Chicken Recipes

2020 has been a torrid and an interesting year, we have learned to stay home, wear masks, watch lots of Netflix, cook a lot at home and of course socialize within a bio bubble. We wanted to organize a Christmas party in 2020 but the circumstances did not let us to, so we decided to have a family scaled party. Couple of our friends who wanted to celebrate with us, joined together and we decided to do a pot luck party and everyone was supposed to cook something interesting.
I generally do whole Turkey/Chicken in Thanks giving and Christmas dinners. I have had the rosemary whole chicken bake once in a friends place during Christmas and found it pretty good. I wanted to do something on the lines of the dish while also adding some flavors of my own. So I decided to add a lot of herbs to my marinade and then roast the chicken with lemon peels to get some acidity in it. The dish is a simple one again, the only work you do is while making the marinade else the chicken cooks by itself. We served this on the table and folks said this was the “Show Stopper” of the evening both in terms of its looks and the taste.
I would definitely recommend you to try this out, you can change the spices and make it your own. Do let me know in the comments below about your experience with the recipe.

Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe and follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

MySpiceBag.com sent me this lovely starter pack that contains the following spices - garam masala , coriander powder , red chili powder , cumin powder, Himalayan salt and mustard seeds. They are called the starter pack as these specific spices generally forms the base of many exquisite Indian delicacies. They are also priced great at 17.99 for the whole pack. You can order them from www.myspicebag.com , add the promo code - DEBSCRAFTYCUISINE to get 10% off on your order. These packets come with reusable seals and hence you can store the spices in these packs itself, they are well insulated too and that keeps the aroma of the spices intact for months.

I decided to cook a dish that does justice to this pack, I thought ... thought a bit more and then decided to do a recipe which I had learned from a malayali friend of mine - Aswini. She made this amazing chicken dish once using coconut milk which tasted very distinct and I asked her the secret behind her recipe. This is a dish from the Malabar Coast of Western India which was the hub of spice trade during medieval times. It is documented that even the ancient Roman traders used to visit the coastal areas there to buy spices like pepper. The state of Kerala boasts of some of the most exotic dishes in India and this dish is one of those. It is probably the most celebrated Syrian-Malayali Christian dish from Kerala.
Chicken Mappas is a chicken curry that uses coconut milk as the base of the gravy. The gravy is made of Shallots and not Onions. I have made it both ways but the use of shallots elevates the dish to a different level so I would advise you to use shallots if you have them in your pantry. Black pepper should also be used in this dish instead of chili powder, but I used red chili powder because I wanted to use the spices sent to me by myspicebag.
A lot of whole spices like Cinnamon sticks, Cardamom etc are used while tempering in the actual dish and I would recommend you to use those in case you want to generate the most authentic taste. I did not use any whole spices in mine today to keep the recipe simple and easy.

Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe and follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

The Indian subcontinent along with the middle eastern world has been the hub of Kebabs since ages. Since ages Persian and Iranian travelers and rulers have influenced the Indian cuisine introducing dishes like kebabs and biriyanis. Chapli is one of those kebabs which is loved in the streets of Pakistan and India and has derived its name from Chaprikh which means flat in Pashto. Rumor also has it that it is named after slippers which is called Chappal in hindi.. 😊 Either ways it’s a very tasty dish and a very easy one to make and you all should try this at home.

I had submitted this recipe for a cooking contest and it came out as the winner, so double the reason for you all to try it now.

So please try the recipe and let me know if you like it in the comments below.

Chicken do Pyaza is a spicy Indian curry using basic pantry spices and onions. The most important method in this recipe is the usage of onions in two forms, caramelized and crunchy. The taste of onions blended together with the spices brings out the best in this thick chicken gravy. The actual dish also uses a sour component like raw mango or cranberries, I have not used the same to keep the recipe simple.
It is believed that a courtier from Mughal emperor Akbar’s court - Mullah Do Pyaza accidentally created this dish when he added a large quantity of onions while cooking chicken. This is a Mughlai dish and is mostly enjoyed with Naan bread, roti or Chapati.
I have some wonderful childhood memories of trips with my dad on his conferences. We used to eat in roadside Dhabas (highway based restaurants) during the road trips with dad. This was one of the must eat dishes to order in those dhabas. The actual dish uses a lot of whole spices, I have not used any whole spice just to keep it simple and easy for you. This recipe is an ode to those road trips through the foothills and mountains in the Himalayas with my dad.

