by: Katrina Dovey
With India having one of the biggest and most popular food cultures in the world (The Top Tens, 2015), most of us have tried their food. From curry to tandoori chicken to hundreds of other recipes, India’s food is a favorite among many. With 7.68 million visitors in 2014 compared to the 2.65 million that it received in 2000 (Statista, 2016), India’s tourism has really gone up in recent years.
With India having one of the biggest and most popular food cultures in the world (The Top Tens, 2015), most of us have tried their food. From curry to tandoori chicken to hundreds of other recipes, India’s food is a favorite among many. With 7.68 million visitors in 2014 compared to the 2.65 million that it received in 2000 (Statista, 2016), India’s tourism has really gone up in recent years.
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| Photo credits: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/310115124313760806/ |
There are
lots of tourist spots in India. All may be related to any kind of person. There
are religious sights, beaches, wild life and others. And for the more active people out
there you may also do sporty activities. Trekking is a great activity to partake in. A place for you, the more mobile people, would be the Northern part of
India. With pretty much every outdoor activity possible, you could go to
Uttarkhand and Himachal Pradesh which could cater your
wants such as trekking, skiing, and white-water rafting. Ideal trekking season
is in September/October so be sure to visit in those times if you plan to go
trekking.
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| Photo credits: http://www.brics-info.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Indian-tourist.jpg |
For
those looking forward to a vacation focused more on relaxation, the south of
India would be the place for you. You can relax at the beaches and
read a book or just sun bathe. Take
your pick of the Goan beaches – Arambol, Vagator, and Palolem are top
spots – or try the black sand beaches of Kovalam and Varkala in Kerala, as well as lesser-known, golden sand in
the north of the state. (Lonely Planet, 2015) On these beaches you could also
have one of their favorite snacks, bhelpuri which is a combination of puffed rice,
noodles, green mango and a tangy sauce.
This brings us
to our main topic, FOOD. The recipe I will be sharing today is Punjabi lemon
chicken made with citrus juices, sugarcane juice and some basic Indian spices
called ‘Punjabi Lemon Chicken’. Without
further ado, here is the recipe:
Punjabi Lemon Chicken
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| Photo credits: http://food.ndtv.com/recipe-punjabi-lemon-chicken-373267 |
Ingredients:
6 chicken thighs
without skin
For the base:
3-4 Tbsp refined oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 onions julienned
6 cloves garlic
chopped
1/2 inch ginger
chopped
3-4 hot green
chillies
3/4 tsp turmeric
powder
1 tsp coriander
powder
Salt to taste
1 cup fresh lemon
juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup fresh
sugarcane juice
Fresh coriander to
garnish
Method
Heat a heavy cooking
vessel on a high heat and once its hot, add the refined oil and swirl the pan
to coat the base evenly. Once the oil is nice and hot, add the cumin seeds and
saute them until crackling and fragrant.
Now add the onions,
garlic and ginger and sauté them gently until they take on a light golden brown
color. Turn up the heat and then add the spice powders. Toast the spices on a
high heat until they are intensely aromatic and well toasted. Then add a little
water and bhuno the base ingredients repeatedly until the oil rises to the top
and the masala is well cooked out.
Add some salt and mix
well, then add the chicken thighs to the pan. Turn up the heat and fry the
chicken in the masala until it is evenly coated with the flavor of the base and
is a very light yellowy golden brown in color.
Now add the lemon and
orange juice to the chicken and deglaze the pan well, scraping up the flavor
packed pan deposits on the base of the pan. Stir everything together well to
combine, then add a little sugarcane juice to balance the acidity of the lemon
juice.
Bring the chicken to
a boil, then turn the heat to low, cover the pan and let the chicken simmer
away until it is cooked to perfection and almost falling off the bone.
Once the chicken is
cooked, uncover the pan and simmer the light gravy until slightly reduced and
concentrated in flavor. Turn off the heat, then garnish with fresh coriander
and serve with hot rotis or rice.
Recipe by: Aditya Bal
Hope you enjoyed this
recipe! See you soon for the next blog!
Signing out, KD.
Sources:
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