Vegetarian Grilling

[Minni]

Audience,

Come spring, I am waiting to use my grill to its fullest potential. I like the relaxed sit out with the dinner on the grill taking its own sweet time, while the aromas filled in the air, catching up with friends/neighbours....aaaahhh.....!:)

I infact intend to host several BBQ lunch/dinners, riverside, out in the moon, in the down town, in parks, or right outside my home.

Well, veggie grilling need not be so boring, with just the veggies to grill. There can be interesting twists and powerful marinades that can make it much more than just the veggie on the grill.

I am looking for such interesting ideas.

So far, I've tried traditional veggies on skewers(Kababs), veggie patties, and grilled Pizzas lately. Yes, pizza, that is grilled!

I was wondering if any of you out there have more interesting ideas.

Thanks.
Minni

[grl95014]

Here is my favorite vegetarian Grilled Eggplant Burger recipe.
For the marinade:
1 cup Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
3-4 cloves of crushed garlic
Optionally juice of half a lemon

Mix all the items for the marinade in a wide bowl. Slice a large eggplant (the large Italian Eggplant in American grocery stores is the only kind that works) into round slices about 3/4 inches in thickness. Apply the marinade onto both sides of each slice. Sprinkle salt to taste on both sides of each slice. Grill on the BBQ. For best results, grill each side only once. When you finish grilling one side and turn it around for grilling the next side, you may put a slice of cheese on the top of the finished side.
Serve this burger on toasted burger buns with usual accompaniments like sliced onions, ketchup, mustard etc.

This recipe works very well if you have an indoor stove top grill pan too.

[Minni]

grl95014,
Sounds interesting. I shall definitely try that out this time. Thanks.

Some ideas once my friend gave me are like :
* Grilling Paneer, like for paneer tikka, smeared with tandoori masala.
* Similarly, Fresh mozzarella balls.
* Grilled(baked) garlic - can be used by blending for making a dip, by itself, or with cream cheese, or with yoghurt.

There were more ideas that were suggested with tandoori masala and chaat masala. I cannot recollect what they are. Does that help any fresh ideas ?

Thanks.
Minni

[Kz]

Any suggestions on buying a good grill? i am confused whether to buy an indoor george foreman electric grill/ outdoor small grill/ stove top grill pan.
any ideas and suggestions are welcome.
thanks
Kz

[Minni]

Hello KZ,

To buy a grill and enjoy its service, several factors need to be considered.

First and foremost.
1. How often do you intend to use it ?

2. For how many ppl would you like to cook food over it.

3. Intend to do Vegetarian grilling/ non-vegetarian grilling - helps decide on some of the accessories specific for each of them as well as the BTU-therm units of power you need.

4. What kind of climate do you live in ? Hot most of the year or cold most of the year, humid, dry ?

5. Where do you intend to grill....mostly @ home indoors, home outdoors,...or parks and other outdoor spaces...in other words how portable should your grill be ?

6. Last but not the least.....clean up.....Gas grills are supposed to be easier for clean up....but the smoked flavor is the price you sacrifice....Charcoal grills are considerable work to set up....and light the flame...which are relatively easier with gas grills.

7. Also important is what kind of grate the grill has in terms of clean up....the enameled cast iron grates are supposed to be easier for clean up.

8. Most importantly and inevitably:) depends on how much you want to spend....

I can guide you more depending upon what category your requirements fall into. So, let me know.

Minni

[Kz]

Hi Minni,
Thanks a lot for helping me.
I live in mostly cold climate,northeast. summer only for few months.
i would like to do veg and nonveg grilling, more of non veg.
i have a big deck so would like to do it at home , only confusion is should i go for indoor ( so i can use during winter) or outdoor fun during summer. i may invite few friends not much.how often?hmm...... i am not sure, depends if it works out good and tasty and if hubby enjoys then we might do it often. since i haven't tried i donno.

then i did read up abt the work involved in charcoal grill and clean up and also the taste differs in gas grill. i was checking those weber small grills. i dont want to invest more $ into it , in food tv i see shows where they use that grill pan on stove top, that we could use yr round but donno how the taste will be.
i would like to try grilled pizza, tikka and kababs.so i am totally confused.
thanks
Kz

[Minni]

Hello again KZ,

I must say that the taste difference between flame cooked meals(with gas grills) and that of contact heating(electric grill...I assume indoor grills other than stove top and oven are always electric) is a lot different.

If you want to buy a outdoor grill, would you have space to bring it in for the winter- is another aspect to consider.

Hope that clears your mind and you have a wonderful time grilling this summer.