Do try it and let me know your experience of this dish in the comments below.
Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe and follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

Jerk is a native Jamaican cooking technique in which a spice mixture is applied on the meat and the meat is grilled post margination. The marinade can be dry or moist, the meat is traditionally cooked in the locally available pimento wood and wild hog was the preferred meat for the initial versions of Jerk.
The name Jerk is derived from the Peruvian word “charqui” which means dry meat, the English word Jerky has also evolved of the same word.
I cooked this dish for a cooking competition, it being an international competition I wanted to cook something that has global appeal but would also amalgamate well with something Indian which I can present as my dish. So I decided to do a fusion version of the dish and I called it the “Jerk Chicken Tikka Masala” which is Jerk chicken served with the Tikka Masala sauce. I have used Spinach Mashed potatoes for my Carb in the dish. The Jerk marinade is mostly true to its roots but I have made subtle changes to it like pouring in some Soy sauce to give it some Teriyaki flavor and so on. The taste of the dish was out of world, I was surprised with the amount of taste the creamy tomato sauce rendered to the Jerk Chicken and how the Mashed potatoes balanced the heat from the marinade. This is a special dish, if you want to cook something new for Thanks Giving, this is it.

Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe, do follow me in Instagram and facebook.

Kolkata style Chicken Chaap is a side served along with the Kolkata Biriyani. It is an aromatic version of slow cooked/roasted chicken. It is also served in the streets of Kolkata with Naan and Rumali rotis (Thin bread). The dish boasts of some robust and sharp Awadhi and Mughlai flavors. If you haven’t had this before, the first bite is going to make you drool with the taste that is released by the ingredients used in this one.

The story begins 15 years back, I visited a restaurant with some friends and a friend of mine just jumped out of his chair seeing the menu telling us they have Chicken Changezi on the menu. He started going gaga about this dish from Delhi and all that, Changezi … hmmm… I thought it would be some Mongolian dish customized and indianized in some manner as the name of the dish was after Genghis Khan , yes he is referred to as or rather pronounced as Changez in the Indian subcontinent. But to my surprise it was completely opposite, it closely resembled Butter Chicken but was not the same, I asked my friend what’s different about it and he said not everyone does it the right way but you got to cook one item after the other to complete the dish.
It tasted absolutely fantastic and hence this is my version of the dish, it is a great dish to cook for a feast. I have taken the easy route and simplified it and so should you if you want to cook this dish, the masala’s prepared separately and hence you can cook it quickly if you can work in parallel.

So please try the recipe and let me know if you like it in the comments below. Do follow us in Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to my YouTube channel. I have been posting more on YouTube then on the blog these last few days .

I got this chickpea pastas from a major US brand as gift and I wanted to cook a dish using them. Chickpea pastas are super healthy, they are high on protein and fiber and very low on carbs and they cook in very good time as well. I wanted to create a recipe with the chickpea pasta for our Pasta night.

Pasta - most interestingly originates from ancient China and it is believed that legendary traveler Marco Polo brought it to Italy. However today we only think of Italy when we talk about Pasta. Likewise Butter Chicken is an Indian classic, tandoori chicken immersed in a tangy creamy lick smacking sauce is a thing to die for .
So I thought why not use the sauce to make some pasta tonight, instead of using the normal red or white sauces. I also thought of adding some chicken and spinach sausages from Aldi to it instead of using the usual tandoori to give it the global touch a pasta demands.

The end product was so finger licking good, I had to share it with you all. Do try it out and let me know how you liked it.


Let me know in the comments below -

This is always a go to dish when you want to taste the best Chicken has to offer you, I use the instapot to cook it and all you instapot fans should try this one out.

Murg means chicken and Musallam means Full in Urdu indicating that this is a dish which contains a whole chicken cooked with an exotic blend of spices and nuts. This dish dates back in history to the courts of Mohamad Bin Tughlaq of India, this dish has also been mentioned in Ain-I-Akbari as well. It roots deep into the Mughlai and Awadhi cuisine and has evolved over the years . I have had it in different parts of the country and have noticed that the taste everywhere seems to be different bringing in the localization factor in the spices. I have always cooked it in my own way, making three different gravy/sauces and adding them together to slow cook the chicken.

My friend had the first gulp and told this is the best thing he ever had in my kitchen, so I am sure you should try this recipe out.

