A Couple Dalwadi BBQ Recipes

Warning:  All of the recipes in this post are vegetarian.

  Now that I have gotten that out of the way; Everyone, say hello to Mock Meat.

Everyone loves the spice we add to the mock meats at our bbqs and we have great time creating the new and interesting recipes.  If you are appalled that I am using mock meat instead of "the real thing" then I would first ask you to try the mock before you......well mock.  Feel free to use real chicken or lamb if the taste doesn't agree with you.  I did change the recipe to make it easier on you guys.  Instead of using a tandoori paste I add all of the different ingredients in the paste fresh.  I also use Indian food coloring (a powder not liquid). These recipes do require you to do some advance cooking because of the marination time required.  I actually prefer this because you already have so much to do for a BBQ anyway, right?  I welcome the extra time on the day of the event.  You may be wondering why I am calling it an event. BBQs are supposed to be relaxing and chill, right?  Well, in my experience it hasn't been that way.  People hear about it and just show up and it slowly becomes a madhouse.  Yes, it is that good.  Don't believe me?  Try it for yourself.  (And when you do don't forget to post a response.)

Note: The serving size is for 2 people. Increase as you see fit.

 Mock Chicken Marinade- Tandoori Style

• 1 Onion ground into a paste - so the chicken doesn't dry up on grill
• 1 tbsp tandoori paste - shortcut to the recipe
• 4 tbsp yogurt - adds the correct consistency
• 1/2 cup oil - so the chicken doesn't stick to the grill
• 2 tbsp fresh and grated serrano peppers - cuz we like it hot
• 1/2 cup dry cilantro (you can find this in costco)
• Mock Chicken
• Chaat masala
• 2-3 lemons or lemon juice

Directions:

This is a much easier version of what I made. I am sure you will play with the recipe a bit, so let me warn you of one ingredient. I love fresh garlic, but i would only use garlic powder here. The one lesson I learned here is that fresh garlic will make your marinade extremely bitter. So no fresh garlic.

1. Mix the first six items in a bowl. 
2. Taste and make sure you are happy with the taste. 
3. Add the chicken and massage the ingredients in well. 
4. Put the mixture in a ziploc bag and put it in the fridge.
5. If you can marinade the chicken overnight. Otherwise a minimum of 2 hrs.
   Foil your grill. Spread oil generously with oil. Since this is mock meat you have to keep a close eye on it. Once cooked ( a little charred) sprinkle with chaat masala and fresh lemon.

Lamb Skewers

• 1 tbsp garlic spread seasoning
• 1 tbsp red chilli pepper (lal mirch)
• 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 3 tbsp oil
• Pineapple chunks (not in syrup)
• Mock lamb
• Skewers soaked in water

Directions:

1. Put the lamb chunks and pineapple chunks in a bowl. 
2. Sprinkle rest of the 4 ingredients and sort of massage or rub the ingredients into the lamb. 
3. Put the mixture into a ziploc bag and marinade overnight. 
4. Soak the skewers in water at least 30 mins so it doesnt burn on the grill. 
5. Skewer the pineapple and lamb alternatively.
6. Place on the grill and watch very closely cause it can burn very easily. I usually just stick it in the oven.

Roasted Poblano and Corn Soup

You ever open the fridge at dinner time and realize you have no ingredients to make a proper dinner? Hmmm...Or do you? I made this soup tonight and it was just as easy as it was yummy.  I'll admit the ingredients were sparse, but I made it work.  I also had some biscuits in the frozen so I flavored 1/4 tbsp of butter (room temperature) with thyme, salt, red chilli powder, set it on top of the biscuits and popped them in the oven. No, I'm not being lazy.  We are going out of town for a few days so we decided not to go grocery shopping this week.  Tonight we feasted on some good 'ole comfort food:  Soup and Biscuits.

 

Special Tools:  Food processor or blender, paper napkin

 

Ingredients:

• 1 Poblano pepper
• 2 cups corn
• 2.5 cups vegetable Broth
• 2 tbsp Creamy Alfredo sauce
• 2 tbsp grated garlic

 

Directions:

 

1. Rinse and dry the Poblano pepper.  Roast the pepper over a mild flame until it is charred like this:
2. After you roast the pepper, immediately wrap it in a paper napkin and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, set the broth to boil on a medium flame and add the garlic.
4. Combine the corn and the creamy alfredo sauce in the mixer of your choice and pulse for one minute.
5. Unwrap and de-seed the pepper. Chop coarsely and add to mixer.  Pulse for another minute.
6. Add one or two ladles of the broth and pulse for a minute more.
7. Remove the broth from the heat.
8. Add the mixure to the broth and return to a medium flame.
9. Simmer for 30 minutes.
10. Pour the soup into the mixer again and puree.

