TheTandoor

The summer is officially here and the bar-be cue is on. I said earlier that the tandoor needs a whole series so what better time to start? The tandoor has been in existence right from the time man discovered fire. We have evidence of clay ovens dating back to Harappa culture. Ranjit Rai, a renowned chef, writes in his book “Tandoor” that the word has possibly derived from either’Kund”’which means a large bowl shaped vessel and changed to tandoor with time or from Persian word ‘Tatta Andar’ which means hot inside. Whatever the etymology of the word, tandoor was used by Egyptians, Mesopotamians and Indus Valley people in one form or the other. And even today the tandoor holds its position high in the culinary world.

There is an ancient recipe which talks about a meat fried in ghee, then flavoured with yogurt, lemon juice, pomegranate juice etc and is again cooked with ghee, cumin, and sea salt over a charcoal fire. Sushruta says a meat cooked with mustard and sesame seeds in the ‘kundu’ is called ‘kundu pakvam’( Ranjit Rai)

But we are not taking a lesson in history. I have a BBQ party on Sunday and I want to do something different than the usual tandoori chicken tikkas and kebabs. And one family is pure vegetarian. So I thought of making some fish, some chicken satays Indian style and prawns for the meat eaters and Hare Kebabs and soya burgers for the vegetarians.

Chicken Satays

You will need,
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 stalk lemon grass
3tsp mustard
3tsp tandoori masala (available in Indian stores)
½ cup yogurt
2tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 tbsp green chili-garlic paste
1tbsp ginger paste
Salt to taste
Cut chicken breasts in thin strips. Mix all other ingredients in a bowl. Add chicken and let stand for at least two hours. You can make it ahead and refrigerate overnight. Heat the grill and roast for 5 minutes each side. Serve with mint chutney and onion ringsin lemon juice.

Fish

You will need,
8 pieces of Salmon or Pomfret
1 tbsp mustard powder
1 tbsp methi powder (available in Indian stores)
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp mint chutney
Salt to taste
Marinate fish first with lemon juice. Leave it for an hour.

Now make a paste of oil, chutney, methi powder and mustard powder. Add salt and coat all pieces of fish with it. Leave for 30 minutes. Grill on medium heat 4 minutes each side or till fish is flaky. Serve with sweet tamarind chutney.

Prawns / Shrimp
You will need,
500 Gms /1 pound tiger shrimp
2 tbsp Thai green curry
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp oil
Mix oil, curry and lemon juice. Marinate prawns in the mix. Put 3 prawns on a wooden skewer and grill on medium heat 3minutes each side. Serve with mint- coriander chutney.
The vegetarians will have to wait till Sunday.

Soak wooden skewers for an hour in cold water before using on fire.

Bon appétit