Tender meat balls cooked in a delightful yakhni kind of yoghurt gravy, this is a Kashmiri classic . Kashmiri Muslims call it the “dish of kings” and hence the legend says that no one ever refuses to eat this dish there. It is believed to be an insult to the host of you do so. It is also the penultimate dish served during Wazwan feast during local functions and ceremonies.
Some of you might know that I have spent a few days as a kid in Kashmir and it’s all happy memories filled with food and exotic breathtaking views. All this talk about Kashmir files led me to go back and make some Kashmiri food at home and this is why I am writing about it here .
Again I have made two subtle changes - I have used chicken as my choice of meat instead of red meat and I haven’t used dried mint cause none of the nearby stores had that available.
I have otherwise kept the recipe simple and true to its roots. You would find the use of dried ginger , fresh fennel powder, cardamom powder etc in the recipe .
This is a mild sauce and won’t suit the palates of someone always wanting to eat hot food, it’s a great recipe though, hope you would like it .
Do try the recipe, and let me know in the comments below.

I begin saying that this is a curry for the ages….!!!!
I wrote this recipe keeping in mind the fact that we all love a little cashew in many Indian gravies. So why not make the whole gravy using cashew nuts and see how it turns out. The dish boasts of some bold flavors owing to the use of some Indian spices.
Interestingly cashews were introduced to India in the 16th century by Portuguese explorers sailing from Brazil. They had planted cashew trees in Goa to prevent coastal erosion because of their extensive root system. It is believed that the elephants spread the nuts in different parts of the country across the peninsula. So if you like this dish, thank the Portuguese 
The cashews can be substituted with almonds too but that will make the gravy a bit sweeter than this one. The dish can also be made using melon seeds or soaked poppy seeds too.

Do try it and let me know your experience of this dish in the comments below.
Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe and follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

The word Yakhni is derived from the Persian word “Yakhni” which literally means stock or broth of meat, so Yakhni pulao is a special white rice pilaf dish prepared using meat stock.
The style of cooking using Yakhni has its roots from ancient Middle East. Yakhni is a very popular thing in the valleys of Kashmir in India and is an integral part of the Kashmiri cuisine which boasts of brilliant dishes like Rogan Josh and Dum Aloo. It is believed that Yakhni Pulao originates from Afghanistan and was introduced to the rest of the country by the Mughal Invaders.
The Kashmiri Yakhni is very interesting as it does not uses Turmeric or Tomatoes like most other Indian dishes. The meat stock is prepared first using some Indian spices and the meat of your choice. The spices are tied in a muslin cloth and added to the vessel while preparing the stock which makes it unique, the muslin pouch of spices is locally called as “garni” or bouquet garni.
I have written a simple recipe for this classic and my version does not use the Garni bouquet for the stock. I have also not used Curd which is a very important ingredient in the traditional recipe. In my version I have not used the meat in the Pulao but have roasted them separately in a slightly tangier spice mix adding a new dimension to this classic. This is a fantastic dish and you should definitely make this in your home.
Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe, do follow me in Instagram and facebook.

Chicken Rolls make me nostalgic, they remind of the streets of Kolkata and the Kathi rolls we get there. Chicken rolls have been a part of the culinary world since ages, you would find different versions of them in different parts of the world. This recipe is inspired from many of those rolls, I have used spinach and cheese and kept it simple along with some Cajun spice to give it some Creole touch. The dish is very simple and is a great choice for your party appetizers.

Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe and follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

There are always some dishes that you are proud of , some that made you really happy with its out come , some that earned beautifully praises and are close to your heart. Well this is one such a dish and I got one of the best compliments, a friend tasted it and said “this is the closest I have ever tasted something to the Tunde Kebab in the United States” and this guy is a foodie.

So Tunde Kebab or Galaoti kebab is the shining star of the Awadhi cuisine that originates from the princely state of Awadh in ancient India. This dish is primarily made using buffalo’s meat and uses around 160 different spices. I did not exactly tried to make Tunde kebabs, I was making Chicken koftas which came in very close to Tunde kebabs using chicken and hence I am calling this dish as Tunde Kofta Korma.

I should also tell you that if you ever get a chance to visit Lucknow, a city in the northern part of India, do visit “Tunday Kababi” and try the kebabs from there. You would not regret a bit about the money you have spent in your flight tickets.

Also “Awadh Restaurent” in Columbus Ohio serves amazing Galaoti kebabs so if you happen to travel to Columbus Ohio , please do visit the restaurant and try the Galaoti kebabs from there. They probably serve the best Galaoti Kebabs in the States and you don’t want to miss those.

My idea of this dish was to have a gravy which is rich, thick , creamy and coconutty adding flavors from the North and Southern states of India in a single bowl and the chicken koftas immersed on it.

Although it is not exactly Tunde Kebabs, its texture and softness gives it the same kind of feeling and hence I am calling the dish as Tunde Kofta Korma.