Serves 2-3.

 

If you are pressed for time, skip roasting the poblano pepper. Just de-seed it, coarsely chop it and add it to the mixer. Oh and I almost forgot, here are the biscuits I made (ok I just pulled them out of the frozen, but still they look pretty so i had to post them)

 

 

Yum!

Vegetable Manchurian

I first learned how to make vegetable manchurian from my bhabhie (cousin's wife). I didn't make it for a few years and then wound up seeing another recipe from a famous Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor.  I took tips from my bhabhie and tips from chef SK and added a couple ingredients to come up with another version.  A couple changes I made were adding lal mirch (dry red chilli powder) and maida (all purpose flour) to the manchurian balls. I did experiment with corn flour (only because my I remember my dad adding corn flour to everything he fried), but it made the balls too tough and non-absorbent.  You can also add shredded beet to get a red color in the balls.  We Indians love color and spice in our foods. I also used vegetable broth and some soy sauce instead of a thick stir-fry sauce.  I felt the taste of the stir-fry sauce was a bit over-powering and VERY high in sodium.  Do me a favor, please.  Although I am pretty happy with my new tried and tested version, I would love for you to test this recipe in your kitchen and give me your feedback.  This will help me become a better cook.  The recipe is as follows:



Ingredients:

1 Bag of  3 Color Deli Coleslaw (a mix of purple cabbage, green cabbage and carrot and can be found in the produce section of your grocery store)
1 Serrano pepper
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Cup all purpose flour
1 Cup cornstarch
2 Tsp lal mirch (dry red chilli powder)
Salt to taste
2 Cups vegetable broth
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Diced onion
1/2 bell pepper
2 Tbsp grated garlic
Oil for deep frying
Optional: Finely chopped green onion for garnishing

Special Tools: Electric Chopper

Directions:

1. Grind the coleslaw very finely (be sure not to turn it into a paste)
2. When you are grinding your last batch (since all of the coleslaw may not fit in all at once) add a chopped serrano pepper.
3. Empty the grinded coleslaw into a large bowl.
4. Remove 1/2 cup of the slaw for the sauce/gravy.
5. Add the lal mirch, 1/2 of the cornstarch, and salt. Massage the ingredients into the cabbage and mix well.
6. Cover the mix and place on the side while you prepare the sauce/gravy. This is done to give the cabbage time to release water.
7. In a saucepan heat 2 tbsp oil on medium heat.
8. Saute the garlic for just 10-15 seconds
9. Fry the 1/2 cup of coleslaw until golden brown.
10. Add the chopped onion and bell pepper and saute until soft.
11. Add soy sauce.
12. Add the broth.
13. In a small bowl mix some broth and the remaining cornstarch to create a thin paste and then add that to the broth. Mix well.
14. Set the sauce on a side burner to simmer covered while you prepare the balls.
15. Start to heat the oil to a medium heat. Overheating will cause the balls to be raw on the inside.
16. While the oil is pre-heating bring out the coleslaw mix. There should be enough water released from the cabbage to give the batter the right consistency.
17. Add the all purpose flour and mix well to create a thick and lumpy batter.
18. Using a spoon (or your hand if you are Indian) drop teaspoons of batter into the oil.  Only drop 2-3 a time because they will stick together and form one big ball if you aren't careful.
19. Your gravy/sauce should have thickened very nicely by now.  Add the balls and simmer for 10-15 more minutes so the balls can absorb some of the gravy.
20. Garnish with chopped green onion and serve hot with noodles or steamed rice.

Calamaretti Pasta in a Corn Cream sauce

Did you know you can buy cheap pasta at Ross or Marshalls or TJ Max?  Neither did I until I wandered off from the shoe section to the home goods section.  That's what happens when you become a wife, I suppose.  I bought big 18-20 ounce packets of all different types of  all organic wheat pastas (this is the only healthy aspect of this recipe). Some were even zucchini, spinach, and beetroot infused and I bought these all for just $2 per packet. The lady at the check-out counter gave me this quizzical look and asked me what I was going to do with the Calamaretti pasta and I told her I was vegetarian and I was going to.... And that was as far as I got.  She waved me off and said, "Oh okay honey," as if she felt sorry for me.  That is what you get for being a vegetarian in the deep south.

