Easy Truffles!

I got this recipe off the amazing blog Bakerella! That woman has the cutest baking ideas and almost all of her ideas seem so easy to make!

Ingredients:

1 package of Oreos or Nutter Butter cookies

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, brought to room temperature

baking/candy coating chocolate (We used white chocolate for the Oreo truffles and milk chocolate for the Nutter Butter truffles.)

Crush up all the cookies but 5 in a food processor to a powder. Combine with the cream cheese to form a dough. Roll the dough into little 1 inch balls and place on foil or wax paper. Melt the chocolate as per directions and dip each ball into the chocolate to coat, wipe to bottom to get the excess chocolate off and place onto a wax paper-lined or greased cookie sheet. Place the truffles in the fridge for about a half hour to harden and enjoy! These are soo yummy! I want to try making these with thin mints! :)

Magic Cookie Bars

My cousin, Farah, used to make these all the time in Atlanta and they were soooo good! I recently saw Paula Deen making them on her show on the food network and was surprised at how easy they are to make and only take like 5 minutes to prep.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of Graham Crackers crumbs (I mashed them up in a food processor)

1 stick of butter, melted

a couple handfuls of the following:

• semi-sweet chocolate chips
• butterscotch chips
• peanut butter chips
• chopped pecans (or whatever nut you would like to use)
• shredded coconut

one can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

You can really add or take away any toppings you like with this, cranberries, raisins, all sorts of nuts, bite-sized candies, mini halal marshmallows, caramel, etc. The above are just the most typical toppings, and the ones I used.

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter to form a sort of dough. Press the crumb-butter mixture down into a greased/non-stick sprayed baking dish (I used 13x9 inch dish). Sprinkle on the toppings, one by one, and then drizzle on the entire can of condensed milk until the surface is covered with it. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Let cool completely and enjoy!

Indo-Chinese Chicken Pakoray

This is a knock-off of Hot Wok's famous chicken pakoray recipe. It's super easy, turns out really good, almost exactly like the real thing, and has been a hit every time I've made them.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken kheema/ground chicken

2-3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

about 1 cup chopped green onions

about 1 cup chopped green garlic 

minced green chilies, according to your spice preference

1-2 tbsp black pepper

3-4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp vinegar or rice vinegar if you have

1/3 cup corn starch

1/4 cup all purpose flour

Mix all ingredients except the flours. When time to fry, add the corn starch and flour and mix thoroughly. Rub a bit of oil between your hands and form the mixture into small, 1-inch balls and deep fry until golden-brown. Serve with Sambal/hot sauce, Sriracha, or green chillies mixed with sugar and vinegar.

Beef Stew

This is a great hearty one-dish meal and it's another one of my favorite comfort foods. It's a pretty versatile dish so you can add any veggies you like and even some kind of pasta. I serve this with Sal's cheddar biscuits!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb to 1 lb boneless beef bite-sized cubes

1 large onion, diced

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1 carrot sliced thick

1-2 stalks celery, sliced thick

1 large potato, diced

1-2 handfuls green beans. cut into 1/2 inch pieces

tomato, diced (optional)

beef broth or 1 cube beef bouillon

1 packet Knorr/Lipton onion soup mix

pinch of paprika

1-2 tbsp Italian seasonings

salt and black pepper to taste

1-2 tbsp tomato paste

shopped cilantro to garnish

I pressure cook the beef first. If you don't pressure cook your meat, proceed to the next steps.

Sautee the onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and sautee for another minute. (For non-pressure-cooker-users, add meat here, brown, add water, cover and cook until tender.) Add veggies, bouillon cube dissolved in one or two cups of water, onion soup mix, paprika, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, cover and cook. After about 7-10 minutes, add the beef and tomato paste and stir. You can adjust the consistency to your liking by adding more water or more tomato paste. Cook covered over low heat for about 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Aldi Brand Cake & Homemade Frosting

I was at Aldi one day and picked up a Bakers Corner brand Deluxe Moist Devil's Food Cake Mix. I cooked it per box instructions (adding 3 eggs, some oil, and water) at 325 degrees for close to an hour. I baked the cake the night before a party. Also the night before, I removed an 8oz container of cream cheese and a stick of butter from the fridge to become room temperature by morning.

