Chicken Egg Rolls from Scratch

Posted on March 4, 2012 by |eemz

These are the chicken rolls that you buy from the bakeries. Crispy and crunchy from outside while tender and packed with flavours from the inside. Once you get your hands right on how to make the egg sheet, rest is incredibly easy.

You can use the regular phyllo or spring rolls sheet also but this home-made egg sheet gives the perfect-desired results. I prefer this home-made egg sheet over phyllo sheet since it tastes much much better and so easy to make, once you get the hang of it.

 These egg wrappers are so similar to crepes. If you know how to make crepes, you won’t have any trouble making these, for sure.

These rolls are so easy to make. The egg wrappers/ sheet is so simple yet delicious, and can be made in a matter of minutes. It’s made with ingredients already lying in your kitchen.

And as far as the filling is concerned, fill them with beef with vegetables, shredded mutton chunks with vegetables or even mashed potato or potato cutlets filling if you like. However, I prefer the juicy chicken with vegetables filling over anything.

What you need

For the Dough/ Egg sheet / egg wrappers

Egg——————————-1
All-purpose flour—————– 1 cup
Regular water ——————- 1 cup
Salt—————————— pinch

How it’s made

  1. Whisk everything into a paste. Set aside.
  2. Take an 8 inches round non-stick pan (for starters) and grease it with oil, with the help of tissue paper.
  3. Soak tissue paper in oil and grease the pan all over.
  4. Now let it heat up. Once hot, take a deep scoop of the batter and pour it in the centre of the pan.
  5. Tilt the pan to roll the batter to all sides, in a  circular shape, leave no empty space in between . Don’t worry if you can’t get them right in the first few attempts, It takes practise.
  6. Cook till done, from one side. Do not cook from the other side.
  7. You know it’s done when you carefully lift the egg wrapper from the pan, and it stops sticking to the pan.
  8. Carefully lift them and set aside.

For the Filling

You can add just about anything you like for filling. If you want cheesy one’s, go ahead and add cheese, in short, add and omit as you please. The main part was the perfect egg roll sheet, once you learn how to make them, rest is just easy-peesy-lemon-squeasy.

You can use boiled chicken pieces, boiled shredded pieces of chicken, leftover chicken or just about anything. Today I will teach you how I cook them so, go as you please.

Chicken————————– 60 g
Cabbage————————- as much as you like
Carrots————————– as much as you like
Capsicum———————— as much as you like
Bread crumbs——————– as need may be
Eggs for coating—————— as need may be
Salt—————————— according to taste
Black pepper——————— according to taste
Soya sauce———————– 2 tsp
Ketchup————————– 2 tbsp
Garlic—————————- 1 cloves, crushed
Oil——————————- 2 tsp

How it’s made

  1. Take little oil in a pan, throw in chicken pieces, give them a good mix and throw in garlic.
  2. Cook chicken and add seasonings along with the soya sauce and ketchup.
  3. Stir to mix, add a little water to infuse all the flavours into the chicken.
  4. Once it’s done, throw in the vegetables and cook till the water evaporates. Leave no water, okay!
  5. Cool the filling before filling in your egg wrappers.
  6. Now take a sheet of egg wrapper and place some filling in one corner and role the egg wrapper, turning the sides in half way through, seal edges of the egg wrapper with some egg and shape them into spring rolls.
  7. Coat chicken rolls in whisked egg first and then in breadcrumbs and set aside.
  8. Deep or shallow fry as you please.
Serve with your favorite chutney and enjoy!
Posted in Chicken, eggs, Food for kids, Kids pleaser, milk, Tea snacks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chili Chicken with Chicken Fried Rice

Posted on February 23, 2012 by |eemz

If you are in a hurry and looking for a quick fix, craving for something hot and spicy at the same time, then this Chili Chicken will definitely save your day. Juicy chicken pieces in hot and spicy, Chinese style gravy with chunks of onions and capsicum will definitely keep you nice and cosy in those chilly nights.

If you like, you can serve this Chili Chicken with Chicken Fried Rice. Otherwise the kick in the gravy is enough to be served with plain-boiled rice. The possibilities are endless though, if you are short of chicken, try serving this chili chicken with egg fried rice, vegetable rice, haray bharay rice or try my buttered garlic fried rice. I will try to post different rice recipes soon, insha Allah!

These Chicken Fried rice are simple yet packed with flavours. The neatly diced vegetables not only add splash of colour but are fresh, healthy and oh-so-delicious. A plate of these good-looking and delicious chicken fried rice is a complete meal in itself. Your kids will definitely be asking for more.

But please don’t let these chillies fool you. These are deadly. Definitely as hot as hell. I have no idea why I thought they were on the milder side. I was expecting guests, including kids, so I got careless and threw in six to seven of these into a single bowl of gravy. Imagine what kind of mind-blowing (literary) experience they would have had if I hadn’t tasted and altered it before serving.