So please try the recipe and let me know if you like it in the comments below.

I had a dish some time ago in a restaurant in Kolkata , it was called the “Afghani Chicken” and was white in color. It tasted very distinct and had a sweetish flavor to it which complimented the chicken. I asked the person serving the dish about the recipe and if it’s actually an Afghani dish. The guy said I don’t know much about that but “Sob Maikhya Randhe” meaning the chef mixes everything together and cooks. I could taste curd, cream, cashew, butter, sugar etc in it and I knew I could replicate the recipe. A little more research told me that Afghani flavors are savory, sweet and creamy and mild and boasts of aromatic flavors and this is an Afghani dish after all as per Wikipedia 😊

I cooked it recently for friends of ours – Kannan and Pooja and the first thing he said after tasting it is – “This meat tastes like that from the Shawarma’s” and that made my day as I knew I had hit the birds eye and was able to generate middle eastern flavors in my dish. The dish and this page is dedicated to the lovely couple.

So here is the recipe of my version of the dish, you can even make it using Paneer for vegetarian options and it is a brilliant dish to cook.

It is a great recipe and is very easy to cook, do try it and let me know in the comments below.

Butter chicken is an absolute favorite dish of mine. Literally while growing up, I always used to order butter chicken as my entree in restaurants. I can easily say it has to be one of the top three dishes of India.
The story of butter chicken is very interesting, It was first created in a restaurant in Delhi named Moti Mahal. It is said that the owner of the restaurant wanted to use the leftover tandoori chicken. So, he took out shreds of chicken pieces from the leftover tandoori chicken and tossed them in a gravy made of tomatoes and spices and thus was born - Butter chicken.

I wanted to cook something new and easy and hence I thought of making some “Butter Chicken Sausage” using readymade butter chicken sauce. I shallow fried the sausages and cooked them prior to using it with the same very similar to how we make tandoori first and then use it with the sauce in the actual butter chicken dish.

I have used chicken sausages as I still wanted to preserve the soul of the dish which is Butter CHICKEN. This is an extremely easy dish if you have the sauce handy, requires very less ingredients and can be cooked in minutes making your job very easy. This dish is an absolute winner and you should definitely make it at home .. !!!

Let me know in the comments below -

We recently hosted a Water Splash party for kids and families in our backyard. This was a brainchild of Sandy and we had water games like sprinkler trampoline, portable pools, kids fountains and some more stuff like fixed in the backyard. There were water guns , water balloons and other water related toys to elevate the fun. Interestingly the adults got more engrossed, and we literally had a ball that day. We had also set up a chat buffet table at the sides with salads, bhel, pav bhaji etc and I had also made a punch for the party. The aftermath of such parties is always a lot of left over food which you somehow need to eat, distribute or reuse. The left overs here was a lot of onions, ginger , green chili, cilantro leaves etc from the chat buffet and we had to use them before they get spoiled.

This is when the Pav’s reminded me of my days in Pune. There is this very old Irani café in Pune called “Good Luck Café” which is very famous for its Keema Pav. Well Keema pav in simple terms is a spicy Ground meat curry served with breads which closely resembles the Hawaiian breads. You take the meat and stuff it in between the breads and then eat like a burger. The keema(meat) is self sufficient and you do not need to add any more sauces as the keema is cooked in a spicy sauce.

So, I took out some ground chicken from my fridge and started cooking. Now this version of keema uses a lot of cilantro and ginger and hence you can call it the “Dhaniya Keema pav”. The original dish also uses tomatoes, garlic, and ground spices like cinnamon stick, but I have refrained from using them here just to keep it simple. A bite of this and you would be in love with Keema Pav, may be even plan a trip to Pune to eat all famous Keema pav of Good luck café. I would highly recommend this one, do try it out and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.

I wanted to do some stew using my new instant pot for my friends, I thought I’ll probably do the Kolkata Style stew which we inherited from the brits, thanks to the colonial rule back in the day but then the very idea of making the same stew for my friends didn’t seem to be a good idea. So I had to make something that doesn’t taste that alien but also tastes like a stew , I saw some grated coconut in my refrigerator and that led to the idea of making a stew using coconut.
I further added coconut milk into it so that my broth gets that taste, I also threw in some basil into it giving it a little Thai touch. Finally the stew was ready and everyone loved it, well I had to share this as it requires no ground spices and is as easy to cook as it gets.
I have used the instant pot but you can also cook this in an actual pressure cooker with 6 whistles.
Do try and let me know in comments, follow us in Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to my YouTube channel to access the videos.

