place the Fried/Browned chicken in a Roasting Dish.
Pour the Cooked Spice Mix over the chicken, making sure some of it gets underneath too.
Arrange all the extra eggs and skin (if using) around the chicken and make sure that they are also generously coated with the spice paste.

Imbesat added water before cooking the chicken in the pressure Cooker, I did not add any and came up with a slightly thicker gravy - more suitable for bread and rotis than rice.

Roast in the oven for whatever time is appropriate for the size of your bird. I had to roast mine for about an hour and a half.

Serve hot and slice at the table.

PS: I was in a hurry to serve and couldn't take very good pictures of the finished dish, but trust me, it was absolutely delicious.

Recipe : Roasted Pumpkin (Vegan)

When we visited Canada a couple of years ago for a cousins wedding, we had a BBQ at U Ossie & Aunty Aureen's house and one of my (many, many) aunts - Belinda (who hates being called "Aunty" by me cause it makes her feel "old" LOL) roasted some butternut squash which was amazingly tasty.

Seeing that we don't get a variety of squashes in India, I hadn't had the opportunity to try making this myself. Today though, I saw some lovely red baby pumpkins in the market and remembering this recipe, I picked one up.

Sadly for me, the pumpkin wasn't ripe enough, so the end product was missing the sweetness, but I think the flavours worked very well and I will ask for help to select a ripe pumpkin next time and retry this recipe.

I could have added some brown sugar to this while baking, but this week is diet week and sugar and sweeteners are off the menu.

Its quite easy to assemble and takes about 10 minutes to prep (depending on the size of your pumpkin) and then another 45 minutes in the oven that you can use to prepare the rest of your meal or just have a bath or a glass of wine while the pumpkin is roasting.

Ingredients :
1/2 kg ripe pumpkin or Squash
6-8 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (you can also use all spice)
1 tsp chilli flakes
sea salt to taste
1/2 tsp of olive oil

Method:
Preheat your oven to 180C / 355F.
Clean and chop the pumpkin (you can retain the separated seeds for roasting)
Place the pumpkin pieces in an ovenproof bowl
Add the chopped garlic, cinnamon powder, chilli flakes, sea salt and olive oil.

Toss or stir till it is all well combined.
I used my hands and gave all the pieces a light massage with the spices.
If you feel the pumpkin isn't sweet enough, add a bit of brown sugar too.

Roast in the oven for 30-55 minutes.
(if you have cut your pumpkin into chunks, it will take closer to 55minutes, if you have sliced it fine, it should be done in around 30 minutes - ripeness of the pumpkin is also a factor in how long it will take to cook)
Serve hot

Kim's Tips for Leftovers :
While, I was roasting the pumpkin in the microwave, I placed the seeds in an ovenproof glass lid and slid it under the wire rack on which the pumpkin dish was placed. The roasted seeds can be lightly seasoned and eaten as a healthy snack or tossed into salads where they provide fibre and crunch.

If you don't feel like eating leftover roasted pumpkin for a second meal, give the pumpkin a whiz in the food processor until finely blended. Add some chicken or vegetable stock (till you get your desired consistency) and bring to a boil with some fresh herbs and cream to garnish.

You can even mix the roasted pumpkin pieces into a green leafy salad for an alternate texture and a sweet flavour that goes well with bitter leaves.

Kim's Tips:
While I piled all the pumpkin into one dish (given the limited size of my microwave oven), the better spaced the pumpkin pieces are, the better will be the caramelisation of the pumpkin.

The skin adds fiber to the dish, but you can remove it if you prefer.

This post is also being submitted for Round 2 of the Indiblogger & Borosil #BeautifulFood Competition

Recipe : Bacon Wrapped Roast Chicken

For Christmas this year, I wanted to make a special roast. I'd seen a picture of a Bacon Wrapped Roast Chicken somewhere on the web and thought it was a great idea, especially since everything tastes "Better with Bacon". The picture I saw, didn't have a recipe, so I just decided to upgrade my Roast Chicken with Duxelles

Ingredients:
1 roasting chicken with skin - around 1kg
1 quantity duxelles (from 400gm mushrooms) at room temperature
1 tsp salt
juice of 1 lime
200 gm packet of bacon (with some fat at least)

Method:
Clean the chicken well, especially the inside and dry
Rub the chicken with a mixture of lemon juice and salt, both inside and outside and keep for 10-15 minutes.
Stuff the chicken with the duxelles and if you can get the skin loose, pack some duxelles between the skin and the flesh.
(My butcher here in Ahmedabad, ends up tearing the skin when he de-feathers the chicken and unless I clean my chicken myself, I have to make do with what I'm given)

Note: When making the duxelles for this dish, I added some finely chopped bacon to the mix too.

