Punjabi Grilled Vegetables

I’ve been invited for dinner this Saturday; the invitation coming with a nod to my culinary skills. Yes, ladies, gentlemen and all you other lot, I’ve been asked if I would please come over and use the hosts’ grill to make ye famouse grilled vegetables.

Since I know you absolutely adore my recipes (or not), and because my kindly self seeks but to bring joy in all your drab lives, I have decided to share this with you.

First, you need a grill. Don’t have one? Read this How-To-Get-a-Grill-combined-with-How-To-Make-vegetarian-chicken-kebabs.

Equipment:

• Grill (see above)
• Grill basket (look it up)
• Bowl for mixing
• Spoons and things

Ingredients:

• Yellow Zucchini (2 or more )
• Green Zucchini (2 or more)
• Green peppers (capsicum, if Indian)
• Red peppers (sweet ones)
• Mushrooms (optional – some people I know object to mushrooms, possibly taking the fungi thing too seriously. Call them champignons and all will be fine)
• Small red potatoes, skin on
• Onions
• Salt (to taste, which means put as much as you want or as little as you want. It does not mean salt to lick)
• Pepper, ground, black (powdered, you know?)
• Red chilli flakes (Here it comes – it’s the Punjabi bit. Okay, so it was originally suggested by my Beloved Bangalan, but this is now *my* recipe.)
• Olive oil to coat
• Vinegar (of your choice. I would not recommend balsamic, btw)

Method:

• Chop vegetables into 1 inch cubes. Allowable tolerance is between 5/8″ and 1.5″. Use a tape measure to be sure. Fractions – how I hate them! (Note to self – must inflict that rant on the readers sometime)
• Wash them all while singing Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi. Don’t know the words? Prop up ipad on kitchen counter and play this Youtube video.
• It’s “Paved Paradise” and not “Babe Paradise”
• Shake off all the excess water and put them (veggies) all into a bowl. Bowl should be large enough to hold all the vegetables with room for mixing. Picked the wrong size? Tsk Tsk
• Gurgle olive oil all over
• Slosh some vinegar in
• Sprinkle the salt, pepper, red chilli flakes
• Toss and set aside (the bowl) about an hour or so
• Clean up the mess you made
• Fire up grill
• Shove the grill basket on the grill and let it heat up
• Pour the vegetables into the grill basket.
• Keep eyebrows away from shooting flames from the burning oil/vinegar mix
• Cook with grill top shut. Open occasionally to stir contents.
• When the vegetables are soft and nicely charred (not to death!) remove and transfer to serving bowl.
• Serve with pasta (more on that, in a later post) or burgers (more on that, in a later post). Even rice will do (if Bong – you know who you are), or quinoa ( yeah…)

A dollar to me if you use this.