Tandoori Nights - Joie De Vivre

Weeekend away! Nothing compares to a good old fashioned BBQ- with the tandoori twist. With the rains looming soon enough (hopefully!!), practice the art of barbeque-ing (is that even a word?) as the city gets lashed with downpours. A much healthier solution than that rainy pakoda/bhajia urge, and definitely more tasty!! While in Pune last weekend, SS and I marinated some veggies and sat out on the porch overlooking the back garden and enjoyed ourselves a fine tandoori meal, if I say so myself!

We bought local fresh red and yellow peppers, tomatoes, red onions, button mushrooms and the all time glorious paneer. The food itself is so much fresher and flavourful than what you get in Mumbai. Cut the peppers into approx 2 inch pieces. Better bigger than smaller since you run the risk of tearing them completely while dressing them onto the skewers. Peel the onion layer by layer, so no cutting involved!!

Keep the mushrooms whole, they cook just as well and are so delicate that they need to be chunky to grip on to the skewers. Cut the paneer into 1 inch thick chunks. Place the onions and tomatoes in a sealable container. Place the rest of the veggies (mushrooms, peppers, paneer) in a separate sealable container.

And now, the pièce de résistance: The Marinade. Holidays mean that one must be fed VERY well, but without the fuss and extra work. Since it was a non fussy preparation, I most purposefully used all cooking cheats within my reach. Readymade ginger garlic paste was one of them. To prepare the marinade, put 2 teaspoons of the ginger garlic paste, a few tablespoons of yoghurt and churn together. Add the garam masala and the tandoori masala powders, squeeze in a good whole lime (or the readymade lime juice bottles that are easily available in all grocery stores) and top it with a teaspoon or 2 of chilli powder. It adds just a wee bit of heat, but more importantly, it lends great colour to the cooked veggies.

The second marinade which I made was the same as the above, barring the yoghurt. Just for variety- and it tasted divine! I used the non-yoghurt one for the onions and tomatoes, and used the recipe above for the paneer, mushrooms and peppers. I wish I could have gotten my hands on some broccoli. Tandoori broccoli is by far the BEST way to eat broccoli. Broccoli was made to be cooked tandoori style! 😛 FYI, I used the Chicken Tandoori Masala, and just for clarity, it’s absolutely 100% vegetarian, with the big green dot on the cover etc. It is simply like any other box of masalas you get out there, which have no trace of chicken. I use it purely since there isn’t an alternative that I’ve laid eyes on yet for tandoori veggies/paneer. But it is vegetarian, so no need to fuss over the nomenclature of it. I promise!

Time to get your hands dirty! Cover the vegetables and paneer in their respective marinades gently with your hand, ensuring each piece is entirely covered with the marinade. Seal container and pop into fridge to rest and infuse for at least 4 hours.

We got our little fire bucket BBQ from Rhythm House, but any BBQ/Indian sigdi will do the trick. Patience is the key with the BBQ. Make sure to light the coal and let it get really hot for a minimum of a half hour to 45 mins before letting the skewers onto them, or you will end up with a very bitter taste enveloped around the veggies. One they’re on, keep turning every 10 mins and before you know it, they will be ready to get onto your plate and onto your fork!

Hope you enjoy this one, we had a great time putting it together and enjoying the process of watching it cook! It really is therapeutic in its own way! Bon Appétit!

Shopping Bag: (for 2 hungry people)