chicken appetizers
Shami Kebabs(Minced chicken Kebabs)
Shami kebabs or Shaami Kebabs are a popular Afghan and Indian variety of kebab, also famous kebabs found in Pakistani cuisine. Shami Kebab recipe is great snack made with mutton and chana dal. The basic ingredient for kebabs is usually mutton but it can very well be substituted by chicken or fish or even veggie.Kebabs are cooked well with spices and then grounded to a smooth mixture.Whole spices as they do not grind well in the grinder, people tend to buy shami kebab masala from market , but i normally like preparing masala at home.
For best results, keep the ground dough in the refrigerator or 1 hour for better binding of the shami kebabs. It gets easy to make the discs when you refrigerate the dough.I am sure once you make them, you will be compelled to try them out again and again.
Let’s get started with our shami kebab recipe.
Preparation time : 1.5 hours
Cooking time : 10 mins
Serves : 5-6
Ingredients
500 gm chicken/mutton mince
2 cups water
1 cup bengal gram / chana dal
4 green cardamom
1 inch cinnamon stick
8-10 black pepper balls
3 red chillies
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dhaniya(coriander seeds)
1 tsp jeera(cumin seeds)
1 chopped onions
4-5 garlic cloves
1 inch ginger chopped
Salt to taste
For binding Shami kebabs
1 egg
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 green chilly finely chopped
1 medium size finely chopped onions
handful of coriander leaves / cilantro
oil for frying
Directions || How to make Shami kebabs
For shami kebab masala
Grind cardamoms, cinnamon, black pepper balls ,red chillies ,cumin seeds, coriander seeds and bay leaves to a fine powder.
For shami kebab patties
In a cooking pot,add the meat mince, water, chana dal, chopped onions,shami kebab masala ,ginger chopped,garlic cloves and salt.
Add 2 cups of water and Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat.(You can even pressure cook it to 7-8 whistle)
Cook everything till all the water has evaporated from it and the meat is tender.
If the water is present in the mixture, the binding of the kabab will be difficult and they will just fall apart.
Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
Grind the meat in a food processor to form a smooth mixture.
In a mixing bowl , add cooked minced meat/chicken ,onions ,garam masala powder, salt and coriander.
Mix them all together.
Divide the mixture equally into small lemon sized portions and shape each of them into a circle.
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the shamis until they golden brown in color
Remove and drain the excess oil on kitchen towels. Serve hot with mint chutney.
You can even store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Chicken Bruschetta
Bruschetta (Italian pronunciation: [bruˈsketta]) is a starter dish from Italy consisting of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil and salt.
I decided to use it on chicken instead of on toasted bread and give it a little Indian touch. This has become one of my family’s favorite iftari this Ramadan.
It is spicy ,tangy and salty all at once. Try this recipe as a starter when the guest arrives and i am sure they will love it.
Prep time : 20 mins
Cooking time : 15 mins
Serves : 4
Ingredients
To Marinade
4 large chicken breasts
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
Olive oil for frying
salt as per taste
BRUSCHETTA TOPPING
2 medium size tomatoes
1 medium size onion
1 finely chopped green chilly
1 tsp oregano
1 cup shredded cheese
salt as per taste
Directions || How to prepare Chicken Bruschetta
Trim the excess fat from the chicken breasts and cut each piece into four small piece.
Combine chicken with all the ingredients in a bowl and add salt and pepper.
Mix everything around to make sure the chicken is coated in the marinade. Refrigerate until ready to cook.
Prepare the bruschetta topping.
Finely dice the onion and tomatoes and mix all the ingredients (chillies ,oregano and salt )together in a bowl
Heat a oil separately in a frying pan. Fry the marinated chicken well on both the sides. After frying, remove from heat
and place chicken pieces on absorbent paper or paper towel to drain out excess oil.
Top each piece of chicken with about ¼ cup of the tomato bruschetta topping and about ¼ cup of shredded cheese.
It’s okay if some falls off, you can scoop it onto your plate along with the chicken.
Serve hot and enjoy these yummy bruschetta’s!
Avocado Pinwheel Sandwich
Easy-to-make pinwheels also called as roll ups is a very healthy and quick appetizer for get togethers or parties.
They are great alternative to the sandwich and kids seem to love them due to their cute shape and size.
Threading them on skewers or toothpicks to help them hold their shapes, makes a fun presentation for school-aged kids.You can even pack these pinwheels for lunch for kids, so no more lunch box boredom!
Pinwheels be prepared using meat and veggies with some spreads or even the plain vegetarian roll ups are very tasty.
Today I am going to share you healthy Avocado pinwheel sandwich.I used bread to prepare these pinwheels with avocado and cheese.You can even use any tortilla or whole wheat roti instead of breads.
So let’s start with it.
