Friday, February 18, 2011

"Fusion Cuisine"- Indian Sloppy Joes/Chicken Kheema Pav


A sloppy joe is an American dish of ground beef, onions, sweetened tomato sauce or ketchup and other seasonings, served on a hamburger bun. A similar dish, mainly a 'street food' in Pune is the delicious, spicy and satisfying...or should I say 'unsatisfying'( because you will crave more.. for sure!) 'Kheema Pav'. Instead of ground beef, ground mutton/lamb is used for the recipe and is served in bread similar to 'Pav Bhaji' bread.

There was this mutton shop close to my house, who made these Kheema Pav's .The kheema were spicy from the Indian spices and went really well with the tangy tomato sauce,crunch of the onion and the buttery taste of ...well the 'butter' that they slather on the bread!

I make my 'Indian Sloppy Joes'( and yes they are very 'Sloppy' to eat..you need a plate and lot of tissues!!) with' ground chicken'/ chicken kheema and either french bread or crusty Italian bread.I think they can hold these 'sloppy joes' better!

Ingredients:
For Chicken Kheema

1 cup ground chicken
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tomato finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped onion for garnishing
1tsp garlic finely chopped
1/4 cup boiled green peas(optional, just for 'pop' of color)
2tsp Chicken curry masala
1/2tsp turmeric
1-2 tsp chili powder(depends on how spicy you want)
1/2tsp shah jeera
oil
salt
Cilantro chopped

For sloppy joes:
Loaf of French or Italian bread, cut into sandwich size
Ketchup
Butter (Use Amul butter for more buttery taste) (skip for a low calorie version)


Method:
1) In little oil, fry the shah jeera,onions and garlic till tender.Add the tomatoes and fry for another 2 mins. Add turmeric, chicken curry masala, chili powder. Add the ground chicken, green peas,salt and cook till the kheema looks 'opaque' and cooked. Cook till all the chicken juices evaporate and the kheema becomes somewhat dry but still moist.
2) Spread butter on the inside of the bread.Add tomato ketchup, kheema, chopped onions and cilantro.
3) Warm up the 'Sloppy Joes' on little oil/ butter on a flat pan, till the bread becomes golden brown and slightly crisp.
4) Serve Hot with a Lot of tissues!


                                 Enjoy this spicy- tasty- tangy-crunchy-sloppy sandwich!


Tuesday, February 15, 2011

"Fusion Cuisine"- Paneer Tikka Pizza

'The grass is always greener on the other side' as they rightly say, when I was in India, I would crave the 'western' type food...and now that I am here in USA, I am craving the hot ,spicy, zesty and tasty Indian food. I love how the 'food companies' cater to the tastes of people in different countries. In India, Pizza- hut has these 'mouthwateringly-delicious' pizzas- Paneer Tikka Pizza, Chicken tikka pizza etc which are nothing but 'Indianized' pizzas with popular indian toppings. I just love those! When I visit Pune, I do eat at Pizza hut for these Pizzas.Obviously, we have no such pizzas here and hence there is only one option- make it yourself!
I made Panner tikka pizza the other day to revisit 'Pizza hut India'!
Ingredients:

For Paneer Tikka Topping
1 cup Paneer cubes
1/2 tsp Ginger garlic paste
1 tsp yogurt
1/2tsp Kitchen king masala
1tsp chili powder
1tsp cumin-cilantro powder
salt
oil
chopped cilantro
For pizza:
1 Boboli Pizza base
1/4 cup Pizza sauce (Tomato sauce with Italian herbs) ( I sometimes use plain Ketchup!!)
1/2 cup shredded pizza blend cheese/ mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup sliced green peppers
1/2cup thinly sliced onions
1/2tsp red pepper flakes
Black pepper
2 pinches ajwain seeds
salt
chopped cilantro


Method:
1) Mix together yogurt, kitchen king masala,chili powder, salt, ginger garlic paste, cumin-cilantro powder.Marinate the Paneer cubes and keep for 1 hr.
2) In a nonstick pan, stir fry the marinated Paneer on oil till golden brown from all  sides.All the chopped cilantro.Paneer Tikka is ready.Can serve as appetizer or with roti/naan.
3) Pre heat the oven to 400F.
4) On the pizza base, spread the pizza sauce.Top with Paneer Tikka, sliced onions, green pepper, cheese, red pepper flakes ,ajwain ,salt and black pepper, chopped cilantro

5) Bake at 400F for 10-15 mins or so till the cheese has nicely melted. Broil in the oven for 1-2 mins.
6) Serve hot!!