Chicken Tikka or kebab is one of the famous starter or appetizer in any Indian restaurant or parties. There are quite a few varieties which are equally popular, like Malai tikka, Hariyali tikka, Reshmi kebab etc. My whole family are very fond of these kebabs , so I often make these kebabs at home on special occasions or on demand by kids. I posted Chicken Malai Tikka already but never posted Hariyali Chicken Tikka, so thought to post the recipe today.
       In Hindi, Hariyali means green and in this recipe small chicken breast pieces are coated with fresh mint and coriander leaves paste along with some other spices and grilled on fire for that smoky flavour. The mint and coriander paste gives a beautiful green color and nice flavour to the grilled chicken. Just love them with green chutney and some salad by the side.


  There are many ways you can make soft and moist Chicken tikkas at home. You can cook the chicken  in oven and then keep under grill for 5-10 minutes to get the grilling effect. Chicken gets cooked well and stay moist that way. Second option, you can grill the marinated chicken tikkas on a grill pan directly. Third option, You can also make tikkas in Air Fryer too. Chicken cooks faster and needs less oil but I found that Chicken doesn't stay much moist when cooked in Air Fryer. Therefore, I love to prepare my chicken tikkas in Oven first and then I keep them under grill option for 5 minutes on both sides.

You Need :
Chicken breast or boneless chicken pieces : 500 gms.

For marination :
Ginger-garlic paste : 2 tblsp.
Lemon juice : 1 tsp.
Thick yogurt/curd : 2 tblsp.
Full-fat Cream : 1 tblsp.(optional)
Salt to taste
Oil : 2 tsp.(for marination)+2 tblsp.(for cooking)
Turmeric powder : 1 tsp.
Cumin powder : 2 tsp.
Coriander powder : 3 tsp.
Kasuri Methi(dried fenugreek leaves) : 1 tblsp.
Mint leaves : 1 big cup(chopped)
Coriander leaves : 1 big cup(chopped)
Green chillies : 2-3, chopped(accord. to taste)

How To :

• Wash the chicken pieces, drain on colander to remove the excess water. Then take a big bowl, marinate the chicken pieces with oil, salt to taste, turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder and ginger-garlic paste for for 15-20 minutes. Keep aside. Meantime, prepare the green paste. 
• In a mixer, take all mint and coriander leaves and green chillies, make a smooth paste using less water as possible. Keep aside. In the marinated chicken, add green paste, kasuri methi, curd and cream. mix everything well. Keep it marinated longest time possible, 6 hours to midnight if possible. Keep the marinated bowl of chicken in refrigerator if marinating for more than 1 hour. 
• After marination, on an oven-proof tray arrange the chicken pieces nicely coated with marination. Pre-heat oven on 190 degreeC. Drop little oil on every piece of chicken and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, flip the chicken pieces, drop little more oil and bake for another 30 minutes. By this time, chicken will be cooked but won't get that burnt look. To get the burnt look, turn the grill mode on in your microwave oven or grill. Grill for 5 minutes on each side of the chicken. 

Serve with freshly made green chutney and some thinly sliced cucumber, beet, carrot and onion slices. 

Green Chutney (Mint and Coriander Chutney)

You Need :

Coriander leaves : 1 cup
Mint leaves : 1/2 cup
Green Chillies : 2
Ginger : 1/2-1 inch piece
Salt to taste
Lemon juice : 1/2 tsp.
Vegetable or any white Oil : 1 tblsp.

How To :

• Wash and clean the coriander leaves and mint leaves and set aside. Take a blender/mixer and add in all the ingredients except the oil to the blender.
• Grind everything together without adding water. Blend till smooth. Add in the sunflower oil or vegetable oil. Taste for seasoning. Give it a mix.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can use this chutney for sandwiches, pakoras or kebabs etc. 

   On the 4th floor of Diamond Plaza mall, amidst many small food joints and a food court, there is one newly (almost 1 year old) opened restaurant, who wants to serve Kolkata people their second most favorite Indian food, Punjabi food, more specifically dhaba food. Therefore, they call themselves Rang De Basanti Dhaba. Though in close room, they kept a real-size tractor inside the restaurant to bring the "Dhaba Feel".

