Grilling

Grilling is a technique where meat, poultry, fish and vegetables are cooked by direct dry heat. The grill is preheated to the required temperature usually over 260⁰C (500⁰F). The food to be grilled is placed on a rack in the grill pan to allow the fat to drip through and grilled for the desired time. The food to be cooked is uncovered in this method.

In the portable market stalls in all Indian cities and in restaurants charcoal fired grills and marinated grilled meat is sold. A good example of this are the kebabs on a stick and chicken tikka which are grilled directly over small charcoal or gas grills at high temperatures. This style of cooking has become very popular all over India and throughout Asia.

Grilling can be used to cook sausages, steaks and chops. Grilling is also used for browning the surface of denser foods such as pies, meatloaves and pastas.

In my book I have used this technique to grill the seekh kebabs for a few minutes after baking them to brown or toast them slightly. Grilled lamb cutlets, mixed vegetable pot pie, tandoori chicken and chicken roast are all recipes which call for this cooking method.