Barbeque - A Trial by Fire

We came back from Easter holidays (a mere 4 days) to find the season had turned a new leaf..literally. The tree visible from our living room window had sprouted pink flowers. The ones next to nearby bus stop had white ones. From a distance they look like a painter has laboured to put the dots on each branch to make them look like flowers. The day light saving in UK makes the weather changes very sudden. One evening you might be walking back home in dim sunlight and the next day you can feel the warmth of the sun when you are cooking dinner. Ok agreed I am exaggerating a bit...but you would have to agree it is only a bit :-). Our friends had come back from India and other trips and there was a serious need to meet and catch-up. The last weekend was fixed and we trooped over to the edges of Cotswold countryside to enjoy the sun. I have stayed in bungalows for the first 22 years of my life. And then Bombay happened to me. And I got used to perching on the top of high-rise buildings and sharing walls with strangers. The trend continues here as well. Much as I liked independent houses, the practicalities of keeping it clean and security makes us opt for flats. So whenever given a chance we love the country cottage feel of our friend’s dwellings.

It is officially summer, although the nip in the air sometimes doesn’t make you feel that way, so we decided have a barbeque. It meant we girls would actually not be in kitchen all the time trying to outdo each other with newest tried recipes. It was the first time we were trying the ritual of barbeque. We had heard of the basics and rest was left to google. The first attempt to fire up the coal resulted in a smoke so bad, it might have rivalled the one spurted by the unpronounceable (I am glad there are difficult things to pronounce in the world than my name) volcano in Iceland. Ok.. not that much..but certainly qualified for a complaint from the neighbour, if only they were not doing a barbeque as well.


Frantic search through google (how did we ever survive before it!!!) and few fixes later things were manageable and it looked like we were going to get lunch after all. Not just charred pieces of coal.

The veggies grill section certainly looked more colourful than the non veg. We did end up with more variety than a normal lunch.

Pineapple with cinnamon, olives, corn on the cob accompanied by at least 4 different dips, there was a lot going on. At the end of it all we had eaten so much that I could compare myself with a python and empathize with what the beast might feel after eating many times than what it can digest in one day. And my behaviour resembled one too. We all of us didn’t probably move much than the positions we took in the living room after this assault. While the stomach got to work, rest of the body just gave up. But it was a great first time barbeque and I hope will be followed up by many more.

There is no recipe this time. It is more of the experience that I wanted to share. One of the chicken was murg malai tikka which I have already shared as my post ‘Heaven on Earth’. The other chicken tikka is a shortcut. Chicken marinated with yoghurt and Everest Chicken Masala.Yes thats it. Things can be so simple. Thought I must admit I didn’t like using the ready made masala. I have come to take pride in my own preparations. But I am glad I did. Because the time saved was well enjoyed with friends. So we had two marinades a white and a red. And there were batches of paneer and chicken both marinated in them.

All then we had to do was get them skewered and grilled over the barbeque.


The barbeque allowed our better halves almost equal participation in the cooking process and I am happy to say, they did the job well. The sun shone down fiercely from above while the coal flames licked the dripping chicken and paneer pieces and turned them succulent. The grilled fare was stuff of dream. The smokey undertone to the tikkas poked our tastebuds and the subtle spices of the marinade tingled the palate. I guess this is how some food critic might have written if they would have reviewed our barbeque. For us it just tasted good enough to eat.

I would have taken a proper picture of the food if only it survived longer than 10 minutes after coming off the heat. So there are no finished products to show :-)

A small ode to barbeque.

The Barbecue

When summer evenings are nice and hot,
The thing to do is find a spot,
Where a barbecue can be set up,
So everyone can come and sup,
Relax with a bottle, and sit for a spell
Which would be really nice and would end the day well,
And enjoy the light hearted, cheerful chatter,
With friends, who to you, truly matter.
Right! The table's set, the flares are lit,
The music should be a real hit
The friends have arrived, the drink if flowing,
Laughter starts, the barbecue's glowing,
The cooking has started, the aroma's divine,
Everyone is getting along fine,

Not original but a google search. I have copied part of the poem but you could read the full version here http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-barbecue/

Heaven on Earth

I had once read a book, Five people you meet in heaven. It had one very interesting concept. It said there is no heaven beyond the clouds. Heaven is on earth. A very big statement to make. But it made sense when thought about it. Every human being has his/her own thoughts, beliefs, likes, dislikes and experiences. In experiences alone an individual becomes that, an individual rather than the mass, the crowd. That being the case, is it too difficult to assume that we each have our own concept of heaven. For me heaven might mean lying on green grass with the blue sky above me with my favourite books around me to read. Would not mind a few good savouries to nibble on while I enjoy the stories. This might be someone’s nightmare for all I know!!. For Scrat from Ice Age it may be the place with nuts.

