Cook up a match winner

Chef Himanshu Saini has given a Japanese twist to chicken tikka

Delhi Capitals

Chef Himanshu Saini of Tresind at BKC says he's supporting his home city Delhi all the way. "I grew up in Delhi and have great memories of the game as a child," he says, recommending a chicken tikka dish to relish during matches. "It is the good old tikka but with a Japanese fried chicken twist."

Himanshu Saini

Chicken karaage

Ingredients

For the chicken marinade:

• 100 gm boneless chicken leg
• 50 gm yogurt
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp ginger, chopped
• ½ tsp coriander, chopped
• ½ tsp green chili, chopped
• ¼ tsp black pepper, crushed
• ½ tsp chicken seasoning powder
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Japanese rice vinegar
• 1 tsp mustard oil
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp fenugreek powder
• ½ tsp garam masala
• Salt to taste
• Potato starch for dredging
• £Chicken tikka seasoning powder

For octo vinaigrette

• 15 gm ginger, grated
• 15 gm garlic, grated
• 20 ml grapeseed oil
• 5 ml sesame oil
• 20 ml Japanese rice vinegar
• 15 ml light soy sauce
• ¼ tsp black pepper, crushed
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste

Method

Cut the chicken leg into small morsels. Marinate it overnight with all the ingredients except potato starch and tikka seasoning powder. In a mixing bowl, whisk in all the ingredients for octo vinaigrette and keep aside. Before serving, dredge the chicken in potato starch and fry it at 190 degrees Celsius for five minutes. Dust the fried chicken in tikka seasoning powder and serve hot with octo vinaigrette.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

If not a chef, Ambar Samtani says he would be representing India in cricket. "Royal Challengers Bangalore is one of the top contenders, led by my favourite player, Virat Kohli," says Samtani, who is inspired by their team spirit. "This team has six super batsmen, nine super bowlers, four super all-rounders and two super keeper-batsmen. What can be a better team? My greatest joy is to watch my twin daughters on either side enjoying the match with me over a bowl of wafers. Start them young," says Samtani, adding, "My father would take me to The Oberoi or The Taj Mahal Hotel after watching a match at Wankhede or Brabourne stadium."

Ambar Samtani

Obattu or holige

Ingredients

• 1 cup refined flour (maida)
• 1 cup cooking oil
• ½ cup ghee
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ cup roasted peanuts
• ½ cup jaggery
• ½ cup chana dal
• Cardamom
• Rice flour

Method

To the maida, add salt and ¼ tsp turmeric powder. Add water to knead the mixture into a slightly sticky and soft dough. Add half cup oil over it and let it rest for three hours. Soak one cup chana dal in water for an hour and add three cups of water, two tsp ghee, ½ tsp turmeric powder, and let it cook on medium flame in a pressure cooker for two whistles. Drain excess water and cool. Roast the groundnuts in a hot pan and keep aside. On a non-stick pan, add the dal, roasted peanuts, jaggery and cook on medium heat till the jaggery melts. Let it cook to a thick sticky consistency; turn the flame off, and add the cardamom. Once cooled, grind it well to a thick, smooth consistency. Make roundels of the sitting dough and flatten it with your fingers and hands. Make roundels of the dal and place it in the flattened maida dough, covering the dal mixture with the dough, making sure to cover the edges of the dal mixture and pinching off the excess dough. Secure well. Add rice flour on a flat surface and with the help of a rolling pin, make rotis. Cook on a tawa for 2-3 minutes on each side. Add ghee just before serving it hot.

Mumbai Indians

Monaz Irani

Monaz Irani, founder-chef at Plate & Pint, supports the city of her birth. "Rohit Sharma is a great captain and showed consistency in each game until he got injured. Moreover, Mumbai Indians is the only team to have won four IPL titles," says Irani, who misses the chaos of watching matches with friends. "As school kids, when T20 was a new thing, we would look forward to watching live games at the club. We'd cheer in our team jerseys, and enjoy ice cream while we were at it!" recalls Irani.