I chose to use the XXL calamaretti pasta because I was making a very creamy sauce.  Why is this significant? Calamaretti pasta is a very thick pasta and is commonly used in creamy sauces. I was inspired to use corn basically because I had some corn on the cob in the fridge that needed to be used.  Here is the recipe that I did not get off of the internet.




Ingredients:

• 8 ounces  uncooked calamaretti pasta
• 2 corn on the cobs or 1 1/2 cup frozen corn (thawed)
• 2 cups vegetable broth (I used vegetable buillion cubes since it is not sold in my area)
• 5 tbsp cream cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp fresh garlic grated
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp italian seasoning (basil, oregano, thyme)
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce (If you want more spice add chilli flakes. Adding more sriracha will change the taste and color of the pasta sauce.)

 

Note: you will need a chopper or blender of some sort for this recipe. Like this one:

Directions:

1. Put the pasta to boil first as it will take about 20-25 minutes to cook.
2. Meanwhile, cut the corn off of the cob and drop it into the chopper and grind until it becomes a soft and malleable consistency.
3. Add 1 cup of broth, cream cheese, italian seasoning and sriracha sauce and blend well in the chopper.
4. Pour the remaining broth into a stainless steel pot and bring it to a boil.
5. Add the garlic and turn of the stove.
6. Add the mixture to the hot broth and stir until the broth and corn mixture are one.
7. Turn the heat back on and simmer covered for 15 minutes or until you are happy with the thickness/consistency.
8. Drain the pasta and toss with the cream sauce. (The pasta will have a bite to it)
9. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top and serve along with breadsticks (recipe below).

Doesn't that look just sinfully delicious?

Breadsticks recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of puff pastry defrosted
• garlic paste
• italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp butter (room temperature)
• Optional: Red chilli flakes or grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Unfold the pastry and brush with butter liberally.
3. Spread garlic paste.
4. Sprinkle italian seasoning and/or optional toppings.
5. Take a pizza cutter and cut into 1/2 inch strips.
6. Place on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Spicy Egg, Potato and Cheese Puffs

I still had another sheet of puff pastry and I was itching to use it again in another recipe.  Why the facination with puff pastry?  I guess because it is an open canvas.  I can put anything I want in it and I am confident that the end result will be delicious.  What if it isn't delicious as I promised?  Simply toss out the additives you thought would transform this already perfect pastry and eat the pastry all by itself.  Simple.  Here is a recipe that I used to make a simple, yet filling breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 1 puff pastry sheet
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1 small potato
• 3 tablespoons canned tomatoes and peppers (Rotel brand works the best for me. You can buy mild, Original or Hot according your taste.)
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon oil

Directions:

1. Thaw the puff pastry.  This usually takes about 40 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
3. Wash and put the small potato in the microwave to bake it.
4. Meanwhile mix the eggs, cheese, and canned tomatoes and peppers in a bowl.
5. Put the oil into a skillet and cook the egg mixture in a skillet to make scrambled eggs.
6. Peel the potato and cut it into cubes
7. Once the eggs are cooked toss the potato with the scrambled eggs
8. Sprinkle the cayenne pepper and salt
9. Remove from heat.

Now to fill the puffs....

• The puff pastry sheets are conveniently divided into three sections.  All you have to do is run a pizza cutter right through the center giving you 6 even pieces to work with. 
• Place two tablespoons of the filling in the middle of the pastry.
• Now take both sides of the pastry and pinch them together to close the pastry leaving the sides open.  Be sure to create a thick (1/4 of an inch) seam because it will rise and open the seam a bit.
• Place the filled puffs on a baking sheet
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Note: If you feel the dough is still raw then just lower the temperature and bake for about 10-15 more minutes.  This all depends on your oven.

Savory Spinach Pastries

So I was strolling through the aisles of Wal-Mart (No, I have nothing better to do. I live in Selma, AL. 'Nuff said.) and I saw a box of puff pastry.  My mom used to bake puff pastry biscuits for us and those memories prompted me to put a box in my shopping cart. I love puff pastry because there are so many ways to prepare it.  I chose a savory recipe to go along with the pasta I made that day.  Here is a quick recipe that I found on the back of the box with some of my alterations. 