Preparation time : 10 mins
Cook time : None
Serves : 1 or 2
Ingredients
1 avocado
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
4 slices bread
1 slice of cheese
1 or 2 bamboo skewers
Directions || How to make Avocado Cheese Pinwheels
In a small bowl, mash avocado with lime juice and season with salt.
First cut the edges of all the breads
Flatten the breads with the roller.
Apply mash avocado to the first slice of the bread.
Place one cheese slice on the second slice of the bread.
Flatten and apply ketchup on the third slice.
Finally apply mash avocado to the last slice of the bread.
Place all the slices one above the other and roll them
together
Now cut the roll into ½ inch wide pinwheels gently.
Thread the pieces horizontally onto bamboo skewers(snip off the pointy tips for safety)..
Serve your kids with this real quick ,simple and yummy dish.
Notes
One large bread will make about 4 pinwheels.
Chicken Wontons
A wonton is a type of dumpling commonly found in a number of Chinese cuisines.
Wontons are commonly boiled and served in soup or sometimes deep-fried.
You can try your hand at making various unique fillings, and also steam or deep-fry the wontons as per your taste.
Prep Time : 21-25 minutes
Cooking time : 26-30 minutes
Servings : 4
Ingredients
10 Wonton wrappers
1 cup boiled and shredded chicken
1 medium Spring onions thinly sliced
2 Carrots cut into thin strips
2 medium Green capsicum cut into thin strips
1 medium Cabbage finely shredded
Salt to taste
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon Soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon Vineger
1 tablespoon Cornflour/ corn starch
2 tbsps oil
Oil for cooking
For Serving
schezuan sauce
Direction || How to prepare Chicken Wontons
To make the stuffing, heat 2 tbsps oil in a non stick pan.
Add carrots, capsicum, cabbage and salt and toss.
Add ginger garlic paste,red chilli powder ,vineger and soy sauce and mix.
Add spring onion greens and mix. Cook till the vegetables soften.
Take the pan off the heat and set aside to cool.
Heat sufficient oil in a wok. Make a paste of cornflour with 2 tbsps water.
Place a wrapper in your hand, place a teaspoon or tablespoon of filling and fold it to make a rectangle.
Dab water on the left corner,push the middle inside and bring the right corner to the left corner,seel it tightly.
Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make 9 more wontons.
Heat the oil in a wok / kadhai and deep-fry in batches till they turn light brown in colour.
Serve hot with schezuan sauce.
Seekh kabeb
Seekh Kebabs is a recipe inspired from middle eastern tradition and terrific appetizers made from chicken or goat meat,they can also be served as side dish with the main meal.
Since most of us don’t have ovens, most of us don’t try this easy recipe to make them at home , but you can prepare this dish by frying too. I tried out both the method
grilled it in oven and by frying and trust me both came out with good taste.
please read the complete recipe for the directions.
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
500 Grams of chicken/goat meat mince
2 Large Cardamom (Black, ground large)
1-2 Cardamoms (small, green, ground)
2-3 Springs of Fresh coriander
½ tsp of Garam masala powder
½ tsp of Chilli powder
½ tsp of Cumin seeds (whole)
1 tsp of Dry coriander
2 Large Onions
5 Garlic cloves(large)
1.5 Ginger stick
½ Beaten egg
1 Cup Bread crumps (optional)
salt to taste
Method
Directions | How to make Seekh Kebab
1.Chop onions,garlic,garlic and coriander.
2.Put all the mince chicken in a large bowl and add chopped onions, garlic, ginger, coriander.
3. Add large cardamons,green cardamons,garam ,chilli powder,dry coriander and chilli powder to the prepared mixure
and grind it together,add beaten eggs and bread crumps to it and mix thoroughly with either your hand or a wooden spoon.
4. Take a large hand-full of mixture and flatten it on the barbeque skewer,if skewer is not available then wooden spoon can be used instead.
5. Preheat the oven at about 420 degree farenhiet.Once the oven is preheated,put foil on to your grill and put your kebabs over the hot grill.
6. Set the kebab’s in the oven and let it cook for 20-25 minutes or until coooked.Cook until all sides are bown
Alternative cooking if you don’t have oven at home.
5. Follow all the steps till 4
6. Cook the kebab’s directly over flame for a minute.
7. Heat a little oil seperately in a frying pan.
As soon as the kabab gets roasted remove it from the skewer and put into frying pan.
Fry well on all sides by rolling with wooden spoon. After frying, remove from heat and place kababs on absorbent paper or paper towel to drain out excess oil.
Serve on a bed of lettuce. garnish with tomatoes, onion rings or spicy green chutney.
Tips
Brush the foil papaer with oil before setting the kebab’s over it to avoid sticky of kebab’s.
While cooking the kebabs on the grill , turn the sides at 10 minutes interval so the kebab’s gets grilled evenly.
KomalFiesta 