On The Spice Route With The Pink Peppercorn

So here I am … with my first recipe of the blog!

I have used an ingredient which is strong yet subtle, fruity yet intense and so playfully flavourful that you really do not need anything else to spice up your food. This spice is the Pink Peppercorn. Don’t confuse it with the normal white/black pepper; the pink pepper is actually a berry, native to South America and obtained from the Peruvian and the Brazilian pepper tree. Because of its mild peppery/spicy and fruity flavour it can be used in turning something as simple a dill and sour cream dip into an exotic one.

Here I have used this wonderful spice by taking inspiration from the popular Chicken Yakitori, which I learnt while training at Wasabi by Morimoto, The Taj Mahal Hotel New Delhi. This recipe is quite simple, takes not much time to prepare and makes for a nice pass-around snack with cocktails.

Soy-Mirin marinated Chicken Yakitori, Honey & Pink Peppercorn dressing

For the marinade:

Chicken leg (boneless) 200gms

Dark Soy 1tbsp

Mirin / Rice wine 1tbsp

Oil

Pink peppercorn coarsely ground 1tsp

For the dressing:

Pink peppercorn crushed 2tsp

Honey 1tbsp

Lemon 1 large

Salt to taste

Marinate the chicken in all the above mentioned ingredients required for the marinade. Leave it for about 20-25 minutes. Cut small dices of the chicken and insert them on skewers.

Prepare the dressing and make sure that the honey does not overpower the flavour of the peppercorn. You need to grind the peppercorns by hand as they are soft in texture and will not get ground in a pepper mill.

Grill the chicken and keep basting it with some of the dressing to impart flavour. Once the chicken is cooked pour the peppercorn dressing over and slurp your way to glory!

Happy Cooking!