Minni

[Kz]

Hi Minni,
Bringing an outdoor grill inside during winter is one thing which i never thought of. thankyou for telling that. now i have to seriously think abt it.which grill do have and how is it?
Kz

[Minni]

KZ,

Sorry that I haven't gotten back to you in a while.
Thought you might need some more info....

I have one of those portable weber grills. For my needs, it perfectly suits. I like its heavy cast iron grate which aids grilling faster.

If you'd like to go with one of those portable weber grills, this is my advice: Make sure the grate has enough finger space for it to be removed from the grill and aso put back on the grill. For some reason, some of those grates are not well designed, and its become very difficult to remove them from their housing on the grill for cleaning.

You may want to think about the accessories also if you are buying a grill.
As I have a gas grill and got a few accessories, I can give you an idea of what all they can be:

1. A stand for the grill really helps. The portable ones do need one for convinience of height. They cost approximately $40.

2. A wire grill brush is a must. The grill grate cleans well when still hot, i.e., immediately after grilling.

3. Tongs for handling food on the grill.

4. The portable grills can be operated using those propane gas canisters, each $3-$4. This is convinient for its portability.

5. In the event you grill a lot, you would be better off buying those larger cylinders(empty one costs $19 at sams club) and refilling costs are approximately $13-$20.

6. If you want to hook up your grill with such a cylinder, you need an adapter hose which is like $40.

7. In my experience, BBQ grill cleaner is good to clean the grate. It costs some $7-$8.

Guess, thats all I can think of.

Minni

[newcomer]

Hi Minni,
Thanks for posting very good information. I think you are best in everything you do. You do very detailed ananlysis and give excellent sugesstions. Keep up your good work and also please post some vegetarian grilling recipes.

Thank You in advance.

ND

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[Minni]

Grilled corn on the cob:
You would be surprised how many different ways we can have this vegetarian staple of grilled food. The posted recipes are my creations or derived from some inspirational cuisines.

Method 1:Simple Indian style
Remove the husk and grill it till some of its corn are blackened.
After its off the grill, you may smear it with a mixture of salt, red chilli powder with the aid of a sliced lime. The freshness of the lime and the kick of the redchillipowder make it interesting.

Method 2: Indo-chinese style
You can marinate the corn on the cob with lots of garlic, red chilli flakes, salt, sesame oil(couple spoons), soy sauce and may be rice wine vinegar or sherry vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar. Marinate for atleast 1/2 hour and not more than 3 hours. And then grill.

Method 3: Cajun style
Do not remove the husk, but open it and smear the cob with some butter/oil and then with cajun spice mix. Cover the cob with the husk back in its place and grill it with its husk on.

Method 4:With Tandoori masala
You may do the same above procedure by smearing the cob with tandoori masala too.


Shall post more ways later.

[newcomer]

Minni,

I really appreciate your recipes. Please post all different recipes with different vegetables and panner and tofu etc., . Thank You in advance.

ND

[Minni]

Ok, we need to understand how grilling is different from Bar-be-cuing.
Grilling is supposed to be a way of cooking foods over hot coals so that the outside is seared. So, it can be achieved quickly over a hot fire. Whereas, barbecuing is a slow cooking method in which the food is cooked by smoke and indirect heat. Barbecuing is well suited for big pieces of meat, but grilling is ideal for locking the flavour of veggies.

How should vegetables be grilled ?

Veggies, on their own have very less or nil fat content in them. Hence its very essential to either brush them with an oil or marinade to provide/retain the moisture content in them and also prevent them from sticking to the grill grate.
Veggies by nature are very tender(except for root vegetables, gourds, artichokes, cauliflower), hence would be cooked in a fraction of time when compared to meat.
In other words it means that they do not have much time to absorb the smokiness as a longer grill time requiring meat.
How much they are blackened depends on how much natural sugars they contain.
Veggies need to be pepped up a little to enjoy a meal of vegetarian grilled food. For this we need to understand how we can do it and why.
Some veggies are porous by nature and some are not.
Those that are porous can absorb marinade by themselves. For those that are not porous, you need to add an acid element to tenderize/penetrate the flavours into the flesh of the vegetable.

Minni

[foodlover123]

I have this recipe for grilled fruit kebabs and i love to have them with grilled meat or vegetables or even with ice cream..


GRILLED FRUIT KEBABS

assorted fruit (pre-cut into chunks), such as pineapple, mango, cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon
1/2 cup light olive oil


Preheat a grill pan over medium heat.

Thread fruit onto skewer, alternating types of fruit for a colorful presentation; fill the skewer no more than halfway. With a pastry brush, paint the fruit with a light coating of oil. Place skewers, a few at a time, in the hot grill pan. Turn occasionally until you have grill marks on all sides of the fruit.

[newcomer]

Thank you Guys for posting all good recipes. Keep Posting...

ND