    I was there representing my foodie group, Kolkata Food Bloggers, on invitation from them to taste and review their newly launched Menu. They serve very authentic Punjabi food from different regions of Punjab, which most of us never heard about and want to include more new dishes time to time. I was totally overjoyed when I got this invitation, because I love Dhaba food, so there was no chance I could avoid this invitation and another plus point was, this place is quite close to my home. with loads of excitement when I reached there, I was heartily greeted by PR Santoshini and GM Rajdwip, they offered me a seat and while I was just checking the interior, welcome drink was served. Takdewali Chanch, which is plain buttermilk seasoned with roasted spices, chilli flakes, coriander etc. The drink was an immediate thirst-quencher on a hot and humid day.


    I had a nice chat with GM, who was a great host and eagerly telling me about their Restaurant. Diamond Plaza Mall outlet is their second outlet after Salt Lake Sector 5 Outlet and they are soon going to open another outlet in Kolkata. Their motto is to serve authentic Punjabi food to Kolkata people because nowadays what I get in the name of Punjabi food is just plain North Indian food, authentic Punjabi food is far more interesting and different and is available in hundreds of varieties. According to him, they are going to bring authentic punjabi dishes from all regions of Punjab for Kolkata People. Their menu is full of kebabs, tikkas and tandoori dishes along with some North Indian fares. Menu card is full of options for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians in every category.

     When it comes to food, there must be a big mention of the Chef of RDBD, Chef Siddharth Joardar, who was graciously taking care of us, all the bloggers invited for the event and making sure that we are feasted well even though the restaurant was full of visitors that time, He joined us and chatted with us about his so long food journey and about his plans for RDBD. He was a great host and I must admit a great cook too. He has joined RDBD just around six months ago, after serving his career in many five-star hotels outside Kolkata. As he is new to Kolkata food market, he wants to explore Kolkata Food market more and wants to bring authentic Punjabi delicacies with local twist to RDBD. Each and every dish we were served was extraordinary, with full of flavours and not so very rich unlike other restaurants serves North Indian fares.

Cutleries : Another instant love for RDBD was the cutleries for me.

Decor : When it comes to full-service restaurant, inside decor is very important to many visitors. Here in RDBD, they tried to bring the "dhaba feel" in desi style off course, using traditional milkcans as hanging lamps, huge center cendeliar using spoons and forks and funny Punjabi quotes framed as a wall-decor. And a life-size tractor welcoming you inside the dhaba, will give everyone a desi dhaba feel for sure, not much over-the-top decoration makes the place look bigger and brighter. There are about 45-50 seat arrangements in this outlet and it is always full with visitors.


Now the newly added dishes to the RDBD existing menu, for what we were there....

Starter ::

After the welcome drink, two starters were served immediately. One Veg and One Non-Veg. In Veg., they served Moong Dal Ki Phillori, which was small round shaped ball made with yellow moong dal along with some aromatic spices well-blended and deep-fried to perfection. These were something I never had before and just loved them with mint chutney and salad by the side. A must-have in RDBD.

In Non-veg., there was Phagware ka Murg, small bite-size chicken pieces with bones, seasoned  with again loads of assorted spices and deep fried to crisp yet tender Chicken pieces. It was absolutely finger-licking good with again mint chutney and salads by the side. A must-have in RDBD.


Main Course :
To accompany the main course dishes, RDBD served a Veg Masala Pulao, which is their new addition and 3 sorts of rotis. The Pulao was just lovely loaded with vegetables, very simple but aromatic pulao, it was just marrying each dish like match made in heaven. And in rotis, they served Tandoori roti, Lachchha Paratha and Naan. And we all know punjabi dishes always go well  with tandoori rotis. Chef Sidhharth Joardar is absolutely opposed to serve Biriryani with Punjabi dishes. According to him, Punjabi dishes don't go well with biriyanis and I totally agree with him.


    In the main course, they are adding Daal Angara. Chef and GM Rajdwip both were recommending to try this daal first and I did. As the name suggests, this dish is quite spicy but blended so well with flavours that you won't realize its spiciness instead you'll crave for more and more of this creamy daal, made with Black Urad dal. We all were licking the daal off our plates, this was so finger-licking delicious. A must-have in RDBD. Another veg dish they are adding is Paneer Lababdar, paneer pieces dunked in a creamy gravy dish loaded with flavours typical to Punjab cuisine. It was going great with both Veg Pulao and rotis.