Anyways, look at the bright side, this blunder taught me a few handy tips that you can benefit from as well. If you accidently add extra chillies into your gravy try adding:

  1. Milk or Yoghurt
  2. Sugar (only if sugar won’t ruin the main flavour of the gravy)
  3. Potatoes (mashed or chunks)
  4. Dilute the gravy and then thicken it with cornflour again
  5. And if nothing helps reduce the gravy as much as possible and then take out half of the gravy and freeze it for future use. And use the first half as base for new gravy.

What you need

Chicken breasts———————– thinly sliced 1/2 kg
Spring onion————————– finely chopped, green plus white part
Onion——————————— 1 large, cubed
Capsicum—————————– 2 cubed
Salt———————————– 1/2 tsp
White pepper————————- 1/2 tsp
Corn flour—————————– 1 tsp for coating chicken
Oil———————————— 1/4 cup or even less
Dried red chillies———————- 6-7 whole
Garlic cloves————————– 2-3 chopped
Salt———————————– as needed
Red chili powder———————- 1/2 tsp
Chili garlic sauce———————- 2 tbsp heaped
Soya sauce—————————- 1 tbsp
Water——————————— 2 cups

How it’s made

  1. Take your Julian chicken in a clean, dry bowl and crack open one egg into it.
  2. Now add salt, white pepper and corn flour and give everything a good mix ( deep fry immediately)
  3. Deep fry marinated chicken on high flame and take out when light golden in colour.
  4. Now take another pan, add in oil and sautee garlic. Then throw in chicken pieces along with the dried red chillies.
  5. Toss everything together.
  6. Now add in salt, red chili powder, white pepper powder and mix again.
  7. Add in water or chicken stock, whichever you like and bring it to a boil.
  8. Now add in chili garlic sauce, soya sauce and all of the vegetables (onions and capsicum)
  9. Mix corn flour with water and thicken the chicken chili sauce according to your own taste.

For Chicken Fried Rice

What you need

Oil————————————- 1/3 cup
Onion———————————- 2 tbsp finely chopped
Chicken——————————– 250 g small cubes
Garlic cloves ————————— 1 finely chopped
Ginger ——————————— 1 finely chopped
Eggs———————————– 2
Rice———————————— 1/2 kg pre-boiled
Corn———————————– as needed, pre-boiled
Carrots———————————as needed, pre-boiled, small cubes
Peas———————————— as needed, pre-boiled
Salt————————————- 1/2 tsp
Vinegar——————————— 1/2 tsp
White pepper————————— 1 tbsp
Soya Sauce—————————— 3-4 tbsp
Spring onions————————— 2-3 green part, finely chopped

 How it’s made

  1. Boil rice, 95 % done with 1 tbsp of salt.
  2. Separately, marinate chicken pieces in pinch of salt and black pepper, half of egg, 1 tsp of corn flour and deep fry. Drain on kitchen paper.
  3. Heat oil in a pan, sautee ginger/garlic paste and throw in onions.
  4. Give everything a good mix. Crack open two eggs into it and stir immediately to break the eggs into small pieces.
  5. Now add in fried chicken pieces along with the rest of the vegetables.
  6. Next add in seasonings along with the vinegar and give everything a good stir again.
  7. Throw in pre-boiled rice and pour soya sauce on top of them.
  8. Now gently move rice, for even coating but, be careful not to break them.

Enjoy your Chili Chicken with Chicken Fried Rice, emm emmm!

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Posted in Chicken, Chinese, eggs, Rice, Side dishes, Veges | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Perfect Chicken Fajita Pizza

Posted on February 20, 2012 by |eemz

This was the easiest and the tastiest pizzas I’ve ever made, my previous post on pizza can be viewed here: Home-made Pizza Fever. So, as I was saying, mainly, it’s all about the pizza crust. No matter which type of pizza crust you like, if your crust is “just perfect” you can’t get much wrong with the tomato sauce and the toppings. So, as you can see, this pizza had the perfect, fluffy, thick crust. Sometimes, don’t you just wish you could eat with your eyes, eh? :)

There are two types of pizza crusts.

  1. Thin and crispy crust
  2. Thick and chewy crust

Both the pizza crusts are made with the the same recipe but they differ in baking technique called “proofing/Proving”. Proofing basically means to rest the dough covered in a warm place (next or near to stove, in microwave or unplugged oven) for some given time.  Double proofing of the dough is required for thick and chewy pizza whereas no proofing is done for thin and crispy pizza crust.

Thanks (Allah rakhay) to Wikipedia, you can know more about Proofing.

I am a bigger fan of thick crust pizza than thin crust, what about you? You can use the same recipe, posted below, to achieve your desired crust. I have explained the two processes in detail below.

