Basil lemon fish wrap

This recipe is totally inspired by a fish taco we enjoyed in Mexico last year. It is a simple and full of flavors. The flavors are quite simple but the fish reminds of the warm, humid weather of Mexico.

I used tilapia for this fish wrap, but I guess you can use Halibut with this recipe too. It is a simple broiled fish which hardly takes time to cook seasoned with lemon, garlic, basil and pepper and served with avocado, and tomato salsa. Now, you tell me, Can it go wrong?

Ingredients:

For the marinade

2 ½ tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves minced

3 tablespoons dried basil (you can use fresh too)

Salt as per taste

Pepper powder as per taste

4 big wild catch tilapia fillets

For the wrap

1 sliced avocado

Whole wheat flatbread (you can use tacos too, but I wanted something healthy)

For the tomato salsa

1 tomato chopped

1 small onion chopped

1 jalapeno pepper

Chopped cilantro

Salt

Method:

Whisk the lemon juice, garlic, and basil in a bowl with salt and pepper crushed. Place the fish fillets in a large zip lock bag and pour the lemon garlic vinaigrette in the ziplock and put in the fridge for about 1 hour or so.

In a separate bowl add the chopped tomato, onion and jalapeno with salt and chopped cilantro and mix well. Keep aside. Chop the avocado in cubes and keep aside. You can add any other salad like cucumbers or lettuce in the wrap/taco.

Now heat the oven at 350 F for about 10 minutes and then change the setting to broiler. Place the marinated fish fillets on a baking tray with a whiff of oil spray and place in the oven on broiler for about 7 minutes and flip in between.

Once the fish is cooked, take the flatbread and keep the fish slices in pieces in the flatbread and add the tomato salsa. Avocado slices with any other salad of your choice and enjoy it.

Chicken Dum Biryani

I always thought Biryani was a very complicated dish and pretty much tried to avoid it as much as I could. But, I found this recipe on sanjeev kapoor’s khazana and when I tried it, I realized that it was so easy and it tasted yummy too. Don’t be scared of the long list of ingredients. Once you start the marination, you will realize that it’s pretty easy.

Ingredients: (serves 6)

Chicken cut into 1 inch pieces

Saffron 7 /8 strands and little warm milk to dip the strands in

Shahi jeera 1 teaspoon

Bay leaf 1 /2

Cloves 5 /6

Green cardamoms 5

Peppercorns 6 /7

Onions sliced 2

Ginger paste fresh 1 teaspoon

Garlic paste 1 teaspoon

Fresh mint leaves 1 cup

Salt as per taste

Lemon juice 2 tablespoons

Yogurt 1 cup

Coriander leaves hopped finely

Ghee 2 tablespoons

Cardamom powder 2 tsp

Shahi biryani masala 1 ½ tablespoons

For creating the dum- wheat flour dough

Method:

Take the chicken pieces in a bowl and add ginger garlic paste (preferably fresh), salt and mix. Add shahi biryani masala, red chili powder, yogurt, cilantro leaves chopped and mint leaves chopped and cinnamon powder with cardamom powder. Add about 1 tbp ghee and mix everything. Let this marinate for about 3 hours in the refrigerator.

In a separate pan, wash the basmati rice and drain out all the water. Keep it aside. Once you start cooking, heat about 5 cups of water in a deep pan. Add the washed and drained rice, salt, bay leaves, one cinnamon stick, peppercorns and shahi jeera in the water. Cook till about half way done. Drain this rice and keep aside.

In a thick-bottomed pan, spread the chicken on a bed of cooking spray. (I did not use oil) Then spread the rice in a layer. Again spread some chicken pieces and then layer it with the remaining rice. Sprinkle saffron milk. Cover the pot with wheat flour dough and then place the lid firmly on top.

After about 10-15 minutes, you will notice some steam coming out o the pot. This means that the dum is working and the biryani is cooked. Now lower the flame and let it cook for about 10 more minutes.

Before serving, make sure the chicken is well-cooked. It will continue to cook under the dum effect even after the gas flame is off.