Next was Railway Mutton Curry, at first it looked really spicy and oily, with lots of red oil floating over the mutton pieces. Chef Joardar understood our concern and showed us that those oil was just seperated from the spices and it was not an excess oil from the curry. It was really flavourful, not at all spicy or oily, very simple but aromatic mutton curry. Really recommended to try out when visited. In Chicken, their new addition is Methi Chicken, an absolute favorite Punjabi dish of mine but it is quite difficult to bring the perfection in this dish. But I totally loved Methi Chicken here in RDBD, creamy fenugreek leaves nicely coating succulent chicken pieces in a fenugreek flavoured curry. In one word, awesome it was with rotis. A must-have in RDBD.


Dessert ::
After all these yumminess, when we were all full till our throat, there came the new dessert in the menu, Shahi Tukda. I just thought I would skip this dessert as I know it is quite heavy and loaded with sweetness. But after Chef pushed to try a bit, we all could not stop ourselves to lick off the whole plate in no time. It was in one word, "divine". The bread slices were still crispy even after soaking in the thickened milk. I never had so tasty and yummy Shahi Tukda in my life. It was just so perfect, though it was quite sweet but it was divine. A must-have in RDBD.


Final word/verdict ::
Loved the ambiance. Loved the hospitality of everyone serving in that place. Loved the food and mostly, loved the passion of Chef Sidhharth Joardar. The interesting fact about all the dishes I tasted was none of them was over-the-top rich and spicy, was perfectly balanced with flavour and taste. And for me this is a sign of a good Chef and where the chef is so balanced, that place is worthy of paying a visit. 100% recommendation from my side, if you love Dhaba food yet very health conscious, this is the right place for you.

Hope RDBD will keep their passion intact for many more years to come and will serve Kolkata People what they desire to serve, authentic Punjabi food, which is my second most favorite cuisine after Bengali cuisine.

Have you ever thought to cook a Biriyani in only One-pot? Or with just a few common ingredients which you always have in any Indian Kitchen? Even I thought it was impossible till I tried to fulfill my daughter's wish to have Chicken Biriyani with just a few hours notice? First, I thought it's not possible, then I thought to give it a try even though I didn't have those exotic spices needed for Biriyani in my pantry. Over that, I was so squeezed of time that day. But the food blogger spirit in me forced me to go ahead and give it a try. And It was equally delicious like the biriyani I made before with elaborate recipes and exotic spices.
No, I'm not telling you all to not try out those elaborate biriyani recipes ever, but you can make this biriyani when you are constraint of time and ingredients. So, without much edo, here are the ingredients and recipe.......


Ingredients :
Basmati Rice : 2 cups
Chicken : 750 gms.
Potato : 2-3, cut into halves/fours
Onion : 2, thinly sliced
Green Chillies : 2, chopped
Ginger-garlic paste : 3 tblsp.
Yogurt/dahi : 1/2 cup
Turmeric Powder : 1 tblsp.
Coriander powder : 2 tbsp.
Cumin Powder : 2 tblsp.
Red Chilli Powder : 1-2 tsp. or as per your taste
Garam Masala Powder : 1 tblsp.
Biriyani Masala(store-bought) : 1 tblsp.(optional)

Salt to taste
Oil : 2 tblsp.
Ghee : 2 tblsp.
Fresh Coriander leaves, chopped : 1/2 cup
Kewra Water : 1 tsp.
Meetha Attar : 4-5 drops

For tempering :
Bay Leaves : 2
Cardamom : 3, Cloves : 3-4, Cinnamon : 2 sticks(1") [all crushed a little in mortar & pastle]


How To :

