Weekend grills

When I crave grilled food, I usually think of a place like Barbeque Nation or Punjab Grill. But When you don't have company to visit any of them and are on a self imposed health food diet, the only option left is to experiment in the kitchen with some basic tools and ingredients. I had ordered this mini tandoor from Amazon (not a sponsored/paid post) which can be placed on the gas burner to grill vegetables, despite not being sure how efficient it would be. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it grilled vegetables and also gave a smoky aroma to it. 

I have experimented with grilling in the oven but this was far more easier and tasted a lot better. So dinner yesterday had Indian style grilled mushrooms with a mint chutney. The recipe is deceptively simple and takes less than 15-20 minutes to assemble a batch. This is possibly one of my experiments in the kitchen which have gone right and will be a repeat recipe in the future. 

Indian Style Grilled Mushrooms

• 10 - 15 mushrooms 
• 1 Cup Dahi/ Plain Yogurt 
• 1 small spoon of ginger garlic paste
• Half a spoon of  -  red chilli powder, dhaniya (coriander) powder, aamchur (dry mango powder) , turmeric powder and garam masala  (add as per preference and taste)
• Salt to taste

Soak the mushrooms in warm water for 5 minutes and wash thoroughly. This step is very important as the mushrooms usually have a lot of mud/grime on it and warm water helps wash away all of that. Pat dry and keep the mushrooms aside. Mix all the remaining ingredients in a big bowl till it comes to a consistency of a thick paste. Dunk the mushrooms in the paste one by one till they are covered full and pierce them on to the skewer. 

Place the gas tandoor on the gas burner with the burner on a medium flame. Once it is hot, place the skewer with the mushrooms on it and grill till they are slightly charred. Do keep turning the skewer at regular intervals so that the mushrooms are grilled uniformly. This should take anywhere between 3 - 6 minutes. 

Serve hot with a mint chutney.