I am going to share four, three different types of chicken toppings today. Will post rest soon, insha Allah!

  1. Chicken Fajita
  2. Chicken Supreme Pizza recipe
  3. Chicken Tikka
  4. Chicken Malai Boti

For Chicken Fajita:

What you need

Chicken boneless————————— 1/2 kg
Salt—————————————- 1 tsp
Red Chili Flakes—————————- 1 tsp heaped
Roasted Cumin Powder——————– 1 tsp
Garlic/ginger paste———————— 2 tsps
Lemon juice——————————- 2 tbsp

How it’s made

  1.  Marinate chicken in all of the above spices for half an hour at least and then shallow fry in 2-3 tbsp of oil. Set aside. Cool down to room temperature before applying on pizza.

For Chicken Supreme Pizza:

What you need

Chicken———————————— 1/2 kg boneless
Mustard Paste—————————– 1/2 tsp
Garlic Paste——————————– 1/2 tsp
Salt—————————————- 1/2 tsp
White pepper—————————— 1/2 tsp
Worcestershire sauce———————- 1 tbsp

How it’s made

  1. Marinate chicken in all of the above spices for at least half an hour and then shallow fry in 2-3 tbsp of oil. Set aside. Cool down to room temperature before applying on pizza.

Reasons why home-made pizza is better than chain pizza

  1. Cheaper.
  2. More Healthier.
  3. Play with unique flavours and toppings (I love adding corn, cane pepper and pineapples to my pizza).

What you need

This recipe will make one large 13″ round deep pan, thick and chewy Chicken Fajita Pizza.

All-purpose flour——————– 2 cups
Instant Yeast———————– 1 tsp
Egg——————————— 1
Oil———————————- 1 tbsp
Sugar——————————- 1 tsp
Milk powder———————— 1 tbsp
Salt——————————— 1/2 tsp
Lukewarm water——————- as needed

How it’s made

  1. Take a clean dry bowl and throw in flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, egg, milk powder, oil and mix gently with your hands.
  2. Now take lukewarm water and knead a medium soft dough.
  3. The dough has to be soft, neither too sticky nor too hard otherwise it will not give desired results.
  4. Once your dough has been kneaded, shape it into a ball, lightly apply little oil on the surface of the dough and cover it with cling wrap.
  5. Leave it to proof, in a warm place for at least an hour or until the dough doubles in size (I placed mine next to the stove, so it took an hour to double in size. You can even put it in a microwave or oven – unplugged).
  6. Once it doubles in size, remove the cling wrap, punch down any air in the dough.
  7. Grease your pizza pan generously with oil and set aside.
  8. Now shape your dough and carefully place it into the greased pan, I used rectangle pan. And cover again with cling wrap and leave it for second proofing, for half an hour.
  9. After half an hour or until the dough doubles again, prick it with fork, apply pizza sauce over it (always remember the pizza sauce should be cooled down before applying on pizza dough).
  10. Now sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top.
  11. Now put chicken fajita pieces, followed by topping of your choice.
  12. Cover the top with cheddar cheese, followed by mozzarella cheese.
  13. Sprinkle oregano leaves on top.
  14. Pop it onto the pre-heated oven at 180 C for 20-15 minutes. The cooking time also varies with the size of your pan. I used rectangle pan, so it took, 25 minutes. If you are using smaller or bigger pan, adjust cooking timings accordingly.

For thin and crispy Pizza crust:

Knead the dough as mentioned above and then without any proofing, roll the dough and place it into the greased pan. Now prick the dough with fork and empty bake the crust for 15 minutes at 200 C. Take out, let it cool down, apply pizza sauce, sprinkle some cheddar cheese, throw in chicken and then topping of your choice. Top it off with cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese and then bake again for 15-20 minutes or until the sides are light golden in colour.

Your thin crust Chicken fajita pizza is ready to serve.

Check out my previous post on Pizza for A Quick Pizza Sauce Recipe.

If you liked my Chicken Fajita Pizza recipe, please do share this recipe on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to my blog and receive free updates of my upcoming recipes.

Jazak Allah khair!

Posted in Cheese, Chicken, eggs, Food for kids, Kids pleaser, milk, Tea snacks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Custom-made Valentine’s day Cakes by The Chef In Me

Posted on February 19, 2012 by |eemz

 

Cakes keep us busy. We provide free home delivery any where in Lahore. We specialize in all types of customized cakes, in every shape and size with a wide variety of flavours. We can provide customized cakes, and other party food items like  right at your door step. May it be:

  1. Birthday cakes
  2. Anniversary cakes
  3. Wedding cakes
  4. Special occasions cakes

Below I’m sharing a few of the cakes we baked this month for our lovely customers.

