Fresh fruit Kababs with creamy Grand Marnier Sauce

I love to entertain . A special rule for me is mingling and enjoying myself with my guests,so I prepare as much as possible ahead of time. I also love serving fresh fruit,in season, along with other desserts. I found this recipe  by Le Ann Dreier and have used it since. Unlike Zabalione,it can be prepared ahead of time and refridgerated.

Serves 8

8 cups assorted fresh fruit such as,grapes,raspberries,strawberries,blueberries,mangoes,melons ,pineapples, all cut into bite sized pieces and skewered on to small fancy tooth picks.

SAUCE

10 oz cream cheese,room temperature

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons (or more) Grand Marnier .

Combine all ingredients for sauce in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust Grand Marnier ,as desired. Refridgerate till cold,at least 1 hour. (may be prepared a day ahead).

Fan Fruit Kebabs on an attractive platter. Place sauce in a serving bowl on the side,allow your guests to help themselves.

Boti Kebab

It is funny how Indian cusine has so many kebabs, but believe me each is very different and so flavorful with toasted spices. Truely one of the tricks I learned early on in my mother’s kitchen was to toast and grind my spices as close to using as possible, believe it is makes all the difference to the final product. Here is another great recipe from Madhur Jaffrey .

1/2 lb of boned lamb leg, cut into 3/4 inch pieces

4 tablespoons plain yoghurt

11/2 tablespoons  lemon juice

1 inch piece, grated

1 clove garlic, grated

i teaspoon toasted ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayanne pepper

3/4 teaspoon salt

11/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine the yoghurt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, cumin,coriander , cayanne and salt in a zip top bag. Add the cubed lanb. seal bag and massage the lamb . Refridgerate for 6-24 hours.

Preheat the broiler

Thread the meat on skewers. Balance the skewers on the rim of a baking in such a way that all the meat juices drip inside the tin. Brush the kebabs generously with oil and place the tray directly under the broiler.

Continue to broil till the lamb takes on color. Flip the kebabs, brush with oil and continue to broil till done.

Mum’s Lamb Kebabs

Growing up in Malta we had several parties at home. At every event, no matter what the theme and guest list these were hugely requested. Hope you enjoy them too.

Photograph by Rahul Mahtani

1 lb ground lamb

1/2 small onion finely minced

2 garlic cloves minced

1″pieceginger minced

2 serrano chillis chopped finely

1 teaspoon garam masala *

1 teaspoon ground cumin*

1 tablespoon dried Methi crushed* or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Juice of half a lemon

1 tablespoon plain yoghurt

10-15 pieces roasted cashews ground or 1 tablespoon cashew butter*

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 egg yolk

* available in Indian Markets

Heat oil in a small saute pan. Add onions, chillis , ginger and garlic. Saute about 1 minute till no longer raw and some of the moisture from the onions evaporates. Cool.

Mix all the other ingredients into the grond lamb followed by the cooled onion mixture as well as the egg yolk. Mix to combine.

Keep a small bowl of vegetable oil in a bowl and grease palms with some. Take tablespoons of the lamb mixture and form small logs . Repeat till all the meat is used up.

Grill on a barbeque or roast in a hot oven for 7-10 minutes.

Serve hot with Mint chutney

These are great made the day before and grilled or frozen.