The H-man's Chicken Kabab -- from the lazy nawab's Harem

....Or maybe the Nawab's lazy harem. I mean the Nawab never cooked anyway so it must have been either the Harem ladies (which I seriously doubt) or the chief bawarchi's sous chef(more probable) who took this shortcut approach to Chicken Kababs. It might also have been the Harem ladies in their Kohled eyes and betel juice stained lips who made these when economy was bad and they could not afford a sous chef or goat keema. The chief bawarchi of course would not take such demeaning shortcuts. In the worst case it could be the Nawab taking on the chicken keema because his umpteen wives went off to their maika, again economy being bad and all that.

Ultimately I do not care who the pioneer was.It--this simple method of making kababs--was first introduced to us by a beautiful friend of mine who came straight from the Nawabi heartland of Luckhnow. Impeccable with her manners and beauty she was a dear friend for many years. And then something happened. Till this day I am not very clear of how one thing led to another but KA-BOOM and she wasn't a dear friend anymore. We still were friends but somewhere the tune was lost, the rhythm broken and those nights of having impromptu dinners together never happened again. Like every relationship, friendship often needs lot of time to nurture, grow and maintain. I guess we faltered somewhere along the line. Has that happened to you ? Can you pick up even after a friendship has been strained ?

I still treasure the times we had together though and I am eternally grateful for the toor dal with a chaunk of jeera and a crush of garlic and these succulent,easy-peasy chicken kababs. Gosh, I would have never taken to them so dearly if they were not this easy.

Over time I have introduced a lot of other things in the kabab depending on the day, year, season, what say you. I have made them spicy with the spices from the chicken masala balls. I have made them like meatballs which the kids love. Or I have just stuck to the rudimentary and this is how the H-man made it on Sunday for dinner.

Since the recipe is almost non-existent I had planned to do a la-di-dah step-by step picture of the process as the H-man cooked. Instead I took pics of the red curry paste because I was making a wonton soup and I am partial to dishes I make. Bottomline, there are no picture and also no measured out recipe because if asked to measure while cooking, the H-man just rolls his eyes.

Red Curry Paste has nothing to do with the recipe, if you are wondering

The ground chicken(keema) that I get here is really fine and cooks fast. So we marinate it in various different ways involving ginger, garlic green chilies, onion, garam masala etc. I also add a little breadcrumb to it which keeps the moisture in. Earlier I would add an egg to the mix but I don't any more and it is soft and succulent as ever. Guess the breadcrumbs do the trick.

Then i go ahead and  add some crushed kasoori methi warmed between your palm, finely chopped bits of onion and finely chopped bits of green chili(optional). Mix it all together with a spoon. 

Heat very little oil on a flat fry pan or griddle. Fashion round tikki kind of patties from this spiced up keema. Shallow fry them till they have brown spots on both surface.
Serve the kababs with a raw onion-cucumber salad.

Version 2 of this recipe with mint and yogurt

These kababs can be spiced in various different ways with spices to your liking. When I am short of time I will do nothing but add chopped onions, minced garlic, tandoori masala, green chilies, dry mint, some breadcrumbs, salt and few drops of oil to the keema and marinate it.On other days I might take more care. Either way they taste great!

Start with 1 lb - 1.5lb of ground chicken. When buying from the butcher I usually ask chicken thigh meat with some fat to be made into keema.

Blend few mint leaves, 2 green chilli, 1 fat clove of garlic and an inch of chopped ginger with 2-3 tbsp of thick yogurt.

In a big bowl put 1lb of ground chicken

To it add
quarter of an onion chopped in small pieces,
couple of green chillies chopped fine,
2 cloves of garlic minced,
chopped coriander leaves,
the mint-yogurt paste,
1 tsp of Tandoori masala or Garam Masala
few drops of olive oil
salt to taste

Add a tbsp of kasoori-methi warmed and crushed between your palms if you like the flavor.

Mix well and keep aside for 30mins.