Vada pav sliders

Ingredients

• 6 slider buns
• 4 potatoes
• For the paste:
• 1-2 green chillies
• 5 gm ginger, chopped
• 5 gm garlic, chopped
• For the filling:
• Fistful of coriander, chopped
• Lemon juice and salt to taste

For tempering:

Oil to fry and one teaspoon of mustard seeds, urad dal, turmeric, curry leaves, hing/asafoetida

Batter:

• 100 gm besan
• Water for batter
• Pinch of turmeric, red chilli, baking soda and salt

Special sauce:

• 15 gm mayo
• 5 gm onion
• 5 gm cucumber

Method

Boil and mash potatoes till small chunks remain. Add coriander, lemon juice and salt. Keep aside. Make the paste using green chilli, ginger and garlic in a mixer with a little water. In a pan, heat a little oil and add mustard seeds followed by urad dal, turmeric and hing. Add in the paste and mix. Add curry leaves and cook till the raw smell goes away. Add this mixture to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Make six small balls of this mixture. Make the batter by whisking together the besan, water and seasoning. In a kadhai, add oil (enough to entirely cover the vadas while frying) and heat on a medium flame. Take a mixture ball, dip and coat in batter and gently place into oil and fry till golden brown. Drain excess oil on tissue paper

For assembling, slit the slider buns into two horizontally. For the special sauce, mix the mayo with the onion and cucumber, and add salt to taste. Spread this mixture on the bottom bun, place the vada over it and close the bun. Serve with garlic chutney or coriander chutney, and fried chillies.

Kolkata Knight Riders

From one of India's most vibrant cities, Kolkata Knight Riders carry the high energy onto the field, says chef Yash Rajpal. "The team has some fantastic players who put 100 per cent into their game. I am a Mumbai boy but some of my best friends are from Kolkata, who have shown me around and helped me immerse its culture, in," says Rajpal, whose favourite player is Dinesh Karthik. "The ideal way to watch these matches is at home with the family, sipping on chilled beer and tucking into home-made pizza," he signs off.

Yash Rajpal

Kosha mangsho

Ingredients

For the marinade:

• 1 kg curry cut goat
• 50 gm yoghurt
• 100 gm onions
• 5 gm turmeric
• 2 gm coriander powder
• 2 gm cumin powder
• 15 ml mustard oil
• 5 gm garlic paste
• Salt to taste

For the curry:

• 20 ml mustard oil
• 2 gm cinnamon stick
• 8 cloves
• 8 green cardamom
• 1 black cardamom
• 4-5 bay leaves
• 450 gm onions, sliced
• 15 gm green chillies
• 10 gm ginger
• 10gm garlic
• 4 gm cumin powder
• 4 gm red chilli powder
• 4 gm coriander powder
• 200 gm whisked yoghurt
• 5 red chillies, whole
• 10 gm sugar
• Salt to taste
• 5 gm ghee
• 5 gm Bengali garam masala

Note: Bengali garam masala is a mix of green cardamom (10 gm), cloves (3 gm) and cinnamon (3 gm) ground to a powder without roasting.

Method

For the marination, wash and dry the mutton, rub well with salt. Grind onions, yoghurt, powdered spices, and mustard oil to a smooth paste. Add to the mutton, mix well and marinate it in the refrigerator overnight. For the curry, prepare a paste of the ginger, garlic and green chilli. In an iron wok heat mustard oil on a low flame, and add whole red chillies and the whole spices, and cook until fragrant. Add in the sliced onions, cook on medium heat until brown. Add in the prepared ginger, garlic and green chilli paste, stirring on medium heat. Add in cumin, coriander and red chilli powders along with a splash of water, and cook till brown. Increase the heat to high and add the marinated mutton, along with the whisked yoghurt, searing the meat well. Add sugar and salt to taste.

The next step involves slow cooking of the meat adding splashes of water whenever the mixture seems to be drying out. This 'bhunao-ing' takes up to two hours but ensures the dish takes on a deep brown colour and aromatic flavour. Keep stirring and scraping the bottom of your kadhai to prevent burning. After the colour turns deep brown, add some water and allow the meat to cook on medium heat until tender. Add ghee, slit and de-seeded green chillies for flavour and a spoon of garam masala.

Adjust the consistency and seasoning.

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