Sunday 29 June 2014

Saffron Rice

Saffron has been around for a very long time and its origin is quite confusing but it is believed to have been cultivated in Asia before the birth of Christ. This beautiful aromatically enticing spice is the most expensive spice in the world. Weight by weight it is more expensive than gold.

Saffron is widely used in India. It is an indispensable and quintessential element in few curries – a few toasted strands of this spice can magically enhance a regular chicken curry to being exotic and out of the ordinary. Making a pilaf with Saffron makes a mouth wateringly perfumed side dish to go with any meat or poultry curries. Beautiful Saffron sweet and salty flat bread (Parantha) can be conjured to suit the palate of those who are not fond of rice. In fact, sometimes I use saffron while making couscous to go with my Chicken stew.

Saffron can be used in sweet as well as savory. It is definitely beneficial to have this spice around in your pantry. I tend to keep a gram or two of Saffron. It brightens my mood when I see the delicious deep red filaments oozing its color into warm milk. It can almost pass as a seductive experience for me or maybe I am still in Cleopatra’s era when she used Za’feran for a hot bath making the scent linger on her skin enticing any lover to go mad with desire.

The easiest pilaf that can be made with saffron is mentioned below. I do like to use a combination of almonds, cashews and raisins in my pilaf but if you do not like these ingredients, you can easily omit them. Yes, the crunch element goes missing when you leave the nuts out but some people do not like the addition of these things into their pilafs. Also, not to mention this pilaf, unlike other pilafs, is on the sweet side. It goes very well with Raita or as I use it as a side dish for my chicken (cashew sauce) curries.

For the Saffron Rice:


·         1 cup of Basmati Rice
·         1 ½ cups of good chicken stock/ vegetable stock
·         3-4 tbsp of Clarified Butter/Ghee
·         3 medium onions finely sliced
·         A stick of cinnamon
·         3 pods of cardamom
·         A Handful of slivered almonds and cashews and raisins
·         A good healthy pinch of Saffron
·         Salt and Sugar to taste


The most important thing in prepping rice is washing and soaking it in cold water for 10-15 minutes. This process makes sure that the grains are separate even after cooking. The starch doesn’t clump the rice grains when you soak it for few minutes. I always make time for this process as I consider it as an important step.
Prep the saffron. Toast it in a pan on medium heat until it becomes a shade darker. Keep aside.

Heat a tsp of ghee in the pan and throw in the nuts and raisins. Keep tossing in a low heat, making it crunchy giving it a lusciously brown tinge. You should be able to smell the aromas of the nuts after tossing it for 5-7 minutes. It should acquire the desired color at this stage. Keep aside

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the clarified butter. If that option is not available to you, use butter instead. Pop the cinnamon and the cardamoms in the hot ghee for a minute to release its aroma. Add in the sliced onions and keep tossing it in the ghee until you get a mellow golden brown color on the onions. Chuck in the rice and stir to coat each grain of rice with the clarified butter toasting it in the process. Doing this step is important as we are ensuring that the grains are going to be separate after is completely cooked. Add the saffron and stock to the rice. Season generously with salt and sugar and make sure that the salt balances the sugar.

I like this pilaf sweet so I tend to add about a tablespoon of sugar. I give it a taste and check the seasoning in the stock and bang it in the microwave to finish the rest of the cooking. It takes about 15-18 minutes in the microwave. Once done, leave it out for a few minutes to rest before using a fork to fluff the rice. Top it up with the toasted nuts and raisins and serve!




Tuesday 24 June 2014

Curried Eggs

I am not particularly fond of eggs. There is something very unpleasant about eating eggs. I know its health benefits but leaving those aside, I quite dislike having boiled/poached/any kind of egg. I see my mother making egg curries at home all the time and I thought it was time I came up with a version that I, too, would like to eat. I call it the modified version of my mother’s egg curry. She never uses tomatoes for her curry but my fondness for tomatoes made it absolutely necessary for me to make it an addition in my version. Also, this is a thick curry, almost like a dry sabzi.

Of course, there is no mentioning of the health benefits of eggs and tomatoes. Eggs are completely healthy and 3 eggs per day can be consumed. It has Vitamin A, B5, B12, B2, Folate, Selenium, and Phosphorus. Apart from that, eggs have Choline, a nutrient that is important in building cell membranes and produces signaling molecules in the brain.
Tomatoes are a rich source of vitamins A and C and folic acid.