Materials

Aldi's Bakers Corner Brand Cake Mix (chocolate...mmm)
3 eggs
Water
Oil

Frosting Ingredients

8oz can cream cheese (use around 6oz)
6tbps butter (almost the entire stick)
1-2 cups powdered sugar
2tsp milk

Bake cake. Let cool completely. Mix cream cheese and butter with a whisk until smooth. Add milk and powdered sugar. Mix until frosting becomes slightly firm but still smooth. Pour onto cake and smooth out. I frosted the cake a few minutes after guests arrived and by the time we got to dessert, it had settled nicely onto the cake. The homemade factor played a huge role because the cake was from a box and the frosting was a lot more enjoyable than something out of a can. Props to Sal for Google-ing a last minute recipe for me. She said that the powdered sugar amount you use shouldn't depend on the recipe but how sugary you want the frosting to be.

Baked Potatoes with Homemade Salsa

Ingredients

3 medium size potatoes
Kosher Salt
Olive Oil or Canola Oil

Salsa:

2 tomatoes cut into cubes
1 can of kidney beans (or beans of preference)
1 medium sized onion chopped
Chilies if desired
Seasoning to taste (I used Indian Masalas & Salt)

Cilantro as garnish. Additional toppings listed below.

Scrub potatoes clean and keep the skin on. Poke 4 times with a fork on each side so potatoes don't explode while baking and release steam. Place on baking sheet and drizzle oil and kosher salt on both sides. Bake potatoes in a baking tray at 350 degrees for an hour. The skin should feel crispy and the inside slightly tender.

While potatoes are baking, make salsa by putting the onions, chilies, tomatoes, and kidney beans in a small pot and cooking it with seasoning. Depending on the texture, you may want to add some water or wait for the tomatoes to become soft and release their own juice. Season as desired and cook until all ingredients are hot/tender/tasty.

Remove potatoes from oven and carefully slice open. Watch out for steam. Spoon salsa mixture into the potatoes and garnish with cilantro.

Additional toppings include sour cream, shredded cheese, and butter. Without these, the meal is very wholesome, fiber-rich, and filled with limited healthy calories.

To make it into a bigger, more filling meal, I had chicken corn soup and a salad on the side.

Baked Salmon

Ingredients

1lb fillet of Salmon (skinned)
1 can mandarin oranges
1 medium potato cut into cubes (with skin)
1 small onion sliced thinly
1tsp coriander seeds
1tsp fennel seeds
2tsp olive oil/canola oil
Handful of asparagus stalks


Directions

Remove salmon from packaging (completely thawed) and place into a small baking tray (lined with aluminum foil). The salmon should be in the middle. Sprinkle salmon with a bit of oil. Spread the potato cubes around the salmon. Lay asparagus stalks flat alongside salmon (depending on the size of your baking tray, on top of each other is fine). Sprinkle generous amounts of Seasoned Salt over potatoes, asparagus, and salmon. Sprinkle small onion slices onto salmon, along with the coriander seeds and fennel seeds. Drain the can of mandarin oranges and layer over salmon, generously. Cover with foil and set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Set oven to 450 degrees. Let it warm completely to that temperature before playing tray inside. Cook salmon until it's an opaque pink and solidified inside, but not too dry. This will depend on your oven but it should take around 30 minutes, sometimes longer.

I tried this dish out with brown rice on the side and it was DELICIOUS. I initially set the oven to 350 but it wasn't working out - so I googled and found that 450 is an ideal temperature for cooking salmon. The vegetables can be substituted but the potatoes are delicious after seasoning and soaking in the salmon flavor. The asparagus were too cooked to my liking so you can potentially put those in when the salmon is close to being cooked so they will become cooked, but still retain a crunch. The mandarin oranges were PERFECT with the salmon and cooked well, flavoring the fish and adding a zest to each bite (re: be generous, one can of mandarins seems like a lot but it will be worth it). I'm going to try this recipe out again a few more times. I didn't find it in any particular place but took bits and pieces of other salmon recipes. Feel free to experiment and post adjustments!

1lb of salmon was only enough for a tasting quantity for the family. Ideally you'd have to have a lot more rice, a nice salad, and at least 2lbs of salmon for a larger household. Increase ingredient measurements to fit the fillet. This would have been more than enough for a full meal of 2 people.

Chicken Manchurian

For those of you who aren't familiar with this dish, Chicken Manchurian is a super yummy Indian-style Chinese dish from Bombay and I love it! I've tried a few different recipes and never really liked any of them but I found this one today and gave it a whirl, with a few of my own adjustments, and actually really like how it turned out!