Now add
1/4th cup of breadcrumb or panko
Note: The breadcrumbs make even the baked kababs deliciously soft. If you are not adding breadcrumbs add an egg to the keema mix.

Mix well. Keep aside for 30 - 60 minutes in the refrigerator.

After 30 mins or an hr, take the keema out and fashion round shaped kababs by flattening them on the palm of your hands. Place on a greased oven proof tray. I prefer lining the tray with a greased aluminum foil which makes cleaning much easier.

You can either shallow fry the kababs on the stove top or bake them in the oven

Shallow fry:

Take a flat bottomed pan and add oil to. Oil should be enough for shallow frying

Once the oil is hot, gently add the kababs to the pan. Once the edges start browning, flip the kababs on the other side. Chicken kabas cook fast and since these kababs are not too thick, takes 3 minutes to cook on each side at medium-high heat.

Make sure the meat is cooked and the kababs are golden brown with brown spots

Bake in Oven:

Bake at 350F for about 15mins. At this point you will notice that the underside of the kababs has started browning.
Take out the tray and flip the kakbas. Bake for about 10 mins or until kabab is done.

Makes about 10-12 kababs

Salsa Soup -- in search of Spring

"In Search of Spring" is what I am after.

And after what seems like ages, this weekend did bring a weather where I was not under the illusion, regarding our relocation to the North Pole. 
"Are we moving to North pole or are we not?"

And if you squint your eyes and peer at this picture, you will even see a robin in those bare branches. And see the snow is melting off those roofs. Maybe we are not at 90.0000° N, 0.0000° W after all.

 

Since my rants about the weather in every post might seem a tad boring,let me give a positive spin to this whole snow storm thing. Though on the onset this whole pile of snow, piling over with each storm, might sound like a bad thing, it has its own advantages. Like it renders driving around to fulfill "life's necessities" unnecessary. This means you get a lot of time to realize how unnecessary those necessities really are.

This meant that I could spend two whole days, holed up, doing nothing but drinking tea and finishing "Gone Girl".

I could also spruce up the study and bring some order to the chaos of what is called crayons, markers, glues and other crafty stuff.

And then when the roads were deemed fit, I could go to IKEA to get these orange clamp lights which I think is one of life's necessities.As is IKEA.

This corner reminds me of friends who have moved continents and are enjoying warm weather while we freeze. They are missing all the fun.

I also made lots of soups these season. And last weekend, made a big batch of this Salsa Soup. It is light, tangy, spicy and very refreshing. Kind of like Rasam with a beat. I had blogged about it earlier but never took decent pictures of it, so here goes some vibrant pics of the salsa soup. If you are feeling very lazy and do not want to make your homemade blend, go ahead and open a jar of  ready made salsa to make this soup. But nothing beats the fresh taste of the tomato, green chilli and coriander, so spend couple of extra minutes and try to make the home made speedy salsa for this soup

Make homemade speedy salsa for the soup

In a blender add
2 firm good quality juicy tomato roughly chopped,
2 clove of garlic,
2 hot green chili pepper
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Process till chunky.

Add some minced coriander leaves to the prepared mix.Use this speedy salsa for the soup.

Make the Soup

Heat 2 tsp Olive Oil in a deep, heavy pan.

Add a pinch of red chilli powder and about 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds to the oil and let them briefly sizzle.

When the cumin sizzles, add chopped onion(half of a medium sized onion) and fry till soft.

Now add your salsa. If you don't have the home made salsa, open a store bought jar. If you like it hot add chili powder or use a HOT salsa.

Cook the salsa for couple of minutes, stirring constantly so that it does not burn or stick.

Add the black beans, and the corn. I used a can of black beans.
Note: I prefer using canned beans for this soup and I almost always skip the corn. If you are using dried black beans, I suggest, you soak the beans overnight and cook them before adding to soup.

Next, add 3-4 cups of organic low sodium vegetable stock and stir all to blend well. If you don't have stock use plain water. You can add a packet of seasoning or a bouillon cube if you wish. I used this seasoning from Goya

Add salt to taste.

