Macaroni and Cheese with Chicken Brinjal Mince and Char-Grilled Onions

This is a fast rustle up of a Mac and Cheese especially if you don’t have all the ingredients for it.

I always wanted to make a Mac and Cheese but never got down to it. The night before I had made what was one of my dad’s favorite Mashed Brinjal (Aubergine) and minced chicken which many call a brinjal Chow Chow in Kolkata. I used the same mince to create a fast Mac and Cheese my style and it turned out well, the flavor of the roasted and mashed brinjal with chicken mince really good, so here is the recipe. Forgive the cooking ladle, it’s really old.

The Mince

You can use any type of minced chicken with your Mac and Cheese. I used brinjal and chicken mince leftovers. (For a fast mince, all you need to do is heat some oil, add ginger garlic paste, a few chopped ginger, and chopped garlic, add chicken mince, add pepper, salt, add a dash of Worcester sauce and let simmer for a while till cooked). Maybe next time I'll post my favorite brinjal and chicken mince.

Make A Roux

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan. Add 3 tablespoons flour or as per your discretion and cook in a pan over moderate heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  To enhance the flavor I also used a small packet of chicken soup powder. Add your choice of cheese preferably cheddar but all I had was slices of processed cheese so I managed with that. While stirring in the cheese, add mustard, pepper, a dash of salt, some Worcester sauce and keep stirring to a nice thick and creamy consistency. If you have milk you can add half a cup of milk too.

Step 2

To make a healthier version of macaroni, I used semolina fusilli boiled till al dente. Meanwhile, chargrill some onions in an iron pan and set aside.

Now add the macaroni and the mince to the cheese sauce and stir.

Step 3

Now in a baking dish add the macaroni and cheese and mince sauce. Sprinkle the onions on top; add some coriander and then top with three to four slices of cheese.

Now either bake or with micro+convection setting in your convection oven,  (170 degrees) cook for 7-10 minutes till the cheese is melted and spread over the entire dish.( If you have only a microwave, then cook for around 5 minutes on 70 power) . Your Mac and Cheese is done.

Next I am going to try the same thing with a crumb Mac and Cheese to give it that extra crunch. For my first attempt, this wasn’t bad and it tasted good too.

NB: You can even add some garlic to the cheese sauce to give it a nice garlicky flavor