Zaiqa

Rainbow trout is a large, beautiful moderately fatty fish. It is very rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, just like Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines, Albacore Tuna, and Herring, so very good for your heart health. These fish are also considered low in methyl mercury levels.

Fresh Cleaned Rainbow Trout

In this recipe the beautiful fresh fish is marinated in a Tandoori masala of yogurt and aromatic spices for atleast 2 hours, and later grilled to perfection. It is crisp outside and spicy and succulent inside. Tandoori Machli is a delicacy.

Tandoori Rainbow Trout

Ingredients:

Fish alternatives: Char, Swordfish, Pink Salmon

Rainbow trout – 1 large fish, about 2.2 pounds, cleaned with head and tail intact (you can remove the head and tail if you like)
Thick Yogurt – 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Ajwain – 1 tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Roasted Coriander/Dhaniya powder – 1 tsp
Roasted Cumin/Zeera powder – 1/2 tsp

Tandoori Rainbow Trout, 
served on a bed of fresh Napa cabbage leaves and Chopped Carrot Fingers

Method:

1. In a small bowl, add all the ingredients except the fish and mix well. This is the aromatic Tandoori masala. Slather it on the fish, inside and outside. Transfer the fish into a large resealable plastic bag along with all the marinade and let it rest for not more than 2 hours in the refrigerator.
2. Bring the fish back to room temperature before you grill. Oil a fish grilling basket and place the marinated fish in the fish basket and clip it closed.
You can either grill the fish using your charcoal grill, gas grill or even bake it in your oven indoors.
For Charcoal grilling:
Light the charcoal briquettes and build a fire on direct medium grilling and let burn until the coals are almost completely covered in white ash. Oil the grill grate. Place the fish basket on the grill grate and cover the grill. Let it cook for 15 minutes until the fish meat is opaque. Turn the fish in the basket and cover the grill. Let cook for an another 10-15 minutes. Remove the fish from the basket and serve.
For Gas Grilling:
Preheat the grill on high for 10 minutes with the lid covered. Once the grill is hot, turn to medium or medium low. Oil the grill grate. Place the basket on the grill grate and cover the grill. Let it cook for 15 minutes until the fish meat is opaque. Turn the fish in the basket and cover the grill. Let cook for an another 10-15 minutes. Remove the fish from the basket and serve on a platter.
For Baking:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the fish basket on the baking sheet. Transfer the baking sheet into the oven and let cook for 15-20 minutes per side. Remove the fish from the basket and serve on a platter.
3. Extract as much meat as possible from the head and tail and discard them. Remove the backbone, and cut the fish into pieces and serve.

Note: The exact time for grilling varies depending on the size and thickness of the fish.

I enjoyed the Tandoori Rainbow Trout along with some broad noodles served with the store brought ‘Thick and Chunky Catelli Garden Select Six Vegetable Recipe-Diced Tomatoes & Basil Pasta Sauce’.

Luv,
Mona

Fresh seafood always has the best taste. And lightly seasoned grilled fresh along with a light salad for a meal is just perfect.

Grilled Salmon Steaks

I tasted Salmon for the first time in Canada, and since then I have developed a great liking for this fish. I get a few fresh Salmon steaks, pep it with a few spices for flavor, then grill it, and there you go, healthy sea-food for your family. Pacific Pink Salmon is my favorite. Enjoy it with fresh crunchy salad on the side or savor it along with rice and a vegetable curry for a hearty meal.

Fresh Salmon Steaks ready to be marinated

Salmon fish has a unique taste, different from all other fishes. It is my favorite fish that I love to eat very often. It has a pink flesh due to pigments and is rich in proteins, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin D, vitB3 and vitB12. Lipid lowering fats like the EPA and DHA present in this cold-water oily fish can help protect from cardiovascular diseases by lowering cholesterol if regularly included in diets. Always go for the fresh or frozen, locally caught, wild salmon or any other fish from the markets, as they are the sustainable and safe option compared to the farm raised kinds, because the farm raised Salmon or any other fish for that matter are said to be fed with industrial chemicals and synthetic pigments.

Grilled Salmon Steaks

Ingredients:

Salmon Steaks – 4
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Canola oil – 1 tsp

Marinated Salmon Steaks

Method:

1. In a small bowl, make a paste of red chilli powder, salt, lemon juice and ginger garlic paste. Rub this paste on the salmon steaks and let marinate for about 15 minutes at room temperature.
2. Heat your stove top grill pan on medium high. Sprinkle a few drops of water on it, if the water sizzles, the pan is ready.
3. Brush the grill pan with oil using a silicone brush so that the fish doesn’t stick. Gently place the salmon steaks on the grill pan and let cook 8 minutes per side or until flaky.
Note: Discard the skin after cooking, do not consume it, as it quite fatty and hence unhealthy. I usually cook the fish for 8 minutes per inch of thickness.