• Cut whole chicken in medium bite-size chunks. Marinate them with yogurt, 2 tblsp. ginger-garlic paste, little salt and turmeric powder for at least 1 hr. More is merrier. 
• Take the rice in a bowl, wash and then pour about 1 cup water over it and let it soak as long as chicken marinates. 
• Heat 2 tblsp. oil on a wide bottom pan, fry the potato pieces, adding little salt and turmeric powder. Fry till they are golden brown, keep them aside. 
• In the same oil, temper oil with pounded bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves, then add sliced onion and saute till they have started browning. Then add chopped green chillies and 1 tblsp. ginger-garlic paste, saute for 2 minutes, then add marinated chicken in the oil. Add all the powdered spices except garam masala powder. 
• Cook stirring till the oil and spices separate. Add fried potato pieces and mix with the chicken. Add 3/4 cup warm water in the curry. Add salt as needed, cover with lid and let the chicken cook till they are just done. By now, all the moisture from the chicken will be gone. 
• Add soaked rice along with the water it was soaked in the same pan. mix well with the chicken. Add ghee, garam masala and Biriyani masala(if you're using) over it. Mix again. Add water just till the layer of rice and chicken in the pan. Add salt carefully as we had added the rice now. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top. Close the lid and in medium heat and let it cook for 5-6 minutes or till the moisture in the pan is evaporated. Stir time to time to avoid rice sticking to the pan and burning.
• After this, place a tawa on heat and place the pan over it, where you were cooking the biriyani, Sprinkle kewra water and meetha attar on top and close with a lid as tight as you can or you can seal the rim of your pan. Now lower the heat to low and let it cook for another 10-12 minutes or till rice is fully done. We are doing this as there is no moisture in the rice and we can't keep the pan in direct heat. So, we are cooking it in DUM. 
• Finally, remove from heat and fluff rice and chicken together and give it a good mix. 

• Serve hot with freshly cut salads and any kind of raita by the side. 
• Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   I want to share an absolute favorite flatbread recipe of Bengalis on the occassion of Bengali New year 1424 which is just around the corner. It falls around 14th or 15th April every year. This year it'll fall on 15th of April. It's a very eventful and important day for Bengalis like other communities in India. First day of the first month, Baisakh, which is popularly known as "POILA BAISAKH", where poila means the first. The people of Bengal celebrate with lots of excitement and zest and welcome the new year with lots of enthusiasm. The day starts with "early morning processions" where men and women sing "Rabindra Sangeet" and other regional folk songs where men are dressed in traditional Dhuti-Punjabi and women are dressed in white Sari with red border, very significant to Bengal. Lots of people visit temples to start the new year with god's blessings.


Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and Lord Ganesh are worshipped on the Bengali New Year day. It's an auspicious day for traders and businessmen. Traders perform the "halkhata" ceremony that means shopkeepers, businessmen and traders close their old accounts and open a new one. All shops are decorated with flowers and Sola decorations and also stringed fresh lemons and chillies hanging in front of shops. This is to ward off the evil eye. People visit their favorite shop during the day to wish them luck for the year ahead and traders welcome customers on this day with sweets and a Bengali New Year calendar. Baishakh is one of the important month for the Bengalis as it marks the beginning of the crop cycle in Bengal.
Every Bengali will wear new clothes to celebrate this joyous occassion. Lots of cultural programmes are held on this day. Shantiniketan (Rabindranath Tagore's Viswa Bharati University) celebrates Poila Boisakh in a grand way, involving many cultural programes. No occassion is complete without good food. All favorite delicacies are prepared that day at every home, even restaurants fill their menu card with only traditional bengali delicacies for that day. Exchanging of gifts among friends and family, typical plush Bengali lunch, the pungent smell of new dress epitomizes the Bengali New Year as one of the most significant event of the year.
 I am just eagerly waiting for that day this year too with the same excitement like I used to wait as a kid for this day to come. New year gives us so much new hope, new beginning, new excitement and new happiness, isn't it ?
This very same day is celebrated as a New Year not only in Bengal, but also this following states in India( Kerala, Manipur, Nepal, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Tripura) and different pasrts of South Asia, too(Sri lanka, Bangladesh , Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand). Isn't it wonderful?  
A happy and prosperous new year wish from me to all the peoples from these countries. 


  As I said earlier, I want to share a flatbread recipe, which we call Tinkona Parota (Triangular Paratha). It's just like regular Indian paratha but it's Bengal's speciality that we make the paratha in a shape of triangle. Paratha is an Indian flatbread that is fried with little oil or ghee. Traditionally, Bnegali Tinkona parathas are fried with ghee but nowadays people try to avoid ghee for its fat content but it tastes best with ghee. I do not completely compromise, so make a mixture of vegetable oil and ghee and fry my parathas with it. So, my parathas are full of flavour and health, too. Also, most people make parathas with all purpose flour, but I make my parathas with whole-wheat flour and it doesnot taste bad. Bengali Tinkona Parotas are best enjoyed with Aloor dom, Aloo Charchari or Aloo Bhaja. This time I made with Aloo Bhaja and it was just divine.


You Need ::

Whole Wheat Flour : 1 cup
All-purpose flour(maida) : 1/2 cup

.