Tandoori Tostadas

So last weekend in honor of my last weekend at my apartment I threw a dinner party -- with apps and wine.

I'm a huge fan of Mexican food and often find huge similarities between Mexican and Indian food.

So I decided to make tandoori tostadas. Yes, I said it -- tandoori.

It actually tastes great and most of the components can be made ahead of time and then compiled together.

First, make the tandoori chicken. You can substitute chick peas (2 cans) or paneer (2 packs) if you're vegetarian, but then omit the yogurt.

Basic marinade recipe:
1/2 cup of yogurt, 1 tbsp of curry paste, 2 tsp of tandoori powder, 2 tsp of lemon juice. Mix ingredients in a large bowl until combined.

1. Take two bone-in chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper. 
2. Place the chicken in the marinade and leave in fridge overnight or at least for two hours (but then cut slices into chicken breast so marinade can get into the meat.) 
3. Roast chicken (with all of the marinade) for 45 minutes covered with foil in the oven -- 375 to 385. Remove foil and cook another 30 minutes at the same temperature. 
4. Shred chicken and combine with cooking juices. Set aside. 
5. Prepare tostadas by toasting corn tortillas, or buy prepared tostadas. 
6. Combine salsa ingredients: 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro, chop a 1/2 of a large red onion, dice two tomatoes, dice 1 red bell pepper, the juice of a lime, 1/2 tsp of salt and more to taste.
7. Combine 1 cup of sour cream with 1 heaping tablespoon of cilantro chutney. Place the mixture in a squeeze bottle. 
8. Choose a green - can be sprouts, spinach or lettuce. 
9. Place tostada on plate, add greens, chicken, salsa and squeeze cilantro-sour cream mixture on top, repeat. 

Will make 12 tostadas, serves 3 to 4 people. 

Seekh Kabab (Minced Meat Kabobs)

If you've ever been to an Indian restaurant, you've probably started drooling as a waiter has walked by your table with a cast iron pan of sizzling meat (similar to a plate of fajita meat). That dish is usually a plate of tandoori meats - chicken, shrimp, lamb and many times seekh kababs on a bed of onions.

Seekh Kabab is ground meat (usually lamb, but can be beef) blended with spices, onions, cilantro and peppers shaped around sticks into long, narrow cylinders. They also have a hint of tandoori seasoning.

Usually they are served along with raita, cilantro-mint chutney and tamarind sauce.

So I decided to try making them a few weeks ago, when I invited friends over for an Indian dinner - and I think they were pretty popular.

I used two pounds of ground beef which made about 12 kebabs.

Here's how I made them. Note: Soak wooden skewers for an entire day in water.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of ground beef
4 tbsp. of plain yogurt
1 inch of ginger, grated (use a Microplane for best results)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, minced
3 to 4 green chilies, chopped with seeds
1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp. of tandoori powder
2 tbsp of garam masala
1 tsp of sea salt or 1.5 of regular salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, add all ingredients to the meat.
2. With your hands, blend all the ingredients together, evenly. The meat should change consistency a bit to be smoother and the color will be redder, because of the tandoori.
3. Allow the meat to marinate for 1 hour in the fridge.
4. Preheat grill or oven to 400 degrees. If cooking in an oven use a sheet pan with a tray to drain the liquid from the meat. 
5. Take about 1/4 cup of meat and shape it around the skewer. Add a bit of oil to the meat as you place it around the skewer so it doesn't stick. Repeat 11 more times. 
6. Place the skewers on the grill or oven, and turn every 5 minutes so the meat cooks evenly. Should be cooked in 20 to 25 minutes and will be a golden brown color on the outside. You may need to drain the pan, if cooking in the oven.