You could even grill them on your charcoal grill for a smoky flavor, or using the gas grill, or in the broiler, the same way.

I was reading an article in a magazine and it listed a few fish that are good in nutrition as well as good for the ocean:

Anchovies
Atlantic Mackerel
Farmed Rainbow Trout
Farmed Oysters
Alaskan or Canadian Sablefish
Wild Alaskan Salmon
Arctic Char
Yellowfish Tuna
Sardines
U.S. farmed Shrimp

Luv,
Mona

Sheekh kawabs are quite interesting and fun finger foods to prepare, and very versatile too. I love to mix and match and play with a variety of ingredients to flavor the sheekh kawabs and alter the tastes deliciously for a change. I had also posted an another version of sheekh kawabs a few months back. The main ingredients in todays version of sheekh kawabs are dhaniya/cilantro and hari mirch/green chillies, lending a faint tangy yet fresh flavor to them. These kababs are sure to whet your taste buds.

My lunch plate – Khushka with Khatti dal and Sheekh Kawab
(Plain boiled rice with sweet and sour lentil soup and Meat Kababs)

Marinate the meat in the spice mixture for atleast 6-8 hours or overnight for the best results, so that it absorbs all the flavors and the meat gets tender. One of my close friends S was telling me that she sun-dries the peels of very raw young papaya and once completely dry, powders them to store in jars in cool dark place at room temperature. It has a long shelf life. She added that she uses about a pinch or two of this powder as a tenderizer for the meat and leaves it to marinate for delicate melt in mouth kawabs. This I thought is a useful tip to share with my readers.

Sheekh Kababs – Minced meat Kebabs (II)

Makes: 15-18, enough for a large gathering

Ingredients:

Dry roasted and powdered Cumin seeds/Zeera – 1/2 tsp
Dry roasted and powdered Coriander seeds/Dhaniya – 1/2 tsp
Green chillies/Hari mirch – 8, roughly chopped
Lean Lamb meat (boneless) – 900 gms, cubed into bite size pieces (or) Minced Lamb/Veal meat – 900 gms
Thick yogurt – 2 tbsp
Chopped blanched almonds – 1 tbsp
Turmeric/Haldi – 1/4 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Egg -1, large
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Khoa – 1 tbsp
Raw papaya skin paste – 2 tbsp
Roughly chopped Cilantro/Kothmir – 1 cup, loosely packed
Lemon zest – 1/2 tsp

Kawabs ready to be grilled

Method:

1. Wash the meat and drain it well till all the water has been removed completely and the meat is dry. This is important or else the shape does not come out very well.
2. If using meat cubes, add the meat to a food processor along with all the other ingerdients and pulse just until the meat is minced. Do not make it into a paste. Transfer the minced meat into a mixing bowl and add all the other ingredients and mix/knead well using hands. If using minced meat, simply mix/knead it with all other ingredients until well combined in a mixing bowl. Cover and let it marinate in the refrigerator overnight for for minimum 2 hours.
3. The next day bring it back to room temperature. Dip your fingertips in a little canola oil and smear you palms with it. Take a large lemon size ball of the meat mixture in your hands and shape it into a sausage. Insert a metal skewer into it to make hole all the way through it. Enlarge the hole by rotating the kawab a few times around the skewer. Remove the skewer and place the kawab on a greased baking pan lined with aluminium foil. Keep repeating until the whole mixture is used up.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the baking tray uncovered in the middle rack. Turn the kawabs once after 15 mins. Let cook for a furthur 15 mins. Serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: For a simple meal, serve these kawabs warm along with Khatti dal and Khushka. You could also serve it along with Dalcha, Baghara khana and a salad for a party meal, or simply along with a chutney as a snack.

Tip: Leftovers? Chop up the two Kawabs roughly and keep aside. Warm a pita bread, cut it onto halves, open it up and add some chopped fresh lettuce, cucumber, sliced avocado, tomato, and the chopped kawabs. Add a few drops of Chipotle hot sauce and some low-fat yogurt as topping. Serve these delicious pita pockets immediately.

Luv,
Mona

Warm and sustaining dishes that comfort the soul are dear to everyone living in nippy cold weather conditions who is literally sick and tired of bearing the cold winds and seeing the huge piles of snow as white sheets everywhere covered on the vast ground, and waiting eagery to see sun and some color around.

I usually turn to cooking homely and comforting dishes quite often during this season of the year. Qimah bhari mirch is one such dish and I had prepared it with a day old left over Masaaledaar Pudine Wala Qimah as the stuffing for some sweet long peppers which we enjoyed along with some warm store brought Afghani bread.

