How to Cook Cottage Cheese Shashliks with Yogurt Dip
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 mins + 30 mins (inactive)
Cooking time: 10 mins
Ingredients needed to make Cottage Cheese Shashliks with Yogurt Dip:
- 1 lb cottage cheese, chopped onto 1’’ dices
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 white onion, chopped into 1’’ chunks
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1’’ chunks
- 2;; fresh ginger, peeled
- 4 green chilies
- 2 large red chillies
- 1 tsp ground garam masala
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground paprika
- 2 tbsp corn flour
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp tamarind paste
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 10 fl oz plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, leaves picked and chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the yogurt dip:
- 10 fl oz plain yogurt
- 1 cucumber, deseeded
- Bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
Cooking instructions for Cottage Cheese Shashliks with Yogurt Dip:
- Warm up your oven to 425 degrees F.
- To make the shashlik, drizzle the oil in a baking pan and throw in the garlic, chillies as well as ginger.
- Place in the hot oven and roast for about 10 minutes or until they brown slightly.
- Allow them to cool to some extent and chop the stem off the chilies.
- Toss the spices into a small, dry skillet and toast them for a couple of minutes, stirring often to stop them from getting burnt.
- Tip them into a food processor, along with the roasted mixture and pour in the tamarind paste, yogurt and vinegar.
- Sprinkle the corn flour, chopped cilantro and sugar into it and blitz them into a smooth puree.
- Adjust the seasonings and set aside.
- Dump the cottage cheese cubes, diced onions as well as bell pepper into a bowl and drizzle the pureed marinade over them.
- Toss them together until well coated with the mixture and wrap the bowl with a plastic sheet.
- Leave in the refrigerator for at least half an hour and dip 8 bamboo skewers in a bowl with cold water at the same time.
- Meanwhile prepare the yogurt dip by grating the cucumber into a clean, kitchen towel.
- Give it a tight squeeze to get rid of any excess moisture in it and place it in a bowl.
- Pour in the yogurt and stir them together, along with the chopped mint until well combined.
- Whisk in a dash of seasonings to taste and wrap the bowl with a cling film.
- Leave in the fridge to chill until required.
- Warm up your outdoor grill to high heat.
- Once the marination time is over, insert the marinated cottage cheese and veggies, alternately into the bamboo skewers and place them on the hot grill grate.
- Grill each side for about 5 minutes or until it is seared and remove from heat.
- Serve the cottage cheese shashliks alongside a bowl of yogurt dip.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