Posted in Custom Cakes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Behari Qeema

Posted on February 16, 2012 by |eemz

All these spices already-lying-in-your-pantry will help you create this amazingly aromatic behari qeema recipe. I fell in love with the aroma and the behari kababs signature touch of this qeema or mince meat.

If you’re a huge fan of Behari kabab with Poori Parathay from the famous nation wide chain of Bundu Khan’s Restaurants like me, then this qeema or mince meat recipe will definitely put a smile on your face.

Once you roast and later grind all the spices together, this is what they will look like.

I know the shot ain’t justifying but it was the best I could pull off in such little time. Food was being served and I only had a few seconds left.

What you need

Mince Meat————————- 1/2 kg mutton, beef (I used Beef)
Garlic/Ginger paste—————– 1 tbsp
Raw/Green Papaya with skin——- 1 tbsp crushed to paste
Salt———————————- 1 tsp
Brown onion————————– 2 tbsp
Roasted dessicated coconut ———– 1 tbsp
Roasted Red Chili Whole————— 10-15
Roasted Khashkhash/ Poppy seeds—- 1 tbsp
Roasted Green Cardamom————- 4
Roasted Cinnamon sticks————— 2 (1 inch piece each)
Roasted Cloves————————– 4-5
Mace ( Jawatri )————————- 2 inch piece
Nutmeg (Jaifal)————————– 1/4 tsp
Garam Masal Powder——————- 1 tsp
Yogurt———————————- 3/4 cup

How it’s made

  1. Marinate your beef mince in garlic/ginger paste, raw papita with skin, salt and let it sit for at least an hour.
  2. Dry roast coconut, khashkhash, red chili whole, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon sticks separately and grind them together.
  3. Once they have been grinded to fine powder, add in mace powder, nutmeg powder, Garam masala Powder and mix, then set aside.
  4. Now heat oil in your pan and add all the spices, add in 1/2 a cup of hot water so that the masalay may not burn in hot oil.
  5. Bhoonofy your masala and once it’s done add in your marinated mince meat.
  6. Bhoonofy your mince meat and then add yoghurt.
  7. Give everything a good mix and add in brown onions, mix again and cover.
  8. When the water dries and oil comes on top, give it smoky effect with coal explained here in my other post.

Serve it with Poori Paratha (I will upload the recipe for poori parathay soon insha Allah) hari chatni and kachoomer salad.

Posted in Asian (desi) cooking, Beef, Desi, Meat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Pineapple Sauce

Posted on February 13, 2012 by |eemz

Oh this you just gotta try, GOTTA. Can’t emphasis enough, because this is Stuffed chicken with cheese served with pineapple sauce, ring a bell (tring tring). If you live in Lahore, I am sure you must have tried it at the Salt n Pepper chain, I have yet to meet someone who hasn’t. I always order this from Salt N Pepper.

So, today I decided to go ahead and try my hand at it. It was kinda technical but nothing we can’t handle ya know ;) Since you are stuffing cheese and butter into the chicken fillets, you just need to make sure that the coating on the fillet is well packed. Pat it nicely so no open space is left in between and then simply deep fry.

What you need

This recipe is for preparing one stuffed chicken fillet. Yes you’ll be needing a whole egg mix batter for each fillet. It ain’t that bad, after all you pay much more bucks at the restaurant for the same mouth-watering meal.

For the marination and filling of One fillet

Chicken breast fillets———————- 1
Salted butter—————————— 1/2 tbsp
Cheese slices——————————1 slice (cheddar cheese)
Salt————————————— pinch
Black pepper—————————— pinch
Meat Tenderizer————————– 1/4 tsp
Sugar————————————- 1 tsp
Soya Sauce——————————- 1 tbsp
Oregano or coriander——————— 1/2 tsp

For the Batter

All-purpose flour————————– 2 tbsp
Egg————————————— 1
Soya Sauce——————————– 1 tbsp
Salt————————————— 1/4 tsp
Black pepper—————————— pinch

For the Pineapple Sauce

I doubled the recipe when I made it (and it’s still lying in the fridge even after three-four days lol)

Pineapple Juice—————————- 1/2 cup
Chicken Stock—————————–  1/2 cup
Sugar————————————– 2 tbsp
Worschestershire Sauce——————– 1/2 tbsp
Carrots———————————– 1 thinly
Cucumber——————————– 1 thinly sliced
Salt————————————— 1/2 tsp
White pepper—————————– 1/4 tsp
Black pepper—————————– 1/4 tsp

How it’s made
For the Marination

  1. Clean your chicken fillets and remove any fat over them.
  2. Now pat them dry, it is very important that your chicken fillets should be completely dry for all the flavours to absorb into them.
  3. Now marinate your fillet in salt, black pepper, soya sauce, meat tenderizer and sugar on both sides and leave them for an hour at least, overnight gives the best results (I marinated them for an hour though, had little time on my hand).