Ingredients:

1 large chicken breast, cut into small strips or cubes OR cauliflower florets

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1-2 green chilies (According to your taste) minced

a handful of cilantro, chopped

1 cup of chicken stock

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp ketchup (optional) 

salt to taste

1 tsp corn starch in cold water

Mix the first set of ingredients into a nice thick batter, coat chicken in batter and deep fry until golden brown. Set aside.

Over medium-low heat, fry ginger-garlic paste for about a minute then add the green chilies and cilantro and fry for about another minute. You should be able to smell the stuff frying up by now. Add chicken stock, soy sauce, sugar, salt and ketchup and cook for about 2-5 minutes. NOTE: I didn't really use exact measurements when I was making this, so do a lil taste-test right about now. Add the corn starch dissolved in water and stir until the sauce thickens. Throw in the fried chicken chunks and enjoy with rice!

 

Slow Cooker

Hey all, I know this isnt a recipe but it is a request for some...I feel guilty cuz u all have kept the blog alive and ive been very lazy about it...but i intend on buying a slow cooker this black friday!!! (for $10 everywhere!) and i find theyre so uber easy to use. So if you guys have recipes plz plz post them. I know there are some great books out there, which i will get after braving the sales. lemme know! thank so much!

Chicken Sesame Balls

Welcome my cousin Nadia to this blog! Well, technically she's my niece (cousins daughter) but she's only a year younger so I don't allow her to call me her aunt, lol. She's gonna be surfing from now on. I told her about it last night as we were discussing our love for cooking and various recipes. She sent me this awesome, yummy, easy appetizer recipe that I am posting below. Thanks Nadia!

**

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup chicken (boneless)
2. 2 cups potatoes
3. 2 chopped green chilies
4. 1 tsp cumin
5. 2 tbsp red crushed pepper
6. 1 tsp salt
7. 1/3 cup chopped onions
8. 1/2 cup cilantro
9. 1 egg (beat it in a separate bowl)
10. Flour (to be able to coat the balls prior to frying)
11. Sesame Seeds (to be able to coat the balls prior to frying)

Cooking Directions:

• Prep Work for Potatoes:
• Boil potatoes. 
• Peel skin after the potatoes have been boiled.
• Mash them. 2 cups is usually about 2 medium sized potatoes.
• Prep Work for Chicken:
• Boil chicken.
• Shred the chicken in a large bowl.
• Mix-er up :)
• Add the potatoes, chicken, green chilies, cumin, red crushed pepper flakes, cilantro, chopped onions, and salt to a large bowl
• Mix all these ingredients 
• Form this mixture into balls (there's a picture to show you about how big to make them) 
• Frying Stage
• Initially coat these balls with flour
• Next coat them in egg-mixture
• Finally coat them in sesame seeds
• Fry them on medium heat for approx. 5-7 minutes, until they are a golden brown.

With these chicken sesame balls, try this sauce:

Take 5 tbsp ketchup, add 1/2 ts paprika, 1 tb crushed pepper flakes, 1 ts green chilies, 1 tb vinegar. (Put the vinegar and chilies together and warm them in the microwave for about 1 min before adding it to the rest of the ingredients)

Enjoy :)

Hara Masala Gosht

This is a super easy and very different gosht recipe so I thought I'd post it. Does anyone else make this?

Ingredients:

1 lb gosht (goat meat, lamb, beef, or even chicken works)

1 medium onion

1 bunch cilantro

1-2 green chilies

1 small tomato, optional

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

pinch of haldi/turmeric powder

salt to taste

1/2 tsp crushed black pepper

Blend the onion, cilantro, green chilies, tomato if you are using one, ginger-garlic paste, haldi and salt together to form a nice puree. Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. If you are using raw meat, add it now and brown. Add the puree, cover and cook over medium-low heat until the meat is tender. When the meat is done, uncover and increase heat to dry up the water so the puree is thick again. If you pressure cook your meat, add the puree to the heated oil and fry for about a minute. Add the cooked meat and let cook for a few minutes. At the end, add the black pepper.

Note: The problem with using whole green chilies is that we never really know exactly how spicy the chilies are going to be and this recipe can get really spicy so i recommend using one or two chilies at first and then when the meat is cooking, taste the puree and add sliced or chopped green chilies to add more heat if desired.

Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

Ingredients
2 cups Cooked Chicken
3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper
¼ cups Finely Diced Onion
1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions
Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.
Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

see http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chicken_spaghet/ for details. I followed this recipe (with a few random exceptions/additions/substitutions) and LOVE IT!!! Served with a side of french bread.

