Nisha and Nishanth's Culinary Debacles

Coal-Fired Pizza My kids love Pizza. My wife and I, on the other hand, have left our love for Pizza behind. But, with the kids in tow, I started researching how to make a decent pizza from scratch. YouTube is filled with recommendations, so I had to make some choices for my very first Pizza. If you're looking for a quick-cooking Pizza, this isn't the recipe for you. This will take around 2 days, including fermentation and some work. As usual, Kamado Grill Classic is again my go-to cooking platform. References: John Setzler's ' Kamodo Joe Pizza '.  John Kenall's ' Easy Pizza Dough Recipe '. Vito Lacopelli's ' How to Make Perfect Pizza Dough at Home'  and ' freeze the Pizza for later '. Goals: Everyone has so many variations for making Pizza dough. I never realized the debate of Biga vs Poolish  dough making. Before we get into all the details, I set some goals. Type : I wasn't going for Neapolitan-style, very high-heat Pizza. The t...

Smoked " Tandoori"  Chicken  It has been five years since we purchased the Kamado Joe Classic Joe Series II 18-inch Ceramic Charcoal Grill and Smoker with Cart . And it has been an excruciatingly long time since I last blogged. So, here we go with a delicious solution as I am cooking. Tandoori chicken on Kamodo Joe. I won't do the "pure version" of doing everything from scratch. Instead, a quick path to food you'd like to make again. This is a result of at least 3 experiments so far.. I may continue to enhance this post as I discover ways to improve it over time, assuming my interest in blogging remains. Cooking time: Marinade prep - 5-10 mins Marinade: 12 hours Grill prep: 1/2 hour Ensuring grill temp (230 F) is reached: 1/2 hour (will vary) Setting up chicken and temp probe: 10 mins Smoking the chicken: 30 mins to 2 hours (depends on flavor strength) - remote monitoring usually Final Searing: 10-20 mins Equipment List Kamodo Joe Classic II  - I will use t...

Nishanth tried this chicken biryani out and it came out absolutely awesome. http://www.thasneen.com/cooking/fried-chicken-biryani/

My husband had tried this masala out initially and it did not turn out that well. Recently, i thought let me try this masala again and surprisingly it turned out quite well. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002XH1CBO/ref=asc_df_B002XH1CBO1674941?tag=thefind0243568-20&creative=395261&creativeASIN=B002XH1CBO&linkCode=asn

Nishanth ended up buying lots of tilapia fillets but then got too busy to make them. I found the Badshah Fish Masala in the pantry and decided to try that out. This was probably the first time i made fish after more than a decade. I followed the recipe on the packet and it came out really tasty and spicy. If the spice is to be reduced the amount of green chillis that are used can be reduced. Also, i shallow fried the fish in a pan with very little oil so it was quite healthy i suppose. I experimented with different coatings. The first time i made a thick coating of gram flour with water and dipped the fish in it. The second time i just took the fish and rolled it in gram flour - this gave crispier fish which i preferred.

Yakhni pulav used to be one of my favorite dishes as a child. I saw the shan punjabi yakhni pulao masala and decided to try it out and it came out pretty good. I tried it with chicken instead of beef or mutton. All one needs to do is follow the instructions on the packet. Theres a video on youtube for making yakhni pulav using shan yakhni pulav masala http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_1SzVjotYY http://www.omindiaplaza.com/shan-shan-punjabi-yakhni-pulao-p-1923.html The thing i did different was not strain out the spices from the stock but in hind sight i think it is better to strain out the spices. Personally, since i love the peppercorns i would put them back in. Definitely worth trying for first timers like me wanting to replicate the taste of yakhni pulav!

