10 Foods That Should Be Grilled

We all know that grilling is a healthy way of cooking. That is why the whole world is consciously trying to move towards grilling instead of frying. Grilling is considered healthy because you can cook food with minimal oil using this method. Whatever extra oil is there gets drained away. However, this healthy way of cooking cannot be used to cook all foods; that is, all foods cannot be grilled.

But there are some foods that taste best when they are grilled. Grilled chicken for example is a delicacy unmatched in taste. Grilling is also one of the most healthy ways of cooking chicken. Among grilled vegetables, mushrooms and tomatoes fare very well. You cannot grill all vegetables though. For example, you cannot put beans into a stake because they will burn easily. You also cannot grill leafy vegetables like cabbage, spinach etc because they too will burn quickly.

Apart from chicken and vegetables, there are other foods that are grill-friendly. Take cottage cheese or paneer for example. Paneer is essentially an Indian food and grilling is not the Indian style of cooking. Yet, paneer is a food that can be grilled very easily and it tastes sumptuous after being grilled. This shows us that although grilling is not really the Indian way of cooking food, but it can still be used to make delicious Indian dishes like Paneer tikka.

Grilling is a great way to cook as long as it does not burn away the nutrition value of food. You must not get carried away and over-cook foods on the grill. That is why, the grilling time for different foods vary. If you grill mushrooms for as much time as you grill chicken, the mushrooms will be burnt.

So, here are some of the foods that can be grilled and also the time for which they should be cooked.

Paneer

You can get juicy paneer tikkas within 15 minutes of grilling. Just marinate the paneer with all the spices and leave aside for 30 minutes.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are very soft and they cook quickly. 5 to 7 minutes are enough to cook a bunch of mushrooms.

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers taste their best when they are grilled. They need to be grilled for a long period of time on a low flame grill. If you cook them on a high flame, they burn easily.

Prawns

Seafood has a very delicate texture and thus it should not be overcooked. Grill prawns for 12-15 minutes and mince away.

Onions

Marinate onions with vinegar and then grill them with charcoal for 10 minutes. And you can add them to any casserole.

Potatoes

Potatoes make an excellent vegetables for grilling but you need to boil them first. Grill boiled potatoes for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Chicken

One of the best ways to cook chicken is by grilling. For how long you grill chicken depends on the ingredients you are cooking with. The longer you marinate, the lesser the grilling time will be. It should be between 30 to 45 minutes for medium sized pieces.

Tomatoes

Grilled tomatoes make excellent side dishes with chicken, fish or paneer. Needle the tomatoes into stakes or skewer and grill them for 15 to 20 minutes.

Fish

You might be thinking that different kinds of fish have different grilling times, but that is not true. You need to grill a fish fillet weighing 100-150 grams for 10 to 12 minutes in order to preserve its nutrition value.

Eggplant Or Brinjal

This is one vegetable that Indians grill in order to make bharta (mince). Grill eggplant on a high flame for 10 to 15 minutes and burn its outer skin. The nutrients remain intact in the inside.