Tomato Saalan/Chutney

So Afshan asked about tomato ka katt. I have no idea whether this is the same or not but I thought I'd add this recipe. It's super easy and goes perfectly with kichdi for brunch or lunch or a simple dinner.

Ingredients:
1/2 medium onion, sliced
2-3 curry leaves
1/2 tsp rye/mustard seeds
1/4 tsp methi/fenugreek seeds
4-5 black peppercorns
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp red chili powder
pinch tumeric/haldi
1/2 tsp zeera/cumin powder
1 can tomato paste (You can also use tomato sauce and less water, or even fresh tomatoes if you have a bunch lying around)
2-3 cups of water
salt to taste
3-4 eggs, hard boiled

Fry the sliced onions over medium heat. Add curry leaves, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and black peppercorns. When the onions are light golden brown add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the red chili powder, tumeric and cumin powders and fry for another minute. Add the tomato paste and water and stir to blend. Cook for about 5 minutes or until it forms a nice puree type saalan. You can add chopped cilantro at end. Peel and cut the eggs in halves and add on top of the saalan and serve.

Spanish Rice

I made this last night for the family and it went well with tacos.

Ingredients

1/4 whole onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 cup green onions chopped
3 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp red chili sauce
salt to taste
2 cups rice
chicken broth instead of water (I had to boil Khalid some chicken anyway so I just used the water from that)

Directions

Saute onions until tender. Toss in green onions and tomatos. Let juice of tomato simmer into everything. Add in rinsed/soaked rice and mix it well. Add ketchup, salt and chili sauce to taste. Mix. Add in chicken broth (I used about 3-4 cups of broth) and let it cook until done.

Other vegetables are welcome to be used. I didn't have anything else on hand, but I'm sure bell peppers and green chilis would have given it a nice zest.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches (v2)

below is a twist on the chicken salad sandwich recipe from someone else I know - yummalicious, mashaAllah!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

1lb boneless chicken
Soy Sauce
Green chilies
Black Pepper
Oregno or Italian Seasonings
Mayo
Ranch Dressing
Cucumbers
Cheese slices if desired

The proportions for all of the ingredients are not exact so just "eyeball" it.

Boil the chicken with a few dashes of soy sauce, and one cut up green chili and just a few tablespoons of water. After the water dries and the chicken is cooked. Let it cool and shred the chicken. Add a little bit of black pepper, some italian seasoning (herbs) or oregno and thyme. Add Mayo and about a tablespoon or two of Ranch dressing. You can add more mayo or dressing depending on how moist or dry you want the mixture to be. Serve on White or wheat bread topped with cold cucumber and slightly melted cheese

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Ingredients

Boneless chicken, boiled and shredded
Mayo
Chopped pineapple
Chopped celery
Sliced seedless purple grapes
Crushed walnuts
Salt & Pepper to taste
Lettuce
Bread
Cheese

I dont have exact measurements for the above recipe, but I'm assuming we can all figure it out based on personal and familial tastes & how many sandwiches you want.

Mix shredded, boneless chicken and mayo together in a bowl. Add celery, fruits, nuts, and seasoning (more herbal mixes if you desire) and toss together. Refrigerate for a few hours and then serve as a sandwich with bread, cheese, and lettuce. I didn't add any other condiments, but it was my first attempt and came out pretty decently, alhamdulillah.

Hubsters took 2 sandwiches to work and SIL had another. I didn't get to taste it after the cooking process but it got good comments thus far - especially the pineapple!

Funnel Cake!

Who doesn't love this carnival favorite?! I grew up eating it at the amusement park in Mall of America, and it was warm, soft yet crispy, sugar dusted magic. It actually is really easy and doesn't take long at all to make!

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1-4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
pinch salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Toppings:
Powdered sugar
cinnamon-sugar (mixture of cinnamon powder and powdered sugar)
Chocolate syrup
strawberries, or other fruit

Heat clean oil over medium high heat. Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon powder. Beat together the egg, milk, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix together until lumps disappear. You can use an electric mixer. If it looks too runny slowly add more flour. If it looks too thick, add more milk. It should be the consistency of pancake batter.

If you have a funnel, put your finger over the opening and fill with batter. I don't have one, so I filled the batter into a ziploc and snipped off a bit of a corner. You can also use old ketchup, mustard, or chocolate syrup bottles.

Test the oil with a drop of batter. It shouldn't be smoking but it should be hot enough so the drop of the batter floats right to the top and starts to fry. Start drawing large circular designs in the oil with the batter until the surface of the oil is about covered with the web of batter. Let it fry for about 2-5 minutes, lifting an edge to check for a golden brown color. Flip the cake over using two large spatulas or tongs, but be careful, it may break apart. The edges are usually more crispy so they will break easier. Let fry on the other side until golden brown as well.