Bring this soup to a full boil and reduce heat to medium low.

Squeeze in a few drops of lime.Simmer the salsa soup until the corn/bean is completely cooked. For me this happens quick as I always used canned beans.

Turn off heat and stir in a bunch of chopped cilantro.

Ladle your finished salsa soup into individual soup bowls. Top with avocado chunks and toss a bit of cheese on top of that. I don't add any cheese as we like this soup light.

Top with a few tortilla chips or papad instead of croutons.

Giveaway of Monica Bhide's Modern Spice

Everyone who reads this blog, probably knows Monica Bhide. She is a very successful food writer with many books to her name. While her recipes are no doubt lip-smackingly delicious, what I like best is her writing. Her website describes her as "A storyteller at heart" and I can agree no less. 

To know more about her, you can read her bio.

Now, all of you know that today is Valentines' Day. It is a day after my own heart and I love the idea of cute teddy bears holding on to chocolates and hearts for dear life. Okay, just kidding, I love no such thing. So, to distract you from a bunch of over-priced red roses or diamond hearts or even teddies, I have decided to give away a copy of Monica Bhide's book "Modern Spice" to one lucky reader of this blog. After all, there is no love greater than the love of food. And after all, I love you all so much.  
The only problem being, at this point I can send the book to readers in USA only

To take part, leave a comment on this post, saying "what is your favorite spice and how you use it" and yes, don't forget to mention your e-mail id.

And here is a conversation with Monica Bhide which I had over e-mail.

Monica, I always find your story of changing careers from engineer to food writer very interesting. How did it all happen ? Little of the back story please.

Like many Indian immigrants, I came to the US to study. I earned two Masters' degrees and worked for a Big Six consulting company for a long time. The job paid well into the six-figures and I really loved the people I worked with but somehow at the end of the day, it felt as though something was missing. I kept feeling like I was placed on this earth to do something other than, say, leadership training! Mind you, not that there is anything wrong with that, it was just not my life's calling. Then, out of the blue, a very dear friend of mine passed away. She was only 35 and it really shook me to the core. It was a devastating loss and also a reminder of how short and fragile and precious life is. Her death made me rethink my whole life. So one day, I went in and quit. I gave up my engineering career to pursue my calling to tell stories.

When you took the courage to change your career, did you face any setbacks ? How did you overcome them ?
It wasnt really courage. It was not an option. I felt as though a part of my spirit was dying each day and I had to change something if I wanted to feel alive again. There were setbacks, there always are, but I think the key was to focus on the goal and not the obstacles. There were days that I would worry so much about how I would make this new career work, I lost so much sleep over how I would make money. It was a long time before I realized that all I could really do, all I could really control was my work. I had to work and write and keep writing. Eventually, the obstacles would take care of themselves.

Do you apply your scientific and engineering skills in your creative career too ? How?

I get in trouble when I do this! It works great for the how-to stories but I have to leave that part of my brain behind when I am writing essays. My agent always makes fun of me-- he says he can see the engineer come forth when I am outlining a book, and then disappear when I begin to write and the writer takes over!

You are an acclaimed writer with several books in your name and so clearly you are a success. But what is your advise to the food writers starting out ? Is it wise for them to give up their day job to pursue a career in writing ?
Ah, the million dollar question -- giving up the day job! I really dont know how to answer that one since everyone's circumstances are so different. In my case, we had saved up and I had a very supportive spouse who was willing to support me while I tried to find my legs in this new business. It is a tough choice and I think it is best to sit down and really make an educated, informed decision.

Do you have any pearls of wisdom to share with us food bloggers ?
Write daily, write consistently, write because you love to write and never, ever, ever give up.

Of all that you have written, pick a favorite.
Oh, this is hard, but I will pick this one - http://www.monicabhide.com/2012/03/counting-peas.html

Today if you happen to meet your 20 old self, what would you tell her ?
Have faith in yourself and remember that fitting in is way overrated