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet of Fillo Pastry (1/2 packet)
• 1 package of frozen spinach defrosted and drained of water
• 1 green onion
• Garlic powder
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese - grated
• 1/2 cup mozzerella or muenster cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp water

Directions:

1. 
   
   Preheat oven to 400
2. 
   
   Thaw the puff pastry which takes abt 40 mins.
3. 
   
   Mix the egg and water in a small bowl
4. 
   
   Mix the onion, garlic powder and cheeses in a bowl
5. 
   
   Open the puff pastry sheet carefully and brush it with the egg.
6. 
   
   Sprinkle the cheese mixture evenly
7. 
   
   Sprinkle the spinach evenly
8. 
   
   Roll it up as tightly as you can starting from the shortest side of the puff pastry square. You may want to put the roll in the frozen for about 15 minutes to firm it up. This will make it easier to slice through the roll.  If you don't and the slices start to flatten as you cut them, you can still fix the shape on the baking sheet.  They still turn out beautiful.  I had that problem and look how mine turned out!
9. 
   
   Cut 1/2 inch slices.... and place on baking sheet.
10. 
    
    Brush slices with egg mixture
11. 
    
    Cook for 15-20 minutes

So easy! For my strict vegetarians out there you can try using evaporated milk, as Aisha did suggested. Otherwise, it will taste  dry and flaky.

Pav Bhaji - Lahri Style

This brought back so many memories of dirty stalls and great food.  We used to joke that the food wouldn't be as tasty if the sweat of the cook and dirty hands didn't fall into the food.  A joke is all it is because the pav bhaji I made from this recipe I found online made my senses take a trip back home.  I added no sweat and it was made in my squeaky clean kitchen. This recipe takes some stamina with all the mashing and stirring and heat exposure, but it is definitely worth it.  Since I didn't deviate from the recipe much I am going to just post a link to the video I found online from ifood.tv. 

I would add green beans to the recipe however because after all the work it tasted a lot like spiced mashed potatoes.  So boil some green beans and mash those in there as well.  If you are worried about portion size then omit a potato.  I know you want to pull out your food processor for this, but all the smashing over the hot flame really does make a difference.




Here is the link: http://www.ifood.tv/recipe/pav_bhaji

And here is the recipe from the site:

Ingredients:

Pav/Bun : 8

Bell Pepper : 1 (big)
Potatoes : 2 (big)
Peas : Half a cup
Green Beans : Half a cup I would double this amount.
Cauliflower : Half a cup
Onions : 2 (big)
Tomatoes : 3 (big)
Red Chilly Powder : 2 tsp
Turmeric Powder : a pinch
Pav Bhaji Masala : 2 tbsp
Asafetida : a pinch
Vegetable oil : 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Butter : 1 stick
Ginger-Garlic Paste : 2 tbsp
Lemon : 2
Coriander leaves
Fenugreek  leaves

How to make Pav Bhaji

The recipe given here is more in-house cooking friendly whereas the video is a little different and depicts the way Pav Bhaji is made in stalls. I made it using the technique that I saw on the video.


To make the Bhaji:

1. Clean and cut the vegetables. Pressure cook them (except tomatoes). Peel the potatoes. Drain the vegetables and keep aside.
2. Finely chop the onions and tomatoes.
3. Heat a pan. Add oil and heat till smoky. Add asafetida (optional) and stir. Add chopped onion and sauté until it turns light golden brown. Then add ginger-garlic paste. Fry for a while, then add tomatoes and cook till they become tender.
4. Sprinkle turmeric powder and stir. Add red chilly powder, salt and pav-bhaji masala and cook till the mixture acquires a rich, roasted colour.
5. Now add all the vegetables and start mashing. Keep mashing and stirring till the mixture becomes an inconsistent paste. Add chopped coriander leaves and squeeze one lemon. Again, mix and mash. Once the mixture becomes a mush and no ingredients are recognizable, add fenugreek leaves and mix well. The bhaji is ready. (Important : You must keep mashing the vegetables all the while. Keep adding water from time to time to allow the mixture to cook and to prevent it from sticking to the pan)

For Pav (Bread):

Slit the pavs/buns horizontally. Heat 1 tbsp of butter. Add finely chopped coriander leaves, a pinch of red chilly powder and 1 tsp of pav bhaji masala. Saute for 15-20 secs. Roast the horizontally slit pavs/buns (8 in no.) in the pan so that they soak the butter and masala and become soft.

To serve:

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, onion and a lemon wedge. Add a blob of butter to the bhaji.