For the Filling

  1. Now take your marinating fillet and with the help of a sharp, pointy knife, slit open your chicken fillet only 3/4 around the edges, try to make a pocket.
  2. Avoid going too close to the edges because then it’ll be difficult for you to handle them and later pack them. Take much caution and time to make the pocket, because it is THAT important.
  3. Now pack the pocket with one whole slice of cheddar cheese and 1/2 tbsp of salted butter.
  4. Sprinkle oregano or finely chopped coriander into the pocket as well.
  5. Now try to close, press gently and close the mouth of the pocket with gentle pressure from your fingers and then press lightly on the top side of the fillet to fit everything nicely and easy in there.

For  Coating batter

  1. Take a clean dry bowl, crack open one egg.
  2. Throw in 2 levelled tbsp of flour.
  3. Now add in salt, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce and give everything a good mix.
  4. No need to add water or milk into the batter. The batter will be slightly thick in consistency, leave it that way.
  5. Now take your marinated-stuffed fillet and coat it into corn flour. Coat it nicely, just about everything, see the image above for assistance.
  6. Once coated, dust gently and then carefully coat it into the prepared batter.
  7. Try not to leave any uncoated space on the fillet. Handle the fillet with care and coat on both sides.
  8. Once done, now carefully lift your fillet and coat it into breadcrumbs. Again, apply breadcrumbs just about everywhere, leave no space. And lastly, pat the breadcrumbs onto your fillet so they may stick to the batter on the fillet.
  9. Now’s the time for deep frying, deep fry in hot oil on medium heat till golden brown on both sides.
  10. Take out on a kitchen paper and pat yourself on the shoulder for all your effort and pulling off such a delicious, mouth-watering meal.

For the pineapple Sauce

  1. Take chicken stock in your saucepan ( I used Knorr chicken cube – the short cut to chicken stock hehehe), throw in rest of the ingredients.
  2. Stir to mix.
  3. Throw in carrots and cucumber.
  4. Once they are tender, thicken your sauce with cornflour + water mix (as need maybe).

Serve your Cheese Stuffed Chicken with pineapple sauce and hot and crispy French fries. You can serve it at lunch/ dinner or even with evening tea.

Posted in Butter, Cheese, Chicken, eggs, Food for kids, Kids pleaser, Tea snacks, Veges | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Chocolate Mousse and Orange Panna Cotta

Posted on February 9, 2012 by |eemz

Panna Cotta is an Italian dessert which literary means “Cooked cream”. And that’s because this super quick and easy dessert which takes less than 10 minutes to assemble involves simmering together cream, milk and sugar. Lastly, you add gelatin and let it sit for at least 4 hours to set properly. A crowd pleaser for sure. And I got this recipe from an amazing baker Deeba: Chocolate Mousse and Orange Panna Cotta.

This Italian dessert is one of the best and at the same time, easiest chilled desserts I have ever made. It is simple, quick and oh-so-easy to make. The chocolate mousse is light, creamy and has a silky soft touch to it. While the Panna cotta is thick and creamy and has a subtle orange tang to it. They both set beautifully in the given time. The combination of chocolate and orange is simply mind blowing and worth the wait, hell yeah.

I’ve always been a huge, Huge fan of chocoOrange flavour. Although its been a while since I last visited an Ice cream parlour, I still remember that having a scoop of each flavour was like a trip to cloud 9. Guess someone needs to go and get that same satisfaction after such a long time.

Hands down this Italian dessert has been one of the easiest dessert to assemble. With little effort the final product is oh-so-impressive. Pretty top look at and jam-packed with rich flavours once you take a bite of it. This dessert will be a sooper-dooper-hit at your next dinner party.

For Chocolate Mousse
What you need

Chocolate————————————— 125 g
Cream (Milkpak)——————————- 300 ml
Orange rind———————————— 1 tbsp (I didn’t use it though)

For Orange Panna Cotta
What you need

Double Cream ——————————— 300ml
Gelatin powder——————————— 2 tsp
Milk——————————————– 125 ml
Orange food color——————————- a few dops (optional)
Orange Marmalade—————————– 2 tbsp (I used Salman’s)
Sugar——————————————- 1/2 cup

How it’s made
For Chocolate Mousse

  1. Finely chop chocolate and throw it in a clean, dry bowl.
  2. Now bring cream to a boil, stir for equal heat distribution and once it starts to boil, boil around the edges, pour it over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 1-2 minutes.
  3. Stir till chocolate gets dissolved well, and the mixture has a shiny, thick feel to it.
  4. Now take a bread-loaf pan and tilt your glasses, make sure their position is sturdy.
  5. Now pour your chocolate mousse into the glasses and leave it to set for at least 3 hours.

