Murgh Malai Kebab

The best thing we like about murgh (chicken) malai kebab is that it’s the easiest of kebab to make and tastes the best. The fusion of cheese and cream sauce with chicken grilled in oven produces a kebab that literally melts in the mouth. The secret behind murgh malai kebab to be so tender and succulent is simply the use of a meat tenderizer. If you cannot find off the shelf meat tenderizer then just use minced raw papaya skin instead. The use of meat tenderizer breaks the bonds in meat protein thus making it soft, easier to cook and digest.

In the marination we have used sour cream. As an alternative to sour cream, regular cream mixed with hung yogurt can also be used. Though traditionally grilled in a tandoor, at home this can be grilled on a charcoal grill or in a conventional electric oven. The easiest thing about using oven in this recipe is to use the highest temperature the oven offers. If the oven has broil feature then use broil feature or pre-heat the oven to 500 F. Just put the skewers in oven in broil mode or at 500 F and turn the skewers after 8 to 10 minutes and grill them for another 8 to 10 minutes and that’s it.  Enjoy them as an appetizer with sliced onions and coriander chutney or wrap them up in  chapati to make a roll.

Watch our video for the recipe and if you follow our video exactly you will be really amazed by the results. We ourselves were amazed when we first made it by following the recipe from chef Sanjay Thumma.

Ingredients Summary

Boneless Chicken Breast – 1.5 lbs (~750 gms); Ground Black Pepper – 1 tsp; Meat Tenderizer – 1 tsp; Cardamom Powder – 1 tsp; Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp; Shredded Cheddar Cheese – 1/2 cup; Sour Cream – 3 tbsp; Green Chili – 5; Coriander Leaves – 1/2 cup; Salt – 1 tsp; Oil – 1 tbsp;

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Lyulya Kebab

Another blog that we became a fan of recently is “Global Table” . The blogger, Sasha Martin, is on a culinary trip of 195 countries in the world making a complete meal of one country every week. Sasha is alphabetically picking one country each week, deciding the menu, sharing interesting culinary facts and trivia about the country and finally cooking the meal on weekend along with sharing the recipes and the entire experience of it with the world through her blog. Luckily for us, We bumped into her blog while she is still on “B” and it will be an interesting journey for all her fans, including us, who are following her on this adventure.

“Lyulya Kebabs” was part of Sasha’s meal from Azerbaijan and immediately caught our fancy as soon as we saw the tempting photographs of the delicacy on her blog (please click here for Sasha’s recipe of Lyulya Kebab). These kebab are very similar to the Indian and Pakistani “sheekh kebab” in style and cooking method but tastes so different because of use of parsley. Parsley has a strong aroma very similar to that of  “Ajwain” . Traditionally these kebab are made with ground lamb meat but we  made them with ground goat meat. It is better to keep the meat marinated overnight but we kept it for an hour or so as we could not wait for the next day.

We served these kebab with chapatis, sliced onions and cilantro chutney. In Azerbaijan, Lyulya Kebabs are served with accompaniment of lavash bread and yogurt dip etc. One thing we are going to do differently next time is to use a little less parsley as the flavor is quite strong. Checkout the video to watch us make these wonderful kebab from Azerbaijan. They are also quite popular in Iran.

Ingredients Summary

Ground Lamb or Goat meat – 3 lbs; Onions – 3 (chopped); Garlic – 8 cloves (grated); Parsley – 1/2 cup (chopped); Dried Mint – 1 to 2 tsp; Paprika – 2 tsp; Cayenne Pepper – 1 tsp; Cumin Powder - 2 tsp; Ground Pepper – 1 tsp; Salt – 1 tsp;

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