Parsley Pesto

Ashu’s-Parsley Pesto/Chutney

Today sharing with you all my Parsley pesto recipe, I have started making this only recently, from the last 2-3 years. I have always loved the Basil pesto in all the dishes that it is used, but it is not easily available in the nearby stores around my residence. Parsley is abundantly seen in every vegetable selling supermarkets, hence always on hand, and always in the list of purchased vegetables. While staying in India I always made the coriander chutney or coriander-mint chutney for any savory snacks, but this is one pesto that is equally loved by my kids. It has a strong and distinct flavor and has a different taste and hence quite a change for us from the regular green coriander and mint chutney (dhania & pudina).

Parsley has been added to my food list and cooking only after I started living here in the UAE. Parsley is used in many dishes in the middle east. It is seen in salads, well known being the Tabbouleh in which it is mixed with Bulgar wheat (will keep that as a separate post for future 🙂 ).

The recipe I am sharing is how I make this Parsley pesto in my kitchen, adjusted to our taste preferences and hence the selection of ingredients too. This may not be the traditional way of making the pesto. I used the pistachio nuts the first time I made this, pine nuts were not in my kitchen pantry, and hence have continued using them every time I make this pesto. The taste, different flavors and texture of the ingredients makes the dip a much relished condiment in my house, kids love it with sandwich, flat-breads, and toasted baguette slices. You can add it to your egg omelette too. When my elder sister visited my place this year, she too loved the dip, hence this post is also for all my family and friends who would like to use Parsley in regular meals but might have double thoughts whether to use or not because of its strong flavor. Go ahead and try it out and see if you like the taste. Parsley is a very good antioxidant, also good source of Folic acid, Vitamins C and A etc.

PARSLEY PESTO/CHUTNEY

INGREDIENTS:

Parsley: 1 bunch

Pistachios: 50 gm (increase the quantity if you want more nutty taste)

Green Chili: 2 small (Adjust it to own taste prefrence)

Garlic: 3 cloves

Olive oil: 3 Tbsp

Lemon: 2 Medium-sized

Salt: To taste

METHOD:

Clean and wash the Parsley leaves. Chop them roughly.

Put the chopped parsley leaves, chilies, garlic and pistachio nut in a mixer pot and grind to make a smooth paste.

Ashu’s-Parsley pesto

Add the lemon juice and olive oil after every few whisks, it becomes easier to grind to paste. Finally add the salt and give the final whisk. Remove the contents into a bowl, check the taste and adjust if more lemon or oil is needed.

Ashu’s-Parsley Pesto

We can add the extra oil, if required, when using as a dip.

Ashu’s-Parsley Pesto

Ashu’s- Parsley Pesto

The above picture shows what was made for dinner last Sunday along with the Parsley pesto as a dip, I will make that as the next post, so do visit to find out what the new recipe would be :). Our weekend starts, wishing you all a good day and a happy weekend to those who reside in this part of the world.

Enjoy!

ashu.

Surmai/Kingfish fry

Fish is a very healthy food, rich in protein and also a major source of the long chain Omega-3 fatty acids, the essential fatty acids required by our body. These fatty acids are called as the essential fatty acids as they are not produced by the body and hence we need to get them from our diet.

Fish flesh is very delicate and hence  gets cooked fast. Care should be taken to prevent the flesh from breaking during cooking any of the fish dishes.

I generally use the Kingfish in fried, grilled or for making curry. It can be used to make Kebabas, fishfingers, biryani and a few other dishes too. Using the regularly used Indian spices for marinating the Surmai pieces that are thinly cut and then shallow frying it in pan or grilling it makes it very tasty to eat. The gravy of this fish is also very good to eat with hot steamed white rice, I prefer the Goan style of cooking for the curry. The fish gravy recipe will follow shortly, it is in my list of new recipes to add to blog. Do keep visiting the blog for that recipe.

SURMAI/KINGFISH FRY

Ingredients:

Fish Masala powder- 2 Tbsp

(The readymade packet lists these ingredients as-red chilli powder, turmeric, cloves, mustard, dry coriander)            

Lemon- 1

Salt- to taste

Oil- 2 tbsp.

Kingfish- 8-10 thinly cut pieces.

NOTE: We can also use dried coriander and cumin powder, red chili powder, turmeric, salt, oil for marination if we do not have readymade fish masala powder. Add a pinch or two of garam masala if you like it spicy, but I do not prefer to add garam masala when I use the homemade corainder powder. 

METHOD:

Apply turmeric and salt over these washed and thinly cut pieces of Surmai or Kingfish. Apply lemon juice on both sides of the pieces.

     Mix the oil and the fish masala together, and apply it over the turmeric, lemon and salt coated Surmai pieces. Or you could just mix all the ingredients and apply to the fish pieces and keep in the refrigerator for 30 mins or more for marination. The longer the marination time, the better the taste.

 Heat a fry pan and add 1 tbsp oil to it. Then add the masala coated fish pieces to the pan and fry the fish for 5-10 mins, turning and cooking both the sides evenly. (We add  a little more oil and cook it bit longer if we want it more crispy.)

Serve it hot with salad of choice or either Tomato or Chilli Sauce.

Tip: We can also dust this marinated fish with rice flour before frying it.

Enjoy 🙂

ashu

Tandoori Chicken

I take this opportunity for wishing you all a very Happy New Year 2014. This is the first blog of 2014, so it had to be written on a special day. Today is a very special day for me as two awesome people, my elder sister and brother-in-law, are celebrating their 25^th wedding anniversary. In this journey of my life, they are among the list of people who have always mattered most; their presence, association has contributed a lot, enriched this journey, and I definitely feel blessed to be related to them.

As every celebration calls for good food, hence I took the occasion to cook Tandoori chicken (grilled chicken) to celebrate this momentous event. This dish is a perfect blend of different spices, hung yogurt, and lemon, and the chicken needs to be well marinated to enjoy flavor of the spices with every bite.

I purchased the whole dressed chicken( 900 gm), a day in advance, coated the clean chicken with a mix of: 1 Tbsp Oil and some salt and garam masala.

Method: 

1. In a bowl make a marinade by mixing 3 tbsp of Tandoori chicken masala + 2 tbsp of hung yogurt + salt to taste + 1 tsp of red chilli powder + half lemon juice.
2. This mix is then coated over the chicken that has now been cut into 4 pieces, with the chicken legs and breast pieces deeply slit so that the marinade can be rubbed into each piece till it reaches the bone. Coat all the pieces with the marinade thoroughly.
3. Leave it to marinate for 5-6 hours or as I left it in the refrigerator overnight for best result/taste.
4. Heat the oven grill to 180 °C. Prepare tray by covering it with aluminium foil, brush the chicken with oil and arrange on the tray.
5. Grill the chicken for 30-40 min, depending upon the desired grill effect. After the first 15 min of grilling, check the tray and turn the chicken pieces over so the other side gets done evenly. Remove tray from grill when chicken is completely done.

Serving Option:  This can be served with sliced onion and tomatoes dashed with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste or with yogurt mixed with ground fresh mint and salt to taste.

Enjoy.

ashu 🙂