Shepherd Pie is a classic and I don’t believe in ruining a classic, but improvising a little on a known classic is something I always love doing.
Shepherd’s pie originates from the United Kingdom and was developed accidentally when someone decided to make a pie out of leftover meat with a crust made of potatoes. Since then, the dish has been a household name in rural English areas and is a great dinner item to serve in cold winter nights.
My dish is a reminiscence of the same, just that I added a little Indian touch to it .
I have used chicken instead of lamb, and have used Indian herbs n spices to make it my own . This is a great choice for dinner and is an entree on its own , you don’t need any sides like rice/ bread with it.

Most importantly Rihaan loved it and ate a full plate, makes all us Dads happy isn’t it .. 😀😀 in fact he said “I love Shepherds Pie” which is an exaggeration as the next line was “btw what is a shepherds pie” 🤪🤪

Make some shepherds pie and stay warm ..!!!!

I was visiting Rajneesh and Prachi (the Singh’s) during our yearly reunion time in New Hampshire in 2016. This is a reunion we do every year at someone’s home around the USA and then drive together on a road trip cherishing our friendship. I love the couple and I always try to cook something new for them when we meet, I asked them about this dish and they said they had not tasted it before. So I decided to cook this one for them as you can cook this using basic ingredients that you can find in any body’s kitchen , saves a trip to the market. Also Rajneesh was beefing up working along with a personal trainer and I thought of spoiling his trainer’s plans a bit by serving him this dish which contained everything he should be avoiding while following a strict regime … :P. The color of this dish is the best thing about it, and the Mangalorean flavors are to die for. We all relished the dish, sharing the recipe with you all so that you can try it at your end too.

This page is dedicated to the Singh's .

Manchurian sound Chinese to you, Hell Yes….. but the dish Chicken Manchurian is 100% Indian. Yes it is one of those indo Chinese dishes developed by the Indians of Chinese Hakka decent who had migrated from China to work in the mills in Calcutta years back. In fact this particular dish was prepared by the Chef of the “Cricket Club of India” when he was asked to make something different and the rest is history.
Today, Indo Chinese food is a popular Cuisine from India, it combines the best of the Indian and Chinese flavors and brings to your table a spicy and savory option. It is now spreading worldwide which is evident from the success of the “Inchin's Bamboo Garden”, a popular Indo Chinese chain in the USA with more than 25 restaurants across the country.
This is one of my go to starters as it uses very less ingredients and is very easy to prepare. I personally love the Chinese flavors surrounding the fried chicken and the texture the sauce gives to the pieces. I also add a little curry leaves in my sauce giving it a little twist. I love to use the chili garlic sauce as well making it more savory than the traditional dish.

Please try it and let me know in the comments below.
Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe, do follow me in Instagram and facebook.

Chicken Tandoori may well be the oldest Indian dish in the world, historians have found charred chicken bones while excavating the Harappan Civilization sites making many of us to believe that its origin may date back to 3000 BC and credited to the Harappa Civilization of the Indus Valley in ancient India. This then evolved and was probably became a major thing in Peshawar , later adopted by the Moti Mahal in Delhi.

This became a sensation in the USA when Jackie Kennedy ate and spoke about it in early 60s and news papers in the states published its recipe.

This is a dish you find in every Indian restaurant that serves Meat and is loved all across the world as a very popular starter.

This one is a very easy version with subtle changes, I have not used honey as I don’t like any sweetness in my Tandoori. I also use the tomato sauce in mine to make it tangier. Please try and let me know in comments how do you like this one.

What comes to your mind when you think of Chicago – “Willis Tower” …. I only talk food here so think about food - “Deep dish Pizza” … well yes , think more - “Chicago style Hot Dogs” .. Hell yeah … that is what we will talk now !!
So when I opened the pack I got from livezesti sauces, the first thing that took me by surprise was a sauce named “Windy City” sauce, meant to be used with hot dogs .
So I decided to make some hot dogs but a different hybrid version of it. I made some fajitas, used the sauces, prepared a sauce of my own using tomatoes and zucchini(must for vegetarian version of this hotdog), dil and caramelized onions ,sautéed ground chicken instead of sausages, curry powder as seasoning and tada.. the hotdog is ready.

Do try the recipe , check how you like it and let me know in the comments below

Cinco de Mayo special ...!!!!

