Easy chicken seekh kebabs

These kebabs have become a staple in our family. They are so easy to make and taste so yummy. They don't last more than a day in our house.I tend to use ground chicken breast but you can use any minced meat. To keep the ground chicken breast moist and to help bind the meat, I use butter. The butter helps to keep the meat from drying out and it also keeps the meat from falling apart. Traditionally, seekh kebabs are made on skewers but since I don't have the time or patience for that, I just shape them into logs. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs ground meat (I use chicken breast) bring to room temperature
2 tbs butter, softened
1 medium sized onion, chopped
3 tbs chopped cilantro
1 tbs garlic paste (If you don't have, make paste out of 2 cloves garlic, little water, and a little vinegar)
1 tsp ginger paste (If you don't have, make paste out of 1/2 ginger, little water, and a little vinegar)
1 tsp dried mint (optional)
1 tsp red chili powder ( i prefer Kashmiri. It is less spicy and adds a better flavor.)
1 tsp garam masala
1-2 green chili, minced (optional)
salt to taste (I like to use smoked sea salt. Gives it a nice smokey flavor. If you do not have, you can use regular table salt of kosher salt) 
Preparation :
Place ground meat in a bowl. Make sure you dry any excess water from meat with a paper towel. This will  keep your seekh kebabs from falling apart. Add all ingredients and mix. Once all ingredients have been incorporated, take a little bit of meat mixture and pan fry.

Make sure salt and spices are to your liking. Once you have your seasonings set, shape into logs.

Heat up grill on high for 5 -10 minutes or use a grill pan. Lower heat to medium high and place seekh kebabs on grill/pan. Cook for approx. 10 minutes.

Reshmi Kebab

Wow... this blog stuff is hard work. Unfortunately, I make so many things and I forget to post pictures and recipes. Today, I actually remembered to take a picture of what I made!

Today's recipe was inspired by an Indian buffet that my family and I went to yesterday for lunch. They had reshmi kebabs in their buffet and fortunately for me, my 4 year old gobbled it up. I was able to get him to eat lunch without begging him to eat. The stars, the sun, and moon must have been aligned right because he even ate salad with it! For those of you who don't know what reshmi kebab is, it is a milder, tender kebab than tandoori chicken tikka kebab. Because of the special marinade, the kebab is so soft and tender that the name literally means silky.

I used chicken but this recipe also works great with lamb, steak or shrimp. The following is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 8 blanched almonds
• 8 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 inch of ginger root, peeled
• 1 cup of cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 pounds of chicken breast, cubed

Directions:
Add first 4 ingredients (if using jalapeno, add that as well) into a food processor and blend until smooth. Empty into a non-reactive bowl. Add lemon juice and incorporate. Add cream, salt and incorporate. Add chicken and mix until chicken is covered with marinade. Cover with plastic wrap. For best results, marinate in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.

Preheat a grill pan or your grill on high heat. Lightly grease and place chicken on top. Cook chicken until cooked through.

***Note: I didn't use skewers but placed the chicken directly on a grill pan. I sprayed the grill pan with Pam and preheated the grill pan on high heat. I covered the pan and cooked the chicken for 3 - 5 minutes on each side. Don't overcook! It doesn't take long to cook the chicken so be careful not to overcook otherwise your chicken will be dry.

Serve with lemon wedges and naan.

When life throws you a lemon, you make lemon pepper salmon!

I went to get my yearly checkup and I was in shock because my cholesterol has gone up! My husband has been bugging me about eating more salmon. Personally, I am not a big fan of salmon. I know many people out there LOVE salmon. I just can't get past the fishy taste. I am not a huge fan of COOKED fish. I don't know why... give it to me raw and I LOVE it! I don't find sushi to taste fishy. Anyway... back to my cholesterol. My husband successfully lowered his cholesterol by eating salmon and avocados with red wine at least 3 days a week. I decided to give it a try and it wasn't too bad. I seasoned my salmon with lemon pepper (this is my own personal blend that can be found at http://spicespicebaby.etsy.com/) and olive oil. Baked it in the oven for 30 minutes. While that was baking, I took an avocado and mashed it. Squeezed some lime in the mash and then seasoned it with my citrus lemongrass finishing salt (again - http://spicespicebaby.etsy.com/)! It tasted amazing. I think I might change my opinion about salmon...

Steak Spice

I made some steak fillets last night with the steak spice that I make. It can be purchased from http://spicespicebaby.etsy.com/. It's a blend of kosher salt, garlic, black pepper, coriander seed, mustard seed, dill seed, red pepper. I sprinkled it a couple of hours before grilling with a little olive oil. I served it with some garlic mashed potatoes and a spinach salad. It was yummy!

Crock Pot Ribs

My husband isn't a picky eater... most of the time. The only time he is picky is when we are eating ribs. He likes his ribs cooked to the point where they are falling off the bone. He used to rave about ribs that his friend's wife made one time for dinner when he was a bachelor. Lucky for me I got the recipe. I like the recipe. It is easy. Throw everything in a crockpot and 3 - 4 hours later... Voila! The only thing that I found missing was a nice glaze over the ribs so I adjusted the recipe according to my tastes. I like to reduce the liquid in the crockpot to make a glaze, brush it on the ribs and then bake it in the oven for 30 minutes. The results are amazing. This is one of those dishes that people constantly ask me for the recipe. Here it is for everyone to enjoy!

Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1/4 Cup Honey
2 TBSP White Wine Vinegar
3-6 Cloves Minced Garlic
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp salt
dash of Crushed Red Pepper

5 LBS Baby Back Ribs

1 Medium Onion Sliced
2 TBSP Toasted Sesame Seeds
2 TBSP Chopped Green Onions

For glaze:

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Soy Sauce

Directions:

Combine first 9 ingredients. Add ribs and turn and coat. Put in Crock with onion. Cook 3 hours (1 hour on high) 2 hours on low or until 160-170 degrees.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove ribs from crockpot and place in a single layer on an aluminum foil covered cooking tray. Spray some cooking spray so ribs don't stick to aluminum foil.

In a saucepan, add 1 cup of liquid from crockpot,1 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup soy sauce. Cook over medium heat. Once sauce has thickened, brush over ribs. Put in oven for 30 minutes until a nice glaze forms over ribs. Garnish with Sesame Seeds and Green Onions.