Thanksgiving with Tandoori Quails

In the middle of all the Durga Puja preparations, its not my fault entirely that I live in Canada, and that Thanksgiving is today.

Neither P nor I are high on turkey, so we got on our dinner table a close second cousin of it. Though I have a fleeting feeling it’d only be one-forty-fifth part of a traditional Thanksgiving bird. We had Quails today. Bater as we know her in India. Last Thanksgiving, I had made Biryani for 20 people, for P’s office potluck. This time, I had no such ambitions. I chose to lie low and go Indian. Predictable.

These are farm-raised organic quails, I got six for $14 (that’s about INR 630). No taxes.

Growing up, we would eat quails and other kinds of game when we visited my Grandparents’ home, where some bird catcher would get hordes of them from the woods and sell them in the small town my Dida-Dadu lived. Back in the big city, a murgi wala (chicken seller) would get these on special request from my parents only once in a while. They were delicious when my Mum made them the Kosha way! The only restaurant in Delhi that I have eaten quails is Punjabi By Nature.

It had been a while since I had had quails. I don’t know many ways to cook them, so I thought doing an oft-done recipe of tandoori would save me any embarrassment and heartache if they chose to go awfully wrong. Clever.

Ingredients for Tandoori Quails/Bater are:

6 quails
Half cup plain yogurt
Juice of one lemon + half a lemon
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon green chili paste
Half tablespoon red chili paste
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
Half teaspoon black pepper powder
2 tablespoon Canola/ vegetable oil
Few drops of red food color
Half teaspoon chaat masala
Salt

Truss the quails. Marinate them with all the ingredients, juice of one lemon. Do not add oil now. I left them overnight in the fridge.

Pre-heat broiler on high. Line the marinated quails on a baking tray. Drizzle oil on each quail. Broil each side (starting from breast down), for 5-6 minutes.

I like to get some char on my tandoori. You can do this on a barbecue or a gas tandoor.

Sprinkle some chaat masala and lemon juice on the Tandoori Quails and serve with some fresh salad.

Happy Thanksgiving, Canada, from an Indian home!

This long weekend is a bonus for us, I am sending this post to Patty’s Weekend Wrap Up. Enjoy your time off.

Seekh Kebab

In my past life, I was a Knowledge Manager and a disorganized writer. In this life, I am a stay-at-home wife who is dabbling with painting, more organized writing, home décor and also documenting food and cooking.

I have my off days too. I hope you will indulge me while I take a culinary detour for the day and share with you a not-so-good-looking-seekh-kebab.

I did work hard on it, you know. But my inexperience on the grill led me to this seekh kebab hara-kiri. But for better or worse, I know you will remain my true reader. I promise I will make it up to you. Sooner if not later.

Ingredients for Seekh Kebab are:

500 grams mince meat (you can use beef/lamb/goat/chicken, no need for lean meat though)
1 egg
1 medium red onion, crispy fried
4-5 fat cloves of garlic
1 inch knob of ginger grated
Handful of green chilies
Handful of fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
Half teaspoon black pepper powder
One and half teaspoon garam masala powder
2 teaspoons desi ghee
Salt

For the garnish:

1 medium red onion, finely sliced
Slices of lemon / lime
Crushed dry mint leaves mixed with Chaat Masala

In a blender, mix together the meat, fried onions, garlic, ginger, green chilies and coriander.
 
Transfer the mixture into a glass bowl and add one egg, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili and pepper powder, garam masala powder, and desi ghee.

Pound well till all the ingredients are mixed well. Leave for 30 minutes. Add salt and give it one last mix. I don’t add salt to my kebab mixture, as it releases moisture which makes my seekh kebab mixture soggy.

Heat oven / grill to the maximum. I use metal skewers for seekh kebabs. But if you don’t have them, use bamboo ones but soak them in water for 20 minutes before you use them.

Make your hands slick with some vegetable oil and rub them on the skewers. Weave the meat mixture on the skewers to make thin sausage-like shapes on the skewers.

If your meat mixture is difficult for you to handle, add some bread crumbs to it.

Place the skewers on the grill and brush with ghee or oil. Traditionally Seekh Kebabs are made in the Tandoor or Charcoal Grill. But I have barbecued them today.
It usually takes about 4-5 minutes to cook the meat. Turn midway to get even color and cooking on the kebabs.

Drizzle some lemon juice on the Seekh Kebabs and sprinkle the kebab masala of dry mint leaves and chaat masala. Serve with onion rings and coriander chutney. 

Seekh Kebabs, which are better looking than mine are served as appetizers. But they are great to go with your daal-roti dinner too!