Kebabs have been our favorite since ages, I am personally a very big kebab fan. I have been experimenting with kebabs and their flavors for a while now and it led me to this dish. In this recipe, I have tried to apply Mexican flavors in chicken kebabs. I have used Mexican sauces to make the kebabs, it requires almost no marination time and hence is a very quick recipe.
This recipe is something you can easily make when you have guests at home without having to do any prerequisites, it is simple, easy and very tasty which makes it your go-to appetizer.

This recipe is an ode to my love for Mexican food and the magic I was able to create by amalgamating the flavors from these two cultures which are known for spicy food is just the proof.

You can use any sauce of your choice but make sure you use the flavors as mentioned in the recipe to make this dish.

Formosa Sauce had sent me their goodies to try and experiment and I have used their sauces to cook the kebabs. The sauces they have are packed in standard bottles , got validity for more than a year and are great condiments to have in your pantry. They taste awesome , the habanero is my favorite as it gives you the kick you want in your dishes .

You can shop the sauces I used if you are in united states from - http://www.formosasauce.com/

Do try the recipe , check how you like it and let me know in the comments below.

I got a call from my cousin last Sunday; they were visiting my mom and dad that weekend and she had just finished her lunch. Now my mom is an amazing cook, but she hasn’t been cooking much due to her health. This weekend was different though, mom cooked goat meat, chicken and bla bla for them which of course made me so jealous, but this is the fate I have chosen so can’t complain much. Well my cousin told me that the chicken curry was just out of the world, you know “Baap toh baap hota hai” (Dad is always the dad, no matter what ) is what she said although its “maa” in reality lol. She of course was mesmerized by the taste of the dish but was also in awe of the simplicity of the recipe. I told her I know what you are talking about, mom just makes it so good although it’s a very simple recipe. She insisted its high time you told the rest of the world about it, I again reminded her that it’s a really simple dish but Okay ill write it up. And here I am now, typing this recipe for you all… do try it okay 😊

This is a classic Indian dish and I have made the recipe easy by making it using “Chicken Masala” powder from any popular brand. This green colored nutritious dish is a thing to die for and the use of chicken masala reduces your cooking effort by 30%. Palak chicken works great when you have vegetarian folks at home too as you can make the same gravy and separate them out. One for paneer and the other for chicken and create two separate dishes out of a single base. I am sharing this easy recipe here as it is glutten free, very healthy, easy to cook and would help you all eat good home cooked food in a few easy steps.

Try and let me know in the comments below -

Tikka for Tandoori/Kebob lovers is an emotion and Malai Tikka is probably the most sought among all. This is my version of the Malai Tikka with a little Cheesy Twist. I prepared this dish during our trip to our friends in DC Jitesh and Aswini (The Nair's) . We were visiting to celebrate a special occasion in their life and a friend of mine ,Robin Rajput ,asked me to cook something of Instagram Standard (as he called it). He has how own way of describing things and can add humor to almost nothing with his one liners.Well , I decided to make this one as it is a relatively easy dish to make if you have got the marinade right. Everyone loved the Tikkas and it also brought the right balance to the dinner table as the rest of the dishes were on the more spicier and hotter side. We had a wonderful trip, did a photoshoot and visited the Arlington cemetery on the Memorial Weekend to pay homage to our protectors.

This page is dedicated to the Nair's.

Hyderabadi Haleem is a classic stew made of lentils and meat. The actual recipe takes around 6-8 hours wherein the lentils are soaked overnight, and the meat is cooked to turn tender in a korma. It is a special dish prepared during the Ramadan period. It is said to have origins from the arabian dish “Harees” and was introduced during the Mughal era to India where it found its home in Hyderabad under the Nizams.
I have loved the concept of this dish and have always cherished eating it, but 6 hours is not something I can invest in the kitchen so I developed this very short version of Haleem. It doesn’t give the taste you get in the traditional dish but does gives a good feeling of eating something very similar to Haleem and that itself is comforting. This one is a simple recipe, and can be made in pretty quick time, boasts of wonderful flavors and is loaded with proteins.

You should try it and let me know in the comments below how you like it.

I call it the starter that belongs to the whole of the Indian sub continent as it is relished across different states in India , Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The name is said to be derived of the word Sham which means evening making it a perfect starter for suppers and also Shamam which means perfume thereby explaining the royal aroma that comes out of the kitchen when you cook it.

This serves as a real quick starter and you can cook this easily. Since the cooking is straight forward, it does not require a lot of attention. This makes it an apt dish as a starter when you have people home as you can concentrate more on the main course without worrying about your starter.

This is my version of the dish which I had made for a set of friends while they were home, enjoy and let me know how did you like the recipe in the comments below.

