GOURMET CHICKEN BURGER

Everyone loves a juicy burger. A mediocre burger can turn into something special with just a little bit more effort…

For the Burger Patti:

150g Mince- Chicken or beef

1 Shallot or Red Onion

1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes

1 Teaspoon Mustard Powder

2 Apricots

2 Tablespoons of Cheddar Cheese

Salt and Pepper to Taste

For the Mayonnaise:

2 Egg Yolks

2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

150ml Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Honey

1 Teaspoon Mustard

Pinch of Salt and Pepper

For the Tomato Chutney:

2 large Tomatoes

100ml Water

2 Tablespoons Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste

Olive Oil

Salt to Taste

For the Crispy Fries:

2 tablespoons Flour

1 Teaspoon Mustard Powder

1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes

1 Cup Water

The Chicken Patti

Take a handful of minced chicken and form a patti, the size of your palm. To it add a teaspoon of mustard powder, chilli flakes, finely chopped onions, salt, pepper and a handful of cheddar cheese. Mix well and form into a decent size patti.

The Gourmet Touch

Finely chop an apricot. Make a cavity in the center of the patti and stuff the chopped apricot into it. Conceal it well and restore the original patti shape. Apples can also be added, but after cooking them slightly so that they are soft enough.

Mayonnaise

Separate two egg yolks from the whites and set them in a bowl. With the bowl firmly fixed to the surface, whisk the yolks vigorously while simultaneously adding olive oil in a thin stream. Whisk at all times till the yolks and olive oil have combined well. Add a dash of lemon juice and season well with salt and pepper. At this point a tablespoon of honey can also be added or similarly mustard paste too. Once done refrigerate so that the mayo comes together.

Tomato Chutney

Roughly chop two tomatoes. In a pan heat up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and transfer the tomatoes to the pan. Cook for a bit and then add about 100ml of water, a splash of vinegar, a heaping teaspoon of brown sugar and a tablespoon of tomato paste. Continue cooking on a medium flame. Gradually the water evaporates and the tomatoes start to break down. As the water reduces keep adding more till the tomatoes are reduced to almost a pulpy mash, an indication that the chutney is ready. Add a pinch of salt or more according to taste.

Crispy Fries

In a bowl add two tablespoons of flour, a teaspoon of mustard powder and a pinch of chilli flakes. Add water to the bowl and mix well till a batter is formed. The batter should neither be too thick nor too thin.

Blanch potatoes for a few minutes till they soft, but not fully cooked right through. Cut them into strips or fries and coat them in the batter. Shallow fry them till they are golden brown or till when the potatoes are cooked well. Sprinkle with salt as soon as they are removed from the oil.

Plate up

Cut a burger bun in half. Spread a generous amount on the mayo on both sides of the bun. Place the patti on the base of the bun and top it with a heap of the tomato chutney. Have the upper part of the bun rest alongside the patti instead of placing it on top like any other burger. Alternatively you could just have the patti in between the bun, and the chutney served separately in a bowl. Don’t forget no burger is complete without the fries, so scatter them around the burger or however way you want them on the plate.

·        Instead of a minced patti, a simple chicken breast can also be used. With the help of a knife, make cuts all over the piece of chicken, making sure you don’t cut all the way through. Do the same on both sides. The batter used to coat the fries can be used to coat the chicken breast too. Deep fry the chicken till the batter gets crispy and the meat is cooked. Chicken cooks fast so it shouldn’t take more than five minutes, a little more than two minutes per side.

CHICKEN SHAWARMA

1 Chicken Breast

1 Teaspoon Seven Spice Mix

1 Teaspoon Red Chilli Flakes

Juice of Half a Lemon

*Seven spice mixture includes some cloves, some black pepper corns, two cinnamon sticks, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, a couple of dried button red chillies, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf) and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, all roasted slightly on a dry pan and then ground to a powder.

Marinade a chicken breast with a teaspoon of the seven spice mixture* and chilli flakes and a healthy splash of lemon juice too. In a pan heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and then introduce the chicken to the pan. Cook the chicken till its base starts to whiten a bit. This may take about three minutes. Then flip it and let it continue to cook on the other side too till it is uniformly cooked throughout. Finally when the chicken is cooked add about five tablespoons of water to the pan and let it braise on low heat with the lid on for about five minutes. Then simply shred the meat with the help of a fork or finely slice it.

For the labneh/yogurt: To a couple of tablespoons of yogurt add a tablespoon of cottage cheese, a splash of lemon juice and a teaspoon of pepper and mix it well. Get rid of all the lumps till you end up with a really smooth mixture.

For the Tabouleh/salad: Chop a cucumber and a tomato into small cubes. Add to it a healthy swirl of olive oil and a splash of lemon juice and mix well. Once that is done add a pinch of pepper and a reasonable amount of chopped mint leaves.

Humus: Boil about a cup full of chickpeas in water till they are cooked well. Transfer them to a blender and blend till they form a paste. While the blender is running add some olive oil and the juice of a lemon to help it turn into a smooth paste. When the desired consistency is reached, season with salt and pepper.