You can either serve this dusted with powdered sugar (through a little strainer we use for tea), or drizzled with chocolate syrup (my favorite!) or cinnamon-sugar, or whatever else your little heart may desire.

NOTE: This recipe is enough for about two funnel cakes.

Baked Eggs

I saw this on a cooking show the other day (Down Home with the Neelys) and I loved it! They're cute little personalized portions that are perfect for breakfast or brunch or even lunch! And it's soo easy! On the show, they did it with this yummy looking tomato filling, but the hubsters is a no-tomato kinda guy so I decided to try it with potatoes and halal spicy turkey sausage, and I gave it kind of a southwestern, mexicanish flavor. I think you can kind of use whatever you want in it though, like mushrooms, gyros, halal bacon, hot dogs, tomatoes, etc. It seems mess-up-proof.

Ingredients:

1 large potato, diced
2 halal turkey sausages, diced
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 green onions, sliced
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
pinch of red chili powder
1 tbsp taco seasoning, taco sauce, or tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
2-4 eggs

In a frying pan, heat oil and sautee onions and potatoes. Season with paprika, garlic powder, cumin powder, chili powder, taco seasoning, and salt and pepper. When the potatoes are about done, throw in the diced up sausages and half of the green onions.

Spoon a little bit of the mixture into the bottom of a small dish, like a ramekin. I used round, glass, mini pyrex containers. They are about 3 inches in diameter, so they're perfect for individual portions. Anyway, after you divide up the filling into the little dishes, crack open one egg, and carefully, without breaking the yolk, pour the egg over one dish. Repeat for all dishes. Put all of them into the oven and bake at 400 for about ten minutes or until the egg is cooked. Sprinkle with the rest of the green onion and serve.

NOTE: I just realized, I think this would even work if we had any leftover vegetable or kheema in the fridge! Easy and nice and desi-fied.

Made more soup today and boiled the piece of chicken breast with chopped carrots, green onions, onions, and minced garlic for an hour. Shredded cooled chicken, added pasta (boiled on the side) and a can of whole corn kernels. Garnished with coriander and green chilies and spiced with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Seriously, any variation for soup works as long as it's chunk full of veggies and chicken. I can't wait to try the chicken corn recipe from earlier.

Can you make that a virgin, please?

Hey guys, I found a great list of substitutes for any kind of alcoholic ingredient in recipes! Eek, I'm so excited!

• Amaretto: non-alcoholic almond extract; orgeat Italian soda syrup; or marzipan.
• Applejack or apple brandy: Unsweetened apple juice concentrate; apple juice; apple cider; or apple butter.
• Apricot brandy: Syrup from canned apricots in heavy syrup; or apricot preserves.
• Bourbon: Non-alcoholic vanilla extract.
• Champagne and other sparkling wines: Sparkling apple cider; sparkling cranberry juice; or sparkling grape juice.
• Cherry liqueur or brandy: Syrup from canned cherries in heavy syrup; Italian soda cherry syrup; or cherry preserves.
• Coffee liqueur or brandy: Espresso; non-alcoholic coffee extract; or coffee syrup.
• Creme de cacao: Powdered white chocolate mixed with water; non-alcoholic vanilla extract and powdered sugar.
• Creme de cassis: Black currant Italian soda syrup; or black currant jam.
• Creme de menthe: Mint Italian soda syrup; or non-alcoholic mint extract.
• Gewurztraminer: White grape juice mixed with lemon juice, water, and a pinch of powdered sugar.
• Licorice or anise flavored liqueur: Anise Italian soda syrup; or fennel.
• Mirin: White grape juice mixed with lemon juice or zest.
• Muscat: White grape juice mixed with water and powdered sugar
• Orange liqueur or brandy: Unsweetened orange juice concentrate; orange zest; orange juice; or marmalade.
• Peach brandy: Syrup from canned peaches in heavy syrup; or peach preserves.
• Peppermint schnapps: Mint Italian soda syrup; non-alcoholic mint extract; or mint leaves
• Port: Concord grape juice mixed with lime zest; or cranberry juice mixed with lemon juice
• Red wine: Grape juice; vegetable stock; cranberry juice; tomato juice; or concord grape jelly.
• Riesling: White grape juice mixed with water and a pinch of powdered sugar.
• Rum: Non-alcoholic vanilla or rum extract.
• Sherry: Apple cider; non-alcoholic vanilla extract; coffee; or coffee syrup.
• Vermouth: Apple cider; or apple juice mixed with lemon juice and water.
• Vodka: Water; apple cider or white grape juice mixed with lime juice.
• White wine: White grape juice; apple cider; apple juice; vegetable stock; or water.