How it’s made
For Orange Panna Cotta

  1. Start making Panna Cotta once the mousse has been set in glasses.
  2. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup of milk from the 125 ml of milk, at room temperature and set aside.
  3. Now place the gelatin bowl over a bowl of hot water and stir so, that the gelatin may dissolve. If some of it doesn’t dissolve, don’t worry, it’ll get dissolved later. Set aside.
  4. Combine sugar, milk and cream in a saucepan and bring it near to boil on a low flame. Simmer for 5 minutes then take it off heat and add in marmalade and the gelatin mix. Stir till everything mixes.
  5. Now bring it to room temperature before pouring it into the mousse glasses.
  6. Add a pinch of orange food colour if you like otherwise the Panna Cotta will be white in colour. I prefer it to be orange for Orange Panna Cotta.
  7. Once the mousse has been set, approximately after 3 hours, pour this panna cotta into them and chill in the refrigerator for atleast 4 hours or overnight.

Enjoy this delicate piece of art chilled, any time of the day.

Posted in Chocolate, cream, desserts, Food for kids, Fruits, Kids pleaser, milk, Mousse | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Lahori Fried Fish

Posted on February 6, 2012 by |eemz

Lahori fish is known for its spicy distinct taste. It is light, crispy and crunchy from the outside while moist, tender, aromatic and jam-packed with flavours from the inside. You can use any kind of fish for this recipe but the best ones are Rohu, queen fish, mahasher . I prefer buying fish fillets, having no bones in them but there are many people who like to buy fish with bone because they consider it more flavoursome. Well, for me it’s more troublesome that flavoursome hehehehe

If you are food or fish lover and you’ve been to Lahore and you didn’t taste the scrumptious Basheer-dar-ul Mahi at Mazang Chowk, then you ain’t eaten anything yet. Now they have opened another outlet near Gadaffi Stadium as well, so do try their aromatic, spicy batter-fried fish that tastes heaven (and no they didn’t pay me to say that)

You can enjoy this delectable/delicious fish at any time of the day. Deep fry it if you like but for all those weight-watchers this Lahori fried fish recipe can easily be shallow fried in half cup hot oil. The coating or batter on the fish is very light so, there is no need to deep fry it if you don’t want to.

Enjoy it as a snack, lunch or even for dinner with Naan or Tandoori roti.  Even though it is fried but the outer batter doesn’t absorb much oil, making it light yet crunchy.

Don’t you just love it? :D

What you need

Fish fillets———————- 1/2 kg
Lemon Juice——————– 2-3 tbsp
Salt—————————– 1 tsp
Garlic/Ginger paste————- 1 tsp
Anardana———————– 1 tsp (optional) I recommend it though :)
Red Chili Flakes—————– 1 tsp heaped
Ajwain————————– 1/2 tsp
Roasted, crushed Cumin——– 1 tsp
Roasted, crushed Coriander—– 1 1/2 tsp
Turmeric (Haldi)—————- 1/4 tsp
Yellow food color—————- few drops (optional)
Chickpea flour (baisan)———- 2-3 tbsp or a little more for coating each fillet lightly
Chart Masala——————– as needed for sprinkling on top after frying

How it’s made

  1. Clean your fish fillets and gently pat them dry. This is very important, the fish shouldn’t be watery at all.
  2. Once done, if you fear that your fish might have that distinct fishy smell, apply lemon juice and salt over your fish fillets and then rinse after 30 minutes. But my fish fillets don’t smell at all so, I don’t bother considering this step hehehehe
  3. Apply all that masala’s over the fish except the chick pea flour and the chart masala and keep your fish marinated for 4-5 hours or preferably for best results, overnight. (I left it overnight).
  4. Once the marination is over, apply baisan, rinse off excess and then deep or shallow fry your fish. Apply a wee bit more of the chick pea flour if needed. Just lightly coat your fish fillets. Do not add any water or something to your baisan or chick pea flour.
  5. Just don’t move the fillets a lot if shallow frying, otherwise the light coating will break and that won’t be pretty to look at as well as eat.
  6. Once fried, sprinkle chart masala on top.

Enjoy it with Imli (Tamarind) sweet and sour chatni, Naan or Tandoori roti and praise the Lord for his blessings.

Happy frying!

Posted in Asian (desi) cooking, Desi, Fish, Side dishes, Tea snacks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Meatballs or Koftay

Posted on February 5, 2012 by |eemz

I’n my eternal quest for the perfect meatballs or Koftay, I have finally reached meatball or Koftay Nirvana :) finally after 3-4 years. I just thought, Koftay are one of those things I will never get them right. Either they were too soft that they would collapse in the gravy or as hard as stone.

