Tag: finger food

TOASTING THE TIKKA WITH A SHERBET…COTTAGE CHEESE, CHICKEN & POMEGRANATE!!

“The art of dining well is no slight art, the pleasure not a slight pleasure”
Michel De Montaigne
Strange bedfellows one might say…cottage cheese, chicken & pomegranates. Common ground surprisingly exists in the form of Indian cuisine. The sun is blazing hot again & summer doesn’t want to go away. Grilling or barbequing food makes for lighter fare in this weather; is a big hit always. This is going to be part 1 of the post as my menu ran too long. I marinated cottage cheese / paneer cubes in 2 different marinades, boneless chicken bits in a creamy marinade. Decided to make some more leavened Indian bread (the third in the series I decided to try out in my lovely black box), had a delicious bowlful of dal makhani saved up from the previous day…& then made saffron kulfi to finish off the meal. PHEW…sounds like a long list, but was done in bits & bobs. And oh yes, forgot to mention the anaar ka sherbet / pomegranate cooler that I made too. That I did the previous day because I chanced upon some juicy pomegranates & couldn’t resist picking ’em up! Right then, here we go…
Paneer Tikka / Grilled Cottage Cheese
Ingredients:
Cottage cheese – 1 kg / cubed into 1″ chunks
Yogurt – 1 cup ; hung
Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsps
Oil – 1 tbsp
Juice of 1 lime
Paprika for half & coriander/mint/green chili paste for the other
Salt to taste
Chaat masala for sprinkling
Green chutney to serve (recipe posted here)
Bell peppers, onions etc to serve

Method:
  • Whip the yogurt with ginger-garlic paste + oil + lime juice + salt.
  • Add paprika to 1/2, & coriander-mint-green chili paste to the other. ( I add some green chutney to save time; adjust the salt if you do so).
  • Leave to marinate for about 30 minutes (or more) in the fridge. Toss the veggies in a little olive oil.
  • Put all the above on a hot grill & turn to ensure all sides nicely browned. Sprinkle lightly with chaat masala if desired. Serve with a green chutney & lime wedges.
  • Skewer with the veggies serve immediately.
  • Note: Cottage cheese tends to get a bit hard if grilled & left for later. It tastes wonderful freshly grilled!

Here’s the ‘Chicken Malai Tikka’. Made with the recipe I found at Pearls of East @ ‘Any One Can Cook’. A yummy creamy chicken tikka…eat it right off the grill to enjoy the moist, rich flavours. The recipe can be found here. I marinated this overnight; just makes life a lot simpler the next day!!

And to cool off my frayed nerves after being far too ambitious, there was nothing better than a glass of chilled ‘anaar ka sherbet’. The grenadine or pomegranate concentrate can be made in advance & refrigerated. We had it diluted with icy water & a squeeze of lime. You can perk it up by adding some sparkling lime water to it; grenadine is a great base for cocktails, mocktails & desserts too. Quite easy to make…
Anaar Sherbet / Pomegranate Cooler

  • Deseed 2 pomegranates. Put the seeds in a pan with 1 1/2 cups of water, add 8 tbsps sugar. Bring to a boil & simmer for 5 minutes till flesh is soft (will turn light pink). Cool & push the syrup through cheesecloth. Pour the concentrate into a bottle & refrigerate. Dilute as required & use as a base for a cooler.

Grenadine is traditionally a red syrup. It is used as an ingredient in cocktails, both for its flavor and to give a pink tinge to mixed drinks. “Grenadines” are also made by mixing the syrup with cold water in a glass or pitcher, sometimes with ice. The name “grenadine” comes from the French word grenade meaning pomegranate, as grenadine was originally prepared from pomegranate juice, cherry juice, and sugar.

The ‘khameeri roti’, or leavened flatbread, & ‘saffron kulfi’ recipe shall follow soon. The ‘dal makhani’ was the good old Jugalbandits recipe which I posted here!

Bon Apetit!!
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Posted by Deeba @ PAB

FAST BUT NOT FURIOUS…MIDDLE EASTERN CHICKEN BURGER PATTIES

“As a child my family’s menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.”
Buddy Hackett
What do you do when you hardly have any time on hand & hungry kids hounding you? Get the grill going, slap on some chicken patties…then sit back, relax & enjoy their glee!! Rediscovered this easy-peasy chicken patty recipe which I came across a while ago, bookmarked, & awaiting experimentation. No words to waste…it was simple, quick & full of flavour! Surprisingly easy, with yogurt as an ingredient, a happy marriage of spices; I certainly didn’t think I’d sail through this one as calmly.
This is a great one to have on hand if you are rushed for time, or just in a plain lazy mood. I think these will make excellent finger food too. Serve them with a ‘pomegranate molasses’ dipping sauce, a lime-mint-coriander chutney or maybe tzatziki … YUM!! I made these moist burger patties from this recipe I found here @ Akalaty.