Hyderabadi Style Khatti Daal (Tangy Lentil Soup)

Another craving resulted in this experiment. And it was successful! I liked it, but the hubsters said he liked it like three times while he was eating it! That's pretty awesome. Cuz he's not a very expressive person. lol Yay me!

Ingredients:

1 cup masoor daal (orange lentils)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2-3 whole cloves of garlic
2-3 curry leaves
1/2 tsp of red chili powder
pinch of haldi/turmeric powder
salt to taste

the other 1/2 of the medium onion, sliced
2-3 curry leaves
2 dried red chillies, whole
1/2 tsp mustard seeds/rye
1/2 tsp methi seeds/fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds/zeera
1-2 tbsp tamarind/imli, soaked in warm water

Rinse the daal and combine the first set of ingredients in a pressure cooker, add about 2 cups of water and cook over medium high heat for about 10-15 minutes.

In another sauce pan, heat a bit of oil and fry the sliced onion until light golden brown. Add the curry leaves, dry red chillies, mustard seed, cumin seeds and methi seeds and stir. After about 30 seconds to 1 minute, when the mustard seeds start to pop, add the soaked imli and about 1 cup of water and cooked for a minute. Add the cooked daal mixture, stir and taste for salt and sourness. Add lemon juice if you like it more "khatta" or sour. If it's too watery, boil uncovered until it reaches desired consistency. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Fried Chicken

I finally attempted to make fried chicken at home the other day! I've seen people on tv marinate the chicken in buttemilk but I couldn't find any. So anyway, I'm really really happy with how the chicken turned out! I was really worried it wouldn't be anything like KFC/Popeyes but I used a fairly simple recipe and it totally looked and tasted like KFC. Yay me!

Ingredients:

1 lb of chicken pieces (I used bone-in, mixed pieces)
3-4 eggs
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp paprika
1/2 to 1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
salt to taste (I put at least 3 tbsp on salt and it still needed more)

Wash the chicken and let drip dry in a colander. Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, salt and spices) together in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs in another bowl with a pinch of salt. Heat oil on medium high heat. A lot of recipes I looked at online said not to let it get too hot because it needs to cook evenly but other recipes say that if the oil isn't hot enough the batter will fall off. I heated my oil on medium high heat and waited until it got nice and hot but not smoking.

One at a time, dip the chicken pieces in the egg to coat and then dredge it in the flour. Dip it in the egg again and then dredge it once more in the flour until nicely coated. Drop into the oil. It took about 10-15 minutes for my chicken to cook and it was cooked just right. I turned it four times. It was golden brown when I took it out of the oil.

I served this with homemade mashed potatoes with gravy and broccoli and cheese. =)

koftay?

hi. anyone know a good recipe for koftay ka salan? i made nargisi koftay last night ((the ones with egg inside)) and i was sooo excited. but then i was disappointed. i didnt think the saalan tasted so great...and the koftay were too mushy and like....aata-ey (due to the besan/chaney ka aata i added to the kheema to make it hold better in the kofta shape). Help. Thanks.

Uttapam

This is (another) South Indian food that I looooove. Especially when made by my eldest aunt and served with her AMAZING tomato achar! =) (Props Chand Aunty! =D)

It's basically a savory pancake with veggies mixed in. It's made with the same aata/batter as you would used for dosa and idli. You can eat this plain, with some achar, with sambhar, or with a variety of chutneys, like coconut chutney. It's great for brunch or lunch!

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked white rice

1/2 cup of urud daal/maash ki daal/the white dusty looking daal

(basically, the ratio of rice to daal should be 2:1)

1 tsp salt

you can use any veggies you like. Here are the most popular in uttapam:

finely sliced green chillies

finely diced tomato

finely chopped cilantro

shredded carrot

green peas

finely chopped onion

So, the thing with this stuff is, you gotta plan in advance.

First, you must soak the rice and daal separately for at least 6 hours or overnight. I'm not exactly sure why they must be soaked separately, but apparently it's crucial.

