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Spicy Grilled Chicken Bites With a Cooling Avocado Dip

September 5, 2013 by manjirichitnis 2 Comments

With an obvious change in the weather, we all are living in fear that this year’s glorious summer is coming to an end. I was lucky enough to get a few invites to barbecue parties in the past few months and had my share of some really divine meats and grills and some rather lumpy or burnt bits too!!!

Lucky because I live in a tiny rented flat with a small open plan kitchen. I try all sorts of tricks to fool myself into thinking that I am cooking in the fresh open outdoors. One of my favourite tricks to fool myself and get some tasty tidbits on my plate is by using a grid pan and earthy spices with smoked sea salt, delicious dips and of course washing these down with chilled beer.

Since I always seem to have some basic purees and pastes frozen and hiding in some corner of my tiny freezer I try and use them up quickly to ensure I always have place for some frozen desserts. One such favourite spicy green paste is made with one medium sized bunch of fresh coriander and 2 bright green chillies. Coriander is expensive and a regular feature in my kitchen so I try and freeze it after chopping it fine or better still making this paste and just adding large spoons to curries which gives them an instant face lift!

For a spicy twist on grilled chicken I decided to make these easy to pick and pop in the mouth pieces of chunky chicken making it a more fun way to share your food on the table. I love that it’s easy to just throw things on the pan and even the dip is a no fuss 3 step recipe which is a brilliant companion to the heat of the chillies on the chicken. The fact that the dip has zero oil is a big bonus.

You can make the coriander paste and store it in the freezer and even with the dip recycle it as a quick spread on sandwiches and use up any leftover meats the next day for a packed lunch. So convenient, especially on a Monday morning after a lazy weekend!

Placing the chicken on chunky cabbage leaves smeared with some mustard paste is another inexpensive alternative to posh salad leaves and helps finish of the last of that quarter portion of cabbage which lies neglected in your veggie tray and faces the threat of going into the bin soggy and spoilt, not a pleasant thought at all.

Guaranteed to tickle your taste buds this original recipe from my tiny kitchen is a food adventure in itself. Here’s how you can make this quick grilled chicken in easy steps:

Spicy grilled chicken bites with cooling avocado dip

(Serves: 4, Cooking Time: including 40 mins for marination is 1 hour):

Ingredients:

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 4 large tbsp coriander and green chilli paste (proportion of 1 bunch of coriander with 2 green chillies)
  • Himalayan Pink Salt for seasoning
  • 2 tbsp refined oil
  • 1 tsp mustard paste
  • 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • ½ tsp red chilli flakes
  • 4-5 leaves of fresh cabbage washed
  • ¼ medium sized red onion cut lengthwise
  • Toothpicks with little flags

For the dip

  • 2 avocados
  • 1 stalk fennel with few leaves
  • ½ medium sized red onion finely chopped
  • Himalayan pink salt for seasoning

Method:

Marinate the chicken breasts with coriander and green chilli paste, salt as per taste and 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic. Make small cuts on the chicken breasts with a knife and rub in the marinade. Add one tbsp oil to this mixture allowing the garlic to marry with the coriander and chilli paste. Marinate for 40 minutes

Cutting the chicken into thick cut style bites

On a grid pan spritz enough oil to coat the pan. Pan fry the breasts turning the sides over when they begin to change colour. When both sides appear to have changed colour remove the chicken breasts on a chopping board and let them cool for a while.

Meanwhile, smear the cabbage leaves with a small amount of mustard paste and place on a wooden board which will be used to serve the dish.

Now prepare the dip – Halve the avocados and scoop out the fleshy part. Take the thin green stalk and tender leaves of the fennel and put them together through a blender to make a coarse paste. Chop ½ a red onion fine and to the avocado and fennel paste, season some Himalayan salt. The dip is now ready.

Pan Grill red onion ,garlic and red chilli flakes close up shot

Now get back to cooking the chicken. In the same grid pan add a 1 ½ tbsp oil with some red onion cut lengthwise and sauté for a while for a caramelise finish. Now cut the pieces of the chicken into “thick cut home-made potato-chip” like sizes and place them on the grid pan along with the onions.

Chicken on pan being grilled with the spices

Sprinkle the red chilli flakes .Cook on low flame till done and flip over using tongs, a bit of charring is allowed to add more flavour. Place the chicken strips with toothpicks on the fresh cabbage leaves in a flat plate.

The chunky avocado and red onion dip will offset the grilled chicken bites.

close up with all elements of display

Serve with garlic bread on the side and some chilled drinks and soak up all the sun you can before the leaves turn auburn.

chicken on a toothpick with dip close up

 

This was my first post for the Great British Chefs community and can be found here

Filed Under: Food, Meat, Recipe Index Tagged With: avocado, bbq, cabbage, chilled beer, chilli flakes, community, cook, cooling dip, delicious, eat, Great British Chefs, grid pan, mustard, original recipe, spicy chicken, summer, tasty, toothpick, yummy

Olympics 2012 Hightened Excitement !

August 7, 2012 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

Didn’t want this blog post to languish in my drafts folders , I wrote it on the day I saw the Olympic Flame at Ealing Broadway- 24th July 2012 Tuesday ,ALSO wanted to post pcitures of the 2 Olympic events and blog about the excitement surrounding the Games,so had to start somewhere……

I was relatively unaffected by all the BUZZ surrounding the Games,almost immune in a way , but I guess what turned things around almost 360 degrees inside my brain was watching the Olympic Flame along with a large crowd ….

On the 23rd Monday the flame was set to pass by through Wimbledon , I did manage to just catch a glimpse and was rather disappointed as the crowds moved off and I didn’t get any pictures. So with steely determination and a purpose in mind I set off the next day to see the flame near Ealing Broadway .

I set off early, the weather was unusually amazing , the sun was shining brightly ,in fact a bit too bright for me as I spent over 2 hours toasting under the direct heat just to watch the flame pass by .

But if ever there is a shared experience with a bunch of strangers that I shall cherish then it is this … and of course in the next 2 days am off to see some events at 2 different venues , but this particular experience makes me go all quite and i can replay the scenes in my mind over and over again ….

The crowds had just begun to get in and throng the sidewalks leading to a public park close to the Ealing Broadway station, I stood at one such sidewalk , thanking my stars that I had arrived early and had found space to lean against a railing . I had for company a primary school teacher who was very nice and chatty (thank god !)and a rather grumpy looking lady on my right who wasn’t too pleased by my arrival as she had to ”make space ” for me on the railing , sigh, it takes all types to make the world now doesn’t it ?

No sooner had I settled and Ms.Teacher and me were discussing the current political situation , that there was a large influx of crowds , the Sun decided to turn up the heat by several notches and a large group of police men and women started patrolling the streets .

The first sign that the torch bearers were to arrive ! yay !

An old lady then came and I quickly helped her squeeze in next to me (on my right of course 😉 !!!) , she was very , very ,well, very chatty 😉 but very sweet all the same, then came along 2 boys aged 9 and 6 ,extremely fidgety and with their old aunt and decided that Ms.Tecaher and me were perfect people to chat with , so as they enlightened us about how the world appears to them and their opinion about almost anything , we started taking it all in.

Vendors hopeful of selling BG flags, balloons and all other bits and bobs were trying their best to tempt their wares .

At this point I really thought I would faint and was so grateful for The Metro I had picked up earlier at the tube station , it was my cap and was my shield   from the Sun and it’s persistent HOT HOT HOT presence.

Loads of cars and buses kept passing by the road making me wonder how the cops would manage the crowds and the other vehicles of the sponsors that were to pass by as they headed towards the public park for the evening celebrations – a mass public party so to speak !

Let me count down the minutes to when the flame actually arrived by way of sharing the pictures I clicked …

It is an event that celebrates human spirit and brings together the world like no other and what better way to make bring closer to the people of GB, than giving us all a chance to be a part of the Games if only as spectators to watch the flame pass us by ….For this chance am ever so grateful and I know this is a memory I shall cherish forever and share with all my loved ones as I have shared with you

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: 2012, cheer, click, Ealing Braodway, flame, fun, Games, glory, hot, jog, london, olympics, photos, pictures, spirit, summer, Team GB, Torch Relay, Torchbearer, watch, yell

Is the British Summer really here ?

June 20, 2012 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

It’s been a fine few Sunny days this week , with no rain , the cloud all baby blue with fluffy tufts of white cloud like cotton candy flitting about , all pleasing to the eye. I notice more when I walk around , I smile to myself as I see the whole place washed in bright sunlight . I love the feeling of not wearing a heavy coat or finally getting a chance to show off my pedicure and my new Accesorize chappals 🙂 with shiny beads that glint like a million diamonds in the morning sun !

Even the early morning office goers seem to be smiling in spite of the rush!

The pubs are full in the evening with the wooden benches finally occupied with footfall fans enjoying the game with their mates.

My favourite park is packed to the brim with mum,s buggies, happy babies, toddlers of all shapes and sizes with pink cheeks crowding around the happy ice cream van vendor .

I hope this lasts though , I could really soak up a lot more sun. The evenings are definitely still chilly and as I wrap myself in my spring denim jacket and pace up home from my evening stroll , I look at the spanking new Coffee shop that;s come up around the corner .

Is my lazy little ”end of the road” locality going to loose it’s villagey charm I fear ? Sighh… anything and everything is bearable I feel if the British Summer soaks up the nation in all it’s summertime glory and if last years extended autumn was anything to go by then let’s hope for a spiffing one this year round too !

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Miscellaneous Tagged With: British, clouds, coffee, football, ice cream, lazy, park, pubs, summer, sun, toddlers

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