Wrap the chicken with bacon slices, in any pattern you choose. I tried the checkerboard pattern to try and match the picture that I had seen, but since the bacon I bought wasn't in straight lines, it doesn't look as neat as the original picture I had seen.

I also used 2 extra legs in the dish, so there would be enough thighs and drumsticks to go around the table.

The chicken does not need basting, because the fat from the bacon will keep it nice and moist.

Roast in a preheated oven at 200C for about an hour and a half.
Keep an eye on the chicken as it roasts and increase or decrease the time as needed.

You can serve your chicken completely cooked but moist, or slightly crispy. We liked the bacon slightly crisped up.

Serve hot with a herby Italian bread or a simple pasta.

Variation :
1/2 kg boneless chicken breasts
4 tbsps cream cheese
1/2 tsp black pepper freshly crushed
1 tsp mixed herbs
6 slices bacon
salt to taste

Method:
Flatten & then marinate the chicken for 15 minutes in salt and pepper.
Fold the herbs into the cream cheese.
Layer an oven proof bowl with the chicken, the cream cheese and the bacon on top.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for about 45 minutes..

Recipe : Roast Chicken with Duxelles

If you cook this right, the meat will be incredibly soft, tender and juicy. Don't pull out the chicken skin before roasting. It helps keep the meat moist, the stuffing in and adds a lovely texture and flavour to the dish.

Since I roast chicken in the microwave on convection setting, I've found that roasting it covered for 2/3 of the time helps keep most of the moisture in.

Ingredients:
1 roasting chicken with skin - around 1kg
1 quantity duxelles (from 400gm mushrooms) at room temperature
1 tsp salt
juice of 1 lime
a little butter or olive oil for basting.

Method:
Clean the chicken well, especially the inside and dry
Rub the chicken with a mixture of lemon juice and salt, both inside and outside and keep for 10-15 minutes.
Stuff the chicken with the duxelles and if you can get the skin loose, pack some duxelles between the skin and the flesh.
(My butcher here in Ahmedabad, ends up tearing the skin when he de-feathers the chicken and unless I clean my chicken myself, I have to make do with what I'm given)

Baste the chicken with a little melted butter or olive oil.
Roast in a preheated oven at 200C for about an hour and a half.
Keep an eye on the chicken as it roasts and increase or decrease the time as needed.

You can serve your chicken completely coked but moist, or slightly crispy.

I've made this a home style roast chicken, but you can obviously make this a much neater dish, by trussing the chicken once stuffed.

If you are roasting it uncovered in a regular oven, you can cover the wings and the final leg joint with foil until half cooked, to get an even colouring all over.

Recipe: Laithaun - Traditional Manglorean Suckling Pig (Pigling) Roast

Traditional Manglorean Roast Pigling is called "Laithaun" in Konkani. Its normally stuffed with a mixture of bread, raisins, nuts, liver, onions & spices. It is served with a side of fresh mustard and a soup made from the drippings.

When its served by a caterer at a wedding/christening/roce - its sliced up into thin elegant looking slices - a sliver of skin & fat with a bit if meat. But since we had ordered it for Xmas for our family and we are a family of trigger happy foodies, we told the guy who does the roasting (Jojo Caterers) to deliver it as is & we would do the slicing ourselves after we finished taking pics.

If they serve it whole at a function (an extra for decoration & then taken home for consumption after the event) it is served resting on its stomach (as seen in movies)

I don't remember roast pigling, ever being made from scratch at home. My great grandma might have done it in her time before caterers and large bakeries came on the scene. I do know that some of the bakeries in Mangalore, will let you rent their huge ovens for a couple of hours if you want to roast a pigling that you have stuffed yourself.

J B Lobo's - Home Encyclopedia does have a recipe for Roast Pigling and thats what I've posted below verbatim :)


Kill the pigling. Pour boiling water over, a little at a time, and remove the hair and thin dry outer skin by scraping the hot surface with a knife as quickly as possible. When the skin is cleaned, make a slit down the belly. Remove entrails. Clean inside thoroughly. Also clean the ears and nose well. Wash the pigling in several rinses of cold water.