Middle Eastern Burgers recipe adapted from Akalaty
Ingredients for patties:
Extra-virgin olive oil – 2 tsps
Onion – 1 large / finely chopped
Ground cinnamon – 1tsp
Ground coriander – 2 tsp
Red pepper flakes – 1/4 tsp

Sumac Powder – 2 tsps (the original recipe doesn’t have this. I had sumac, so I added it)
Sea salt – 1 1/2 tsps
Freshly ground black pepper
Garlic – 5 cloves / minced (original had 2 cloves;I like loads of garlic, but this wasn’t overpowering)
Fresh coriander leaves – 1/4 cup / chopped
Minced lean chicken – 500gms
Plain yogurt – 1/4 cup (I hung it to get rid of excess whey; was scared the patties would be mushy; surprisingly they weren’t)
Pomegranate molasses – 3 tbsps for brushing (didn’t have any unfortunately!)

Method:

  • Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the onion, cinnamon, coriander, pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, coriander & sumac (if using) and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 more minute.
  • Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Stir in the chicken and yogurt until the onion are evenly mixed. Season with salt and pepper. (I refrigerated the mince overnight at this stage. They were perfect & easy to handle the next morning. I personally feel that the mixture should be chilled for at least an hour for mingling of flavours & easy handling.)
  • Shape into 4 1/2-inch thick patties.
  • Cook in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes on each side, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the sides of the burgers registers between 165 and 170 degrees F.
  • Brush burgers with the pomegranate molasses and set aside to rest for 5 minutes. Serve on toasted buns with fixings.

Enthusiastic enough to go a step further & make your own hamburger buns too? Check out my post for home-made burger buns here. The recipe for my mint-coriander-lime chutney can be found here.And of course, this too is on it’s way to Ruth @ Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments for her Bookmarked event.

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Posted by Deeba @ PAB

SAVOURY TARTLETS…Crisp & pretty appetizers.

“Food is for eating, and good food is to be enjoyed…I think food is, actually, very beautiful in itself.”
Delia Smith
SAVOURY MINI TARTS…
TOPPED WITH SWEETCORN & MUSHROOMS…

I love the idea of using my spare time creating leftover sweet (or savoury) nothings! There is no ‘main dish pressure’, the leftovers are mine to use; no demands whatsoever. The end result is always full of suspense! These little tarts are the result of one such experiment…

A FRESH BASIL LEAF ADDS TO COLOUR & TASTE
I made these teeny savoury tartlets with the pastry dough left over from the quiche the other day. Once lunch was served & done with, everyone retired to whatever they wanted to; I took over the kitchen once again. The tartlets were lovely & crisp; vegetarian too.

I cut out circles with a fluted cookie cutter, placed the cut-out circles in a mini tart pan & baked them. Then topped the little bites with left-over corn & mushroom mix from the quiche. They turned out very enjoyable indeed & looked quite nice too. I loved the look of the crisp pastry, with the cheesy topping & finally the basil leaf. They got made real quick, went under the grill for 5 minutes & were tasty little bites. Perfect for finger-food & appetizers. These are vegetarian, but you can use any topping you like…just 1 tsp of topping is good for each tartet.

Here’s what I did…
  • The recipe for the pastry is the same as for the quiche, which you can find here.
  • The topping is also the same as the mushroom mix as in the quiche filling, just till the stir frying bit in the pan. The other tarts use just steamed sweetcorn which I made from a fresh ear of corn. You can use frozen sweet corn if you like.
  • Roll out the pastry as thin as you can. Cut out 2-3″circles with a fluted cookie cutter, or even a plain one will do. Place them in the tartlet pan & bake at 180 degrees C for 10 minutes/till light brown.
  • Cool on racks.
  • Place a tsp of the mushroom mix each on half the tartlets. Top with cheese spread, oregano & a basil leaf. sprinkle with a little grated cheese.
  • On the rest, add a tsp of sweetcorn (seasoned lightly with salt & pepper). Top with cheese spread, oregano & a basil leaf. Sprinkle with a little grated cheese.
  • You can also mix the sweetcorn & mushroom to get different flavours; I kept them separate because of the kids. Just make sure the topping isn’t watery/liquidy because that will ruin the crispness of the pastry.
  • Place under a medium grill (180degrees c) for 5 minutes.
  • That’s it…serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
  • Use toppings that you like…tuna & corn; chicken…whatever; this was just an experiment!
  • The pastry tarts can be baked a couple of days in advance. Store in an airtight tin in a cool place.

