Chicken Tikka Biryani Barbeque Chicken Rice

Ingredients:
½ kilogram Boneless Chicken (cut into 4 cm cubes)
1 tbsp. Heavy Cream
A pinch of Saffron (Zaafran)
1 Onion (sliced)
1 tsp. Garlic Paste (Pisa Lehsan)
2 tbsp. Lemon Juice (Nimbu Arakh)
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Black Peppers (Pisi Kaali Mirch) (grounded)
2 cups Basmati Rice
1 tsp. Salt
2 to 3 tbsp. Butter (Makhan)
2 Egg Yolks (beaten)
½ tsp. Black Pepper (Pisi Kaali Mirch) (Grounded)
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Whole Black Peppercorns (Saabut Kaali Mirch)
Cherry Tomatoes

Method:
Mix the marinade ingredients with the chicken.
And set aside for 4 hours.
Mix the saffron with the cream.
Thread the chicken pieces onto a skewer.
Brush the pieces with some of the saffron-cream mixture.
Wash the rice and let it soak for 1 hour.
Then cook the rice with salt in 5 cups of boiling water then drain.
Mix the butter and beaten egg yolk and black pepper powder gently into the rice with a fork.
Then the rice back on low heat.
And let it cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
Grill the chicken in a medium-hot oven for 8 to 9 minutes, or until tender, basting with the rest of the saffron-cream mixture.
Then place rice on a platter and arrange chicken on skewers on top of the rice.
Then garnish with the peppercorns and whole cherry tomatoes and serve.

Chicken Tikka Biryani Barbeque Chicken Rice

Last night we grilled whole chicken breasts on the Weber Kettle and sauced them with Nature Isle Caribbean Spicy BBQ Sauce. I won the sauce when I responded to a post on Twitter where you can find me listed as cyndiallison.

I often grill the little boneless chicken breasts. Around here, that's fast food. But, we went with the full chicken breasts tonight which take a bit longer. they are still easy to grill though.

First, we rubbed the chicken breasts with a little Garlic Gold olive oil and then sprinkled on some Chef of the Future Cajun Seasoning which I just had added to my OpenSky store. Don't let the "cajun" part put you off. this is just a very flavorful sprinkle season that is healthy and tastes fabulous but not hot.

Then we used the offset trays for the 22.5 inch Weber Kettle. You can get a similar effect by stacking the coals on each side with space in the middle, but it is really convenient to have the charcoal holders.

With larger cuts like the big chicken breasts, we grilled lid on or convection. It is much like baking at home. Vents both top and bottom were wide open for this barbecue grill session.

The total time for large bone in chicken breasts on the Weber with offset heat is around 45 minutes. The temperature should be around 165 degrees F in the thickest part of the chicken, and I like to use a very basic Taylor but accurate pocket thermometer. I do have some fancy probe thermometers that ring when the meat reaches temp, but I find the pocket version to be more convenient.

When the chicken was getting close done, we sauced them with the Nature Isle Caribbean barbecue sauce. The sauce goes on close the end - like the last 15 minutes or so. Otherwise, it burns. You just want the bbq sauce to set and not char and taste burned.

Boy, this chicken turned out pretty! and, it was just as yummy as it looks here. I never PhotoShop my photos. for starters, I don't know how (-:

The Nature Isle Carribbean is a sweet barbecue sauce with lots of flavor but no major heat. It is just a burst of flavor pleasure. The island theme makes sense. I could see sitting on the beach and eating this chicken sauced with Caribbean Spicy.

Barbecue Master: Grilled Chicken on the Weber Kettle with Nature ...

Cinco de Mayo Tostadas

Makes 14 to 16 servings

The onions can be made up to a week ahead, and the marinade can be made a day ahead. the onions, the combination of cabbage and Romaine lettuce, and the guajillo-chipotle chile marinade turn these into great tostadas. I've given an oven-baked method for crisping the tortillas - it's a lower-cal version for the fry-o-phobic, but the tortillas do turn out relatively sturdy. you can also fry them in oil. and if you don't want to bother at all, you can use the ready-made tostada shells.