Qimah Bhari Mirch – Peppers stuffed with Spicy Minced meat

Qimah is so versatile. I usually prepare a good amount of Qimah, and use it in sandwiches, to prepare spring rolls, haleem, as a filling for samosas or aloo cutlets and even as a stuffing in various vegetables, etc. Peppers stuffed with spicy minced meat is a sure sight at most of the party/dawat menus. My Ammi prepares the best of its kind. The peppers are filled with Qimah and slow cooked on dum until they are soft and served warm.

You can even use Saada Qimah or whatever dry Qimah you have leftover as the filling for the peppers here.

Halved and cleaned long sweet red peppers (Red Shepherd Peppers) ready to be stuffed with Qimah

During my recent visit to the grocery mart, I happened to spot a few very fresh looking long sweet red peppers which I brought home. These peppers were really sweet in taste. You can use any kind and color of peppers that you like as long as they are thick enough, boat or bell shaped to hold the stuffing inside.

Qimah Bhari Mirch – Peppers stuffed with Spicy Minced meat

Ingredients:

Masaaledaar Pudine Wala Kheema – 1 Recipe
Bell Peppers (or) Long sweet peppers(Red Shepherd Peppers) – 5

Tomato ketchup – 4 tbsp

Method:

-Wash the peppers and pat them dry with paper towels.
-If you have long bell peppers, cut them horizontally (and keep the other halves aside), so that they form into boat shaped containers in which the Qimah can be stuffed. Or else, if you have bell-shaped peppers, remove the tops, 1 inch from the stem end, and keep the tops aside. Remove the seeds and membranes carefully and discard. Dice the tops of the peppers into tiny pieces, discard the stem, and keep the chopped pepper tops in a bowl.

-Stuff the Masaaledaar Pudine Wala Kheema into the peppers and arrange them on a tray.
-In a bowl add tomato ketchup, and the finely diced pepper tops into the remaining Qimah and mix well. Keep aside.
-With the rack in the middle position, preheat oven to 450°F.
-Spread the qimah mixed with ketchup evenly in a baking dish. Carefully arrange the stuffed peppers on the qimah, so that they do not touch each other and cover the dish with aluminium foil. Keep the dish in the oven and let cook for 30 minutes or until the peppers are soft and well cooked. Serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: Pulao/ Baghara Chawal or Roti of your choice.

Luv,
Mona

Indo-Chinese cuisine is every Hyderabadi foodie’s favorite. Infact all Indians love this fusion food. You are bound to come across many small Indo-chinese restaurants and food stalls at every corner in Hyderabad.  

Spring Rolls

Spring rolls are an another appetizer items that is predominantly being seen at the menu tables at most of the Hyderabad weddings nowadays. I for one like this finger food immensely and miss those that are served at the Hyderabadi weddings. They are so delectable and have a unique taste.

These spring rolls are my take on them. They are simple to prepare and enjoyed as a snack by all age groups. They can also be served at Iftaar during Ramadhan.

Spring Rolls

Makes-22

Shredded carrots – 3/4 cup
Shredded green cabbage (I used ‘Taiwanese cabbage’) – 1 cup
Shredded cooked boneless Chicken (or) finely diced cooked Shrimp (or) cooked Minced meat/Qimah – 1 cup 
Spring onion stalks – 3
Salt – to taste
Black pepper – 1/4 tsp
Egg wash -1 egg, lightly beaten along with 1 tbsp water
Thawed Spring rolls wrappers – store bought
Canola Oil – to deep fry

Clockwise from top – Taiwanese green cabbage, carrot,
green onions, shredded chicken

Method:

-In a large pan, pour 1/2 cup water, and add the shredded carrots, cabbage, spring onions and chicken/shrimp/qimah. Cover and let cook for 8 minutes. Drain and reserve the water for later use. Put the drained vegetables in a bowl, add salt and black pepper and toss to mix well.

Pictorial tutorial to help you wrap up a Spring roll

-Gently seperate the spring roll wrappers from the pack. Place a wrapper on a flat surface with a ponited edge towards you. Keep the rest of the wrappers under a dampened towel. Place about 2 tbsp of the filling in the lower third of the wrapper. Moisten the edges with egg wash. Fold the bottom of the wrapper up and over the filling to enclose it and form a cylinder. Fold the right and left sides of the wrapper into the middle. Then roll the wrapper tighty up to the top. Make sure the roll is tightly sealed and the filling completely enclosed from all sides. Arrange them all, seam side down on a platter. Continue making the rolls until the filling is completely used up.
-Deep fry the prepared rolls in hot oil until lightly browned. Serve them once cooled along with your favorite dip.

I am sending these rolls to Sunday Snacks-Grab and go event and Meals on Wheels event.  

Luv,
Mona