Pita bread is usually always used. Toast the pita on a dry pan or even in a toaster till they colour ever so slightly on both sides. They will puff up a bit. This actually works well because they form pockets which can then be stuffed with the chicken and the rest of the accompaniments. Otherwise just put all of it on top of the pita and serve.

PENNE ARRABIATTA WITH MARINARA SAUCE

Penne Pasta

2 Pods garlic

1 Onion

3 Tomatoes

2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

4 Basil Leaves

1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes

2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Half Cup Water

Finely chop two cloves of garlic and sauté in a pan with olive oil. When the garlic loses its rawness add a finely chopped onion. Cook the onions till they become translucent. Coarsely chop three medium sized tomatoes and then add them to the pan. Continue cooking till the tomatoes start to break down and become soft. Add some water to the pan at this stage and let the tomatoes continue to cook. This essentially is the marinara sauce in which the penne pasta will cook later on. Add two tablespoons of tomato puree and a splash of lemon juice and continue cooking till the puree mixes well with the rest of the ingredients. Add some more water and leave the sauce to cook. The term arrabiatta literally means ‘angry’ in Italian; in this case a spicy tomato sauce. So add a teaspoon of red chilli flakes or more depending ones threshold for pungency.

The pasta as mentioned will cook in the sauce itself and so it does not need to be boiled beforehand. Add the pasta to the sauce, along with some more water and leave it to cook. Since the pasta is not pre boiled, season with salt. As the pasta keeps cooking water may need to be added from time to time. While most people prefer their pasta to be well cooked, here it is simply cooked a la Dante i.e. just right or to perfection. A good practice is to cut a piece of the pasta on the diagonal at different stages of the cooking process. The cross section will probably show a white ring which gradually disappears as the cooking process approaches the final stages. When this ‘ring’ is only just visible, the pasta is ready. Put off the flame and let the pasta continue to cook in the sauce for a bit. Add basil leaves and freshly ground pepper.

Serve either in a bowl or platter, drizzled with olive oil and topped with shavings of parmesan or cheddar cheese.

·      When cooking Italian food it is always good to spend time first in deciding what pasta should be used. This recipe is a sauce based one so penne works best. The sauce clings on to the exterior surface of the pasta and also accumulates inside each pasta piece ensuring that each bite has a bit of everything in it. Spaghetti or linguini is not a good choice for such a dish as the sauce simply runs off the surface of the pasta and settles at the bottom of the bowl or serving platter.

MUSHROOM RAVIOLI

The best thing about ravioli is that you can pretty much stuff it with anything. It is super easy to make and serves as a complete meal in itself. Ravioli works very well with seafood, but below is a vegetarian take on the same dish. Elbow grease is involved especially in the making of the pasta, but a pasta machine can be used as well. The idea is to have the pasta rolled out as thinly as possible, yet still making sure that it is firm enough to hold the stuffing in while it is being cooked in the boiling water.

For the Ravioli:

2 Tablespoons Flour

1 Egg

A Tablespoon of Milk (maybe more) for Kneading

Pinch of Salt and Black Pepper

For the Stuffing:

2 Garlic Cloves

Half Onion Finely Chopped

Handful of Mushrooms

1 Tomato

3 Tablespoons Paneer

Olive Oil

For the Butter Sauce:

2 Tablespoons Butter

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Juice of Half an Orange

5 Olives Chopped or a Couple of Tablespoons of Chopped Asparagus

1 Teaspoon Chilli Flakes

In a bowl add two heaping tablespoons of flour, a pinch of salt and an egg and mix till dough is formed. Add a tablespoon of milk at a time to help the dough form. From the bowl then transfer the dough on to a flat surface and continue kneading it, dusting it with flour occasionally to dry it up. The egg will ensure that the dough remains elastic at all times and that is how it should be. Spend time kneading the dough and do not try to rush with it as it may ruin the end product. Patience is a virtue after all. When the pasta dough is ready divide it into four pieces and roll them out as thinly as you can. Once the sheets are rolled out, move on to the stuffing.

In a pan heat some olive oil and add to it a couple of cloves of finely chopped garlic. Cook it for a bit till the garlic starts to colour. Then add in half an onion, again finely chopped and continue sautéing. Soon after that add in the chopped mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of chilli flakes for some heat. Cook for another couple of minutes and then turn off the heat. When the mixture cools down add to it two heaping tablespoons of cottage cheese (paneer) and mix it in well together with the remaining ingredients. This is a very basic stuffing and it can be tweaked depending on preferences and tastes.

Take a sheet of pasta and put a small amount of the stuffing in the center of the sheet. With a brush or the tip of your finger line the edges of the sheet with water and place another sheet over it, pressing gently on the edges so that the stuffing is secured well in the center. With the help of a fork, press down on the edges to completely seal the ravioli, but by doing this you also create ridges that enhance the look of the ravioli. Just like any other pasta, take the ravioli and place it in boiling water. At first it will sink to the bottom but it will eventually rise to the top when it is cooked. While it is in the water flip the ravioli occasionally.

The ravioli can be served with a very simple butter sauce. Add a decent knob of butter to a pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the butter has melted add to it some chopped olives, asparagus, a splash of orange juice and some chilli flakes and mix well. Drizzle this over the ravioli just before serving, and preferably eat it as soon as it is cooked.