• The Pink Onions:
• 1 red onion, very thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup white wine or Champagne vinegar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• The marinade and chicken:
• 2 dried guajillo chiles
• 2 to 3 chipotle chiles en adobo
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the can
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken, a mixture of breasts and thighs
• The topping:
• 1 small head romaine lettuce, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
• 1/4 Napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup snipped cilantro
• 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 tablespoons Pink Onion marinade
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup Pink Onions
• The tortillas:
• 14 to 16 corn tortillas (Mission or Tortilla Factory brands) or ready-made tostada shells
• -- about 1 tablespoon canola oil
• Garnish:
• -- about 1/2 cup grated Cotija cheese (use microplane grater)
• -- Hot sauce or salsa, if desired

For the onions: You can make these up to a week ahead. place the onions in a glass bowl. Combine the vinegars in a glass measuring cup and heat in microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove and stir in the salt and sugar until dissolved. Pour vinegar mixture over onions, stir, cover and refrigerate. these keep well and extras can be used in salads.

For the marinade: Toast the guajillo chiles in a small skillet for about 2 minutes, turning frequently and making sure they do not burn. Remove and cut into pieces, shaking out seeds and removing stems. place the pieces in a bowl and cover with 1/2 cup boiling water; set aside for 15 minutes to soften. Pour the chiles and soaking water into a blender jar; add the chipotles, adobo sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin seed, cider vinegar and salt, and blend until fairly smooth; set aside.

Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness (about 1/4-inch) between plastic wrap sheets and use poultry shears to snip off excess fat from chicken thighs. place all chicken in a long dish and cover with the marinade, rubbing it into all surfaces. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before ready to cook.

For the topping: Combine romaine, cabbage, cilantro, tomatoes and avocado in a good-size bowl. Combine the Pink Onion marinade and the olive oil in a separate small bowl; set aside.

To cook the chicken: Preheat a gas grill, charcoal grill, or large grill pan. (If using grill pan, brush with a tablespoon of oil.) Remove the chicken from the marinade; drain excess, although the chicken will have absorbed most of it. Grill the breasts (cut into smaller pieces if necessary) for about 12 minutes, turning once or twice. Grill the thighs for about 20 minutes, turning a couple of times. Remove to a cutting board, and slice into strips.

Meanwhile cook the tortillas: I have tried several techniques to make crisp tortilla shells without deep-frying, and have found the following technique the best: Preheat the oven to 200. place the tortillas in a single layer on 2 baking sheets. Bake for about 30 minutes.

Remove the tortillas from the oven, and raise the temperature to 350. use your fingers to rub both sides of the tortillas with canola oil. Return the tortillas to the oven and bake them for about 10 minutes, until they start to color on the edges.

To assemble: Add the Pink Onions to the cabbage mixture, and toss the mixture with the dressing. Lay out the crisp tortilla shells on a platter. top with chicken slices. Pile on about 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup topping. Dust with cotija cheese. Pass hot sauce or salsa for diners to add to taste.

Per serving: 204 calories, 20 g protein, 16 g carbohydrate, 7 g fat (2 g saturated), 67 mg cholesterol, 274 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.

Wine pairing: Spiced chicken gently boosted with pickled onions is lovely with a 2008 Gravity Hills Vertigo Central Coast Chenin Blanc Riesling ($12).

With tostadas, the simpler the better

What do you think of when you think of Kentucky? Photograph: Katherine Rose

Think of Kentucky and what springs to mind? Bourbon? Horse racing? Grits? Fried chicken? It's fried chicken, isn't it. Kentucky Fried Chicken, Colonel Sanders' finger lickin' good franchise. Visit Kentucky, however, and you may meet another colonel: Colonel Michael Masters, a Southern gentleman making waves with slow food in a state long associated with its faster counterpart.

The Colonel, as he is inevitably known, and his wife Margaret Sue host the Kentucky Bourbon Cooking School and tonight he's talking me through the original American spirit - bourbon. I've rehearsed the drill at the nearby Heaven Hill distillery: nose, look for colour, oggle the legs. "Your nose is about 100 times smarter than your mouth so stick your nose right in," says the Colonel. "Pick up the notes ... then, like we do in Kentucky, take a good long drink!"

Around 95% of all bourbon is made in Kentucky, a legacy of the Irish and Scottish settlers who crossed the Alleghenies after the American revolution. they found a new frontier rich in sun and limestone water, perfect for barley, wheat and corn, and whiskey. most unaged spirit went through Bourbon county, hence the name. There are stricter rules nowadays: bourbon must be distilled from a grain mixture at least 51% corn at no more than 160 proof (80% alcohol by volume) and contain no added colouring or flavouring. It's then aged for at least two years in virgin oak barrels, charred on the inside to varying degrees.

