Spicy Grilled Chicken with Mango Salsa

 

Have you ever tried chicken with mango salsa. It's an amazingly intertesting combination. The tastes of the sweet and sour salsa with the hot and spicy chicken is simply delectable. It is a must try if you love variety in your food. Follow my recipes below and simply enjoy.

Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

Ingredients:
Spicy Chicken Drumsticks - 4
Lemon Juice - 2 tablespoon
Salt to taste
Red chili paste - 2 teaspoon (or more if you like it hot)
Ginger paste - 1 teaspoon
Garlic paste - 2 teaspoons
Ground cumin - 1 teaspoon
Ground corriander - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves chopped fine - A few
Oil for brushing

Instructions:
Make a few incisions onto the drumsticks with a sharp knife to allow the marinade to penetrate into them.
Place them in a bowl and apply the lemon juice, salt, ginger, garlic and red chili pastes, the ground spices and the curry leaves onto the chicken pieces and allow to marinate covered for around 2 hours in the refrigerator.
Once marinated brush the drumsticks with oil.
Next place it on an oiled grill rack and grill covered for around 45 minutes turning it 3 to 4 times or till done. Alternately roast it on a rack or a roasting pan in a pre-heated oven at 200°C or 400°F for 25 to 30 minutes or till done.
You'll know that the chicken in ready when you poke a fork or knife into the chicken and the juices run clear and not red or pink.

Serve hot with the salsa.

Tip: The chicken tastes better the longer you marinate it. Overnight marination would bring out the best taste.


Mango Salsa

Ingredients:
Ripe and firm Mango, peeled, pitted and chopped - 1 cup
Cucumber peeled and chopped - 1/2 cup
Green Bell Peppers chopped - 1/2 cup
Onion peeled and chopped - 1/2 cup
Red chili paste - 1 teaspoon (or more if you like it hotter)
Coriander / Cilantro chopped - 1/4 cup
Lime juice - 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

Instructions:
Toss in all the ingredients into a bowl and mix.
Serve with the spicy chicken drumsticks.

Mango Pickle

Another one of my favorite recipes involving mangoes is mango pickle. I make it instantly with partly ripe mangoes and it tastes simply divine with sweet, tangy and pungent flavors intertwined with each other. The recipe can also be made with raw mangoes and tastes just as flavorsome. A serving of this sweet and spicy pickle can jazz up any plain meal. Here is my recipe. Give it a try and I'm sure you'll love it as instantly as you'll be able to make it.

Chicken and Veggie Pies

As an Indian, Roti (Indian Flat Bread) with Chicken or Vegetables is a daily do for me. But ever so often I myself want to break free from this routine and make something different. Maybe the same Roti, Chicken and Vegetables presented differently and with a few twists. I did my experiment and I finally came up with the Mini Chicken and Veggie Pies.

Summer Coolers

Cool drinks are a great way to chill on a hot summer day. Get back from a sweaty workout or simply from some shopping or just from work and sip on a cooler to get completely refreshed. Fresh fruit coolers are the best since they are not only refreshing but healthy too.

I came across some really fresh Jamun while shopping for my weekly groceries last weekend. I love the fruit simply for their lovely purple color. Also known a Jambul, Java Plum, Portuguese Plum and a lot more other names,  it is native to some of the South Asian countries. Since it's not a very popular fruit and isn't very commercially sold, it's available fresh only during seasons only for about a month or two during summer and monsoon. It is also known for it's medicinal properties  and it's seeds are used in Ayurvedic medicines for controlling blood sugar. I make sure to catch up on this fruit every year, especially since I've learnt to make an interesting sweet and salty concoction out of it.

Gazpacho Soup

Summer's really taking it's toll. It's sweltering hot here in Mumbai and I had to take a break from the routine cooking in front of the stove and try something refreshing and light. While searching for something like that, I came across a recipe of the Gazpacho in one of my dailies. I made it with a few alterations and served it with Chicken and Cheese Toasts to make my perfect meal for a hot summer day.

To mention a bit about the Gazpacho. It is a tomato based vegetable soup that originated in Spain and is now a favorite world over. It is served chilled especially during the summer months and makes a great starter to any meal. If thinned a bit, it can be served as a refreshing drink as well.

The traditional Gazpacho requires no cooking and is made using raw vegetables. But I made a few changes to the recipe to suit my palate. I roasted the veggies for a little cooked flavor and sprinkled my favorite herbs for seasoning. Here's the recipe for you to try.

Mango Ice Cream topped with Chocolate Sauce

I love Mangoes and everything made out of them. My favorite variety is the Alphonso for it's sheer richness of flavor, sweetness, color and fragrance. I simply love the smell of fresh Alphonso mangoes. If I could, I'd have my kitchen smelling of it all year through.

 
And with summer here, it's time to go mango munching again. Nothing beats the summer heat better than ice cream and with fresh mangoes lying deliciously in my kitchen, how could I resist myself from making some rich and creamy mango ice cream.