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Sangria like Mocktail

These days have been experimenting a lot with mixing different juices and making mocktails when I have friends over esp friends with children below 18 :)

I had tried Sangria recently and fell in love with the drink. I liked the concept of adding fresh fruits to your drink.Wanted to replicate a non alcoholic version of this drink , so tried to experiment with different flavors at home.
This is the outcome - loved it.
Sangria like Mocktail

Method
1. Take a huge pitcher. Add 500 ml apple juice, 250 ml orange juice, juice of 2 lemons, 2 apples finely chopped, 2 oranges deseeded and finely chopped along with the rind, 1 lemon finely chopped along with the rind.
2. I added 1 cup of tea decoction (boil tea leaves in water and then strain the leaves, cool it and add) for additional flavor and some color.
3. You can add sugar or water to balance the taste. Refrigerate the drink for atleast 2 hours before serving.
4. You can serve this drink with ice and also add soda for extra fizz.


Feel free to add other juices like cranberry juice to the drink. 
Do share your versions of mocktails and do let me know if you have a different version of virgin Sangria :)

Tandoori Chicken

Been wanting to try this dish ever since I bought my new oven. The key to this dish is in its marination. If you want well marinated chicken, you need to plan in advance. I marinated the chicken at 1 PM in the morning and cooked them finally at 8 in the morning.
Frankly speaking, it turned out so yummy and juicy (much unlike tawa frys which are slightly drier) that I forgot to click pics and started enjoying the chicken. This pic was an after thought and clicked in a hurry with the last pieces left and hence is of poor quality. Will replace it soon as I am sure I am going to cook this often.


Tandoori Chicken




Method
1. Clean 500 gms of chicken and cut slashes in the chicken so that
2.  Make a marinade in a large glass bowl out of 1/2 cup hung curd, 1 tsp oil, 2 tsp ginger garlic paste, 2 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tsp tandoori masala, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder, 1 tsp chat masala, 2 tsp lemon juice and salt to taste. Mix well. Add the chicken pieces and rub the marinade on the chicken. Mix well and prick with a fork so that the chicken is well marinated. Cover the glass bowl with a cling foil and keep aside. I refrigerated the chicken after 2 hrs of leaving it aside
3. Remove the refrigerated chicken 30 mins before cooking.
4. Preheat the oven for 10 mins @ 180 degrees
5. Brush some oil on the grill. Place the chicken pieces on the grill or you can also arrange them on a skewer. You can brush some more oil on the chicken pieces. Place them into the oven. Dont forget to place a drip tray.
6. I cooked the chicken at 180 degrees for 45 mins. Keep checking and turning the chicken pieces every 10 mins  but this may vary depending on your oven. The chicken is well done when you can pierce using a tooth pick and the tooth pick easily reaches up to the bone. Of course, taking out the  piece and tasting it is a better option :)
7. Squeeze some lemon juice and chat masala and serve.

Butter Chicken

A few weeks ago, I had a few Punjabi friends visiting and I knew they loved Butter Chicken. Decided to try my hand at it for the first time so went online scouting for recipes. Came across this recipe at VahreVah and decided to try it. Doubt if this is the authentic butter chicken recipe cooked in North Indian kitchens, but anyways this was yummy - so who cares :)

Butter Chicken

Method
1. Cut 500 gms of boneless chicken into strips. Add 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp of red chilli powder, 1tsp of coriander powder and salt and let it marinate for 1 hour.
2. Take 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and deep fry the marinated chicken. When brown (should be about 90% done) remove from the pan and set aside.
3. In the same oil, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and let them splutter. You may add more oil if needed.
4. Add 2 onions finely chopped into the oil and fry them till translucent. Sprinkle some water so that the masala left over from the fried chicken comes of the pan. This masala actually adds to the taste of the chicken so let it be.
5. Add 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 5/6 cashew nuts, 2 green chillies and saute with the onion. Add 3 finely chopped tomatoes  and saute well. Cover and cook till mushy.
6. Add some kasoori methi to the mixture, saute it well.
7. Now remove from heat, let this mixture cool and then blend it to a fine paste
8. Take a new pan and add 1 tbsp butter to it. Add the blended paste and saute. Add the chicken to this mixture.
9. Make it thinner, adjust the salt and add a bit of sugar to adjust for the tanginess.
10. You can also add some tomato ketchup for added taste.
11. Let this cook till a good boil. 
12. Garnish with cream and sprinkle some garam masala in the end. You can add more butter at this point 
13. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Usal Pav

I love the Usal Pav made by my mom. It was always a special breakfast /snack option at home. Wanted to replicate that the other day but did not have the white peas at home. Decided to just go ahead with dried green peas and it turned out as good - guess the masala does the magic for me.

Usal Pav
Method
1. Soak 1 1/2 cup of dried white peas (I have used green peas here) overnight in water. Boil it in the morning (I cooked it in the pressure cooker for 1 whistle and then simmered for a few mins) and keep aside.
2. Take 2 tsp oil in a non stick pan and when hot, add 1 tsp mustard seeds. Add 1 tsp cumin seeds when the mustard seeds start spluttering. Add 3-4 split red chillies, 1 inch of cinnamon and some 4-5 cloves and saute. I also added 2 green chillies finely chopped.
3. Add 2 finely chopped onion and saute. Add a little salt while sauteing the onion. Saute the onion till its translucent.
4. Add 5-6 pods of garlic finely chopped and saute. Add a pinch of hing (asafoetida) , pinch of turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala powder and saute for a few mins
5. Now add 3 finely chopped tomatoes and saute well. You can cover and cook till the tomatoes are mushy.
6. Now add the boiled peas. You can also mash some 3-4 tsp of boiled peas and add it to add some thickness to the gravy. Add water according to the consistency you want. Bring to a good boil.
7. Serve with finely chopped coriander leaves, finely chopped onion and squeeze some lemon on top
8. Tastes best with pav but you can also add farsan to the usal and eat it just like that.

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