I am pretty good at making chicken or fish meatballs or Koftay (because I use the same recipe for both lol) but when it came to beef meatballs, aaahhh destruction and disappointment, every single time. Here are my experiences and recipes for Chicken koftay and fish meatballs stuffed with cheese that even kids love to eat.

But finally, I have found the Authentic recipe that works, works wonders for me. Apart from the magic-ingredients that makes these minceballs/koftay soft, tender and round, there are a couple of important points that one needs to pay Special attention if you want to make those soft and juicy meatballs or Koftay.

Tips to make perfect soft, juicy meatballs or Koftay:

  1. Mince meat should be finely minced, minced twice or even thrice.
  2. Mince meat or qeema shouldn’t have fat in it, almost negligible amount of fat is good-to-go but fat in mince meat doesn’t let the koftaz bond. So this is very important.
  3. It should have any water in it.
  4. The finely chopped onions shouldn’t have any water in them also, so once your finely chop them or rinse them, press them nicely for any traces of water.

The main reason I am writing this post is because of a very dear old friend, Khushbhakt. She’s been on my case for more than a month to post this recipe, but all in vain until today. So I finally decided to learn the best ones and then post the recipe on her request, so this post is an over-due on-demand post. :)

“Hope you like ‘em Khushbhakt :) ”

For the Koftay/Meatballs
You’ll get 18 medium sized mince meatballs or Koftay with this recipe.

What you need 

Beef Mince Meat————— 500g
Green chillies—————— 2-3
Onion————————– 1 finely chopped, remove any water by pressing firmly
Salt—————————- 1 tsp
Red Chili powder————— 2 tsp
Chickpea flour or baisan——– 2 1/2 tbsp
Oil—————————– 2 1/2 tbsp
Fresh coriander—————- 2 tbsp finely chopped
Garlic cloves——————– 5 paste form
Ginger————————– 1 inch pieces paste form
Roasted cumin (zeera)———- 1 tsp
Roasted Coriander (Dhania)—– 1 tsp

How it’s made

  1. Grind mincemeat/qeema in your chopper two to three times to make it nice and smooth, set aside.
  2. Roast your cumin and coriander in a dry pan and then roughly grind. Do not grind them to powder, set aside.
  3. Now take oil in your shallow pan and add chickpea flour (baisan) to it, cook it for a minute or two, set aside.
  4. Now is the easy part, just combine everything together except the chickpea mixture with oil either in chopper or with your (clean) hands (hopefully).
  5. Once everything is nicely mixed, now add in the magic ingredient in these meatballs/koftay which is the chickpea flour mix.
  6. Combine well and then shape them into balls, cook right away or freeze for later use.

For the gravy

The gravy recipe I am providing you here is for 500 g mince meatballs or  koftay So, adjust accordingly.

What you need

Onions————————— 3 large thinly sliced
Tomatoes———————— 3 finely chopped
Yoghurt————————– 1 1 /2 cup
Green chillies——————— 2-3 slitted and de-seeded
Salt——————————- 1 tsp or according to taste
Red Chili powder—————— 2 tsp or according to taste
Turmeric (haldi)—————— 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder———— 1 tsp
Fresh coriander——————- 2-3 tbsp finely chopped
Cumin powder (zeera)————- 1 tsp
Coriander powder (dhania)——– 1 tsp
Chart masala———————- 1 tsp optional (I like to add chart masala in everything)
Garlic/ginger paste—————- 2 tbsp
Oil——————————— 1 cup (you can always take excess of oil out once the oil comes on top, and the masala has been thoroughly cooked)

How it’s made 

  1. Take oil in your pan and throw in thinly sliced onions.
  2. Brown them and then add tomatoes, once the tomatoes are getting soft, throw in garlic/ginger paste, sautee garlic/ginger paste and add all of the spices except the chart masala and the garam masala powder.
  3. Give everything a good stir and add green chillies. 
  4. Cook till oil comes on top and the masala is red and has a paste like consistency.
  5. Add 2 -3 tbsp of water whenever needed to avoid burning of the masala in hot oil.
  6. Once your masala is ready, now pour in stirred yoghurt, give everything a good mix again and carefully place your meatballs or koftay into the gravy.
  7. Now gently pour in 2 cups of hot water into the pan around the sides, do not stir them at this stage.
  8. Cover the pan and let them sit for 4-5 minutes undisturbed.
  9. Once the gravy is steaming hot, grab the handles of your pot and move your gravy in circular motion, three to four times.
  10. And then back on stove till oil comes on top and the gravy has reached your desired consistency. Some like their gravy to be thin while others (like myself) like is medium thick so go as you please and lastly, just 5 minutes before turning the stove off, speinkle chart masala and garam masala powder on top and cover for 5 minutes, for all the flavours and the amazing aroma of garam masala powder to infuse into the gravy. Stir and it’s ready to serve.
A handy Tip:

Never, ever, ever, EVER add cold water into your gravy, any gravy, always try to add at least lukewarm or preferably hot water into your gravy and you’ll feel the difference in the end.