After thoroughly soaking, blend the rice and daal together into a smooth paste. Add only enough water to let it blend smoothly. It should be a thick batter. Like pancake batter! NOW that you've bended the stuff, you must let it sit at room temperature for another few hours or overnight. The best place to keep this is in the oven (while it's off!). This process is to ferment the batter. Sounds gross (the hubbz reaction was "ew I don't want fermented uttapam"), but this is also crucial.

Okay, you'll know when the batter is ready when it's become kind of fluffy and airy when you mix it. IT'S FINALLY READY! Now you can throw in the salt and veggies.

Rub some oil on a heated frying pan at medium-high heat. With a ladle, pour some of the batter into the frying pan and push it out so it forms a pancake. Let it cook for a couple minutes. Drizzle some oil all over the edges and over the uttapam, then carefully flip it. Cook for another couple minutes. The uttapam should be a nice toasty golden brown on both sides. And you're done!

I need to learn how to make sambhar and when I do, I'll post the recipe to accompany uttapam!

Chicken Corn Soup

Ingredients:

about 1/2 to 1 lb of chicken (bone in adds more flavor and nutrients)

1/2 onion, cut in large chunks

2 garlic cloves 

1-2 cans of whole kernel corn

3-4 egg whites

salt and pepper to taste

About 2 tbsp corn starch

Optional garnish:

chopped parsley

chopped cilantro

chopped green onion

Chopped green chillies

Vinegar

Sambal/Sriracha

Soy sauce

First, boil the chicken, onion, whole garlic cloves and salt in a generous amount of water (at least 5 cups). You can use a pressure cooker and cook for about 15 minutes or boil on the stove top for 45 minutes to an hour. Remove chicken and set aside. Strain the broth and discard the chunks. Return the broth to the pot and set on medium low heat. 

When the chicken is cooled enough to handle, shred (mixer works best!) and throw it into the chicken broth. Add water if there's not enough. Give half of the corn a rough pulse with a immersion blender or food processor and throw that into the soup along with the rest of the whole kernel corn and pepper. Taste and adjust salt as needed. 

Once the soup comes to a boil, mix the corn starch with a bit of COLD water and pour it in, stirring. You can add as much or as little corn starch as you like according to how thick or watery you like your soup. When the soup comes to a rapid boil, slowly pour in the egg whites stirring quickly. Let the soup boil for another 3-5 minutes until the egg whites are cooked. 

Chicken Noodle Soup (Plus Veggies)

For those gloomy, cold days when every other person has a cough.

Boil a chunk of chicken breast (around 1/4lb to 1/2lb or to your liking) in water. Use a stockpot that will take the remainder of the ingredients.

Chop 2 carrots, a few green onions, one small onion, 2 green chilies, 3 cloves of garlic, and 10ish mushrooms into bite sized pieces. Add to boiling water & chicken. Half cover and cook on medium heat for an hour or two. Water should be added as needed to cover all ingredients. Remove chicken breast and shred with hands once it cools. Return shredded chicken into soup.

Spices - Salt/Pepper/Lemon Juice to taste.

On the side, boil egg noodles (amount of choice, family preference) and drain. Add to entire soup concoction towards the end. Add more water/spices. Sometimes a thick soup works well, other times you want more liquid. Either way tastes fine.

Before serving, garnish soup (or individual soup servings in bowls) with freshly chopped coriander.

Magical Fries...a.k.a. Mexican Fries

So the hubsters had this when he went golfing a few days ago and we decided to recreate it last night and omg....it was pretty much on the same level as a chocolate fudge crunch brownie caramel chocolate fudge cake with extra chocolate and hot fudge on top. *drools*

Oh, bee tee double you, this isn't really cooking, its just throwing things together. But whatever. It's so yummy.

Ingredients:

French Fries of your choice, fried or baked
shredded cheese of your choice (we used cheddar. I also felt like melty cheese like velveeta or nacho cheese would be great with this)
1 onion
pickled jalapenos
ranch dressing
1 tbsp old bay or cajun seasoning

Okay so when the fries are done frying or baking, cover them with cheese. You can pop it in the oven or broiler to melt the cheese. Sautee the onions lightly, until they are just beginning to caramelize. Throw them on top. Then throw on the pickled jalapeno slices. Then drizzle on the ranch and sprinkle on some old bay or cajun seasoning. Dive in.

Chicken 65

I have yet to find a really good, authentic recipe for Chicken 65. Something along the lines of ZYKA'S CHICKEN 65!! Ugh...I highly doubt I will ever taste chicken 65 that amazing in my life. *sigh* Anyway, I've been trying a few different recipes none of them have managed to "wow" me. Last night, I decided to try one that had a few different ingredients and oh em gee, I loved it! It's obviously not as amazing as Zyka's but it's almost, kinda, slightly getting to be, close!! =D

If anyone has a really good recipe for Chicken 65 ((or chili chicken)) please post!!