How can God or the Supreme Being (whichever way you address the universal power of universe) construct a heaven which satisfies the fantasies of the billions inhabiting the Earth. It would be a very difficult task. After sweating over creating earth and earthlings for seven whole days, I doubt He (no offence to people who think I should write She) would like the task of replicating it for creating heaven. Nor do I think He/She would also like to share the existing heaven with us. It would have been built to his specifications anyways. So the idea would not have been far away, that why not make earth the heaven. And how to judge what should be heaven on earth? It could be the places we are happiest. Is it not this feeling of happiness that we want from heaven, increased manifold? So if there was a moment in our life when we were truly ecstatic, I would like to believe we would be coming back to that. In today’s world of customized offering, is it any wonder that God might give each one of us a Customized heaven. It is a marketing solution no one can argue against!!!

Once I had thought all this, I felt very comforted. So when I am going to heaven (it may take quite a while according to Hindu Scriptures and my current behaviour), it is going to be the best place ever. And most importantly I am sure I am going to love it, because I would have been there before. Visiting a new place anyways has a factor of unknown attached to it. What if you didn’t like heaven? Well know we can be rest assured we are going to like it. Finally one can die in peace.

So if I sit down to draw the specifications of My Heaven...I can end up either in Dehradun or Konigsee. Though Mureen and Kanassar would figure close seconds. So much for the place...food would have to form a big part of the place as well. What would I want to have in heaven? That’s a difficult choice. A very very difficult one. Phuchka (better known as goluppa or panipuri) should definitely be there. What else...I guess a chicken tikka with lots of onions (more about onions another day). There is this chicken tikka which is called Murg Malai Kebab, which would be quite perfect to have in the wonderful settings of my heaven. The first time I can recall eating it was in Ranjit ka Dhabba, a Punjabi restaurant in a small suburb of Mumbai. But the best I have eaten is in Hyderabad. In Sahib Sindh Sultan. This restaurant is a tribute to Sahib, Sindh and Sultan the three engines which pulled the first train in India. It has waiters dressed as porters and maitre-de dressed as ticket collector. There is a whole coach of train waiting on the actual rails to serve as a dining car. Very very realistically made, with a hat left in the luggage rack overhead or an odd suitcase. The menu is named creatively like laughpathgamini bhatti ka tikka and lipta mushroom masala :-). For details check out this link (don’t go weak in your stomach)
http://www.foodiebay.com/ncr/restaurants/gurgaon/ambience-mall/sahib-sindh-sultan-2428#menutop
They had this Reshmi Murg tikka, and it melted in my mouth. It was so subtle and so soft that the moment you put it in your mouth, it dissolved with a sensation of something exotic. I never thought I could recreate that at home. Until a few days ago, i felt the urge to have it again. I looked at various recipes and then finally ended up with an amalgamation of what i thought would work best. The result was awesome. It might not be exactly what I had at Sahib, sind Sultan , but it was a close second. And more importantly now I had the POWER.. to eat it whenever I wanted.
So here I share with you my taste of heaven :-)
Enjoy and let me know if it can be perfected still.

Murg Malai Kebab (Reshmi Murg Tikka)

Ingredients
1/4 kgs chicken breast
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 pinch pepper pdr

1 Green chilli (add more depending on how spice you like it)
1cup coriander leaves
A pinch cardamom pdr
2 tbsp cheese
1 tbsp curd thick
1 tbsp Oil(optional)
1 pinch salt


Cut chicken breast to bite size pieces and remove any water from from by patting with a paper towel.
Mix it with pepper powder, squeezed ginger garlic paste. Keep aside for about half an hour. I generally did not time it so strigently. I started making the second marinade after this and let it soak till it the next step was done.

The second marination is the key. This is what will make the murg malai kebab distinct. Start by kneading some grated cheese by hand to make a paste . I used mozzarella. You could any, though not the ones with lots of flavor.
Add curd (biopot set yougurt works very well) and double cream. Make sure you knead out all the lumps. I think it is necessary to do this by hand because in food processor it will not be so thoroughly done.
Make a paste of chilli and coriander. I used mortal and pestle as I didn’t want to use water to make the paste.
Add that to the cheese /curd paste along with salt,oil(optional),cardamom pdr and mix well .

