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ITALIAN CHICKEN ON STICKS… & SOME SHOPPING IN NEW DELHI !!
“Do not be afraid of simplicity. If you have a cold chicken for supper, why cover it with a tasteless white sauce which makes it look like a pretentious dish on the buffet table at some fancy dress ball?”
Marcel Boulestin
Have had a busy week, & just when I thought the kids were finally back to school after a 2 month vacation, ‘they’ (the district authorities) decided to extend the vacations! Too hot for all kids to be at school, so we have them home for another week. Phew! On the brighter side of life, we did manage to get a few random showers, which means we might expect respite from the harsh Indian summer pretty soon. These appear to be pre-monsoon showers, & though they give us an overdose of humidity, they keep our hopes raised.
With the kids home again, the thought process & body mechanism involuntarily heads towards the kitchen no matter what. These past 2 months have run me ragged trying to think of how best to serve ‘food with a difference’. Left with few exciting options for dinner as I’ve been through the normal run of dinner table items, I often need the change, more than the kids. I took chicken tenders out for a supposedly light version of Butter Chicken, but chickened out at the thought as it still involves cream & butter. These hot summer days call for lighter fare, so I decided to give the Indian tikka an Italian twist. I made Italian Chicken on sticks & served it with some bread & salad. They were delicious, full of light summer flavour & a hit with the kids. Served them with a hung yogurt-garlic creamy dip, & I was in business again! An artisan bread on the side gave me additional brownie points!! There was also a light salad that I tossed in some reserved marinade. Simple & delicious!!
These hot summer days call for lighter fare, so I decided to give the Indian tikka an Italian twist. I made Italian Chicken on sticks & served it with some bread & salad. They were delicious, full of light summer flavour & a hit with the kids. Served them with a hung yogurt-garlic creamy dip, & I was in business again! An artisan bread on the side gave me additional brownie points!! There was also a light salad that I tossed in some reserved marinade. Simple & delicious!!
ITALIAN CHICKEN ON STICKS
Ingredients:
750gms chicken thigh tenders, cut into bite size pieces
1/3 cup olive oil
Zest & juice of 2 limes
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
Handful of fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 tsp smoked chipotle paste (optional)
Salt to taste
Method:
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Whisk together oil , zest, juice of limes, garlic, oregano and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings if required.
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Remove 2 tbsp of the marinade for a salad if you like (optional), & whisk in the chipotle paste in the rest.
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Soak bamboo sticks in water for 30 minutes,
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Marinate the chicken tenders in this for at least an hour, or overnight. Take it out of the fridge half an hour before cooking.
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Preheat the oven to 300C.
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Thread the tenders on bamboo sticks alternatively with bell peppers & onions.
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Cook in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Let drip for a 5 minutes. Grill the tenders on sticks on a heated grill pan, pressing down gently to get the BBQ lines. Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.
My sis has been visiting from the US so I got my lucky haul of stuff. Have finally laid my hands on books I’ve been waiting to read for ages – Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes & A HomeMade Life. In addition, I got baking tins, tart pans & loads of more exciting stuff, including another Cookie book. FUN!! My dream run continued & sis # 2 had a friend flying in from the US and sent me some more ‘loot’! A fluted cake tin, silicon muffin cups,an oven thermometer … & much more! Now all I need is a little time…A few days ago Meeta @ WFLH tweeted about her day out shopping at Ikea ,& I was terribly envious of the brilliant stuff she got. Ikea’s India plans have been shelved, at least for the time being, & I was quite bummed!! Quite forgot that retail therapy is quite possible anywhere under the sun. While sis #1 has been here, we’ve been out in town, exploring & shopping. Central Delhi is a beautiful place to visit, full of interesting history, architecture… & SHOPS!! It had to be me taking her out shopping, but for some insane reason I ended up shopping more than her. One of my favourite haunts is the Tibetan market on Janpath. The Lonely Planet review sums it up … “Beckoning tourists with its shimmering mirrorwork textiles, colourful shawls, brass Oms, psychedelic T-shirts, dangly earrings and trinkets galore, is this touristy belt running north of the Imperial hotel. It has some good finds if you rummage through the junk. Haggle hard.” It’s a Little Tibet in India.You can easily spend a couple of hours, if not an entire day, wandering around here. While exploring the Tibetan market, we discovered quaint little shops overflowing with bric-a-brac, & one special shop full of the most beautiful pots & pans. A pleasant young man, Tashi Nima, runs his shop, Doma Copper Brass, with a passion. He knows his stuff & his prices are fixed. He has his suppliers, & is known to supply a lot of people with Indian/sub continent bric-a brac. The wares move fast & he sells a mix of old & new culinary items. Everything is handmade. The things aren’t antique, but do date back to the 1910’s etc, & the artwork is entirely intriguing. We spent most of our morning in his shop, & I’m going back soon to explore it some more!