So the recipe is as follows 

For the Curried eggs:

6 Eggs hard boiled
2 tbsp Mild olive Oil
½ tsp ghee or clarified butter
½ tsp whole cumin
2 medium onions chopped
2-3 green chilies
1 tsp garlic paste
½ tsp ginger paste
1 cup tomatoes chopped
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp garam masala
Salt and sugar to taste
Chopped coriander to garnish

Quarter the boiled eggs, add a little oil to a frying pan and fry them just to give it some color; keep aside. 

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the oil and pop the whole cumin in that. Chuck the chopped onions in the pan and add a pinch of salt, reduce the heat to minimum. We want the onions to be translucent and soft. Adding the salt will release all its juices thereby not frying the onions, turning them deep golden brown. Once the onions are soft, increase the heat and add the chopped tomatoes, chilies, clarified butter and the spices. Leave out the garam masala at this stage. Keep stirring on the high heat until the tomatoes are completely cooked and the oil starts to separate. At this stage the color of the masala is prepared and we are ready to add the eggs to it. Toss in the eggs into the masala and add about quarter cup of water. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce the heat until all the water has evaporated. I like mine very thick and thereby I make sure all the water has evaporated. If you would like a little gravy, you can adjust the amount of liquid. Instead of quarter cup of water you can add half a cup. Once the curry comes together, add the garam masala, check for seasoning and garnish with fresh chopped Coriander/ Cilantro.


Adding the garam masala at the end is going to ensure that the curry is fragrant. If I would have added it before, it loses it potent heady aroma.

The thick curry is best with phulkas or paranthas whereas the gravy-ish eggs are good with come cumin/steamed rice.

Thursday 19 June 2014

Chicken Kofta curry

My mother used to make this gravy for chicken pieces on the bone; However, I modified her version and decided to add a few other things. I replaced the curry cut chicken with minced chicken (keema) thereby making them into soft koftas. Sometimes I like to stuff them with a mixture of raisins and other nuts and other times I just cook it plain and simple. Depending on my mood, I keep altering the ingredients that go into the koftas. Most of the time, I do stick to the flavors (for koftas) I know works well with the gravy.

This looks like a lot of ingredients but most of these ingredients are easily available in an Indian kitchen. And it is super easy dish that does not need much effort.

This is the simplest of koftas where I do not use anything to stuff it. It works very well with naan/roti/ plain parantha or simple steamed rice. Since the flavors are a little heavy, I do not suggest paiting this curry with any kind of spiced rice or stuffed paranthas.

The minced chicken in this recipe can be substituted with Minced mutton.

For the Koftas:
2 cups Minced Chicken
1 tbsp minced or garlic paste
1tsp Cumin Powder
½ tsp Black Pepper powder
1tsp Garam Masala (Readymade) or ½ tsp Homemade garam masala
¼ tsp cardamom powder and cinnamon powder
½ cup milk
2 slices of bread
1 egg
Salt
Oil to shallow fry

Mix the ingredients for the meatballs and shape them into round balls. The size can vary accordingly. I prefer ping pong sized balls. Heat a heavy bottomed pan with mustard oil in it. You can use any other oil but the mustard oil gives it a really good depth of flavour. Once heated, shallow fry the meatballs on a medium – high flame until it yields a nice golden brown colour to it. At this stage we are just browning the koftas and not cooking them.  Do not throw away the oil that is left in the pan since it has all the chicken flavour in it.

For the Curry:
200gms Yogurt
½ cup single cream
100ml Tomato puree (tinned/readymade) or 8 tomatoes pureed homemade
2 cups Chicken stock (can use cube stock)
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala (readymade) or ½ tsp homemade 
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tbsp Kasuri Methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves)
2 Cups Sliced onions
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
3 tbsp Ghee or clarified butter
Whole spice – 2 cloves, 2 cardamoms, a little Mace, 1 inch stick cinnamon, 1 tsp whole cumin
1tbsp cashew paste (optional)

In the same heavy bottomed pan, heat the ghee and chuck the whole spices in it.  As soon as the cumin starts popping, fry the onions on a low heat until it becomes soft and translucent. Do not be impatient with the onions as it is the base of this curry. We need the onions to have a golden colour on it before we add the tomatoes and ginger garlic. Once we have achieved that luscious colour, add the tomato puree and put in all the powdered spices and the dried fenugreek leaves. Add the cashew paste. Let it stay on a low flame. We will not add anything further until we see oil separating in the pan. This needs to be continuously stirred.