We saw this paste at the Indian store and decided to try it out. It came out wonderful. Of course, my husband did a few more things like add one chopped onion, a dash of pepper powder and some madras curry powder. I loved the chicken curry and it was perfect with rotis http://www.indiablend.com/site/664954/product/IM-30d

A recipe i got from a forward which will surely be appreciated by those of us brought up in East Africa. it was kindly pointed out by saju that the posts were from the blog "chachiskitchen.blogspot.com". thank you for the same and apologies that it was wrongly posted - there are pictures available too http://chachiskitchen.blogspot.com/search/label/East%20African%20Influence Mogo (cassava) with Lamb in Creamy Coconut Sauce Ingredients 2 lb cassava (frozen can be used) 1 pack of coconut cream (a picture can be seen here) 1 lb lamb, cut into cubes 3-4 garlic cloves; minced 2 inch ginger; grated 3-4 chilies; minced 1/4 tspn turmeric 1/2 cup chopped coriander salt to taste 2 limes; juiced coriander leaves for garnishing. 1. Marinate the meat with garlic, ginger and sal t for at least 2 hours. 2. Peel the cassava, cut into large chunks and boil and drain. Cut into cubes. 3. Boil the meat, drain, add coconut cream to the meat stock, add the turmeric, chilies, coriander leaves and c...

A recipe i got from a forward which will surely be appreciated by those of us brought up in East Africa. it was kindly pointed out by saju that the posts were from the blog "chachiskitchen.blogspot.com". thank you for the same and apologies that it was wrongly posted - there are pictures available too http://chachiskitchen.blogspot.com/search/label/East%20African%20Influence Mutton Biryani - East African Style Ingredients Mutton Masala: 2 lb mutton on the bone cut into 2 inch pieces 1/2 cup yogurt 2 inches ginger; grated 6 cloves garlic; minced 5 chilies minced 1/2 tspn saffron 8 large tomatoes (blanched, peeled and liquidised) 12 small potatoes (extra oil to fry) 2 tablespn oil 2 sticks cinnamon 4 pods cardamom 5 cloves 1/2 spn cumin seeds 8 medium onions; minced fine in a food processor 2 tspn coriander/cumin powder 1/2 tspn turmeric 1 tspn garam masala salt to taste Rice: 3 cups basmati rice; was hed well; and soaked in water for 30 mins 1...

I tried this out recently and it turned out pretty decent Ingredients: 6 boiled eggs 1/2 cup coconut milk 2 big onions sliced 4 big tomatoes chopped 1 tsp ginger paste 1 tsp garlic paste 4 curry leaves 1 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp corriander powder 1/2 tsp tumeric powder 3 tbsp oil corriander leaves for garnishing 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tsp mustard seeds salt to taste Method: 1. Heat oil. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds and curry leaves and stir 2. Add onions and fry until golden 3, Add ginger garlic paste and tomatoes and fry until its a paste. 4. Add turmeric powder, corriander powder, red chilli powder and garam masala and stir 5. Make cuts on the eggs and add them 6. Add coconut milk and salt to taste. Stir and let it cook on medium for 5 minutes 7. Garnish with corriander leaves

I tried out the Paneer Makhmali recipe present in Nita Mehta's "The best of chicken and paneer" and it turned out pretty good. Its a tomato based gravy with coconut milk, lemon juice and paneer tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves. For those, who have her book i would definitely recommend trying the recipe out !

A famous chicken dish that can be prepared in a jiffy. This came out pretty good. INGREDIENTS (here is a link for converting metric to pound ) Chicken pieces 1 kg. (2.2lb) Onions, sliced 500 gms. (1.1lb) Garlic, sliced 50 gms. (.1lb) Ginger, sliced 50 gms. (.1lb) Red chili powder 1/2 tsp. Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp. Whole red chili 4 nos. Garam Masala 10 gm. Tomato puree 300 ml. Coriander powder 15 gms. Water 500 ml. Ghee 150 gms. Salt To taste Method: Slice the onions, ginger and garlic and keep aside. Heat ghee for 1 minute, then add tomato puree, turmeric powder, red chili powder, red chilies and coriander powder, cover the dish and cook on high for 3 minutes. Put the sliced onions, ginger, garlic and cook for 3 minutes on high. Mix chicken in the above ingredients and 500 ml water and cook for 8 minutes. Stir well, add salt, garam masala and cook for 7 minutes, till done.

1 - 1 1/2 kg sear fish cut into small pieces 2 tsp soya sauce 1 tbsp vinegar 4 tsp corn flour 1 tsp salt 2 eggs Sauce: 20 green chillies deseeded and halved 2 onions finely chopped 2 tsp soya sauce 2 tsp vinegar oil for frying salt Method: 1) Wash the fish with lime and salt and set aside for the water to drain 2) Mix 2 tsp soya sauce, 1 tbsp vinegar, cornflour, salt and eggs. Marinate the fish for 2 hours 3) Fry the fish in hot oil, a few at a time. Drain on absorbent paper. 4) Heat some oil and fry the chillies. Remove the chillies and add onions and fry until golden brown. Add soya sauce, vinegar and salt. Cook for a few minutes. Add the fish and chillies. Mix well and remove from heat.

