BBQ chicken

Its been a while since i last wrote. Extremely busy, kids school coming to an end, friends having way too many parties, kids graduating, husbands graduating, birthdays, akikas, community events and for no reason lunch days.  Talk about stay at home mom no longer being called that.  How about stay in van mom that's more like it.  My family has been complaining that i make way too much desi foods and everything is super spicy and so decided that may be i should make some good bbq chicken.So Isra says:   "mama no please you always put too much spices and it gets all dry and sometimes we have the chicken at other peoples homes and its red and spicy. Can you please not make it please". Sheesh talk about trauma.  So, i had to conjure up something, i went on the Internet and did a little research.  All i found was vinegar, chicken seasoning and garlic. Or vinegar and tandoori masala, or chicken tikka masala or chiken bhun masala (what the heck is that)?
So, basically even when i went to those independent blog spaces i read you need vinegar and some sort of spice mix.  Why is that i wonder.  I am totally against spice mixes i just cant get myself to get them, i have tried and tested them but they are too salty or too "flavorful" cant describe  it like eating a bag of flavored chips. I dont know so yeah  i decided to experiment. Common ingredient being vinegar ( must be to tenderize the meat) salt,garlic,  (one cannot conjure up a concoction without it). No chili but maybe a little bit black pepper....

10 pieces of chicken (legs, thighs, breast pieces)
1 cup of vinegar
1/2 cup of oil
2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1 tsp of turmeric
2 tsp of black pepper powder
1 tsp cardamon powder
3 tsp of garam masala -
(1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp of cumin seeds, 1 tsp corriander seeds,1/4 tsp black cumin, 1 tsp of black pepper, a few cardamom pods 5-6, cloves 3-4: roast them on a hot pan and grind them in a coffee grinder)
1/4 cup of dried mint
4 tsp of garlic powder
(i know the rule is not too many spices but please no spices no flavor and besides most of the ingredients burn off into the bbq anyways)

marinade the chicken for at least an hour or preferably overnight)

brush the grill with oil than place the pieces on the grill turning it only when its half way done so you get the cool grill marks on the chicken ;)

Remove the chicken when it is done.  The chicken has to be juicy and not dry.


Here is the chicken and the spices i threw on and yes that is a knife, its a very real family practice of ours that instead of scoring each individual piece of chicken, we violently stab all the pieces at once several times.  Its strangely therapeutic. Ive seen my sister in law do it and she scares me sometimes (lol). However she does make the best bbq chicken marinade might i add.




Here it is all mixed up

So, sorry i couldnt take the picture of the finished product, it was mercilessly devoured by my family.



Options

• You can eat with potatoes, by itself, rice whatever.  Tonight i just removed the chicken off the bone than i added some good BBQ sauce and some mayonnaise.  Mixed it up and put in a hamburger bun. 
• You can also add sumac on it before serving
• Brush it with some good BBQ sauce before removing it from the grill 
• Make BBQ pizza by getting some good pizza bread spread some BBQ sauce add chicken and some good cheese melt it and eat it. (maybe add mushrooms, bell pepper onions go crazy its your pizza)
• Get some romaine lettuce chop it fine, add some grilled corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, chopped red onions and BBQ chicken with BBQ sauce. Than dress it with good ranch dressing. BBQ chicken salad!!!

Hope this was to your liking. Please enjoy and use good manners.

Kadhahi gosht

As per requested by  one of my bachelor cousins I have decided to do one more indigestion causing dish that we  all love and order at the Indian restaurant.  I guess after you serve this dish you can always pass around a small dish of Tums as after dinner mints.  They have mint flavored Tums too.  Kadahi Gosht is a very popular dish, it is of course made in a karahi (which is a type of Wok) and is usually served in those cute little woks with a very round bottom. I know I should be posting more healthy dishes but I do what I can to help the ones in need.  Plus I do enjoy making these recipes because after all it’s all about the flavors the food and the enjoyment of it all.  I as many of my friends follow the moderation diet where we eat well but only in moderation. 

Kadahi Gosht

1lb lamb meat 

1 ½ tsp salt (or to your desire)

1 tsp red chili powder (again you can add more)

¼ tsp turmeric powder

1tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp garam masala

¼ tsp fennel seed or 1 star anise

1 tblsp methi or fenugreek leaves

2 onions chopped fine 

3 tblsp yogurt

2 large tomatoes

1 bell pepper

Marinate the meat in all the spices

In a wok (or if you don’t have a wok don’t panic you can use a pot)

Add in oil then onions, sauté them until they are brown.  Add in the tomatoes and the marinated meat.  Add in the fennel seeds or 1 star anise.  Add in ¼ cup water, cover and cook until meat is tender about half hour or you can do it in a pressure cooker.  Then after the meat is tender you can transfer it into a wok or pot.   The curry should start getting some color and it should have thick gravy.  If it looks too watery then you should set the wok on high heat and try to evaporate out the water dont leave the stove no matter what, unless the house is on fire or if someone is having a severe medical emergency.  Try real hard not to overcook the meat or it will just turn into kadahi mush.  I prefer to make this dish without the pressure cooker as I can control the consistency and keep the meat in its form.  if you are not cooking in a pressure cooker and the meat is not yet done and the water has completely evaporated feel free to add in another 1/4 cup of water and cover and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes on low heat... So, after the meat is tender and the gravy looks like gravy and the oil seems to have separated itself from the gravy like on top, then I add in the bell pepper chopped about ¼ inch .  I also add in 2 sliced green chilies and a bunch of chopped cilantro for garnish. Stir fry on medium high for  1 minute turn off the stove and cover and keep it covered until it’s time to eat.  Enjoy with naan or rice. To prevent from getting heartburn you can also serve your guests some yogurt lassi.  All you need is a blender 1/2 cup of ice, 1 cup of yogurt and a bit of sugar to taste or honey  blend it well and drink it up; all the live cultures and bacteria from the yogurt will keep your stomach at ease. :). some people like to make the lassi unsweetened and add salt instead but to me thats just not gonna happen.. You can add a few slices of mango , some studies show that mango might help with acid reflux so who knows, maybe thats why people in india enjoy such amazingly delicious spiced up foods and not end up getting heartburn their entire lifetime.  They eat mangoes!!!! Happy Eating.