The Colonel offers me a Knob Creek, then a Basil Hayden, a smooth introduction to bourbon, and a sip of Elijah Craig, an 18-year single barrel. Then there's a mint julep - sugar, water, mint and bourbon - a Kentucky institution. "Cocktails should always be strong - who wants a wussy cocktail," he says. "This is 'simple syrup': sugar and water. Put some mint in - I like a minty simple syrup. you want the mint to marry the bourbon, so add a sprig. Don't bruise it, be romantic. It's a romantic drink."

So what is Kentucky cuisine? "It's pork chops on the grill, with bourbon; oh my. during the season, wild game, beef tenderloin; we do it medium rare. We do a lot with old country ham; ham put on salt and aged for up to two years." and fried chicken? "The essence of Southern cooking is grilling, not frying. Especially barbecuing, it's huge here." There's fried catfish, too, and green beans, country ham, cheese grits (not nice, but when is polenta nice?), fried green tomatoes (very tasty), and hickory smoked barbecues, using mutton.

At nearby Kurtz, a family-run restaurant since the 1930s, baking dominates, but I'm here to sample fried chicken. "Kentucky fried chicken?" I ask. "No, skillet fried chicken, homemade, slow," stamps the owner. it was good, with mash potato, the ubiquitous Southern gravy (milk, butter, flour, salt and pepper), beetroot, 'slaw (with vinegar, not mayo) and skillet-fried cornbread (sweet and heavy).

I still felt I couldn't leave Kentucky without visiting the place where KFC started. in Corbin in the state's eastern mountains Harland Sanders ran a travel lodge, gas station and kitchen where he experimented with ways to fast-cook chicken in a pressure fryer for hurried travellers. There's a small museum there now at Sanders' Cafe, now a normal KFC; the old kitchen, utensils, back office, Wurlitzer and cash register used in the 1930s. All very interesting and with reassuringly familiar, tasty fried chicken, but I know which colonel's hospitality I prefer.

Kentucky: fast horses and slow food

One of the main dangers when cooking chicken is the risk of salmonella. The neatest thing about cooking chicken is watching it turn from this pale, fleshy mass into edible-looking pieces of charred poultry meat. Cooking chicken is generally very easy to do and it's easy to get a lean piece of meat without paying an excessive amount.

Chicken is easy to prepare, boneless frozen chicken breasts may be cooked in many ways. While boneless, skinless chicken breasts offer us dinner in the blink of an eye, cooking chicken breast on the bone allows us a little more flexibility. put the cooked chicken breasts on a platter and keep warm. Dress up baked chicken breasts with a pistachio coating for a special taste treat. Cook over direct heat with lid down, reducing heat to medium this is usually a good method of cooking chicken. when shopping for chicken try to purchase boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs that come pre-trimmed. when rubbing the chicken breasts with lemon juice and sprinkling it with salt and pepper this is a fast way to prepare a meal and it will give the chicken a great taste. Boneless chicken breasts will usually defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Chicken breasts are one of the easiest meats to barbecue. You'll find a delicious selection of chicken breasts and stuffed chicken breasts in the market. Beat chicken breasts flat with a mallet, this make the chicken softer and easier to cook.

Many of the recipes you will find on chicken tell you to use sliced or chopped chicken in salads. Some recipes call for a long cooking time and others use quick-cooking chicken breasts. Stuffing chicken can be done with anything from stuffing the chicken with spinach or medley of vegetables which will add extra flavor to your chicken recipes. try to find recipes for cooking chicken in a healthy way; what is meant by this is find recipes that don't call for frying or using a lot of oils. Knowledge on cooking for large groups is always helpful, some cooking methods and techniques are advanced but try to master them and the next time you throw a party it will be that much easier. using pre cut or shredded chicken will help you save time when preparing a meal.

Prepare the grill by heating it appropriately, if using a gas grill just turn it on, if using a non gas grill use single layer of coals. Barbecuing chicken is very healthy way to cook because the fat juices do not get absorbed by the chicken.. so, which chicken should you choose for great barbecue, and how should you prep it. Fresh chicken legs and chicken pieces can be cooked on the barbecue, but should never be cooked from frozen. this is the kind of barbecue food that people love to eat. to have a successful barbecue, you should have the following, prepared chicken, tongs, and seasoning. It's definitely a great way to prepare chicken. Great barbecue chicken is fast and easy to prepare and it is also healthy for you. so just have fun barbequing.

There are so many people barbequing today because everything taste better when cooked on an open flame.

Cooking The Perfect Chicken