Marinate the chicken with this marination and put in the fridge. Now is the trick. Marinate it overnight. Yes you would need to silence the insistence of the heart to taste it…and let the marinade seep in overnight.

Next day put the pieces on to a skewer and put in the grill. You could do this in oven also. I would update this if I ever try it with oven. But grill has worked for me as of now.
It would take just 20-30 mins for it to be done on both sides.

Enjoy with some green chutney and onions.
There you have my taste of heaven on earth. And would love to know what is heaven for you on earth...

A toast to friendship

There are days when you are so happy that you want to share...with everybody and anybody. Today is one such day. My best friend is expecting a. It may not be so normal to experience such huge joy for someone else addition to family. But I do ..I feel it so fervently..I wish I could whiz by the oceans and landmass separating us to just give her a hug. Fifteen years is a long time. And we are still best friends. Glancing back there are so many memories. When I sometimes acknowledge the speed with which life has changes in past few decades, it is these old school memories of mine which are a comforter.
They were the days on edge of innocence. And I am glad to say I weathered it well. Without becoming bad and cynic. Well bad is a very subjective word anyways. But at least my parents never felt I was becoming wayward. I was blessed with a good bunch of friends with share passion and interests. And that is perhaps the reason we have stayed such good friends. With them i realize that you do not need to talk everyday, share every bit to remain friends. Beyonds oceans and distances, if we school friends talk over phone or exchange one email..it is like old times.
We went our separate ways after school. But there was a reunion, 5 years later. And what a riot it was. We were 6-7 of us back for 3 days in the same surrounding we had spend four best years of our lives. Those three days are a real treasure for me now. We gossiped into the early hours of the morning, lunched at our old school canteen and drove into the mountains. In some ways the days whizzed by and in others they are so full of memories that they feel stretched out. I am just glad that it happened. And now the second one from that group is going bring another life into this world. It is incredible and yet so commonplace.

I may go on rambling in this manner without thinking that few of you might be waiting for the recipe. Well since we are talking all baout friends today, let me share one recipe from a friend of mine(from another four fun filled years of graduation), who has inspired me to start cooking cakes again.

About 7-8 years back I used to make cake. At the time i didn’t even know how to cook tea, i cooked cake. The reason being it did not involve going near the stove/gas. My father feared my I would leave the outlet open or something of the sort. But fortunately we had a solar cooker. So you see we were doing your bit for environment at a time when global warming was not a buzzword. Though I have to admit , my mother didn’t have the patience to cook a full meal in solar cooker. She wanted to get the cooking bit finished in one go. Not wait for 30 mins for the lentils to boil, another 30 for them to cook with seasoning. So it was in this neglected solar cooker that I started making cakes. I cannot remember who taught, perhaps would have been another friend :-). But I would beat the cake batter to death (there were no whisking attachments in mixers those days) and just pour and put the tin in the solar cooker. And rest all was left to nature. And what wonderful cakes they were turned into. IT was a source of pride for me..and a consolation for my mother to know all was not lost and I may cook a square meal for myself someday :-). And then I left home for further studies, the solar cooker was damaged in transfer from one city to another and hence came to end my cake baking madness.
Until this fateful new year’s eve. I had this cake and the dormant craving for cake reared its head again.

So herez to FRIENDSHIP!!!

Banana Cake

Ingredients
3 medium bananas
300 g self-raising flour
150 g soft butter
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
150 g soft brown sugar or can be normal castor sugar as well. Brown one gives a better look
2 medium eggs


Put all the butter and oil in a bowl and microwave it for a couple of minutes.
Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork until they are like pulp. I guess you could use the food processor as well.
Place the butter and brown sugar into a mixing bowl and blend together with a fork.
Add the Flour to it.Mix the banana pulp into it.
Line a baking tin with baking parchment or just grease it.
Pour in the mixture
The Gas should have been headed on mark 6 for 20 mins (I am not sure what temp that would be..but what works for normal cakes in your oven would work for this was well)
Put the tin in the oven.
Approx baking time is 30-40 mins.

The trick as my friend told me was to mix it all with a fork while making a figure of eight. that is the best way to incorporate air into the mixture.

So here is the toast to friendship...with a banana cake.