Once the oil has separated, add chicken stock and the yogurt. Keep stirring as we do not want the mixture to curdle.  Cover and let it simmer on a low heat.

Chuck the koftas into the curry and let it seethe for at least  20 minutes. At this stage the curry seems to come together, add the cream and let it bubble away for another 5 minutes. Adjust the consistency accordingly. I do not prefer curries that are extremely thick so I used 2 cups of stock. However, if you like the gravy to be thick you can use about 1 cup of stock instead of two.

Serve it hot with some beautiful Steamed basmati rice.


Monday 16 June 2014

Moreish Mutton


Years went by; I gathered as much knowledge about food as possible. Yet, I couldn't quench my thirst for it. I always wanted to know more. Throughout my growing years, all I did was tried to learn more about cooking from my elders in the house who, according to me, are perfect ladies. My Paternal grandmother, my mother and my aunt, they were blessed with inborn knowledge of cooking good food. For me, good food meant food prepared by any of those three ladies. My mother’s beautiful potato and fish curry, Auntie’s (Borma) amazingly fragrant and lusciously thick and gloopy Yellow Split lentil along with the simplest of Fried potatoes and notably, my paternal grandmother’s perfectly spiced and succulent, melt in your mouth mutton curry. On festivals especially on uruka, she used to cook mutton using firewood. It gave a perfect smokiness and aroma to the curry. I would take a whiff and I would be transported to another world full of culinary pleasures.  I can still remember the delicious, mouth watering and soul satisfying smell that would drift through. It was simple home cooking but no matter how much I or anyone else in my house tried, we could not replicate it. For me, it is as beautiful a memory as any of my other childhood rendezvous.

As I grew up, I would salivate over the thought of getting to eat something similar to that. During my college days in Bangalore, my father visited me often and every time he did, we tried to replicate the dish. Hmmm !! I would say we never even went close to reproduce the same delightful and pleasurable curry that Grandma made.

I started trying to remember and gather as much information, in my head of course, about the curry as possible. Sometimes, I would sit with my room mate and discussed the various ingredients that could go into it. Alas! I dropped the idea and decided to make my version of Grandma’s Mutton Curry. Of course! without the smoky flavor and I named it Mutton Stew for I added few more ingredients to bring out the warmth that a stew has. 

Take about ½ kg of mutton, cleaned thoroughly and dusted with plain flour. Heat 2 tbsp of oil and cook the pieces of mutton on a high flame to give them some color. Once it’s brown, take it out and keep aside. Saute 1 ½ cup of onion with a pinch of salt in 4 tbsp oil and sweat it off completely. Add ½ cup of diced carrots, ½ inch cinnamon stick, and ¼ tsp of nutmeg, ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp coriander, 1 tsp garam masala, ¼ tsp cardamom powder, 1 tsp red chili flakes, and ½ tsp of freshly ground pepper, 2 bay leaves, salt and turmeric. I use carrot to give the stew a beautiful sweetness. Throw the browned pieces in and cover, reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least 40 mins. Keep stirring in between and once the fat has separated and the pieces are cooked, you can add 1 cup of good chicken stock. Cover and let it come together for about 15 minutes. If you like it a little thick, just let it bubble away on high heat for sometime and you will be left with the consistency of your choice. Serve it piping hot with some crusty bread like baguette or with parantha or roti. Sometimes, I alter the recipe a bit and throw in thick cut potatoes to the stew. It makes the stew all the more appealing.

That was the most simplest of stews that I tried. Sometimes or rather most of the times, I prepare the Goat liver with spices and onions in a pan. This is between thick gravy and a pan fry but I would still like to call it my mother’s pan fried liver.

Take about ½ kg of liver. Chop them into cubes about ½ inch thick. If you are too squeamish, ask your butcher to do it. They do have a firm, neat hand and they will cut the offal according to your liking. I use a lot of onions for this recipe because it is the onion that gives it all the taste. This recipe is sweet, spicy and salty all at the same time. The union produces a much more yielding and soft liver and not elastic ones.

