Grilled Coriander Chicken (and 8 Marinating mixes)

I love to marinate whole chicken breasts and then grill them to a juicy perfection to get flavor in every bite and enjoy the wholesome goodness of chicken. I have experimented with different kinds of marinating mixes and coriander marinade is one of them. Today I'm writing about the coriander marinade and how to prepare grilled coriander chicken and sharing various different marinade mixes. These marinade mixes can also be used for paneer or marinating vegetables to be grilled.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast: 1

For the marinade:

Yogurt: 1 cup
Salt to taste
Garam masala: 2 tsp.
Lemon juice: 2 tsp.
Coriander leaves (finely chopped): a handful

For the masala:

Cooking oil: 3 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Asafoetida: a pinch
Onion (sliced): 1
Tomato (chopped): 2
Ginger (grated): 1 inch
Green chilli (chopped): 1
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp.
Cumin powder: 1 tsp.
Coriander powder: 1 tsp.
Garam masala: 1 tsp.
Coriander leaves to garnish

1. Wash and clean the chicken breasts and make small cuts all over the surface of chicken. This is so that the marinade seeps in perfectly to produce the juicy flavor.
2. Now mix all the marinating ingredients in a big bowl and marinate the chicken in this mix, cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours. 
3. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees C for 10-15 minutes.
4. Oil the grill and keep the marinated chicken breasts over the grill and grill for 30 minutes at 150 degrees C. After 15 minutes do the knife test and if the knife comes out clean, turn off the oven and leave in the grilled chicken for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and keep aside.
5. While the chicken is grilling, we prepare the tomato masala bed. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and asafoetida. When they crackle, add the sliced onions and fry until the onions start to become transparent.
6. Add the tomatoes, ginger and green chilli and salt to taste and let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
7. Add all the dry spices: red chilli, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Mix well and let cook for another 2 minutes. Turn off the flame and take out in a serving dish.
8. Add the grilled chicken to this masala bed and garnish with coriander leaves and lemon wedges. Sprinkle black salt if required and serve !!

Now I will talk about the various kinds of marinades which I have used for grilling chicken. 

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA:

I have marinated the whole chicken breast and instead of the traditional way of grilling the chicken tikka on the skewers, this recipe is created by grilling the whole chicken breast and added to a basic curry masala. Get the recipe for chicken tikka masala here: Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

TANDOORI CHICKEN:

Tandoori Chicken is a popular North Indian dish: roasted chicken marinated with a mix of yogurt and spices and grilled in a cylindrical oven "tandoor".. Whole grilled chicken garnished with coriander leaves and lemon wedges and to be served with mint-coriander chutney. Get the recipe:

Tandoori Chicken Recipe

Mint-Coriander Chutney recipe

ACHAARI CHICKEN TIKKA:

This marinate mix is flavored with yogurt, pickle oil and pickling spices which gives a whole new dimension to the dish. This has become another favorite in my household after the tandoori chicken when it comes to grilling. Serve it just like that, smeared with lemon juice or prepare another side dish: Achaari coriander pulao with the remaining marinade mix. When you try this once, I bet you will want to eat this again and again. Get the recipe here:

Achaari Chicken Tikka Recipe

Achaari Coriander Pulao recipe

HARIYALI GRILLED CHICKEN:

As the name suggests, hariyali marinade is a mixture of greens: an abundance of mint and coriander. The marinade is prepared with mint and coriander leaves, ginger-garlic and lemon juice and grilled; then mixed with a spicy curry so it can be relished with rice and/or chappati (Indian flat bread). Get the complete recipe here:

Hariyali Grilled Chicken recipe

GRILLED CHICKEN JALFREZI:

In an attempt to do something different than the usual for grilling the chicken breasts, I came up with the idea of marinating the chicken with a spicy mix and a dash of kasoori methi for an added flavor, then preparing a different curry with freshly prepared garam masala and mixing in the juicy grilled chicken, topped with green chillis.. Get the recipe here:

Grilled Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe

TOMATO GRILLED CHICKEN:

Who would have thought that a marinade can be prepared from chopped tomatoes! Well that's what I experimented with and voila! it was a successful attempt. Grilled with the goodness of the tomato marinade and mixed with a flavorful base curry which is prepared with a lot of whole spices and fried whole baby onions; served with whole wheat roomali roti to make a lip-smacking meal. Get the recipes here:

Tomato Grilled Chicken Recipe

Wheat Roomali Roti Recipe

HASSELBACK CHICKEN IN TOMATO CURRY:

Well, I'm sure a lot of people prepare hasselback potatoes very often; so why not the same with whole chicken breasts? Hasselback chicken: marinated in a ginger-garlic paste with the added essence of mint and poppy seeds and added to a yogurt-tomato curry; and best served with whole wheat laccha paratha to make a complete, delicious and unforgettable meal. Get the recipe here:

Hasselback Chicken in Tomato Curry Recipe

Wheat Laccha Paratha Recipe

KOLHAPURI CHICKEN

Kolhapuri Chicken (Tambada Rassa) is usually prepared with mutton and I have prepared it with chicken instead. Also, instead of making a curry with chicken, I grilled the whole chicken breast. What's special in this dish is the use of a wonderful, aromatic, flavorful Kolhapuri Spice mix which is added to the base curry along with the use of many whole spices, making it a spicy dish: fireworks on your platter !! Get the recipe here: 

Kolhapuri Chicken Recipe

I hope this whole collection of marinating mixes will be useful. Please share feedback by leaving comments and if you love my recipes, don't forget to like my Facebook Page for regular recipe updates and join me on Pinterest. 

Mango Shrikhand

Today is a very special day in my life: today was the day I had met my husband for the first time, few years ago.. We celebrate this day: 17th July every year as a "first-met day". Even though both of us are not a fan of sweets and desserts, today's event calls for something sweet..

So I made this quick and easy dessert with fruit and it tasted heavenly.. The best part: this is a no cook, no bake dessert made with just minimum ingredients (and who doesn't love those food items which require minimal effort?)

Ingredients:

Mango: 1
Hung curd: 2 cups
Sugar to taste
Saffron strands: a few

1. Peel the mango and dice it. Add to the mixer and make a puree and take out in a bowl.
2. Take the hung curd in a big bowl (to mix everything easily) and slowly add the mango puree and mix well. You can use a hand whisk for the same. I have made this twice, once with hung curd and another time with creme fraiche and it came out wonderful. So you can use creme fraiche as well instead of yogurt, but comes out thicker when made with hung curd.
3. Add the sugar. Add sugar according to the sweetness of mango. If the mango is very sweet, add less and more if the mango is not that sweet. Mix everything well with a hand whisk (or simply with a stirring spoon or spatula).
4. Taste and adjust sugar accordingly and pour into the serving bowls. Decorate with saffron strands and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours. Serve chilled. 

Mint Egg Salad

Well, I must admit that I have never been a fan of salads. But I guess this is how it's always supposed to be. Life happens, we grow up and start loving salads (okay, not really loving but begin to be attracted towards salads, developing a relationship of sorts). I had never imagined that I could be eating salad for a main course !!

But well, what's the best time for eating just salads for lunch: cooling, refreshing salads other than hot summer days. This is the healthy salad I had for lunch with a glass of spiced buttermilk and trust me, I felt full and light, both at the same time.

Ingredients:

Boiled eggs: 2 How to make perfect hard boiled eggs
Green lettuce
Baby carrots: a few
Round red radish: 4-5
Cucumber (sliced in rounds): 1
Red cabbage
Mint leaves: a handful
Parsley leaves: a few for garnish
Rock salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Lemon juice to taste

1. Peel and halve the boiled eggs and place in a wide dish in which you will make the salad. 
2. Wash well the green lettuce and the red cabbage, chop and add to the dish.
3. Peel and wash the baby carrots, remove the tops and tails (if required) and add.
4. Add the cucumber and red radish. Add the mint leaves (I add whole so the whole salad has the wonderful minty flavor, but you can add chopped if required).
5. Garnish with parsley leaves (or any other greens) and grate one carrot above the salad. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice. Toss and enjoy !!

Breaking Stereotypes

India is a beautiful land of diversities: diversity in religion, language, culture, weddings, clothing, traditions, food and so much more. While everything has its positive and negative sides, the diversity of the country comes with something unwanted: stereotyping. From the beginning of time, there has been stereotyping people on the basis of color, sex, caste, religion, profession and what not. Being a woman, I myself have been stereotyped number of times in my country. It's high time our country and it's people need to break those stereotypes, so here's how to go about that. These images will prove that generalizing, assuming and stereotyping needs to stop and how we need to look at everyone as a unique individual with an identity.

All image credits: http://www.trulymadly.com//

Parsley Parippu Rasam

Ingredients:

Toor dal: 2 cups
Parsley leaves: a handful
Garlic (chopped): 3 cloves
Peppercorns: 1/2 tsp.
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp.
Turmeric: 1 tsp.
Asafoetida: a pinch
Green chilli (chopped): 1
Curry leaves: a few
Coriander seeds: 1 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.
Onion (chopped): 1
Tomato (chopped): 2
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp.
Sambhar masala: 1 tsp.
Tamarind paste: 2 tsp.

1. Wash and pressure cook the toor dal with salt and enough water and keep aside.
2. Grind together the following: parsley leaves, garlic, peppercorns, cumin seeds, green chilli, curry leaves and coriander seeds to a coarse paste and add turmeric and asafoetida to it and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan and crackle the mustard seeds. Add the onions and let fry until they are transparent. 
4. Add the ground masala in step 2. and mix everything and fry for about 2-3 minutes. 
   
5. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. 
   
6. Add red chilli powder and sambhar masala. Add the tamarind and mix everything well and let cook for another 2 minutes. 
7. Add this masala to the boiled dal and add 2-3 cups of water and bring to a boil on medium-high flame. Simmer for about 10-12 minutes to get the desired consistency and turn off the flame. Serve with idlis or dosa.

Recipe credit: Crackle and Temper (Parvathy V. Nair)

Original recipe link: https://crackleandtemper.wordpress.com/2014/11/12/parsley-parippu-rasam/

Sambhar Poha

Sambhar poha? Wondering what exactly is it? Well, even I was. I had never heard the name of this dish anywhere, let alone taste it. Yes, I do love sambhar with idlis, yes I do make various kinds of poha, but well, this recipe is a fusion of both.

How did it come into existence? I was talking to a dear friend one fine day and in the middle of the conversation she told me her daughter loves to eat "Sambhar Poha". What? Then she told me as her daughter loved the taste of sambhar and it was difficult for her to prepare idlis every time, she discovered this method of preparing this healthy Sambhar Poha..

I have no kids but I wanted to go ahead and try this recipe, and I totally loved it. It was a new addition to my poha collection. (Here's my poha collection: Poha Recipes). I skipped on to the veggies, you can skip or add as many veggies as you wish to.

Ingredients:

Poha (flattened rice): 3 cups
Cooking oil: 5 tsp.
Mustard seeds: 1 tsp.
Curry leaves: a few
Dried red chilli: 1
Onion (chopped): 1
Tomato (chopped): 1
Green chilli (chopped): 1
Potatoes (boiled): 1
Carrot (boiled): 1
Peas (boiled): a handful
Drumstick (optional)
Bottle Gourd (optional): chopped and boiled
French beans: a few (boiled)
Sambhar powder: 2 tsp.
Salt to taste
Tamarind paste: 1 tsp.

1. Run the poha under water in a colander so all the poha are wet uniformly and keep aside.
2. Boil all the vegetables separately and keep aside. I use frozen peas so I don't need to boil them, I add directly. Also I fry the potatoes instead of boiling. This is optional.
3. Heat oil in a pan on medium flame and crackle the mustard seeds. Add the curry leaves, peanuts (optional) and red chilli. 
4. Add the onions, let the onions cook and become transparent. Don't let them brown.
5. Add the potatoes (if you want to fry the potatoes instead of boiling, tastes better but takes little more time) and sprinkle salt. Let cook until the potatoes are done. This step is optional.
6. Add the tomato, green chilli and peas (if using frozen peas) and sprinkle salt (do not add salt if already added in step 4). Let cook until the tomatoes are soft. 
7. Add the chopped and boiled veggies and toss well into the masala. Add the sambhar masala and tamarind. Mix everything well so that all the veggies are coated in the masala and let cook for few minutes.
8. Add the poha and mix everything well. Let cook for another minute and turn off the flame. Sprinkle lemon juice (optional) and serve healthy dish. 

Kaju Murgh

Kaju Murgh: A chicken delicacy with the use of whole spices with the richness of cashew nuts and simmered in a basic onion tomato gravy with the added dimension with the addition of yogurt, topped with fried cashews for a rich culinary experience: now, who can resist these delicious bites which can be served both with chappati (Indian flatbread) and plain rice.

Ingredients:

Chicken: 300 gm
Cooking oil: 3 tsp.
Sesame seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Fenugreek seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Coriander seeds: 1/2 tsp.
Bay leaf: 1
Onions (sliced): 2
Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tsp.
Tomato (chopped): 2
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder: 1 tsp.
Cashew nuts: a handful
Yogurt: 1/2 cup
Garam masala: 1 tsp.
Kasoori methi: 1/2 tsp.

1. Save a few cashew nuts for the garnish and soak the rest of the cashews in warm water. 
2. Lightly toast the cashews for garnish and keep aside.
3. Heat oil on medium flame and add the whole spices: sesame seeds, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds and bay leaf.
4. Add the onions after 30 seconds. Mix well and fry until the onions turn transparent. 
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry well until the raw smell goes away. 
6. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle salt. Let cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy. By the time drain the water from the soaked cashews and grind them in a coarse paste and keep aside.
7. Add the black pepper powder to the masala and the cashew paste. Mix well and let cook for another minute.
8. Add the yogurt and mix well. Add the chicken pieces and a little water (you can add more water if serving this with rice). Cover the pan and let cook for 15 minutes. 
9. Remove cover and stir well. Let cook opened for a few minutes and add the garam masala and kasoori methi. Mix well and cover again. Turn off the flame.
10. Let sit for about 10 minutes and remove cover. Garnish with the toasted cashews and serve.