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This is another one of those which brings a bit of variety to your curry realm. Pakoras are Indian fritters glorified recently in TV by an American chef who chose to cook them in the culinary show “Leftovers” in Netflix. Pakoras are relished in the Indian sub-continent as evening snacks and is mostly made of vegetables. Chicken Pakora is a popular snack in many parts of India too . This curry is just another Indian curry, but I have used chicken pakoras in it. It changes the whole dish as the batter from pakora softens and gets mixed with the curry and brings in a totally different taste. If you love your chicken curries , you gotta love this . Try it and let me know in the comments below .

Chicken Tandoori is an Indian classic. It is believed that Tandoori came to the United States in the 1960s after Jackie Kennedy ate some on her trip to India in the flight. It is also said a lot of dignitaries visiting India used to pack some Tandoori chicken and take home on their flight back in the day as Indian restaurants were not this common in cities around the world as it is today.
Today you can just walk into an Indian restaurant and order some , although most restaurants do not do justice to it based in my experiences but still you get to eat some don’t you.
This dish is a take on the actual recipe but is an easy baked version of the Chicken Tandoori loaded with some veggies. The recipe will help you to prepare a healthier version of the dish using a home-made tandoori masala and serve it to your loved ones.

Do try the recipe , check how you like it and let me know in the comments below.

Chicken Kalmi Kebab is one of those classic Mughlai kebabs to die for. The marinade for this specific kebab uses a variety of nuts, cream and curd. It was thus considered a kebab for the richer sect of the society during Mughal periods. The kebab is believed to have its roots from Baluchistan.
In my version I have used almonds and have changed a few spices to my likings. This is a fantastic recipe to serve to your guests considering how easy the process is. I also added a green raita recipe at the end which I prepared to serve along with the kebab. The green raita added the required herby kick to this otherwise very nutty and creamy kebab and helps in restoring some acidity on your plate.
I love them a little charred and hence I have also broiled them at the end, that is an optional step and you can skip it if you like your kebabs just baked.

Do try it and let me know your experience of this kebab in the comments below.
Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe and follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

This is a dish hugely popular in the Road Side Dhaba's (restaurants near highways) in India, the dish is a cheaper version of the all famous Butter Chicken and is considered a great chicken curry in many parts of the country. I have very sweet memories of having this one in Dhaba's with Dad when I used to travel with him on his conferences. The dish contains no fancy elements, just spices , yogurt and chicken and is a very simple dish to try out your hand in the kitchen if you are not a handy cook.

Do try this version of the dish and let me know in comments.

Rihaan was not well recently and one of my colleagues told me to give him some hot water with cloves and star anise. It seems this helps with cold and sore throat and is widely used in her native. Sandy generally prefers to feed Rihaan with chicken clear soup when he has cold. So, I combined the two ideas to create this simple soup. I added some veggies and some spices to develop some taste and thickness to the soup. When ready, it tasted like Shorba and hence the name. The sweetness from star anise is the star of this soup. It is also an instant pot recipe and makes our job super easy. I did not use any herbs today but some cilantro might help with the taste of this one as well. A bowl of this is so lovely and comforting, I think I am going to make more of it from now on.

I would highly recommend this one, do try it out and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.

Summers are fun days and Saturday evenings warrants for some Beer with backyard Barbeque. We used to do a lot of barbeques at Gaurav's and this kebab is from one of those party saturday nights. The strong kick of Garlic brings out a kicking flavor to the chicken upon marination and this starter goes really good with Beers and Gossips. We used to do a lot of planning, shopping , marination on friday nights for these grill sessions so that we are prepared on saturday evenings , this page is dedicated to our family in the USA - Gaurav and Neetu.

I recently learned about this dish from an old friend of mine who also happens to be a budding food blogger. So, I googled about it to learn that it was curated by Chef Beli Ram, who was the head cook in the kitchen of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The original one uses goat meat or Mutton as the protein and it’s said the King was so happy with the dish, he named it “Gosht Beliram”.
Of course, I made the chicken version of the same with only one change, I added a bit of garam masala at the end to my liking. It is an extremely easy recipe and needs less focus while cooking and that is a great thing about this recipe. You cook the meat with the marinade and hence it needs little attention apart from stirring occasionally. One more interesting thing about this dish is that it uses sliced onions for marinade instead of onion paste which you generally associate with marinades . No tomatoes are used in this too unlike all popular Punjabi dishes, the tanginess in this dish comes from the yoghurt.

So, try it out and let me know how you like it, I definitely vote this one to be one of easiest ones to cook, check the method for more.