Use about 2 ½ cups of Onions and ¼ cup fine grated raw papaya. Heat the tbsp of oil and pop 1 tsp of whole cumin and 2 dried chilies in it and fry them. You want them to sweat and not to fry. When you add the onions to the oil, sprinkle a little salt over. Reduce the heat to low and allow few minutes for the onions to become translucent. Many people like to use tomatoes for this but I just go without it. If you like, you can add 1 cup of chopped de-seeded tomatoes. Dump the entire washed and cleaned liver straight into your pan and saute them on a high heat for about 2 minutes. Do not take your eyes off this now. Keep stirring and do not let it sit for even a second or else you will have a burnt after-taste. Now add 1 tsp cumin powder (preferably fresh), 1 tsp coriander powder, ½ tsp red chili powder, 1 tsp kasuri methi, 2 tsp garam masala, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp cardamom seed powder, ½ tsp cinnamon powder, 2 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp ginger paste, 3-4 chopped green chilies, 1 tsp turmeric, a pinch of sugar and salt to taste. The garam masala already contains few of the spices that I am using again but it is just to accentuate the flavor of the liver. I do add a pinch of sugar to almost all my recipes and this is just to bring out the flavor and saltiness of the liver. Fry the spices for a few minutes and by now a fragrance should be wafting through your kitchen. Cover it with a lid and let it release all its juices. Keep stirring after every 5 minutes. We do not need to this to stick to the bottom of the pan.

You will be able to see the fat separating in the pan and in another 10 minutes, you should check it doneness. I do it simply by eating a piece. I do check the seasoning in it. Without the proper amount of salt, even with all those spices it will taste absolutely bland. I do make another very quick onion salad to go with it. Slice some onions, chop green chilies into it and add a squeeze of lime. Drizzle some mustard oil and toss it gently. Season with salt and pepper and garnish it with a little chopped fresh coriander.

Serve hot as an accompaniment with your main dishes or as a starter with some beautiful fried bread.

There are a lot of benefits of eating mutton. For instance, it increases libido in both men and women. It’s a great source of vitamin B3 and Vitamin B12 and provides the body with zinc which is vital for healthy immune system, and wound healing. But of course there is a downside to eating mutton. People with high blood pressure and undesirable limits of cholesterol should completely stop eating this red meat. Also, it is not advisable for people with liver problems to eat mutton.

The liver too has its benefits and disadvantages. It is loaded with protein, iron and Vitamin A but on the other hand it is quite fatty due to which cholesterol levels can increase.

As Rick Stein says, good food begins at home. 


Saturday 14 June 2014

Green Pea Soup


I happen to love this soup and appropriately named it “Green Soup” as its green. It’s the gloopy-ness in the soup that draws my attention. Without having to add any cream or diary product, it is gorgeously smooth and glossy.
There are a lot of pea soups and most of them, I have noticed, are bland. However, I modified the version to suit the taste palate, giving it spicy notes. I love spices (staying true to my roots) and I do not seem to acquire any likeness for bland food. It almost sounds like loathing but in reality it more like disliking and nothing more.  
Not only it is sumptuous, it also holds a lot of nutritional value. Fresh peas and carrots have abundance of nutrients – Vitamin A, C, K, Fibre, B Vitamins, Cartenoids etc. However, using frozen/canned peas and carrots will reduce the nutrients by half. I suggest using fresh produce as it gives a better taste.

This recipes serves two.

For the Green Soup:

½ tsp Whole Cumin
1 cup fresh peas
¼ cup diced carrots
4-5 cloves of garlic
2-3 green chilies
1-2 cups of chicken/vegetable stock
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
1 tbsp mild olive oil
Salt
A squeeze of lemon

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the cumin, peas, carrots, garlic and chilies (please adjust it according to the intensity you like. I like it mild and to balance the sweetness of the carrots 3 of them are necessary). Sauté for a minute or so, throw in the Cilantro/Coriander before adding half of the stock and let the peas cook in the stock for about 10 minutes. Once done, blend it to a smooth paste. Return the luscious paste to the pan; add the remaining stock adjusting the desired consistency. I like it a little thick when I have it with toasted Baguette. Check for seasoning. Let it bubble up once again and finish it with a generous squeeze of lemon.


Enjoy the Soup with some crusty bread !!

