The Tandoori Thread

JohnInCarolina

lkapigian said:

lousubcap said:

If you aren't "private" you get up to 50 recipients.  So, there's that .  

I don’t know 50 people 

Oh but Larry - they know you!

lkapigian

JohnInCarolina said:

lkapigian said:

lousubcap said:

If you aren't "private" you get up to 50 recipients.  So, there's that .  

I don’t know 50 people 

Oh but Larry - they know you!

Department of Probation runs deep 

Botch

...

caliking

@zaphod - do you eat eggs? Egg curry is a thing in some parts of India, and is delicious.

Butter chix recipes can be easily modded for paneer butter masala, or into egg curry. 

zaphod

oh yes, I eat eggs. I live in Surrey BC, many many Indian restaurants and take-aways near me, but mostly north India. Throw me some names and I'll add it to the next order. TBH we can get into a rut with the same 4 or 5 dishes (Aloo Gobi, Matter Paneer, Dal Makhani, and vegetable pakora. Easy comfort food.

So many thoughts and questions from this thread

• the paneer we buy is 1cm cubes, i'll look for the Canadian Costco offerings
• the pictures of vertical grilling I've seen are with a lime on the bottom, not a potato and on flat skewers. @caliking you recommend thin (round) skewers for vegetables. I was going to buy something like this: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/napoleon-multifunctional-premium-stainless-steel-bbq-grill-skewer-set-8-pack-/1001086944 and bend the hook ends to hang on the lip of the top vent. It looks like @The Cen-Tex Smoker in picture 6 of his post uses very similar flat skewers (post with the Tandoori Masala recipe)
• I have kabob "baskets". the basket is about 11" long and if bend the long handles into a hook, I could hang them vertically from the top vent 
• I have also looked into some kind of rack - like a rib hanging rack - from which to hang the skewers allowing me to lift/close the lid like normal. I have not found exactly what I have in my brain unless I get it fabbed.
• my wife makes a mean naan bread on our CI griddle. not as good as the best I've had, but better than the worst i've had...
• FWIW, it's "chana" around here as well

That's all the thoughts I have right now. I really need to invite some of my Indian colleagues over for some trial and error fun food, but I'm hesitant.

caliking

If you're in Surrey, the Indian restaurants are likely Punjabi, which is awesome!! Feel free to post menus from your fav places, and suggestions can be made. They must have paranthas of all sorts, which must be had with clotted cream, or butter. 

Ditch the cubed paneer from the store. Especially the stuff that is already fried.  The pieces are small, and difficult to deal with on a grill. And, its usually kinda dry. Look for blocks of paneer, especially Nanak or Verka brand. Nanak should be readily available at places like Fruticana. Cut chunks minimum 1" (2.54cm ) for optimal results/flavor/taste. 

I beg you to try a potato on the end of a vertical skewer... about 6" up on the skewer, with the tip in the coals. The skin may char a bit, the marinade drips from the protein above. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, magic happens. Thank me later. 

Try a cook (or more) with the skewers going in and out of the top vent, but I think it'll get old soon. Short of a tandoor, a Pit Barrel Cooker, or WSM are the best options (IMO) if you're wedded to grilling vertically. 

If grilling horizontally, keep the protein off the grid. Try CT's rig posted above (if you have an AR), or bricks wrapped in foil to support each end of the skewer. House bricks are fine.

The skewers you linked to are fine for larger pieces. Will be tricky for smaller pieces (broccoli or cauliflower florets, mushrooms, etc.). Which is why thinner skewers are usually used for veg.

Eggplant/brinjal. Often mailigned, and very underrated. Baingan bhartha has made it into the mainstream, but there are many, many other eggplant items that are delicious. 

BeanHead

I have a lot of luck with two skewers leaning against a half rack  once the sauce is dry you can flip them on the grate if you need to even out the browning. I use half a chayote skin side down to keep the chicken out of the fire and it makes a bonus snack.

caliking

@Zaphod - cross posting to your thread, for paneer/tofu makhani ideas

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1234113/the-butter-chicken

https://masalaandchai.com/butter-chicken/

zaphod

Thanks Cali.

I haven't opened the egg since Jan 26.  bunch of reasons. starting to think about it again but found myself locked out of the forum - fixed now.

HUGE Vaisakhi parade this weekend here, reputedly biggest in the world. Last year I did samosas on the egg - but received a major racist comment from the FB group where I posted a picture. That was before I got approved here for membership, so goodbye to that group (and most of FB to be frank).

caliking

zaphod said:

Thanks Cali.

I haven't opened the egg since Jan 26.  bunch of reasons. starting to think about it again but found myself locked out of the forum - fixed now.

HUGE Vaisakhi parade this weekend here, reputedly biggest in the world. Last year I did samosas on the egg - but received a major racist comment from the FB group where I posted a picture. That was before I got approved here for membership, so goodbye to that group (and most of FB to be frank).

People will be... morons. 

Today/tomorrow is the new year (Vaisakhi/Baisakhi/Bihu/Poila Boishakh/Ugadi/etc.) basically, a celebration of Spring! A wonderful time of the year. Hope you enjoyed it where you are. 

No stranger to major racist comments. I'd love to see your rendition of samosas on the egg. 

BeanHead

Arghhhh… now I need to make samosas on the egg. You give me the best ideas. Also FB is the worst, pretty sure mine still says I am in Florida and I have been here for five years. 

GrateEggspectations

Never joined Facebook. 

caliking

(Don’t mind me… posting to consolidate info for future reference). 

“For a basic marinade (pardon me  if this is already known to you) - for a pound of protein, add minced garlic 1 tsp, minced ginger 1 tsp, Greek or hung (!) yogurt 2 TBSP, mayo 2 TBSP, tandoori masala 1 TBSP. The mayo should help to keep the protein from sticking to the baskets, and also to make a thickish marinade that will adhere nicely to the protein. 

You can riff on the marinade, per your taste… ground fennel seed, kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), and so much more.”

zaphod

the recipe on the back of the Kissan Tandoori Masala I picked up last week says to add Garam Masala as well. 

thoughts? or is this just the Kissan's riff

caliking

Garam masala is sort of a garnish/finishing flavor IMO.  Not meant to be the dominant flavor. 

For a pound of protein, I'd start with 1/2 tsp, then adjust to preference/taste. 

Also, there are many variations of garam masala. I really like Madhur Jaffrey's version:

Madhur Jaffrey's Garam Masala
Toast,  then grind:
Cardamom seeds 1 TBSP
Cinnamon 2" stick
Peppercorns 1 tsp
Black cumin seeds 1tsp
cloves 1 tsp
Whole nutmeg 1/4 of an average-sized one