Product Launch By Godrej Tyson Food

This Wednesday I attended a product launch by Godrej Tyson, India’s premier poultry and vegetarian products manufacturer.

These are pre-marinated chicken foods that serves as instant food when unexpected guests turn up. Just stir fry and they are done.

However, for the housewife who likes to give her personal touch, these can be turned a surprisingly innovative dish. It is not easy to replicate the original taste each time we churn out something new, (personally speaking, I can never reproduce the same taste) but, with its’ marinated standard chicken, there can be some closeness to the original taste.

Mr Arabind Das, (COO, Godrej Tyson Food Ltd) and Chef Micheal Swamy (of MasterChef fame) demonstrated some wonderful dishes during the cook-off.

The recipes were later shared with us.

Recipe: for Pahadi Chicken

Spiced Potatoes with Pahadi Chicken

 

Ingredients:

            2 Sliced potatoes with skin on

            4 pods of Garlic

            ¼ teaspoon turmeric

            ¼ teaspoon red chilli flakes without the seeds

            1 table spoon olive oil

            1 tablespoon butter

            2 sprigs of rosemary

            ¼ teaspoon chaat masala

            1 pkt of Pahadi chicken

Chutney

            200 grams    Mixed berries

            100 grams    Sugar

            100 ml                       Vinegar

            Red chilli        1 nos

Garnish

            Micro Greens

            Fried onion crisps

            Fried tulsi leaves

Wash and slice the potatoes fine

In a bowl mix the chilli, turmeric and oil together

Heat the pan and drizzle a tablespoon of oil on it.

Layer the potatoes on the pan and cook it to a golden brown on both sides

Sprinkle chaat masala over it

Heat oil in a pan and on a slow flame cook the chicken for 8 minutes turning it gently

Layer the potatoes and serve the tikkas on top garnish with fresh basil or toasted tulsi leaves

Recipe: for Achari Tikka

Salad with Asian Balsamic and Panco Encrusted Achari tikka

Ingredients:

            Strawberries

            Mixed lettuce greens

            Arugula lettuce

            1 red onion

            2 tablespoons of Asian Balsamic dressing

            ½ teaspoon sea salt

            ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

            ½ teaspoon pink pepper

Chicken:

            1 pkt achaari tikka

            250 grams Panko Crumbs

            1 teaspoon Pink Pepper corns crushed

            1 teaspoon garlic powder

            1 egg

            500 ml Curd

In a large bowl whisk the egg

In another bowl mix the dry ingredients together

Heat oil in a large kadhai

Dip the chicken in the egg mixture then coat it with panko crumbs

Deep fry the chicken pieces for 6 minutes

Remove and serve with Asian salad

Pour the Asian style balsamic vinegar reduction over the salad

Asian style balsamic vinegar reduction

Ingredients:

            1 bottle    balsamic vinegar

            1 litre grape juice

            1 teaspoon pink peppercorns

            1 teaspoon green peppercorns

            ½ kg sugar

            1-2 tablespoons angostura bitters

            6 nos       star anise

Bring all the ingredients to a boil

Simmer and reduce to half

Stuffed flower

This was another interesting creation by chef Micheal Swamy. Fried achari chicken was stir fried, stuffed into zucchini flower, dipped in the cornflour and miada batter and deep fried. I was able to taste and this had very good flavor and chicken was extremely tender.

I am definatedly going to try that…will you?

Dining in missKorea BBQ in NYC

During my one week stay in NewYork city in October 2015, we went to miss Korea BBQ for lunch. My brother and his family are regulars there and they assured me that it was the best restaurant in the town.

I was not disappointed.

How could I be when missKoreaBBQ is named as NewYork City’s ‘Best Korean BBQ Restaurant’ at 2015 Times Square Asian Food Festival

It was freezing outside, and my brother dropped me at the end of the lane, and went to look for a parking place, we walked at a fast pace, stopped to look closely at the attractive food dressing in the window and entered the warm restaurant.

Halloween was just round the corner during that time, so this restaurant too was in Halloween mood

We seated at the far end, cuddled around the fire place that was at the centre of the table. The beauty of Korean cuisine is that the food is cooked at the table itself and you nibble on food straight out of the hot pan.

The romance starts as soon as (banchan) small side dishes start appearing on the table, among which there are lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, green onion salad (called paieori) and sauces.

We started to nibble on side dishes when the waitress arrived, placed a big shiny pan on fire place in the centre of the table. She puts the oil and then the marinated meat and mixed vegetables, stir fried the veggies as we sat munching on delicious kimchi pancake, that was served on our plates. I would highly recommend these pancakes for its texture and flavor.

Soon the pan fried pork belly with vegetables ( Ohsum Bikkeum) were simmering on the center tables and we began to pluck out the pieces of the cooked pork and vegetables straight from the pan. Hot and spicy, they tasted so good.

