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Barbequed food tastes like nothing else does. At the same time, while all of us try barbequing, not everybody manages to get great results. This is because there are various little nuances involved in barbecuing food that come only with experience and practice. If you have hopes of becoming a great outdoor chef, then read on, for the barbecuing tips given here will help you become just that.

• The first thing that you need to pay attention to when barbequing, is of course the meat or whatever foodstuff you are planning to grill. In a large number of cases, we end up with meat that is charred on the outside and raw inside. In order to avoid this scenario, avoid putting frozen or even chilled meat on your grill. Keep the foods you plan to grill outside the freezer into the fridge for twelve to twenty four hours so that it thaws properly. Once this is done, take out the meat half an hour or so before cooking and keep it outside the fridge so that it attains room temperature. This will ensure that your food gets properly cooked both inside and out.

• Another thing that causes food to be improperly or partially cooked like in the above mentioned scenario is the temperature of your grill. Unless your food is cut into very small pieces or if you like your meat dry, try to regulate the temperature of your barbeque between medium and high instead of keeping it very high. If you grill on coals that are very hot, then you might end up with dry or partially cooked meat.

• Now that we have tacked partial cooking, let us discuss flavor. A lot of people find their barbequed food tasting of lighter fluid. If you also face this problem, then you should wait for at least fifteen minutes or till the coals are grey in color before putting food on your barbeque. By this time, all traces of lighter fluid will have vanished and you will get food that tastes only like food and nothing else.

• Talking about flavor, if you use any kind of sauce for your barbecue, then you will get the best flavor only when you marinate your meats in the sauce at least three to four hours before cooking. Take the meat pieces and pierce them with a fork all over. Then add the marinade, sauce or seasoning and keep it in the fridge till it is time to take out and barbeque.

• Try not to pierce meat when barbequing. Use a flat spatula or tongs for turning so that you do not abrade the surface. This prevents juices and flavor from flowing out of your food and ensures that your barbequed food is juicy and tasty.

• Last but not the least; do not forget to cover your barbeque grill with a non stick spray before putting any food on it. Food, especially meat has the tendency of sticking to very hot surfaces and if you do not spray your grill with such a formulation, then you might end up losing half of your food to the grill.

Just follow the tips mentioned above, and very soon you will find yourself being crowned the “king” or “queen” of barbeque among family and friends.

Chinese is most probably the world’s most famous cuisine. Almost one third people across the globe have Chinese food every day, so we can easily dub it the most popular kind of food in the world. Apart from being uniquely tasty, Chinese food is also extremely nutritious and its method of cooking is such that the majority of nutrients are saved in their original form. Even though Chinese cooking is quite easy and simple, most of us still rely on take outs and restaurants when it comes to having Chinese food. If you are one of those people who love Chinese food but do not make it at home, then you can easily start doing so with the easy Chinese food recipes provided here.

To prepare a three course meal with a salad, a chicken dish and noodles, just try out the easy to make recipes given below:

For Chinese Fried Chicken, you will need:

A pound of skinned chicken
2 tablespoons cornflour
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 tablespoons, tomato ketchup
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon red chilli sauce
1 table spoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 egg
Salt to taste

Method: Mix all ingredients except chicken to create a lump-less paste. Mix in chicken pieces and keep covered in the fridge for  2 to 4 hours. Take out and drain excess liquid, if any. Heat oil in a wok and fry chicken pieces, dropping them one by one in the oil. Drain fried pieces on a kitchen towel and you are ready to serve.
For Chinese Cabbage and Fruit Salad, you will need:
For the Salad-
1 medium sized cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup pineapple chopped pineapple, fresh or canned
1 cup chopped oranges
1 cup sliced water chestnuts
1/4 cup sliced green onions

For the Dressing-
1/2 cup mayonnaise or dream whip
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp red chilli sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt

Method: Mix all ingredients for the dressing and beat lightly with a fork till it gets a creamy texture. Toss chopped fruits and vegetables with the dressing at the time of serving and you are done. Simple, no?

Szechwan Noodles, you will need:

1 12oz packs of noodles
4 tbsps. white vinegar
4 tbsps. oil
¼ cup chili oil
2 tbsps. soy sauce
3 tbsps. szechwan sauce
Salt to taste

Method: Cook the noodles as per instructions. In a Wok, heat oil slightly and add soy sauce, vinegar, szechwan sauce, chili oil and salt. Stir for half a minute and add noodle. Turn the flame to high and mix everything thoroughly. Your noodles are ready to serve.

After having a taste of these simple and easy to make Chinese dishes, both you and your family will be craving for more Chinese food. In order to get more simple Chinese recipes, keep checking this space! Till then, happy cooking!

Tandoori chicken is an amazingly tasty dish, especially if you like food that is slightly spicy. The best part about tandoori chicken is that it is not fatty at all and still tastes good. On top of this, making tandoori chicken is extremely easy, and just about anyone can make it. It is not time consuming either, so busy, working people can easily add this dish to their repertoire of party or home cooking.

You might have seen people making tandoori chicken by putting meat on trays in their ovens, but this is not the way real tandoori chicken is made. In fact, this is nowhere near it.  Tandoori cooking takes its name from the “tandoor”, which is an open clay oven. Food is cooked by the heat provided by burning coals at the bottom of the tandoor. While a tandoor is quite cumbersome to get and use, you can easily get almost authentic tandoori flavor by using a barbeque or a rotisserie. You can also make tandoori chicken in your oven, but by putting the chicken pieces to be cooked on skewers rather than on trays inside your oven. This should make your chicken crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, exactly the way it is supposed to be. Now that you know the secret to making authentic tandoori chicken, here is the recipe for it:
You Will Need:

2 medium sized chickens, skinned and quartered
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
6 teaspoons allspice or garam masala powder
8-10 tablespoons thick plain yogurt
2 teaspoons red chilli powder
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
A pinch of red food color
3-4 tablespoons ghee(clarified butter) or regular butter.

Method of Preparation:

• Pierce the chicken pieces with a sharp knife at different places without cutting the pieces. This will ensure that the spices permeate the meat properly.
• Mix all other ingredients, except the ghee to form a paste. You can vary the amount of salt or chilli powder based on your taste and preferences.
• Marinate the chicken in this paste, covering all the chicken pieces with this mixture properly and keep it in the fridge. You should let the chicken soak in the marinade for at least 4 hours. However, leaving it overnight gives the best results.
• Take the chicken out of the fridge at least half an hour before cooking so that it attains room temperature.
• The best way to cook the chicken is to barbeque it. However, if you want to make it in an oven, then either put the chicken pieces on skewers and hang them in the middle of your oven or use a rotisserie. If you have neither, then just put the marinated pieces on a greased grill. Preheat your oven for 10 minutes before putting the chicken in at a temperature of 175 C of 350F.
• Once one side of the chicken is slightly cooked (20 minutes), baste the cooked side with ghee or butter. Turn the pieces around when cooked or ten minutes after basting. Repeat the process on the other side. This will not only give your chicken a great look, it will also enhance its crispiness and flavor. The chicken should be done within an hour or so, but the time varies with your time and size of oven. So keep checking the chicken manually every fifteen minutes, so that it does not get inadvertently burned. When the chicken pieces look reddish brown on the outside and can be easily pierced to the bone with a fork, that means your tandoori chicken is done.
• Serve hot with lots of salad and raw onion rings.