Healthy times call for ‘Chicken Shashlik’!

I’m sure many people keep wondering the same question as I do: “Why is every unhealthy food so delicious while most of the healthy food isn’t?” In search of an answer to this question and well, more importantly, to try and curb our unhealthy eating habits, I started looking for recipes on the World Wide Web, which were healthy yet had enough taste to not let me give up the ‘healthy eating routine’ ( and no, we are not dieting; we are just avoiding bad carbs and bad fats!!).

During the time when I was doing my research for healthy recipes, I saw a program on a food channel where the Chef was making Chicken Shashlik. The recipe really got me excited and after watching it till the end, I realized that the recipe is really quite healthy yet it tastes delicious. It is high in protein contents (chicken) and also includes vegetables which makes it all the more healthy. And the fact that it is grilled means that it has very little fat in the form of oil.

So well, I embarked on the journey to find the perfect recipe for dry Chicken Shashlik, and after 2 online written recipes and 3 video recipes down, I finally found the perfect one, which was not only grilled on skewers but also had an accompanied BBQ sauce to avoid the recipe being too dry.

Here I am, sharing Shireen Anwar’s (of Masala Morning fame) recipe of Chicken Shashlik with BBQ sauce. The original recipe is served with boiled rice and BBQ sauce but as I mentioned earlier, I am avoiding carbs these days, so I served it just with sauce. Needless to say, it turned out to be delicious and was loved by both me and my husband. So go give a try to this guilt-free recipe and get appreciation.

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken 1/2 kg, cubed

Salt 1/2 tsp

Black pepper, crushed 1/2 tsp

Ketchup 2 tbsp

Worcestershire Sauce 2 tbsp

Ginger garlic paste 1 tbsp

Chili powder 1/2 tsp

Capsicum 2

Onion 2

Tomato 2

Olive oil 1 tbsp

For BBQ Sauce

Tomato paste 4 tbsp

Ketchup 4 tbsp

Vinegar 4 tbsp

Garlic paste 1  tsp

Salt 1 tsp

Sugar 1 tsp

Chili powder 1/2 tsp

Method:

Chicken

• Cut chicken into cubes.
• Marinate it with salt, pepper, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, ginger-garlic paste and chili powder for 30 minutes.
• Cut capsicum into half and de-seed. Cut into cubes of the same size as chicken.
• Cut onion into quarters (i.e, cut it in the shape of ‘plus’ sign); separate the layers.
• Cut tomato into half, de-seed and cut into small pieces of the same size as chicken/ capsicum.
• Heat grill pan with 1 tbsp oil.
• In skewer, first put onion, then closely put chicken, then tomato, and then capsicum; repeat till the skewer is filled.
• Put in grill pan and after 5 minutes, brush BBQ sauce on it.
• When one side is done, turn and brush BBQ sauce on the other side also.
• Once the chicken is cooked and the veggies are soft, take off from the pan.
• For dry shashlik, in a serving platter, take out boiled rice and put skewers on top.
• If gravy is needed, put the remaining BBQ sauce with 2-3 tbsp water in grill pan and let it boil.
• Pour on top of the skewers or serve separately in a bowl.
  
  
  

BBQ Sauce

• In a bowl, mix together garlic paste, tomato paste, ketchup, vinegar, salt, sugar and chili powder.

Tips

• Wooden skewers can also be used in place of shashlik skewers.
• In place of grill pan, normal frying pan can also be used; chicken shashlik can alternatively be baked with 1 tbsp oil.
• Chicken and vegetables can be arranged in any order; however, if chicken is placed next to tomato, the chicken cooks faster.
• Ready-made BBQ sauce can also be used.

Fruit Trifle… a Classic with a Twist!

This blog is specially for a young friend of mine who I have recently met on Facebook. She is highly inspired by the food photographs that I regularly post on Facebook as well as by my recent blogs. She specially requested me to post some unique yet easy recipes for young teenage girls, to develop their interest in cooking. So this recipe of ‘Fruit Trifle’ is dedicated to all the teenagers out there who get inspired by food blogs and photography and would like to start off with simple recipes.

Now, coming to the recipe, a lot of people might be wondering, Fruit Trifle… what’s the big deal with that!? This recipe is something that we have seen being made in our homes for a long time by Moms and sisters, not to forget, it’s also a very common dessert at a lot of Pakistani weddings. My recipe uses almost all the same ingredients that are conventionally used in this recipe, however, the assembling is a little different, which gives it a very unique and delicious taste.

I used cake that I baked myself at home; you can use plain vanilla cake, which is conveniently available at bakeries everywhere, mostly in foils. Rest of the ingredients are pretty straight-forward and easy to find.

Its a tried and tested recipe and a must-try for all my young followers. The same basic idea coupled with your creativity can result in different looks for your recipe; the choices for decoration are unlimited! Do give it a try and let me know when people try out your dish and shower you with accolades for your creativity in cooking.

Ingredients:

Milk 1 liter

Custard Powder 5-6 tbsp (any flavor)
Sugar 5-6 tbsp
Plain cake 1 pack
Bananas 2-3
Mix fruits with syrup 1 medium can
Quick set jelly 1 packet (any flavor)
Whipped cream (for decoration)

 

Method:

• Dissolve custard powder in 1/2 cup milk.
• Boil the remaining milk.
• When the milk is near to boiling point, add sugar in it and mix.
• Slowly add custard powder mixture with one hand while mixing with a spoon to avoid lumps.
• Let it cook for 5-10 minutes till the custard is thick; if the consistency seems thin, add more custard mixture.
• Remove from stove and cool completely.
• Cut slices of cake and make a layer with it in the serving dish.
• Pour syrup from the canned fruit on top.
• Cut bananas in slices; make a layer with bananas and canned fruits.
• Pour half custard on top.
• Make another layer with cake, syrup and then fruits.
• Keep in refrigerator to chill.
• Prepare one pack of quick set jelly according to packet instructions.
• Remove from stove and mix vigorously with spoon to cool it a little (but avoid letting it set).
• Pour on top of the custard to form a thick transparent layer.
• Refrigerate till the jelly is completely set.
• Decorate with whipped cream using pipin bag, sprinkle colored sugar balls.
• Serve chilled.

Tips:

• Custard should be thick consistency for the trifle to set properly.
• Custard should be chilled completely before pouring jelly on it.
• Whipped cream can be prepared at home or used from a can.
• Other items that can be used for decoration are chocolate sprinkles, chocolate shavings, cherries, and many more.