Pineapple Jalapenos Chicken Burger Recipe| Easy & Spicy Chicken Burger Recipe

Some food pairings are a match made in heaven. One such is pineapple and jalapenos. The fiery jalapenos are smoothly caressed by the sweetness of pineapple. A combination, I would suggest everyone should try. As grad school is spacing my time into long hours of sitting with short bursts of occasional walking, getting quality time and mood for slow paced cooking has become difficult. Past Friday was a bliss, with all the classes cancelled. And the food monster inside me sprung into putting this burger together. When you have all the key ingredients, including the leisure of clicking snaps in day light, what else would one need! 😀

Here is the recipe.

Serving: 1

Marination time- 1 hour to overnight

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients: 

3-4 nos. Fresh round pineapple slices

1 nos. Fresh Jalapeno

1 nos. Burger Bun

150 – 180 gm/ 3 medium sized Boneless Chicken Thigh cuts

2 tbsp Amul Cheese spread

2 tsp butter/ ghee

1 tbsp Cooking oil

Marination Spice Mix:

4 tbsp Thick Curd

2 tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp Cumin powder

1 tbsp Kasuri Methi (dried fenu greek leaves)

1 tbsp Red Chilli powder (or as required)

1tsp turmeric

1.5 tsp salt (or as required)

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients listed under marination spice mix, check for salt and spice levels and then add washed chicken pieces into it. Ensure your chicken cut is large and slim enough to snugly fit in the burger. Don’t make them too thin. Moderate thickness allows the chicken to retain juiciness as it roasts.

2. Marinate for 1 hour to overnight depending on your convenience.

3. Add 1 tbsp cooking oil on to a flat non-stick pan. (Non stick allows the chicken to roast well as it leaves oil for it brown). Once the oil is hot, add marinated chicken pieces. Flame should be high for 1 minute and then switch to lo flame. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until it gets the charred roasted texture and colour.

4.  Meanwhile, put ghee/butter onto another pan and roast pineapple and jalapeno slices in slow flame till pineapple turns slightly golden color and the skin of jalapenos wilt a little.

5. Get the cooked chicken, jalapenos, pineapple on a plate and allow them to cool for a bit.

6. Now slice the burger bun into half and smother cheese spread on the insides. Microwave it for 15-20 secs to melt the cheese.

7. Layer your burger with chicken, pineapple and jalapenos. Add more cheese spread if you desire.

That’s it! Juicy and delicious burger at the comfort of your home!

Note: 

1. One could add tomatoes, lettuce, fried capers according to your choice.
2. I would suggest thigh cuts are best for burgers as they have relatively high fat content and the density of the meat in legs is best as a burger filler.

 

 

 

 

Advertisement

Simple French Toast with Peach Compote

It has been a long time since the last post. I have been baking, cooking and clicking but not been able to come up with a post. A detailed post can’t be made in a rush right. It will miss the beat otherwise 😉  Moving to grad school brought two new variables – limited cooking time and lesser range of ingredients in the pantry. I was craving to have some refreshing fruit based pancakes and found peaches on a local market haul in just the right time. The smooth skinned beauties were the first peaches I have ever had. They smelled heavenly, a fragrance I find intoxicating.

So what next? The foodie-chef inside me figured it all out 😛 The usual drill of finding the flour, fat, vanilla, baking powder. I was determined to not to get these ingredients common to baking and continental desserts and threw a challenge to address my cravings in the most simple way possible. That’s how this french toast came into the picture! 😉

After all, isn’t a french toast a makeshift version of a pan cake? What do you think?

Prep time: 10 mins   

Cook time: 5 mins

Serves: 1

Simultaneously make the compote and french toast.

French Toast:

Ingredients:

Two bread slices (white/brown)

1 Egg

2-3 tbsp Milk

½ tbsp Honey

1-2 pinches Cinnamon powder

½ tbsp – 1 tbsp ghee/butter

Method:

1. Beat egg in a wide bowl.
2. Whisk milk, honey and cinnamon powder to it.
3. Soak bread slices one at a time in the batter. Rest them for at least half a second on each side.
4. Lift them carefully onto a hot pan smeared with butter/ghee.
5. Cook on each side for a minute or more. Flip and cook the other side. Roast them on medium flame to give a uniform golden color.
6. Remove and quickly make the other one as well.

Peach Compote:

Ingredients:

2 nos Peaches

½ tbsp Honey

3-4 tbsp water

¼ tsp Cinnamon powder

Method:

1. Chop the peaches into desired shape – slices or cubes.
2. Combine peaches, water, honey and cinnamon powder.
3. Boil them together until the peaches break down and soften. This hardly takes 5 minutes since it is a small portion.

Enjoy the french toast with the peach compote!

Refreshing Watermelon & Ginger Ice Tea, Summer Staples

It was a long break from blogging. Though I have been baking and cooking profusely, I was finding it comfortable with micro-blogging. The cosy winter has passed leaving us with yet another hot summer. Ginger Chai, a favourite winter staple in my food log had to take a back seat. I tried having it for a couple of days but the summer heat took a toll on health. Ginger is being greatly missed. So I thought why not introduce you all to this refreshing ice tea that brings together the aroma of ginger and the freshness of watermelon.