A few days ago Meeta @ WFLH tweeted about her day out shopping at Ikea ,& I was terribly envious of the brilliant stuff she got. Ikea’s India plans have been shelved, at least for the time being, & I was quite bummed!! Quite forgot that retail therapy is quite possible anywhere under the sun. While sis #1 has been here, we’ve been out in town, exploring & shopping. 
Central Delhi is a beautiful place to visit, full of interesting history, architecture… & SHOPS!! It had to be me taking her out shopping, but for some insane reason I ended up shopping more than her. One of my favourite haunts is the Tibetan market on Janpath. The Lonely Planet review sums it up … “Beckoning tourists with its shimmering mirrorwork textiles, colourful shawls, brass Oms, psychedelic T-shirts, dangly earrings and trinkets galore, is this touristy belt running north of the Imperial hotel. It has some good finds if you rummage through the junk. Haggle hard.” It’s a Little Tibet in India.
You can easily spend a couple of hours, if not an entire day, wandering around here. While exploring the Tibetan market, we discovered quaint little shops overflowing with bric-a-brac, & one special shop full of the most beautiful pots & pans. 
A pleasant young man, Tashi Nima, runs his shop, Doma Copper Brass, with a passion. He knows his stuff & his prices are fixed. He has his suppliers, & is known to supply a lot of people with Indian/sub continent bric-a brac. The wares move fast & he sells a mix of old & new culinary items. Everything is handmade. The things aren’t antique, but do date back to the 1910’s etc, & the artwork is entirely intriguing. We spent most of our morning in his shop, & I’m going back soon to explore it some more! 
Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
34 Comments
Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes]
The bread and chicken both look great 🙂 🙂
And you got some awesome stuff from your sister. Lucky you!! I keep waiting for the day Wilton will come to India, though I know its not likely 🙁
Miakoda
Awesome, I'm so jealous of the all the loot you got from the US! 😉 Well, I'm happy for you actually. I've been trying to find someone who'll do the same for me!
And the Tibetan market looks like it has some fantastic stuff. I visited briefly quite a while ago, but didn't have enough time to do it justice! Delhi is such a wonderful place to shop. Sigh, this post of yours is making me all green…
The Purple Foodie
Now you've got me hungry for some chicken skewers. Happy the oven thermometer made it in time to you. My heart shaped liners are wilton too. They make the cutest stuff.
unconfidentialcook
The chicken does look wonderful…but my daughter would not eat the peppers…or the salad! Great shopping!!!
Elra
Aren't you a lucky one Deeba. Are we going to see more baking goodies? especilly with that colorful cupcakes moulds. And the fluted tin look so fancy. Love the teal flower on it.
I am so jealous, you have a beautiful market that sells gorgeous pots and pans. Are they functional? That will be awesome.
Italian chicken sounds delicious.
Snooky doodle
this dish look delicious! You always amaze me by your recipes. Simple and sophisticated at the same time. :)Nice presents
Claudia
Those skewers are deliciouos! Love the dipping sauce – no it does not need to be tasteless! And am jealous of the market – half a world away. Hoping you get some resipte from the heat and the days turn cooler…
Zaara
Wow – what a loot – though I am more envious of the gorgeous things you picked up in New Delhi -they look amazing! What a coincidence – I buckled under (self-inflicted) pressure and bought "Artisan Bread…" and it arrived this week. Now I am just playing a cautious eyeing game with it – can I , should I , will I – make my own bread??!! :-)!
Hope you get some respite from the heat, we've been having the same heat wave here in IAH, makings baking and grilling a little uncomfortable…
Lynda
Your Chicken on sticks looks delicious!Yum! All your pictures are really great-love your blog as you have lots of great baking ideas!
