Chicken Banjara Tikka

It’s just impossible to be Kebab fans and not try different recipes of kebab. It’s sad when I see people liking different kebabs at restaurants, but not being able to make the difference out in flavors. Flavor have so much to say, every spice blends in uniquely with another spice creating delicious stories. Every place has their own f

These kebabs have a very nutty flavor with low to moderate spice level. They are great as side dishes or for a coffee/tea party.  This dish is very different from the regular kebabs. The marination is very earthy, fresh and the taste of each spice can be distinguished.

I believe some of the best, healthiest and quick kebab or tikka recipes come from the Nomads and I have a valid reason for it. Nomads were travelers, never settled at one place for long. So, basically they always had fresh food, since they didn’t have ways to store their meat and they must be grinding their spices right before it needs to be used. A fact that most of run away from these days is that frozen food tastes as good as fresh, which isn’t true at all. But, what breaks my heart even more is when I see people knowing something deep down but still not agreeing to it.
You could be in the best shape of your life, but your internal organs might be reacting to all the junk you feed it, the preservatives, the chemicals are taking toll and ruining your internal mechanism and the only way for you to set it right is by eating good and clean food.

Well, now the story…So, generally when I try a dish for the first time, its always an experiment and since I hate wasting food, I make sure the quantity is little. I made these kebabs and my little one was barely 4 years old. But, unlike most 4 year old, he had very strong taste buds and was very vocal about his food choices. So, Banjara tikka was served and he loved them, but since I had not made much, they finished faster than I could blink. My little one started throwing a tantrum for more and started crying when told that we didn’t have any more. That’s when I realized that I had some left over kebabs from previous day, which looked similar in color. I put them on the skewer the same way and got them to the dining table. He stopped crying, picked up the skewer, smiled but didn’t look too sure, so, he smelt it, Yes! you read it right, he smelt it and put it back saying,”its not the same kebab” and started crying again. We couldn’t stop laughing and I promised him to make the same kebabs for dinner the next day, which I did.

This dish is simple, it contains peanuts so you will have check for a substitute if you are allergic to nuts.

Chicken Baida Roti

Chicken baida roti is an easy and scrumptious dish that can be served as a snack or light lunch. Chicken stuffed in the roti, folded into a square and cooked until crispy. Chicken Baida is similar to Katlamma. Chicken keema cooked with the spices and stuffed in the paratha. Its great by itself, without any sides or serve it with chutney. It is an excellent kids lunch box option. The stuffing and dough can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator and make it into a parantha the next morning for a lovely school lunch. It makes an excellent Sunday/ holiday lunch for me. My kids and hubby love it. Even this is a favorite on play dates when my boys have their friends over. So make it, its easy and will be loved by all ages….

Chennai Chicken 65

This chicken is an inspiration from  my friend’s mother in law. My friend, originally belongs to Bihar and fell in love with a boy from Tamilnadu… “Ab Miyaan Biwi raazi to kya karega Kaazi”…which means , if the Bride and and Groom agree to get married, there isn’t much a priest can do…LOLzzz. Jokes aside, we were once invited to her house on lunch where her super awesome and super cook, mother in law made this dish.

I loved it and knew that it was completely different from the Andhra style. I tried hard to get the recipe but she preferred keeping it to herself. The only tip she gave was that she doesn’t fry the chicken before cooking it in yogurt sauce. That tip was more than enough to crack the whole recipe.

This recipe is easy to make and makes a lovely side dish. Its completely different in taste from the Andhra chicken 65. Its simply amazing how different recipes are from one state to another and both dishes are equally delicious.

Ammi’s Masaledaar Chicken

This recipe is a gift from Mr. Parveez…yupp!! You read it right. My blunder savior, my better half and I have a pact, according to which I never try cooking what he makes and vice versa. But this recipe was simple yet delicious that he had to share the recipe since it had to be made every other day in the house.

This recipe was invented by my husband, Muyeen. During his bachelor and happy days, he would do a lot of food experiments. This dish was one of those and the name comes after my mother in law’s home made masala that she invented for her famous daal.

This recipe is crowd pleaser and the flavors are so simple, yet so easy to impress a top class chef. For making this dish in more varieties, contact me.