Marinating is a method of food preparation that involves soaking foods in a liquid to improve the tenderness, juiciness and flavor of the meats . This liquid, called a marinade, typically contains oil, herbs, spices and an acidic base such as
function -There are two major reasons to marinate: to enhance flavor(use of fresh herbs and flavourful spices) or to improve the texture of a cut of meats.
Types -Marinades can be created from many liquids but in general there are two main types--those made with spices for adding flavor and those made with an enzyme or acid for tenderizing meat.
Effects -Flavor-imparting marinades add savory spices to the taste of the meat while tenderizing marinades alter texture by breaking down connective tissues.
Considerations -Flat cuts do best with tenderizer as the marinade must come in contact with all of the meat in order to work.
Careful -Marinating a meat for too long may result in a mushy texture since once the meat is in a marinade the proteins will continue to break down until the meat is cooked.
Tissue breakdown- here i would like to explain how meats tissue breaks, the acid causes the tissue to break down, allowing more moisture to be absorbed and giving a juicier end product. However, too much acid can be detrimental to the end product( be careful in this). A good marinade will have a delicate balance of spices, acids, and oil.
Health- The American Institute for Cancer Research is a large United States cancer research organization associated with the World Cancer Research Fund umbrella organization....
recommends discarding used marinade that has been applied to raw meats. Meats, such as red meat, fish, and chicken, may contain unhealthful substances which may enter the marinade, according to health experts attributed by the AICR. These substances would become neutralized in the cooking process but using the same marinade later in preparation holds the risk of reapplication. If additional flavoring from the marinade is desired, prepare a new batch.
ok this is enough with the basics lets go for an interesting recipe for this week:
Have not discussed anything from chinese cuisine....till now so now i am going to share an interesting accompaniments for all the boozers(m not sure whether this word exists or not)
CHICKEN 65--------------
Chicken 1 Kg,Chilli Powder - 4 tsps,Chicken 65 masala ( optional ) ,Ginger & Garlic paste 3- 4 tsp,Tumeric Powder 1 tspCurd ( optional ) ,Lemon,curry leaves,oil,salt to taste, Flour .
Method Take the chicken and wash it nicely. Then add the chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, tumeric powder, curd ( optional ) salt and marinate the chicken, keep it aside for 1 hr. Then in a kadai take some oil and heat it for deep frying the chicken after coating it lightly with flour or corn flour. While deep frying the chicken add 3-4 curry leaves to each set you are frying that will give a flavour. After frying the chicken , squeeze the lemon on top of it and serve.