Wednesday 11 June 2014

Lemon Coriander Noodle soup (Chicken)


I came up with the idea of combining lemon, coriander (Cilantro) and noodle as I adore a good lemony chicken soup and of course who doesn't like noodle soup. I tried this on a day I was down with cold and the lemony pepperiness uplifted my mood. Not only did it make me feel better, it sort-of healed me from inside.

In case you don’t want to add the noodles, it is completely okay to omit that. You can always opt for healthy options of topping it up with fresh sprouts for a good crunch. Some people like their soup a little thick – in which case you can add a tbsp of corn flour mixed with cold water. It will thicken the soup immediately.

For the soup:
1 onion chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic minced
200gms of boneless chicken pieces
4 cups chicken stock
½ cup lemon juice
Salt
Pepper (a good pinch- freshly cracked)
½ cup roughly chopped coriander
1 cup cooked noodles (regular or egg noodles)
1 egg white
1 tbsp flavorless oil
2-3 green chilies finely chopped (adjust according to your desired level)
Sesame oil (optional)

Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the onion, garlic and chilies fry them until it is completely brown. Throw in the diced chicken and sauté it for a minute. Once the chicken is sautéed, add the stock to the pot and let it simmer for about 15minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, add the cooked noodles.
The major work for this soup is done. We use the lemon, salt and pepper according to taste.  I used about ½ cup lemon juice. If you like it less, just add about ¼ cup of juice. Roughly chop the coriander and put it in the soup.

Check the salt and add the egg white into the rapidly bubbling soup. Stir immediately and vigorously.
In about 20minutes of your time, you will get a dramatically soul quenching nutritious soup.


Drizzle sesame oil on top and serve. 

Monday 9 June 2014

Custard Pie with chocolate topping

According to me, making a pie crust is a daunting task. The whole process is just way too time consuming. Of course there are recipes that require a perfect pie crust, however this recipe can pass without a proper pie crust and the job becomes ten times easier without having to compromise with the taste.

I always loved a good chocolate pie and I loved a silky, gorgeously smooth custard pie. I would generally pair custard pies with candied/caramelized fruits. You can use any fruit to go with it or maybe use a different mixture of fruits. Add a tsp of butter to a pan and caramelize the fruits in that adding a spoon of sugar to make the fruits lusciously brown.

But in this, I used a layer of chocolate ganache.

Then the idea struck me to combine chocolate as an extra layer to make this devilishly delicious custard pie with chocolate topping.

(For 10inch aluminum pie pan)

Pie crust
250 gms Digestive biscuits crushed
100 gms Soft Butter
Add the butter to the digestive biscuits and mix thoroughly in a processor. The end result should look like wet sand.
Another way to do this is to melt the butter. Thwack the biscuits in ziplock bag until everything crumbles and add it to the melted butter and mix. Put it in the pie tin and press it into the edges and the bottom using your hand. Leave it in the fridge to set. In about an hour, it will be ready to use.

Custard filling:
Make the custard according to the packet instructions for 2 cups of cream. However substitute the milk with cream. As soon as the custard is done, spread it in the pie tin and put it back into the fridge. I do make a little extra custard. In-case not needed, you always have the option to snack on it. :)
And there is always the option to make fresh custard from scratch. I'll publish the recipe some other time and I find the task quite healing – it gives me a sense of calmness even on a hazy day. The aroma of vanilla wafting through my kitchen is enough to make me feel contented and that cheers up my inner spirit.

Chocolate sauce:
250 gms dark chocolate chopped
2-3 tbsp cream
100 gms butter
Heat some water in a pan. Put a vessel on top of the boiling water. Add the chopped chocolate to this and let it melt. Add the butter while the chocolate is melting. Once both the ingredients have melted, stir and check the consistency. If it is too thick, add the cream to loosen it a bit. Needed be, add a little sugar according to the taste.  Now spread the chocolate sauce over the custard. Leave it in the fridge for about an hour until the chocolate is set.
De-mould the pie very carefully as soon as you take it out of the fridge as the base is very brittle.

Serve in room temperate. (That’s how I like it as the layers are soft or else they tend to be a little sturdy)

Thursday 5 June 2014

Spaghetti with Walnut Sauce

I always wondered if I could play around with the ingredients in the kitchen; thereby deciding to pair spaghetti with walnut and tomato sauce - I am, however, very partial to anything creamy, smooth and nutty. It sounds pretty disastrous for people who don’t have the predilection for walnuts and for such people you can easily replace it with almonds. Of course the flavors are not the same yet there is a lusciously delicious depth to the sauce – a very nutty and earthy, almost sophisticated approach to effortless and I dare say dull marinara sauce.  

