Winter Dishes For Non-Vegetarians: Chefs Share Their Signature Recipes You Must Try

Amidst the chilly nights, heaters, and layers of blankets, the only thing that can make the winter season comforting is a hearty dinner bowl. Even though you must already be familiar with a wide range of soups and broths, there’s a plethora of dishes that non-vegetarians can dive into.

If you are looking for cosy winter dishes, you’re at the right place. To help bring your kitchen some new dishes, Slurrp collated some of the best signature recipes of the chefs across the country. Be it whole chicken or sausages, there’s something for everyone. With easy-to-follow steps, these recipes are a must-try for every non-vegetarian. 

Vietnamese Lemon Grass Chicken By Chef Lalit Chunara, Blabber

Ingredients:

• Fresh lemongrass - 2 tablespoon
• Lime juice - 1 tablespoon
• Garlic - 2 tablespoon
• Ginger - 2 tablespoon
• Soy sauce - 2 tablespoon
• Oyster sauce - 2 tablespoon
• Chicken thigh - 1

Ingredients:

1. Gather all ingredients.
2. Mix lemongrass, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and oyster sauce in a glass bowl.
3. Add chicken in marinade.
4. Marinate chicken in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Grill the chicken until it's cooked to perfection.

Garlic & Butter Roasted Whole Chicken By Chef Rahul Srivastava, Sesame, Hyatt Centric Juhu

Ingredients:

• Whole Chicken - 1 no with skin on (1-1.5 kgs)
• Salted Butter - 650 gms (500 gms for garlic herb butter)
• Garlic (chopped) - 100 gms
• Chives (chopped) - 25 gms
• Rosemary (chopped) - 10 gms
• Thyme (chopped) - 15 gms
• Tabasco - 20 ml
• Orange Zest - 10 gms
• Lemon Zest - 10 gms
• Onion (diced) - 300 gms
• Leeks (diced) - 150 gms
• Celery (diced) - 150 gms
• Carrot (diced) - 100 gms
• Turnip (diced) - 100 gms
• Tomato Paste - 25 gms
• Red Wine - 250 ml
• Chicken Stock - 350 ml
• Salt to taste 
• Black Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. For the brine, cover the chicken with cold water in a vessel and to the total weight of the chicken+water, add 2.5% salt.
2. Soak a whole chicken in a salted brine for 24 hours for the chicken to remain juicy and tender. 
3. Take the chicken out of the brine, pat dry and let it dry in the refrigerator overnight, so the skin tightens. 
4. In the meanwhile, prepare herb garlic butter by mixing up salted butter, chopped garlic, chives, rosemary, thyme, tabasco, orange zest and lemon zest. 
5. To the chicken, generously apply this herb butter all over the skin and in all the crevices and joints. Some of the herb butter can be applied to the inside cavity of the chicken also. 
6. Place the chicken over a wire rack, which is placed over a bed of roughly diced onion, celery, leeks, carrots and turnips. 
7. Bake the chicken with an aluminium foil covering the entire tray at 160°C for about an hour. 
8. After an hour, take the aluminium foil off the tray and bake at 175°C for another 10-15 minutes, to form a nice golden colour and crisp skin. 
9. Let the chicken cool on the wire rack, while the sauce is being prepared. 
10. Add the roast vegetables from the baking pan to a saucepan. Add a small amount of tomato paste and cook the paste till the raw smell is removed. 
11. Add a generous amount of good-quality red wine to deglaze the pan and get all the roasting flavours into the sauce. 
12. Reduce the wine by half, add chicken stock/hot water with chicken stock cubes, and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes on low to medium heat. 
13. Strain the sauce and check for seasoning. Take the sauce off the heat. To finish the sauce, add cold butter, a small piece at a time, to the hot sauce and continue whisking till a nice coating consistency is achieved. 
14. By now, the chicken would have cooled and retained all its juices. Carve the chicken tableside and serve with the red wine jus!

Chicken Bone Broth Soup By Chef Subhash Shirke, The Pantry

Ingredients:

• Chicken bones - 300 gm 
• Chicken bone stock - 400 ml
• Chicken dumplings - 80 gm
• Fresh cream - 30 gm 
• Fresh thyme - 5 gm 
• Fresh oregano - 5 gm 
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a pot, simmer chicken bones in 1 litre of water for 3 hours to create a flavorful bone broth. Add fresh thyme and season with salt and pepper for a robust flavour.
2. For the dumplings, combine minced chicken, fresh oregano, fresh cream, salt, and pepper. Shape the mixture into small dumplings. 
3. In a serving bowl, ladle the hot bone broth and gently add the chicken dumplings. Let them cook in the warm broth for a few minutes.
4. Garnish with fresh spring onions or herbs of choice and serve hot. This light yet hearty soup is a nourishing choice for winter, packed with proteins and wholesome flavours.

Classic Jambalaya By Chef Anil Bangwal, Raasta Bombay

Ingredients: 

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• 10 ounces chicken sausage, sliced into rounds
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 small green bell pepper, diced
•  1 celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can crushed Italian tomatoes
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
•  1 ¼ cups uncooked white rice
• 2 ½ cups chicken stock

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a large cast-iron pot on medium-high heat.
2. Cook sausage until brown, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
3. Add chicken and cook until brown, about 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside with sausage.
4. Add crushed tomatoes, and vegetables and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
5. Add thyme, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
6. Add rice and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
7. Add chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
8. Add fried sausage and chicken to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover for 25-30 minutes or until rice is cooked.
9. Serve hot, garnished with fresh red chilli, thyme, and fried chicken sausage.

Donburi With Black Bean Gravy By Chef Vadim Shin, Yazu

Ingredients:

• Doenjang (Korean bean paste) – 1 tbsp    
• Sesame oil – 10ml
• Sunflower oil – 10ml
• Salt & Pepper – for test
• Sugar – ½ tea sp.
• Chilli powder – 5gm
• Chopped Garlic – 5gm
• Chopped Ginger – 5gm
• Hard firm Tofu – 50gm
• Pock choy – 40gm
• Onion – 25gm
• Chinese Cabbage – 50gm
• Chicken/Pork/Prawn/Beef – 80gm
• Egg - 2
• Hot Water – 500ml

Instructions:

1. Heat the pan with the oil to a high-medium temperature.
2. Add chopped onion and ginger and stir fry till it starts to turn golden. 
3. Then add onion and continue to stir it for 1 min.
4. Add Hot Water and bring to a boil.
5. Add your preferred protein (Chicken/Pork/Prawn/Beef). Boil till it gets 85% cooked.
6. Add salt & pepper, sugar, Doeanjang paste and chilli powder. Mix it up all together nicely.
7. Add the rest of the vegetables and Tofu. Cook until it's ready, and last,t add sesame oil.
8. Whisk the egg, add for the last, and switch off the fire. 
9. Gravy should be thick, similar to curry consistency. You can use any sticky rice. 
10. Once your rice is ready, serve rice inside the bowl and put your gravy on top of the rice.