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.
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
1/4 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...
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...
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