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

250 ml water

250 ml fresh watermelon puree

1 tbsp fresh chopped ginger

1 tsp lime juice

5 – 8 nos Mint Leaves

1 tsp loose green tea leaves / 1 green tea bag

1 tbsp honey/ sugar or as per taste

10 – 12 nos. Small Ice cubes

Procedure:

1. Bring water to boil with shredded ginger.
2. Switch of the heat and turn in the green tea leaves into the pot. Place a lid and allow the tea to brew for two minutes.
3. Strain it and keep it aside to cool down.
4. Meanwhile, deseed a small chunk of watermelon (two cups of watermelon pieces approx.) and pulse it in a grinder.
5. Mix the cooled down green tea and watermelon puree.
6. Take ice cubes into a large shaker. Add lime juice, honey and mint leaves to it. Give it good shake.
7. Add the fruity tea concoction to the tumbler and shake well. Melony Ice Tea is ready!

In case you want to prepare it ahead of time, refrigerate the concoction without adding lime juice, honey and mint leaves. Add them just before serving.

Note:

1. I have retained the pulp as I like the texture. You could strain it as well.
2. If you like fizzy drinks, add plain soda to this refresher.
3. Put a spin on it with some light rum if you are looking for a alcoholic version.

What are your favourite summer drinks?

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, take a picture and tag it #tadkatales on Instagram! I love seeing what you come up with.

Spinach Soup, The Winter Treats

Chilly winters call for some warm treats and as we step into this new year, I wanted to bring to you all my favourite quick, go to recipes in winters under a series, The Winter Treats. Spinach, I love it for the nutrition, deliciousness and the ease at which it can be added into any savoury dish or curry. Handful of sauteed spinach and a bowl of curd is just enough to to meet your protein, probiotic, fiber needs for a day. Not to forget the vitamin and mineral profile of greens, especially spinach. So, here I bring you the first recipe of this series – the humble spinach soup. The beauty of the recipe lies in the simplicity of ingredients and execution. Also, it doesn’t have corn starch or maida. So, all the people conscious about healthy choices – fret not. That said, it’s a yummilicious hearty treat to anyone!

Do let me know about your favorite winter treats as well! 😀 Try this recipe and tag your post with the hashtag #tadkatales . I would love to hear your reviews 😀

 

 

Adios, 2016 | Kerala Plum Cake Recipe| Christmas Rum Cake| Festive Fruit Cake Recipe

What an year it had been, health and wellness had been the major goals as I stepped into 2016 and it was a roller coaster ride all the way. Half way through which, I started this blog <3. Cooking, going gaga over best angles to shoot food, pestering friends and family while doing so ;P , connecting with fellow foodies and bloggers on Instagram, I have done quite a bunch of things out of love for experiments. Of course there were many tasks which weren’t initiated or left incomplete. One such incomplete task includes a huge chart of recipes that I jotted down to share on the blog which I never took them to kitchen. Gasps. Still, working on disciplining myself.

The magic lies in this potion 😉

Last post of this year is about this fantastic, rich, boozy plum cake I adapted from Marias Kitchen. This cake summed up this year for me at one go. The process of whipping whites and yellows, caramel preparation was arduous but, it was all worth it. Just a bite into this cake and I was mesmerised at subtle explosion it created on the taste buds. It is soft, fluffy with  sharp notes of sweetness and punch from rum. And no fancy sugar pastes or extra chocolate indulgence just a simple yet a poignant flavour profile. A combination which I always craved for.

Growing up, I have only had local bakery plum cakes and I couldn’t wait to try my hands on prepping up one from scratch. I have soaked the dried fruits for about 20 days. You can soak them for one day – one year too. The more you soak, the intense it gets. 😉 Peeping into the jar everyday was so much fun. Use only a glass jar for this purpose as alcohol might react with plastic. Also, stir the dry fruits every alternate day and store in dark place away from heat.

Let us get into the recipe.

Ingredients:

Cake Mix:

• 2 cups Plain flour (maida)
• 1 ¼ tsp Baking powder
• ½ tsp Baking soda
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Unsalted Butter @ room temp
• 4  Eggs @ room temp
• Vanilla essence – 2 tsp
• 1 tbsp Jam (I used Apple Jam)
• ¼ cup – Candied Ginger
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour to coat the dry fruit mix

Spice Powder:

• 2 Cloves
• 2 Cardamom
• Cinnamon – a small piece
• Nutmeg – a small piece

Caramel:

• Sugar – ½ cup
• Warm water – ¼ cup

Soaking:

• Mixed fruits – 1 cup (¼ cup each of Almonds, Black raisins, ½ cup Kismis)
• Rum/Brandy – 1 cup (I used Bacardi dark rum)
• 2 inch Cinnamon stick
• 1 Star Anise