THEY WERE REALLY NICE…We loved them!

I found just the right platform to send these to…‘Leftover Tuesdays‘ at Project Foodie. As foodie Pam writes,”Leftover Tuesdays #11 challenges you to transform your leftovers into tasty temptations and tell us all about it.” How apt…always amazed by how much sense some things make.

Am tempted to, & so, will send these for Mansi’s ‘Game Night Party’ at Fun and Food as well. These make for nice finger food which can be assembled in advance. Let the party go on!!

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

COLOURFUL FRUIT KABOBS…Cape gooseberry, Cheddar & Basil

“A fruit is a vegetable with looks and money. Plus, if you let fruit rot, it turns into wine, something Brussels sprouts never do.”
P. J. O’Rourke
CAPE GOOSEBERRY APPETIZERS

Its winter here in North India & many seasonal fruits are making a welcome appearance. One of them is my favourite, the cape gooseberry, or the ‘rasbharis‘ (meaning filled with juice). These little berries are sweet yet slightly tart, & are sold in bunches. In peak season, you will find cartloads of these lining the roads while driving…a sweet sight indeed. When we were kids, they would come each wrapped in its natural husky brown cover, which we would patiently peel & enjoy the fruit of our meagre labour. Times have changed….now they come in bunches (as pictured below), with their husks pulled back neatly & tied with strings to make life simpler. Somehow, for me, the charm was with the husk still on, because there was a certain joy in gently peeling the husk off! Thank heavens for small mercies; the taste is still the same!!

Cape Gooseberry, Goldenberry, Husk Cherry, Peruvian Ground Cherry, Poha, Poha Berry.

The cape gooseberry is native to Brazil but long ago became naturalized in the highlands of Peru and Chile and became identified with the region. It was being grown in England in 1774 and was cultivated by early settlers at the Cape of Good Hope before 1807. Soon after introduction to the Cape the plant was carried to Australia where it quickly spread into the wild. Seeds were taken to Hawaii before 1825 and the plant is naturalized on all the islands at medium and somewhat higher altitudes. Only in fairly recent times has the fruit received any attention in the continental U.S.

GOOSEBERRY, CHEDDAR & BASIL FRUIT KABOBS…nestled amongst basil flowers.

Every time I eat or serve fruit, the mind begins to think what more can be done with it. Dress it up, serve it with cheese; hmmmmmmm…do something different? So, this morning, while trimming the overgrown basil plants, I thought this might be worth the try. I made fruit kabobs using cheddar cubes, cape gooseberries & basil. The result was a fresh, fruity, sweet & tangy appetiser, entirely pleasing to the palette. Simple & nutritious too.

Colorful, nutritious and fun, fruit kabobs are a big hit whenever they’re served.

My mind was working towards an easy appetizer for Mansi’s event at ‘Fun and Food’ for her ‘Game Night Party’…a fun blog event. She aims to get together simple yet delicious recipes that can help you plan a stress-free ‘Game Night’ with simple, vegetarian & ‘Quick-to-Make’ recipes! This recipe is stress free, needs next to no preparation, the fruit can be substituted…so off it goes to Mansi as promised.

Ingredients:

Cape Gooseberries – 200gms
Cheddar -100 gms / cubed
Basil leaves – a handful (30-40 leaves)

Method:

  • Skewer a basil leaf, then a gooseberry, followed by cheese & then basil again.
  • Prepare in advance. Keep covered; chill if you like.
  • That’s it…sweet & simple. ENJOY!!

The ripe fruits are considered a good source of Vitamin P and are rich in pectin.
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

JAM TARTLETS…..Pretty Ruby Petits Fours

“The rule is jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today.”
Lewis Carroll

JAM TARTLETS…Petits Fours

A Tart is defined as a single-layered base of pastry (plain or puff) with a sweet or savory filling baked in either a shallow tart pan that has straight, fluted sides and a removable bottom or a metal tart ring placed on a baking sheet. The tart is removed from the tart pan or ring before serving. Broadly, the term ‘tart’ encompasses flans, quiches, and pies. Depending on the type of tart made they can be served as appetizers, entrees or desserts. Their size ranges from bite-size (hors d’oeuvre), individual-size (tartlet) to full-size (tart).’…quoted from ‘Joy of Baking‘…one of my favourite net-stops!

Sweet tarts have fillings of fruit, jams, custards, flavored creams, or nuts.