I put all my recipes under categories – this recipe being lazy Sunday no fuss dinner category!
You can just buy a jar of marinara sauce, brown some walnuts in butter/extra mild olive oil (whichever suits you better), make a paste and add it to your everyday out-of-the-jar sauce. But making it from scratch has its own rewards – I would say, rather, very therapeutic rewards !!!  

The idea behind cooking store bought dried pasta is plunging the pasta into rapidly boiling salty-as-the-sea water. Always make sure that you use a big pot of water. The best way to check the doneness is by eating. I would rather eat that strand of beautiful spaghetti then trying out any bizarrely peculiar methods.

Try to make the sauce and boil the pasta simultaneously. That way your pasta never dries out (if they are dry, they will become sticky) after you strain it.  

Also, it’s a rule in my kitchen to save a cup of the salty water after the pasta is done. I, always, pour a little of that liquid to the sauce. It just gives it an extra oomph. :)

Ingredients: Serves 1

For the Pasta:
100 gms spaghetti
Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions.

For the Sauce:
½ cup walnuts
½ cup tomato puree
Few tbsp Extra light olive oil
Handful of Parmesan Cheese (Shaved/grated)
¼ cup single cream
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
Red chili Flakes, Salt and Sugar to taste

Heat some mild olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Toast the walnuts until fragrant; puree and set aside. Add the tomato puree to it along with some salt, sugar and the minced garlic and keep stirring until the oil separates. This is the only time you have to wait. Once the oil separates, add the walnut puree and stir to combine. At this stage you can add the cream, oregano and red chili flakes. Give it a taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Also, you can check the consistency of the sauce – some like it thinner in which case you can add the pasta water.


Now combine the cooked spaghetti with the sauce. Top generously with the Parmesan cheese and serve piping hot. 

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Asian Style wrap


This recipe came out of the blue and it is an absolute delight for protein lovers. I wanted to cook something that is healthy as well as filling. And as much as the ingredients are concerned, it is very basic and can be found in the everyday pantry. I didn’t use tortillas but I did make fresh rotis (wholewheat flat breads) for this wrap.

The coleslaw could be termed as Asian style slaw and it can be easily consumed as a salad. This is a very easy recipe and it takes about 20 minutes to prepare as I have suggested pickling the veggies for some time. 

You can, of course, cut short the process and prepare the slaw without the pickling process. Sometimes I find the pickling method a little too time consuming; thereby I forego the whole process.

This is a tried and tested recipe and it works wonders with kids too. It is incredibly easy to prepare, doesn’t require any kitchen skills and is very nutritious.
The recipe is as follows (serves 1): J

For the Slaw:
½ cup cabbage shredded
¼ cup carrot shredded
Salt and Sugar to taste
1 tbsp Mayonnaise
2 tbsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
In a large bowl, mix 1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp sugar and add the cabbage and carrot. Top it up with boiling water, give it a mix and set aside for about 15minutes in which time the patties will be done.
Strain the cabbage and carrots and let all the water drain. Then add the mayonnaise, 2tbsp sesame oil and 1 tbsp soy sauce and mix thoroughly. Add salt and sugar to taste.

For the Patties:
1 cup minced chicken
½ inch piece of giner
3 cloves of garlic
2 green/ red chilies
1 small onion chopped finely
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
Mix the minced chicken with 2 tbsp sesame oil and 1 tbsp soy sauce. Mince the ginger, garlic and chilies (which can be adjusted according to taste). Mix it with the chicken mince and set aside.
Form patties (the size of your palm) with the mince and put it on a hot griddle pan. Cook until done. (While forming the patties, rub a little vegetable oil on your palm. That will be enough to cook the patties on the griddle later)

For the Wrap:
2 flour tortillas or homemade rotis
Toast the tortillas/rotis (whichever you are using) on a griddle pan/any non-stick pan just until they are just warm.

Assembly: Now it’s just about assembling the ingredients: Cut the patties length wise and put it on the warm rotis/tortillas, throw in some of the slaw/salad on top of the chicken and it is ready to eat.

(You can use any non stick pan. Personally, I absolutely adore those griddle marks on the patties and of course it is cooked in much lesser oil)