Mature the Cake: Black rum – 6 tbsp ( I have fed 2 tbsps per day approx after baking the cake)

Procedure:

1. Take sugar in a saucepan and heat it on low heat. Allow it to slowly melt. Keep heating on low heat till it gets nice dark colour. Now take it off the heat and add in water and heat till the sugar dissolves again. Set aside to cool.
2. Drain the dry fruits. Preserve the rum. Roll them in 3 tbsp of maida and keep them aside.
3. Powder the sugar.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
5. Separate egg yolks and whites. Beat them separately. First beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Then you can use the same whisk to beat yolks.
6. Add softened butter and sugar to the yolks. Cream them together.
7. When it turns smooth enough, add cooled caramel, jam and vanilla essence into it. Beat slowly (min speed).
8. Add sifted flour mix into this batter in 2-3 batches and whip.
9. Add the flour dusted dry fruits and nuts along with 4 -5 tbsps of preserved rum.
10. Now slowly fold in beaten egg whites in 3 – 4 batches. Mix it in using the cut and fold method. Do not over mix or whip at this point. It would release the trapped air in the whites.
11. Pour the batter in a lined baking tin.
12. Bake the cake in a preheated oven for 40 – 45 mins or you can even use a cooker like me. Cooker method took for about 90 minutes on low flame.
13. Take it on to a wire rack, cool it down. Prick holes with a fork or knife and pour in rum over it. Seal it with a plastic wrap and keep it in a cool place. Repeat the process as many times as you can. I did this for three days. Slice it down and serve with a choice of toppings – ice cream, ganache or even more rum , may be 😛

 

Bake this treat for yourself or your loved ones and get all the brownie points 😉  This year has been an amazing journey. I can’t feel more alive than ever , with more so ever gratitude, peace and love.

I will end this post with a powerful note from one of my favourite travel blogger, Abhinav.

“

So move ahead, it’s your time now. For now you can connect dots, creating constellations out of wayward stars, and you’re not among the ones who fade across the sky, but now is your time to burn like a sun, and inundate everyone in your light.

So move ahead, for you know of pain and happiness, for now you know of peace that’s contained within everything, and the peace within every piece of you, and now you know that you are not a puzzle but a beautiful story revealing itself by every passing second. 

                                                                                                           “

Life is so endlessly delicious. Embrace and savour it.  Wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2017! 😀

Eggless Gulab Jamun & Whole Wheat flour Cake | Simple Eggless Cake recipe| Instant Eggless cake recipe| How to make cake with Gulab Jamun premix recipe| Best Homemade Cake Recipe| Irresistible Basic Cake recipe |Whole Wheat Cake recipe

Apologies for the infrequent posts in here. Been busy with different kinds of documentation works lately and cooking is limited to quick, rushed up sprints. Anyways, baked this quick cake today that I couldn’t postpone this post to anytime later. This is made of gulab jamun mix and is devoid of all purpose flour. Yes, gulab jamun mix! I couldn’t believe myself looking at the soft spongy texture it acquired despite being a complete wheat flour cake. This is the second experiment with wheat flour in recent times that proved cakes with only wheat flour can also turn spongy(less dense).  I think I have come across Anu’s recipe on a facebook baker’s group few weeks earlier and it caught my eye on the saved lists today. So when I resolved to make a sweet treat, straight away went for it.

I have used a pressure cooker to bake and it came out moist with a satisfying crumb – almost tasted like Soda Bottle Openerwala’s mawa cake. 😀

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 8 – 10 slices

Ingredients:

Dry:

½ cup Gulab Jamun Mix powder (I used Gowardhan’s)

½ cup Whole Wheat flour

½ cup Powdered sugar

½ tsp Baking powder

¼ tsp Baking soda

A pinch of salt

Wet:

¼ tsp Vanilla Essence

½ cup milk

¼ cup oil (odorless, I used Sunflower oil)

Procedure:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients into a homogenous mixture with a whisk or just bare hands. Sifting is optional. Just ensure there are no lumps.
2. Whisk together all the wet ingredients.
3. Fold in dry ingredients in two batches to the wet mixture. Mix well.
4. Line a baking tin with some butter/ghee/oil and dust with some flour or simply use a butter paper. Pour in the batter.
5. Bake it in an oven at 180^C or inside a pressure cooker following the cooker cake method for 30 min. Check for doneness with a toothpick or knife. 
6. I have sprinkled a mix of oats, sesame seeds and thin hyderabadi seviya. This is purely optional.

I have used a 1 lb Loaf Tin, 18 x 9 cm (7″ x 3.5″)which can hold double the measures used in the recipe. You can use any pan, but as the pan size becomes more shallow, you have to check frequently for doneness. That tiny pinch of salt balances the mild sweetness of the gulab jamun premix and lifts the taste. It is completely optional though.

Note:

• I have substituted buttermilk for milk on the following day and it came out just as perfect as the one with milk.
• The sugar quotient of this recipe can be upped if you want it to be super sweet. You could stick to the above mentioned measure, if you are going to add a glaze or frosting.