What do miniature tuiles, eclairs, fancy cakes, macaroons, glazed or candied fruits, tartlets, ladyfingers, cigarettes, etc. have in common? They all belong to a category of small fancy cookies, pastries, or confections called “petits fours”. The name petit four seems to have originated from the name of the ovens (petit four meaning ‘small oven’) they were baked in. In the 18th century the ovens were made of brick and once the large cakes were baked, small cakes were placed in the ovens as they were cooling down.
Petits fours can be eaten in one or two bites and these fancy pastries are further divided into “sec” or “glacé”. “Sec” meaning “dry” and “glacé” meaning “iced or frosted”. …Joy of Baking again!

‘LIQUID RUBY PETITS FOURS’…

I made these sweet little ‘Liquid Ruby Petits Fours’, with a jam filling, for my daughter’s birthday…& in all the confusion & excitement, forgot to put them out! What a feast my kids had over the next few days; it was tartlets all the way!! Since this months CLICK event has a liquid theme – ‘LIQUID COMFORT’, I’ve thought of sending in this one above as an entry…its atoms move freely & it took the shape of the pastry!

Moving on from there, the recipe for the pastry cases / pie shells are from a sweet little book of contemporary recipes called ‘What’s Cooking Chocolate’ by Jacqueline Bellefontaine, which she uses to make mini chocolate tartlets. I made those & some of these as well, variety being the spice of my life!!

Here’s the recipe as adapted from her book…
Ingredients:

Flour – 1 1/2 cups

Butter – 1/3 cup ; chilled & cut into pieces
Castor Sugar – 1 tbsp
Chilled water – 3-4 tbsp

Method:
  • Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.
  • Rub in the chilled butter with your fingertips to get a breadcrumb like mix.
  • Stir in the sugar.
  • Add enough water to make a soft dough.
  • Cover & chill for 20 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.
  • Roll out to 1/4-1/8″ thickness & line the pastry/tart shells or mini muffin trays with them.
  • Cover the pastry with foil, put in pie weights ( I used beans) & bake blind for 15 minutes approximately till light brown.
  • Cool completely on racks & store in an airtight tin until use. I made mine 3 days in advance.
  • Heat about 1/2 cup of jam with 1 tbsp water in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, until jam is runny.
  • Pour carefully into prepared tart shells, use sprinkles if you like, and leave to set.

‘Ruby don’t take your love to town’…this song has been playing in my head all the while I have been putting this post together. Kenny Rogers at his very best!! Used to be one of my favourite numbers & am glad to renew the link!!
Posted by Deeba @ PAB

SAVOURY CHEESE COOKIES…Crisp, tasty nibbles!

“Cheese, wine, and a friend must be old to be good.”
Cuban Proverb

SAVOURY CHEESE COOKIES
A favourite savoury cookie that has a made permanent place at the kids birthday party table. It’s crisp, it’s buttery, it’s cheesy…& attractive too. I usually make these with sesame seeds on top, but this year have tried some with poppy seeds as my friend from Kiev got me a bag of poppy seeds! This recipe is adapted from one of my oft used cookie books, “The Great Big Cookie Book”. The book has a few other savoury bites too, which I plan to try in the near future.
I love playing around with cookie cutters; different shapes, scallops, shapes inside shapes…and this time did some miniature nibbles too. Heard they go great with wine, and make attractive finger food. Must add that a friend of mine from school loves these cookies with my yogurt dip!
Festive Nibbles…
Savoury Treats…
Poppy ‘n’ Sesame…hand in hand!

The recipe as adapted from ‘The Great Big Cookie Book’
Ingredients:
Flour – 1 cups
Salt – 1/2 tsp
Paprika – 1/2 tsp (or chilli powder)
Butter – 1/2 cup / cold
Cheddar cheese – 75 gms / grated
Egg – 1 beaten lightly with a fork with 1 tsp of mustard
Chilled water – 1-2 tbsps
Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds to decorate
Method:
  • Sift the flour + salt + paprika.
    Cut in the butter into the flour mix to make a breadcrumbs like mix. Add the grated cheese and stir through with a fork.
    Fold in half the beaten egg mix with a fork. (Reserve the other half of the egg for the glaze)
    Sprinkle water, a tbsp at a time, and bring the mixture together to form a soft, firm dough. Knead lightly until smooth.
    Preheat the oven to 200C. Grease 2 baking sheets.
    Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4″ thickness and cut into desired shapes.
    Place on greased trays. Paint the reserved egg mixture over the cut-out cookies, sprinkle with sesame and or poppy seeds.
    Bake till golden brown. (Approximately 12-15 minutes)
    Remove from oven and cool on racks.
    Store in an airtight box
    Makes 4-5 dozen cookies.
    Cute little mini bites…
Posted by Deeba @ PAB
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