Temperamental issues like anger and mood swings are likely to develop an unhealthy relationship with food and eating habits which leads to emotional eating more over time to deal with the environment and oneself. Though fluctuating moods make one particularly vulnerable to developing eating habits that can lead to unhealthy weight gain and difficulties with food and eating, we got you sorted with a Hot Mezze Box that is filled with foods of Turkish cuisine which promises to brush aside mood swings in a jiffy.
Turkish cuisine is blessed with food that uplifts the mood instantly. Hence, this Sunday night, we are preparing and bracing to drool over Hot Mezze Box which has a variety of mood boosting food like Chicken Shawarma, Falafel, Kebab Meshwai, Classic Chickpea Hummus, Fattoush Salad, Za’atar Yogurt Dip and freshly baked Pita.
Check out their recipes here and thank us later:
Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients:
Chicken Leg bones with skin 100gms
Hung Yogurt 50 gms
Cloves 5 nos.
Lemon 1 no.
Cinnamon powder ½ tsp
Chilli flakes ½ tsp
Black pepper corn 5 nos.
Salt to taste
Olive oil 5 tsp (For 2 tsp marinade, 2 tsp cook and 1 tsp finishing)
Chicken stock 1 tablespoon
Method:
Flatten the chicken with steak hammer and keep it aside. For marinade - mix olive oil, salt, lemon ring and all the spices together with yogurt. Marinate the chicken overnight in the refrigeration using this marinade.
Before cooking, heat the pan add olive oil and sear the chicken when the oil is hot, start searing first from the skin side. Cook evenly from both the sides 5 minutes each.
Add little chicken stock and cover it with the lid for another 10 minutes. Once its fully cooked, gently shred the chicken. Drizzle some olive oil and lemon juice on top. Serve hot with accompaniments
Kebab Meshwai
Ingredients for 1st marination:
Lamb shoulder chunks boneless 100 gms
Lamb fat 50 gms
Onion (white, roughly chopped) 20 gms
Parsley (leaves, small stems) 5 gms
Ingredients for 2nd marination:
Parsley (chopped) 5 gms
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder to taste
Cinnamon powder 1/4 tsp
EVOO 5 ml
Butter (melted) 5 ml
Ingredients for accompaniments and garnish:
Pickled vegetables 20 gms
Pickled Bhavanagari or Habanero chilly (grilled) 1 no.
Method:
Combine all the ingredients of the 1st marination. Pass the above through the meat grinder using the fine setting 4 times till the mince is very fine. Marinate for 4 to 6 hours or overnight.
Combine the ingredients of the 2nd marination with this fine mince and marinate overnight. Check seasoning and skewer on rods by wetting hands and place in a tandoor on a medium high heat. Close the lid of the tandoor for a while.
Keep rotating/turning the meat skewers at periodic intervals to ensure even cooking & doneness of meat. Brush with melted butter during this process.
Drizzle EVOO when the meat is removed off the skewer. Serve with above accompaniments.
Falafel
Ingredients:
Chickpeas- 250 gm
Onion - 50 gm
Garlic- 4 cloves
Parsley- 50 gm
Mint- 10 gm
Coriander – 30 gm
Salt- 15 gm
Ground cumin- 5 gm
Ground coriander- 3 gm
Black pepper- 2 gm
Method:
Rinse the chickpea and place in a large bowl and cover with cool water. Cover and soak overnight. Drain the chickpea and dry them.
Add chickpeas, onion, garlic, herbs, salt, ground spices, salt, black pepper to a food processer and grind. Transfer the mixture into the bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 mins.
Heat oil in a pan to medium heat, make small balls of the mixture and flatten them like a gallates or use Falafel scoop.
When the oil is medium hot (165C), add gradually in the hotel oil and cook for while till it gets golden brown.
Classic Chickpea Hummus
Ingredients :
Cooked chickpeas - 3 cups
Garlic- 1 to 2 cloves, minced
Ice cubes - 3 to 4 no
Tahini paste – 1/2 cup
Kosher salt – 1/2 teaspoon
Juice of 1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil – 1 cup
Sumac for garnish
Method:
Add chickpeas and minced garlic to food processor. Puree until a smooth. Add ice cubes, tahini, salt, and lemon juice. Blend for another 4 minutes or until you reach desired silky-smooth consistency.
Spread in a serving bowl and add a generous quantity of extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle sumac on top.
Za’atar Yogurt
Ingredients:
English cucumber– 1no (peeled)
Kosher salt- 1 teaspoon
Garlic- 4 to 5 cloves (finely minced)
White vinegar- 1 teaspoon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil- 1 tablespoon
Greek yogurt - 2 cups
White pepper powder- ¼ teaspoon
Za’atar Spice – 01 tsp
Method:
Grate the cucumbers. Mix it with ½ tablespoon of salt. Transfer the grated cucumber into kitchen towel and press out the excess water from it.
In a mixing bowl mix add cucumber with remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, garlic, vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Mix it well with fork.
Add Greek yogurt, Za’atar spice and white pepper powder to cucumber mixture. Refrigerate it for an hour before service. Transfer to serving bowl, drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil.
Freshly Baked Pita
Ingredients:
Refined flour- 3 cups
Active dry yeast- 7gm
Kosher salt- ¼ teaspoon
Sugar – 1 teaspoon
Lukewarm water- 1 ½ cup
Extra virgin olive oil – for drizzling
Method:
Sieve with flour with salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture. Place yeast and sugar in it pour in the lukewarm water.
Knead the soft dough it should bounces back when you push into it. Drizzle Olive oil on it. Cover it with kitchen towel and place in a warm place. It should rise double in size. Approximately it will take 45 mins.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees c and lay a baking tray in the oven to heat. Cut the dough into 10 equal pieces. Roll them and cover it with kitchen towel, let them rest for another 10 min.
Flatten each with rolling pin. Will need excess flour for dusting. Bake them in over on pre heated baking try for 5 mins. Serve immediately.
(All recipes: Himanshu Taneja, Culinary Director, Marriott International)
Mood swings, anger, frustration, fear, sadness, irritability, snapping at people and aggression are all symptoms of being ‘hangry’ which occurs when our brains are starved of glucose which is the main source of energy for one’s body functioning. The state mainly occurs when there are large gaps between your meals hence, it is important to have a meal that is balanced with enough carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals that sustain you for a longer time and prevent your sugar levels from spiking or dropping quickly.
