If the monsoons are your excuse to stay indoors on a cold weekend, why not soak in the view of the heavy downpour by indulging in a hot, spicy barbeque fare right by your bedside?
Before you say ‘garam pakodas’, we ask you to give those a miss and take on the skewers instead. “A barbeque platter is the best culinary compliment to the monsoons,” says Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, food writer and consultant with Nature’s Basket. So bring out the skewers and the grill and prepare a barbequed fare right at your home, through these quick and appetising recipes as you curl up in your sofa with your favourite book or movie.
Grilled strawberry and kiwi skewer, drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar
Ingredients
2 tsp oil
2 tsp sugar
10 ripe (but firm) strawberries
2 kiwis (cubed) n
10 ml aged balsamic vinegar
wooden skewers for grilling.
Method
Clean and heat the grill or grill pan.
Soak the wooden skewers in water to prevent them from burning.
In a medium bowl, combine the oil and sugar and whisk with a fork.
Add the strawberries and kiwi and turn to evenly coat.
Skewer the kiwis and strawberries.
Put on the grill and turn frequently. Cook until they are slightly warmed and grill marked.
Serve hot with a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.
—The Leela, Mumbai
Stuffed mushrooms on sticks
Ingredients
500 Mushrooms (or any even number) washed, stems removed
1/4 cup garlic chopped
1 tbsp freshly crushed peppercorns
1/4 cup parsley minced
1/3 cup olive oil
juice of one lemon
1 tbsp corn flour (optional)
salt to taste n Satay sticks.
Method
Finely chop mushroom stems and combine with garlic, pepper, parsley olive oil and salt.
Stuff each mushroom cap with this mixture.
Take two mushrooms and sandwich together so the stuffed sides are in the middle. Skewer the mushroom ‘sandwich’ onto a satay stick.
Repeat with another pair so you have two pairs to a skewer. Grill in an oven and serve hot, drizzled with lemon juice.
–Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, food writer and consultant with Nature’s Basket
Coastal barbeque prawns
Ingredients
1 kg prawns
15 gm ginger garlic paste
5 gm Kashmiri red chili paste
10 ml tamarind pulp
10 ml coconut milk
10 ml coconut oil
curry leaves n salt to taste.
Method
Wash and clean prawns and put aside the tail. In a separate bowl add ginger, garlic, red chilli paste and tamarind pulp. Heat coconut oil and sauté curry leaves.
Add the mixture and mix well. Then add prawns to the mixture and allow it to be marinated for two hours.
Once marinated, skewer prawns on a bamboo skewer or a steel skewer.
Barbeque it on a medium flame until done. Serve hot.
–Barbeque Nation
Chimichurri marinade (grilled cottage cheese steak, bell pepper, red onion)
Ingredients
150 gms cottage cheese
3 cloves garlic
100gms medium onion cut into chunks
80 gms bell pepper (red, yellow) cut into cubes
15 gms packed fresh parsley leaves
40 ml extra virgin olive oil, 30 ml red wine vinegar (or sherry or rice vinegar)
5 gms dried oregano
3gms cayenne pepper
3 gms freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste.
Method
To make chimichurri marinade, blend together garlic, onion, parsley, oregano, cayenne pepper, olive oil, salt, black pepper and wine vinegar into a smooth, chimichurri paste.
Cut cottage cheese, onions and bell peppers and marinate with chimichurri paste.
Char grill on a hot grill.
–The Leela, Mumbai
Lemon Dijon wings
Ingredients
1/4th cup olive oil n 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice n 2 tbsp coarse-grained Dijon
mustard n 6 garlic cloves chopped n 2 tspn salt n 1 tbsp and freshly ground black
pepper
1 kg chicken wings separated at joints, tips discarded.
Method
In a large bowl, stir together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt, and
pepper.
Add chicken wings and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours,
stirring occasionally.
Preheat grill. Drain marinade from chicken into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil
and simmer for five minutes. Set aside for basting.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill wings for 10 to 15 minutes or until juices run clear.
Turn frequently and baste with the marinade during the last five minutes. –Sahara Star
Chimichurri marinade (grilled cottage cheese steak, bell pepper, red onion)
Ingredients
150 gms cottage cheese
3 cloves garlic
100gms medium onion cut into chunks
80 gms bell pepper (red, yellow) cut into cubes
15 gms packed fresh parsley leaves
40 ml extra virgin olive oil, 30 ml red wine vinegar (or sherry or rice vinegar)
5 gms dried oregano
3gms cayenne pepper
3 gms freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste.
Method
To make chimichurri marinade, blend together garlic, onion, parsley, oregano, cayenne pepper, olive oil, salt, black pepper and wine vinegar into a smooth, chimichurri paste.
Cut cottage cheese, onions and bell peppers and marinate with chimichurri paste.
Char grill on a hot grill.
–The Leela, MumbaiLemon Dijon wings
Ingredients
1/4th cup olive oil n 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice n 2 tbsp coarse-grained Dijon
mustard n 6 garlic cloves chopped n 2 tspn salt n 1 tbsp and freshly ground black
pepper
1 kg chicken wings separated at joints, tips discarded.
Method
In a large bowl, stir together the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt, and
pepper.
Add chicken wings and marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours,
stirring occasionally.
Preheat grill. Drain marinade from chicken into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil
and simmer for five minutes. Set aside for basting.
Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill wings for 10 to 15 minutes or until juices run clear.
Turn frequently and baste with the marinade during the last five minutes. –Sahara Star