Serve your mince meatballs of Koftay with naan or tandoori roti and remember me in your prayers.

Jazak Allah khair!

 

Posted in Asian (desi) cooking, Beef, Desi, Meat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sarsoon Ka Saag and Makkai Ki Roti

Posted on February 2, 2012 by |eemz

Saag is a spicy scrumptious treat. You can enjoy this hot and spicy dish in cool winter nights with makkai ki roti, uh the combo tastes heaven in those chilly nights for sure. But the best thing about this dish is that you can also freeze it and enjoy it later on. It freezes well and once you want to enjoy it, just give it a tarka and it’s ready.

This is the sarsoon ka phool or mustard flower. The saag we are using in this recipe is from this plant, the leafy green part of mustard plant. Their fields look so amazing, bright yellow flowers on top of leafy green plants just about everywhere looks fresh and enchanting- have a soothing effect both on eyes and mind.

All that hard work and wait pays off beautifully, in the form of this flavoursome, spicy, aromatic dish. It is best when enjoyed with makkai ki roti and lassi otherwise, simple chappati would be fine as well.

This is my Mitti ki handi, take out yours :p For best desi flavours and traditional touch, the saag is given Tarka in this Mitti ki handi. Cook your saag in regular pot and then for tarka bit, use this handi.

What you need

Sarsoon ka Saag——————- 1 kg with its stems, if they are not too hard.
Palak/ Spinach——————– 1/2 kg
Baatho—————————- 250 g
Desi Ghee————————- 3/4 cup
Tomatoes————————- 2-3 blanched
Salt——————————- 1tsp or according to need
Red Chli Powder—————— 1 tsp
Green Chillies——————— 5-6 chopped
Garlic cloves———————- 4-5 finely chopped
Onion—————————– 1 finely chopped
Ginger—————————- 1 inch piece, thinly sliced
Cumin (Zeera)——————– 1 tsp
Red Chili Whole——————- 6-8
Haldi—————————— 1/2 tsp
Sugar—————————– 1 tsp
Makkai ka aata——————- 1/4 cup or according to need

How it’s made

  1. Finely chop saag (green leaves of mustard), spinach and baatho.
  2. Now rinse their leaves very nicely because there is a lot of dirt and mud trapped in the leaves.
  3.  Now boil your saag, palak, batho and green chilies together in one large pan till everything gets soft and tender, add in enough water to make it nice and soft. Once it is soft and tender, dry as much water as you can, it shouldn’t be watery at all.
  4. Mash or ghootofy your saag/palak and batho with a help of a wooden spoon or a hand blender. Ghootofying with wooden spoon can be tiring but very rewarding (I ask my cook to cook the saag for me uptil this stage hehehehehe evil grin :D )
  5. Note: You can freeze your saag at this stage for 2-3 months. Do the remaining steps once you want to serve the dish.
  6. Anyways, the difficult part’s over, now is the easy peesy lemon sqeasy bit.
  7. Take a handi  (preferably), Mitti ki handi if you have one and throw in ghee. Desi ghee is preferred but if you don’t have it, banaspati ghee can also be used.
  8. Now add in onions, Sautee onions and add ginger, garlic, cumin, Whole Red chliies and give everything a good mix.
  9. Now add in blanched or de-skinned tomatoes, Red chili powder, turmeric powder, sugar and salt. But be careful, spinach is already salty so, go easy on the salt, you can always add more once it’s done.
  10. Once they have been mixed nicely, throw in the saag mix and cook for another 5-6 minutes, keep stirring lest it should burn.
  11. Once done, dissolve makkai ka aata in 1/2 cup of water and add into the saag for thickness and flavour.
  12. Cover nicely and cook it on a low dum flame for further 15-20 minutes.

Makkai Ki Roti

What you need

Makkai ka Aata————————- 2 cups
Regular Aata/flour———————- 1 cup
Salt————————————- 1 tsp
Ghee———————————— 2 tbsp

How it’s made

  1. Kneed dough/aata with lukewarm water and let it sit for half an hour, covered with a slightly damp clothe.
  2. Now take two cellophene bags or I use Dawn Parathay’s transparent paper.
  3. Role your aata in between two plastic paper sheets, role them as thin as you like, you can make pretty neat, thin roti with this technique and cook them on a slightly greased pan,20-25 seconds on each side.
  4. Apply ghee on both sides and your Makkai ki roti is done!

Serve your Sarsoon ka saag with makkai ki roti and lassi and enjoy is sizzling hot with a dalop of unsalted butter on top, yum!

Posted in Asian (desi) cooking, Butter, Desi, Veges | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments