Rediff Food Contributors Deepa and Ashish Mehrotra spent America's Independence Day with Ashish's cousin Manish Mehrotra, and his wife Ritu, in Los Angeles, and engaged in the all-American pastime -- a Fourth of July barbecue.
IMAGE: The Mehrotras celebrated July 4 in Irvine, California, with a barbecue and watching the fireworks. All photographs: Deepa and Ashish Mehrotra
The foodie couple added their expertise in the kitchen to Ritu and Manish's and it was a spread to be remembered.
Vegetables of all colours and marinated chicken was loaded onto the grill and culinary magic happened, healthy jadoo at that.
Serve up Manish and Ritu's Barbecued Veggies, Pineapple and Chicken on Skewers with baby naans or warm tortillas, or else garlic bread and potato mash/baked potatoes.
Barbecued Veggies, Pineapple and Chicken on Skewers
Serves: 6
Ingredients
Vegetables and chicken
- 4-6 red, yellow, green bell peppers or capsicums, whole
- 3-5 red, yellow, green bell peppers or capsicums, cut into big chunks
- 2-3 yellow, green zucchinis, cut into ½-inch circular slices
- 3 red and/or white onions, cut into big chunks
- 1 kg paneer, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 kg chicken, boneless thigh pieces, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 pineapple, peeled, cut into big chunks
- 10-15 bamboo skewers
- 5-8 metal skewers
Marinade for the paneer
- 1 cup dahi or yoghurt
- 4-5 tbsp garlic-ginger paste
- Salt to taste, about 2 tsp
- 1-2 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder
- 1 tbsp kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves
- 3 tsp tandoori masala powder
- 2-3 tsp lemon juice
Marinade for the chicken
- 1 cup dahi or yoghurt
- 4-5 tbsp garlic-ginger paste
- Salt to taste, about 2 tsp
- 1-2 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder
- 1 tbsp kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves
- 3 tsp tandoori masala
- 2-3 tsp lemon juice
Marinade for the onions and zucchinis
- 4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 tsp dried oregano
- Salt to taste, sprinkle about ½ a tsp on each of the sliced zucchinis and onion chunks
- 2-3 tsp black pepper powder
Method
- Prepare the marinades for the paneer and chicken by mixing all the ingredients of each in two separate containers with covers.
Add the chicken pieces and the paneer pieces into each marinade, cover, refrigerate overnight.
- Soak the bamboo skewers in water a few hours before barbecuing, to soften them and prevent them from burning on the grill.
- Marinate the zucchini and the onions with the spices and the oil about an hour before.
Keep aside.
- The capsicums, whole or chopped, and the pineapple do not need marination.
- Keep all the chopped vegetables, whole vegetables, marinated vegetables, marinated paneer, marinated chicken ready on a counter.
- Load the bamboo skewers, in a visually appealing, colourful manner (remember you eat with your eyes first) alternating the paneer with the whole peppers, pineapple pieces, pepper chunks, onion piecess, zucchini slices (please see the pics above and below).
Load the metal skewers with the chicken pieces.
- Preheat the barbecue grill to 350 deg;C.
- Ideally lay down grill sheets on the grill and place the skewers on them (please see the pic above ie top).
- Turn the grill setting to medium and keep turning the skewers as required.
- Serve hot with bread, potatoes, naans, tortillas, and if possible, a fine prosecco or Italian sparkling wine and kombucha for the teetotallers.
IMAGE: Ritu, third from right, and Manish Mehrotra, second from right, pose for a family photograph with their sons, Aniket, left, and Nikhil, right, and Manish's cousin Ashish Mehrotra, second from left, and Ashish's wife, Deepa Mehrotra, third from left.