Do try it out and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.

I will start with a confession – I did not know until a month back that this even exists. I always thought biriyanis are meant to be yellow in color. So, I came across a post that talked about some famous white biriyani from Coimbatore and I was shocked as I had never heard of it before. I immediately asked Sandy about it as she is from Coimbatore, she said it is called Khuska and that is what it is. Now I know khuska and that is what biriyani rice without a piece of meat is called in the Southern part of India. In fact when I used to be big time broke during my college days, this was something I ate a lot just to be happy and get the feel of some meat … pheew weren’t those some days… imagine biriyani without meat !!! She also told me it is made of coconut milk so I realized how I can replicate it in my kitchen. But then I wanted to understand the history behind it, so I dug a bit more. This is when I found that white chicken biriyani is also a part of the royal Awadhi cuisine and was relished by the royals and the courtiers back then. This one is made of nuts and cream and all those expensive ingredients which were not readily available for the poorer strata of the society back then and may be this is why it never became that popular to be featured in the menus of restaurants.
Now I pride myself as an avid Meat eater, but I felt bad that I never knew about this. Anyways so I knew what I had to do next, combine the flavors from both South and North India and create a “White biriyani” that is loaded of all those Awadhi and South Indian ingredients.

I was skeptical about this dish but I kept cooking and this is what I achieved in the first go. The first bite just had me on the moon. Wow..!! I said as I could taste and feel the sweetness from the Anjeer (fig) , the smell of the spices, the aroma from the kewra water, the creaminess from the coconut and cream and the nutty texture from the almonds. It was all there in the bite, and I was sold. This is definitely going to be a regular from now on and well if you are in the guest list, you can ask me to make this. This is a request, make this once, you won’t regret if you like good aromatic food.

Let me know in the comments below -

A few years back I visited a Greek friend of mine and there in his home I had this amazing baked chicken dish which tasted like it was dipped in lemon and garlic. I did not ask him the recipe but understood the flavors were built with the help of those two condiments and a little marination time.
Years later I thought of recreating the dish that had some herbs, some veggies and the tangy chicken to go with them. The idea was to make a dish that is tangy, garlicy and has the right amount of herbs to balance the affairs.
So here is my attempt at the dish, interestingly we had some surprise guests that evening who got to taste it. And yes they asked me for the recipe, this prompted me to write it down for the site.
You can tweak the spices used to your liking but I would surely advise you not to miss cumin and garlic powder for the taste. You can also play around with the amount of pepper you want to add to the dish based on the amount of heat you want to generate. I added a very light amount of pepper to ensure that it does not overpower the tangy-garlicky flavor I wanted in my chicken pieces.
Asparagus was a healthy addition, I chose it because it tastes good when you bake them. You can also use other veggies but make sure you do not over bake them, you would want the veggies to be crunchy while you eat soft baked chicken that melts in your mouth.

Do try it and let me know how you like the recipe in the comments below.

Do check the YouTube video for better understanding of the recipe and follow me in Instagram and Facebook.

A soup a day keeps the doctor away …. What it is not soup , it’s an apple ?? Well I just made it as soups are healthy and should be a part of our diet. So in my quest to create new soup recipes, I landed with this one. Cajun, lemon, chicken - three of my favorite things together in a soup , what else can I say . Just press the soup button and enjoy .

Do try the recipe and let me know how you like it in the comments below.

I call it my backyard delicacy as I give it some Caribbean touch.


This is something which is always relished because of its balanced flavors and charred crust. I have been a big tandoori fan all my life and

owning a grill of my own is something I always wanted. Since the day I have owned one, this has been a household dish .

This is my rendition of Pepper Chicken using Chinese and South Indian flavors.



We have all had pepper chickens of different types, I wanted to cook something which is unique and diverse and hence I used Kura karam which is a South Indian Style Chillie Mixture and the Hunan Chinese chilli sauce. Try it for your own and let me know in the comments below.

There are days when you dont want to eat a completely Indian Dish but do not want to compromise on a Good Indian Style Kadhai Chicken as well, if that day is today you should give it a try. I played with Hunan Chilli sauce which is one of my favorite Chinese sauces , a little Soy (well who doesnt like some soy) and Indian Kadhai Spices to bring this absolutely palatable dish to my plate. Try it out, it wont disappoint you.

It serves as the fastest lunch bowl at home if you have wontons prepared beforehand and frozen. This is a dish that has helped me

during WFH days when I am heavy on calls and did not have enough time to cook proper lunch. This is a quick and works everytime.

Please try and leave a comment on your experience.