Thanks for stopping by my blog-I'll be visiting you often!
Gloria
this look yummy,yummy,yummy! xoxoxoxoGloria
chris
The chicken looks great Deeba!!! Im jealous of your shopping trip to the Tibetan Market, I love mulling around markets, you got some great new toys. lol
Marta
Sounds like a fun day of shopping!
Delicious kebabs here! Funny, your quote in the start is exactly what I talked about in my most recent post! Great minds think alike 😉
Rosa's Yummy Yums
What a wonderful dish! Delicious!
I wish I could find such great items here…
Cheers,
Rosa
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Those Italian chicken skewers look divine Deeba! I love Ikea but your purchases are amazing! 😮
Michelle
Your chicken shewers look so good! I've been wanting to make some too and after seeing your I'm for sure making them next week.
It's look you had a great time shopping too! Love the ornate spoons and ladle is so cool. I could shop every day and not get tired of looking at kitchen stuff!
Donna-FFW
LOVE the chicken on the skewers and the peppers. It looks so delicious and moist. Grilled perfectly.
lisa (dandysugar)
First of all, your chicken looks amazing. That would have been a perfect grilling choice for us yesterday for our 4th of July holiday!
Secondly, I just love looking through marketplaces. It's one of my favorite things to do while traveling. Great new things to play with!
Shanteri
Hello! I live in Boston but grew up in Delhi from 86 to 92. My mother is a Delhi girl through and through! I just happened to stumble on foodgawker and see this wonderful blog of yours. Amazing and brings back so many lovely memories!
vibi
With such beautiful and original pots, kitchen utensils and nick nacks… how could you even be envious of IKEA stuff!? LOL LOL …I guess one can never be satisfied with easy to find things, but always have to make it a journey to find the unavailable. I would kill to visit a market in Delhi… AH! Some day, I do plan to visit Rajasthan and Delhi (A long life dream of mine), until then… I go on admiring it all here, on your blog.
P.s.: Thanks for your kind words on my "bavarois"… and in case you haven't noticed, yes! You can find everything on my blog in English, only by clicling on the American/British flag situated right under my banner
Jaime
love how you made a great light version of the chicken!
Bellini Valli
Everything looks wonderful. Love the purchases at the stores, all I can think of is they will work beautifully in your photos..hows that for a one track blogger mind:D
noble pig
Oh I would much rather be at a Tibetan market than IKEA…so jealous! What loot.
5 Star Foodie
Chicken skewers with Italian twist sounds excellent and what neat shopping items!
Lisa
deeba, WOW, those look so incredibly beautiful and delicous, and the photos..you know how I go nuts for your photos!
That said, I live in the US, and I can never find great stuff like you do! LOL
Arwen from Hoglet K
The chicken skewers look great, and it's perfect to have something that cooks quickly when it's hot. I love the Tibetan metalwork too – it has so much character!
Who Has Time To Cook?
Thanks for visiting my blog. I appreciate the comment. Your blog's great. I'll definitely be stopping by again. — Jean
Julia @ Mélanger
When I lived in the US, my sister used to send me 'care packages' from Australia with little different bits and pieces I missed. Now back in Australia, I miss some of the variety in the US. I'm regularly having packages arrive for me. Somehow I manage to express interest in something online, and voilà, there it is! 🙂
oneshotbeyond
looking super tasty to me!
Kristen
I just can't get over your market finds. Those are awesome!
Helene
I hope to be able to visit that market some day. Lot's of great stuff you bought.
Humaira
Deeba, I have been following your blog for a while now and I must say its awsome!!. Every thing is so well organized and the photos are mouthwatering.I finally tried one of your recipies called zebra cake. and oh my god it turned out delicious. I am a novice at this but I just started my own blog as I love cooking …do you mind if I post photos of how my cake turned out and like it to your recipe in my blog. My blog is http://humairasfoodpassion.blogspot.com/. I will be happy if you can visit 🙂
Maria
The dish sounds delicious and the loot from the U.S. looks fun but the copper/brass knick knacks are my favorite. They are absolutely gorgeous and I am extremely envious–they are so beautiful and eclectic.
Nicisme
So happy that you had such an enjoyable time with your sister, and what a great haul of goodies!
nora@ffr
sounds fun!! dish sound great!!!