Prepare the stuffing as described below and stuff the belly. Stitch, using a trussing needle and strong thread. Apply salt all over. Place in a roasting tin and roast at 350F (175C) basting frequency. When done, remove and immediately sprinkle over with chilly powder and turmeric (the heat of the roast pigling will cook the spices). Set aside, into the roasting tin, add flour, chilly powder and turmeric and fry for a couple of minutes. Add water and vinegar and bring to a boil. Simmer till gravy consistency is reached.

Grind masala for the stufflings: 8 Kashmiri chilies (or Kumta long chilies); 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp turmeric powder; 8 peppercorns; 5cm piece ginger.

Other items for stuffling: ½ pod garlic; 1 tsp garam masala (cinnamon, cloves, cardamom); vinegar and salt to taste; 500 gms cooked potatoes; 500 gms cooked peas; 250 gms onions; 250 gms bread; 1 liver; 1 heart; 1 kidney, 100 gms fat for frying.

Preparation of Stuffing: Grind dry spices using vinegar. Chop garlic and ginger. Dice potatoes. Chop onions. Cut into fine pieces the liver, heart and kidney. (These should be cleaned well by soaking in salt water to remove blood). Heat fat. Fry onion, garlic and ginger. Add ground spices and fry for a few minutes longer. Add vegetables, chopped organ meat and breadcrumbs and mix well.

Recipe: Chaap ne Bataka Roast - Gujarati Roasted Lamb Chops with Potatoes

This recipe is from Banu Hajratwala's - Gujarati Kitchen, a book I cannot recommend heavily enough. Instructions are clear, precise and detailed. In case you haven't read my review yet and are wondering how lamb chops could be a Gujarati dish - its because this is Gujarati Kshatriya cuisine.

This recipe is reproduced here as part of my review of Banu Hajratwala's - Gujarati Kitchen for the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com.

My details here are not half as detailed as the way Ms Hajratwala's instructions are. While I do occassionaly say that a book is worth picking up, this book is a must have for anyone interested in a wider spectrum of Gujarati food or wants a simple introduction to Indian food. Gujarati Kshatriya cuisine is just one of the many cuisines cooked/available in India. What makes this a great introduction to someone new to Indian food is the detailed descriptions, substitutions possible and the coverage of Indian staples like rotis, dhal, curries, pickles in this book.

I've used olive oil instead of regular oil and apple cider vinegar instead of  lemon juice. I also cooked just half a kilo of chops, since I was cooking for just the 2 of us. Since I was using a microwave oven to bake, I used plastic wrap instead of aluminium foil to trap the moisture inside. Other than this, I stayed true to the recipe even down to the 1/4 cup oil.

For my friends from Guwahati wondering how I could procure mutton chops  here? - I used Al Kabeer's frozen chops.

Prepping the Meat:
Clean, rinse and dry 1/2kg mutton chops, removing extra fat.
Marinate in a mixture of 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 1.5 tbsp salt for at least half an hour.
This reduces the smelll in the meat and also tenderises it.

After half an hour, drain the juices (they would have turned a bit cloudy - thats just a reaction of acid with protein), rinse and dry the chops.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp Gujarati fresh masala
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 kg potatoes washed, peeled and cut into 1/2" wedges

Method:
Make a marinade with all the ingredients except the potatoes.

Apply 2/3rds of the marinade onto the prepped lamb chops and leave for at least 1-2 hours or overnight. Reserve the remaining marinade.

When ready to cook, prep the potatoes and mix them with the remaining 1/3 marinade and lay them flat in a single layer in a baking dish

Then layer the mutton chops on top of the potatoes.

Preheat the oven to 190C.
Cover the pan with aluminium foil (in regular ovens) or 3 layers of plastic wrap for microwave ovens)
Roast for 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, turn chops over and baste with dripping. (don't turn the potatoes, only the chops)
Cover & roast for another 20 minutes.

Remove from oven, turn chops over and baste with dripping. (don't turn the potatoes, only the chops)
Roast uncovered for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven, turn chops over and baste with dripping. (don't turn the potatoes, only the chops)
Roast uncovered for 10 minutes.
Thus total roasting time is 1 hour with 30 minutes on each side.
I also grilled the chops for 5 minutes to give a light golden tinge to the meat.

I served the chops with Rotis and Raita. It will go very well with garlic bread too.