Kids wanted to eat Yakshu Bulgogi. This is the most popular variety of Korean bbq. Before cooking, the meat is marinated with the mixture of soya sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and pepper. A perforated dome griddles are place over centre fireplace at the table, and meat is roasted over it, while the soup and juices slide towards the cupped edges. You take the pieces of cooked meat, dip into the sauce and savour it.

Since they ordered beef, I did not eat it, but from the contentments (of oohs and aahs) from the girls, I can assure you that it must have been quite tasty. I was then informed that it’s most famous dish ‘Bulgogi’ had won ‘The Culture Trip’s New York Local Favorite 2015 Award.

Steak was another dish I missed out although it looked juicy and tender. There were roasted vegetables like apples and corn paired with this dish.

A vegetarian dish was made for me on another table, I did not watch her make but the sauces were sacculent and tasty

We were in the restaurant for over two hours, eating at slow pace, enjoying every moment. It was warm inside and the food was hot, spicy and tasty. When we got up to go out, we was greeted with strong gust of icy wind, we then realized, that choosing Korean cuisine was a wise decision on a cold day like this…….

Indian Food Trail in America Part4- New York

For previous post

Indian Food Trail in America Part1-Chicago

Indian Food Trail in America Part2-Atlanta

Indian Food Trail in America Part3-Dallas

How can you miss India, when everything is available there? People living in America have created their own India adhering to the culture, tradition and food. They socialise on all the indian festivals and love Indian cuisine. Indian have westernised in India but Indian in America are very traditional in their values.

At every social gathering, they order Indian food from restaurants just like they do back home in India. The only difference is that Indians in America work very hard and with no house help, they normally don’t get much time to cook. Their freezer is stuffed with cooked food and they don’t mind eating stale food (which is sometimes one month old) Micro oven is of great help for converting stale food into a fresh hot plate.  

While in New York, my cousin wanted to take me to an south indian restaurant that is famous for best Dosas.  I am not too fond of south Indian cuisine, therefore he took me to Spice Market (at the corner of 9^th avenue) instead.

We went for dinner, it was late evening, but the restaurant was bustling with activity, loud music, people waiting at the bar, with a glass of wine, while the tables cleared. I wondered if we would be able to have conversation. But once seated, everything was comfortable. We got a nice enclosed area tucked away in a pretty corner, with large low table and couch with comfortable cushions.

This restaurant had the most innovative menu like Ovaltine kulfi and spiced apple samosas. The food was good and so was the ambience. After heavy dinner it was perfect time for Gianduja ‪chocolate Kulfi with Caramalised banana, popcorn with cocoa nibs and cream . 

I truly enjoyed the desserts at this place, especially Panandan and Tiramisu.

At the end of my four months stay in USA, I was home sick, beginning to crave for my indian cuisine back home. Most of the Indian restaurants concentrate on Biryanis and Butter Chicken and on snack menu is mainly samosas and bhajiyas. In India, we have a huge variety to select from: Sandwiches, Idlis, Vadas, etc,

Get the drift?

Different days, different food, travel all around the globe but Dhal and Rice at the end of the day……is always the best option.

Indian Food Trail in America Part3- Dallas

In continuation with

Indian Food Trail in America Part1-Chicago

Indian Food Trail in America Part2-Atlanta

 In Dallas, Indian food is very much cherished by NRIs. I was surprised to see huge Indian grocery stores everywhere. The supermarket had all the possible things Indian. Many of the gluten free food was easily available at these stores. Freshly roasted indian bread was churned out of roti machines at the supermarkets. I saw many of the Indian working housewives shop for those hot rotis. Many of the Indian supermarkets also have a small area reserved for people to sit and enjoy street food, so while they shop for spices, they might try pani puri, idlis, vadas and samosas too.

There are many private supermarkets but Patel Brothers have spread their wings in all corners of America and many delicacies and Indian sweets are locally prepared in private homes and factories. There were all kinds of sweets available and things like khakhra, sev and other savories too. I am not surprised that visitors are discouraged from bringing food stuff into the continent., they are strict at the airports, there is really no need to bring grocery to USA, everything is locally available there.

My cousin insisted that I try the briyani at Chemeli. Their portions are large but the food tasted great. There were some mouth watering dishes like kababs and curries too. This one is the family run eatery that serves Bangladesi, Indian and Pakisthani cuisine.

Royal Sweet Mart specialised in Indian street foods. In this restaurant, the man was working in the open kitchen, frying a huge dosa, stuffing it with potatoes bhaji and cheese, cutting it into triangular shapes and serving like a pizza.

Week after week, Indians  in Dallas have regular religious meetings, either in the temple or in the private homes. At Hanuman temple and SaiBai temple, lunch is served weekly. Some of them have in private homes in rotation, where they enjoy Indian cuisine during pot luck parties. It is more like a social gathering. Elaborate lunch is prepared, people get to try new recipes each week thus keeping in groove with indian cooking.

to be continued

Indian Food Trail in America Part4-New York