Grilled Parsley-Lime Chicken Skewers

Just like my lamb kebabs, the secret of these succulent and fragrant chicken skewers is the marinade—a glorious, tangy and green flavour base with parsley for its grassy, herbaceous note, and lime for acidity, all rounded out with jalapeños for heat. The trick is to let the chicken sit bathed in the marinade for as long as possible—ideally 2–4 hours. But if you are pressed for time, then set aside ¼ cup of marinade and brush it on while the skewers grill.

Ingredients

4 lbs [1½ kg] boneless, skinless Chicken breasts and thighs, cut into 2-inch-thich pieces
Twelve 10-inch-long Skewers*

Marinade: 

1 cup flat-leaf Parsley (leaves and stalks)
Grated rind of 1 Lime
Juice of 1 Lime
½ small Onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4–5 cloves Garlic, peeled
1-inch piece Ginger, peeled
1 medium Jalapeño
Salt (to taste)
¼ tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Put parsley, lime rind and juice, onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeño in a food processor and grind to a smooth paste. Transfer paste to a mixing bowl, large enough to accommodate the marinade and chicken. 
2. Add remaining marinade ingredients to bowl and stir to incorporate. Add chicken and mix well with marinade. Cover the bowl will plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hrs, or up to 1 day. Prior to cooking, remove bowl from fridge, thread chicken pieces onto skewers, and bring to room temperature. 
3. Pre-heat a charcoal/gas grill or grill-pan on medium for 25 mins. Turn the heat to high 5 mins before cooking. When the grill surface is smoking hot, add skewers, and let grill on their first side for 3 mins, or until well charred. Then gently turn every 2 mins until the remaining sides are well caramelised. 
4. Remove skewers onto a platter and let sit for 5 mins. Serve drizzled with olive oil and lime juice.

*TIP: If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for ½ hour prior to cooking, to prevent them from singeing on the grill.

Seared Ginger Prawns with Jicama-Mango Salad

This dish exemplifies, probably more than anything else that I’ve posted, the hybrid, culinary experimentation that I’m so fond of. Some of you may recognise Vietnamese influences in the pairing of lime and ginger, while others might point out the Latin overtones of the salsa-like jicama-mango salad. In fact, all these are commonly found Indian ingredients that fuse together into an easy, pan-continental style.

For my Indian readers—jicama is the Spanish name for the lowly root vegetable that we call shankhaloo in Bengali. It’s crunchy freshness, coupled with the sweetness of mango, unexpectedly balances the briny-ness of the prawns. Together, they are a perfect dish for a warm and muggy summer evening.

Ingredients

1¼ lbs [½ kg] Prawns, peeled, de-veined, and washed
1-inch piece Ginger, peeled and finely minced
1 tsp Garlic, finely minced
½ tsp Sriracha chilli sauce (or any Asian chilli sauce of choice)
2 tbsp Ponzu sauce (or Soy sauce)
1/8 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
Pinch of Salt
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

For the Salad: 

½ lb [225 gms] Jicama, peeled and diced
½ lb [225 gms] Mango, peeled and diced
2 Shallots, finely sliced
3–4 fresh Green Chillis, finely minced
½ cup Cilantro, finely chopped
Juice of 1 Lime
Salt (to taste)

1. Mix the prawns with ginger, garlic, chilli sauce, ponzu sauce, black pepper and salt in a bowl. Cover with plastic-wrap and let marinate in the fridge for 30 mins. 
2. Mix all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside for 15 mins to let the flavours steep. 
3. Remove prawns from fridge. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat until it is smoking. Add prawns to the skillet and sear on one side for 2 mins. Then flip the prawns and sear on the other side for another 2 mins until golden brown. [Alternately, you can cook the prawns on a gas or charcoal grill over indirect heat.] 
4. Serve warm, plated with the jicama-mango salad.