As the heatwave in the capital has given way to monsoon magic, nothing can tantalise the tastebuds better than a spicy sizzler. Served with noodles or rice, the dish is an all-time favourite.
“We offer a sizzler that has chicken and basa grilled to perfection. The meat is soft and supple enough so that it requires no extra steak knife but is as good as rare. This is topped with grilled pepper and herbs. There is an array of vegetables served as well like baby corn, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, zucchini and carrots,” says chef Dalip Kumar, The Pink Room.
In a sizzler, the way the meat is cut and spices infused are extremely pertinent. “For the Hunan chicken sizzler, you can use either chicken cutlets that are thinly sliced, or skinless boneless chicken breast. We use a special marinade and soak the chicken in it overnight and keep it in the refrigerator. Then it’s cooked on the stove on either side until crispy brown. When the chicken is as crispy as it deserves to be, we add the ginger and garlic pastes, some finely chopped onions, coriander leaves, chilies, pepper, salt and vinegar till the sizzle begins,” explains Yuvraj Kohli, MD, China Doll.
And one can always innovate and create interesting diversions from usual fare. “Sizzlers are an interesting variant of starters; served on a sizzler plate with salad, they not only keep the food warm longer but also add aroma and more style. So while instead of having pasta straight, we serve it on sizzling plate to make it more presentable, we also have the usual sea food sizzler platters,” says Priyank Sukhija from Warehouse cafe.
Another interesting innovation would be the Loco Moco Hawaiian chicken sizzler. “Although many sizzlers use egg in some form or the other, we even add a sunny side-up on top of Loco Moco chicken sizzler. The addition of crunchy vegetables and wine reduction enhances the flavour of the dish,” adds chef Gaurav Gidwani, Mocha
Creating the perfect sizzler requires trained hands and a flair for perfection. “Making sizzlers is an art and one requires well trained cooks and helpers arranging the food on the platter and waiters serving them as fast as possible, so that most of the food is consumed by the customers while it is still hot and sizzling. Among the interesting ones served by us is the fruit and veggie grilled sizzler which is an assortment of pineapple, grilled potatoes, brocolli, french fries, mushroom and tofu. It is light and refreshing,” says Sandeep Aggarwal of Whitewaters cafe.
The lure of sizzlers lies in the aroma produced by the Maillard reaction. “Served usually on a bed of cabbage leaves which creates a Maillard reaction, that is the browning of the leaves as it touches the hot surface, produces an enticing aroma that hardly anyone can resist,” adds Aggarwal

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Crispy fried honey chicken sizzler
Ingredients
w Chicken thigh boneless 150 gm
Green, red and yellow capsicum 1/4 each
Spring onions 2
Onions 1 small
Red chilli 2
Red chilli paste 1/4 tsp
Honey 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Pinch of white pepper
Ketchup 1 tsp for colour
Sugar 1 tsp
Vinegar 1 tbsp
Sesame seed white 1 tsp
Ginger chopped 1/2 tsp
Garlic chopped 1/2 tsp
Chicken Covering
Cornflour 1/4 cup
Chicken broth powder
1/4 tbsp
Oil for frying

Method
Wash thoroughly and dice chicken thigh and let water dry off. Take egg and add around 1 tbsp of oil just to coat the chicken
Add salt, pepper and chicken broth powder and add corn flour to coat it. Heat oil and fry the chicken crisp.
For the Sauce
Add oil to wok and heat it. Add red chilli whole, red chilli paste, tomato ketchup, honey vinegar, salt, pepper, chopped ginger and garlic to the heated oil to make a sauce.
Add above chicken to prepared sauce and toss it.
Heat the sizzler plate on direct flame. Put cabbage leaves whole on it and serve
with fried rice or noodles
Recipe : Nidhi Wadhwa, Chef/ Owner, Zura, Gurgaon

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Tea-time snacking
Enjoy the rains with desi snacks like aloo pyaz bhajia, corn on the cob, samosa chaat, Asian fritters and other savouries along with a hot sip of tea or coffee. As you enjoy the piping hot delicacies, watch the rain splashing across the window panes and feel the happiness around!

Where: Tea Lounge and Blooms at Eros Hotel by Hilton, Nehru Place
When: All through July, 3pm to 7pm

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Cheesy delights
To compel your taste buds are the flavours of cheese infused with a Mediterranean spice mix. Stuffed with red, yellow and green pepper, butter garlic parmesan seasoning, pepper powder and rosemary, the Mediterranean Cheese Roulade promises to be a vegetarian’s delight. Sample it along with other additions to menu this monsoon.
Available at Starbucks

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Junk haven
Take a bite of the newly introduced range of burgers like potato hash brown burger, spicy veg. burger or Classic chicken burger, smoked chicken and pepper chicken burger or the tempting ‘Heaven Can Wait’ chicken burger along with regular beverages like iced teas, hot coffees or the Dunkaccino this season.
Available at all centres of Dunkin’ Donuts in Delhi NCR