Easy Chicken Kabab

Starters are an important part of any meal and they get even more important when you host a dinner/lunch event at your place. Having said that, when you have no helping hand in the kitchen it becomes imperative that you present something quick and easy yet beautifully presented and delicious to eat. These Kababs are just that. Extremely easy to prepare, you can keep these ready one day in advance in the refrigerator and shallow fry just before serving. Serve it with some green chutney and be ready to amaze your guests!!

Ingredients 

500 gms minced chicken 

1 medium onion chopped finely 

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste 

2 tbsp fresh coriander finely chopped 

2 tbsp besan

1 tsp red chilli powder 

1 tsp garam masala powder 

2 tsp coriander powder 

Finely chopped green chillies (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil as required 

Direction 

Wash and drain the chicken mince. Ensure that there is no excess water. Now mix in all the other ingredients except the oil. Make a smooth mixture ensuring that everything is mixed well. You can now either go ahead and make patties out of this mixture or keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

When ready to fry, heat oil in a frying pan or grill pan and make small patties out of the mixture and fry till golden on both sides in a medium heat. I covered the pan on a medium heat for the first five minutes to ensure that the chicken is cooked through. After 5 minutes, remove the cover and fry on a medium high heat till golden on both the sides. Drain the excess oil on a kitchen towel. Sprinkle some chaat masala if you like and serve hot with your favourite chutney. 

Chicken Escalopes in Lemon Butter Sauce

Liking some celebrity chef's page comes handy in a long way. First, you get to hear names of some dishes you have never heard of or eaten and second, when you google out the recipes or they provide it to you, you are simply amazed at how simple it is to make. Same is the case with this recipe. The name "Escalope" sounds so heavy and difficult that any newbie home chef would escape from making it. However, it is nothing but a close cousin of our very own chicken nuggets, with a few changes here and there. So never judge anything by its name and keep enjoying what you like to do best!

                                   

Ingredients

2 chicken breast pieces, washed and cleaned, skin removed

10-15 sage leaves finely chopped (in the absence of sage you can substitute with any fresh herb)

1 tbsp freshly ground coarse black pepper

5-6 tbsp plain flour

1 large egg

1/4 cup milk

6-7 tbsp breadcrumbs or as required (I used wheatgerm as the healthier option and it has the same texture as breadcrumbs)

Salt to taste

1 tbsp butter

1/2 a lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil for shallow frying or as required

Direction

Place the chicken breasts, one piece at a time, sandwiches between two pieces of aluminium foil and beat it flat with a rolling pin till widened and thinned a little. However, take care not to beat it so hard as to mash it. It should be flattened to form a disc like shape but thick enough to hold its shape. This is called an Escalope, and hence the name!

                                

                                

Season the escalopes with the herbs, salt, and black pepper and let it sit for 5-10 minutes while you get the rest of the things ready. Tip the flour onto a plate, beat the eggs and milk together in a bowl, and keep the breadcrumbs or wheatgerm ready in another plate.

                               

Now heat oil in a pan. Dredge the escalopes, one at a time, in the flour. Shake off the excess and then dip in the egg bowl and finally roll in the crumbs generously and fry in the pan on medium  flame till golden on both sides and chicken cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Chicken breasts tend to dry out quickly and hence take care while cooking. Do not overcook. Repeat for the rest of the pieces and arrange on a plate.

Now heat the butter in a smaller pan and let it brown. Squeeze the lemon juice and add it to the butter and remove from heat. Drizzle this sauce over the chicken and serve hot!