Boil the chicken with 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste and salt. Keep it aside. Grind the following to a paste:3 tbsp cashewa pod of coriandera pod of mint leaves7 to 8 green chilliesa little vinegar Then in a pan take 2 to 3 tbsp oil, add the ground masala and let it cook till the oil floats then add the chicken with the stock and let it cook for 5 minutes

1 kg chicken - wash and drain marinate it - 2 eggs 2 tbsp corn flour, 1 tbsp maida, chilly powder, tandoori color, garam masala, salt, a little haldi powder, dhania powder. Let it stand for 2 to 3 hours.Deep fry it.

Take 1 kg skinless chicken. Wash it properly. Drain.Pressure it with 1 cup curd, 2 tbsp red chilly powder, 1 tbsp dhania powder, 1 tbsp haldi powder, 2 tbsp garam masala powder, tandoori colour, a little ginger garlic paste just for 5 minutes.Then in a pan remove it and keep it on high flame till all the water dries.Then add 1 big spoon of oil, 2 tbsp soya sauce, 2 tbsp vinegar, 1 tbsp chilly sauce and saute it properly.(slit green chillies) (optional) add salt according to your taste This recipe use it to make boneless chilly chicken. Then make a paratha and fill it with chicken and kachumber.

Ingredients: 1/2 kg boneless chicken 2 onions chopped10 green chillies, ground 2 tsp soya sauce 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp ginger garlic paste 1/2 tsp turmeric Method: 1) Heat oil and fry onions until golden brown. Add garam masala. 2) Add ginger garlic paste, chilly paste and saute till the oil separates 3) Add chicken, turmeric and salt and fry for 10 minutes. Add soya sauce and corriander and fry till the chicken is cooked.

Ingredients: 1/2 kg boneless meat to be boiled with 3/4 tsp ginger 3/4 tsp garlic 3/4 tsp green chillies grounded 1 small onion minced Boil meat till tender and 1 cup of soup remains Strain and keep meat aside 1 tsp jeera 1/2 tsp pepper powder 2 tblsp tomato sauce 1 tblsp chopped kothmir and a big capsicum chopped 3 tblsp ghee 3 eggs, 1 hard boiled egg 2 snall tomatoes sliced 1 tblsp chilli sauce 100 gms boiled macaroni For white sauce: 1 tblsp flour, 1 tblsp butter, 1 cup milk, 1 cup soup Method: Melt butter, add 1 tsp jeera, brown flour slightly. Add milk gradually and make the thick sauce. Add capscicum . Finally, add soup and stir till thick. To this add the sauces, pepper powder and kothmir. Now mix in the boiled macaroni and meat. Prepare the "dhaba" by pouring 1 tsp ghee at the bottom of a jelly mould. Place cellophane paper over it 1) Pour 1 tblsp ghee over cellophane paper 2) Pout 1 egg beaten over this 3) Pour meat mixture over this 4) Sprinkle hard boiled egg over ...

We have tried this masala out many times and the results have always been good ! Definitely recommended for anyone intending to make tandoori chicken. The recipe from the website http://www.kohinoorfoods.co.uk/catalog/browse/seasonings/tandoori-special-seasonings-150g Marinate the chicken (4 lb) cut into pieces with seasoning powder (1 tbsp) and 200g yoghurt. Keep it in a refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Pass in a pointed skewer through the chicken. In case of electric grill, a baking tray may be used. Roast the chicken in the tandoor or grill in an electric oven for 15-20 minutes. In between, brush some vegetable oil to avoid dryness. Remove chicken from tandoor and sprinkle salt and black pepper if desired. Serve it hot along with sliced onion, green chilies, spearmint leaves and tomato slices.

We used the shan biryani masala recently and the result was not as spicy to my liking. Maybe i got used to the Sindhi and Bombay biryani masalas that are much much spicer. We probably should try those masalas out. The masala box had a recipe on it and followed the same.