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken, usually boneless chicken cut into small cubes (I used small chicken pieces with the bone in because that's all I had)
3-4 tbs thick yogurt (the greek kind, like Chobani or Fage, works best)
2 tbs corn starch
2-3 tbs all purpose flour
1 tbs ginger garlic paste
2-3 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp lal mirch/red chili powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vinegar
1/3 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp ajinomoto (optional)
1 egg (optional. I didn't add the egg and it turned out fine)
salt to taste

1 tsp rye/black mustard seeds
3-4 curry leaves/kari patta
2-3 fresh green chillies, whole OR dry red chillies, whole

Mix the first set of ingredients together to make a nice batter. If it's too thick, add water. You can adjust the salt, tanginess, or spiciness to your liking. Throw in the chicken, and marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

Deep fry the chicken until golden brown. In a separate sauce pan, heat a bit of oil and add the rye/mustard seeds, chillies and curry leaves. When they start to sizzle and when the mustard seeds start to pop, add the fried chicken pieces and stir for about 2-5 minutes. This is not to cook the chicken, it's just to give the fried chicken the flavors from the curry leaves and mustard seeds.

NOTE: I really loved the taste of this recipe but the only thing was that the batter turned out to be kind of a thick coating on the chicken. It was yummy, and nice and crunchy but I feel like chicken 65 should have a very light yet crispy coating and not such a thick batter coating. This could also be because I may have made the batter too thick in consistency. Anyway I still love it and will probably stick to this recipe until I find a better one. ENJOY!

Spicy, Tangy Fish Saalan/Curry

After being away from home (my parents' home that is) for ten+ months I've begun to really miss the good ol' home cookin' of my mom and aunts. Today the craving was for some kind of exotic, tangy, spicy, extra yummy seafood of some kind. So after like two hours of searching the internet for a recipe I found one for fish curry and kind of tweaked it as I went along. I'm pretty satisfied with the outcome, but I think I'm gonna need to call up the aforementioned pro chefs in my family really soon!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb to 1 lb of your choice of fish (I used tilapia fillets (cut into 4 pieces) that I had in the freezer but steaks of some kind work best. I think my mom and aunts usually use catfish steaks)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
about a handful of hara dhanya/cilantro, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1-3 green chillies, slit down the center (depending on your preference)
1 1/2 tsp of cumin and coriander powder
about 1/3 tsp of methi powder if available
pinch of haldi
pinch of hing is available
about 1 tsp tamarind/imli, soaked
salt to taste

Rub the fish pieces with salt and little bit of haldi and set aside. Sautee the onions in oil until they begin to turn golden brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes and green chillies and cook covered about 5 minutes or until the tomatoes look mushy. Add the cumin, coriander, and haldi powders, hing, cilantro and salt and stir fry for a minute then add the soaked tamarind water and about 1/2 cup of water if the mixture looks too thick. Once it starts to boil, gently add the fish pieces (do not stir yet!) cover and cook. After about 5 minutes, the fish should have turned white. At this point GENTLY turn the fish over and kind of move the pot around the mix the curry. After another 5-7 minutes the fish should be cooked through. Garnish with more fresh cilantro. ENJOY!

Earthquake cake

This recipe was passed onto me from my sheeshter, Api, otherwise known to most as Nafisa. =D Sounds deeeeelicious!

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups chopped pecans
1 ½ cups shredded coconut
1 box German chocolate cake mix (prepare per box directions)
½ cup margarine (1 stick)
1 8-oz tub cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour a 9” x 13” pan. Spread pecans and coconut evenly in bottom of pan.

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour prepared cake mix over nuts & coconut.

Melt margarine and cream cheese in a saucepan. Add powdered sugar to melted mixture while still on stove and stir till well blended. Pour mixture evenly over cake batter. Bake for 45 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool and cut into squares.

Cajun Skillet

Soo... work was pretty productive today. It feels soo good to finally get out and have a routine..to have something productive to do with myself! I finally feel LESS worthless! YAY me!! =)

But man, can I just be a total pansy for a second? After ten months of being a total bum, waking up early and DOING things before 11am is....exhausting!!! Especially when you have 30 2nd graders in that mix. =P I was/am sooo tired and in a sucky mood and totally didn't feel like cooking dinner tonight. Not knowing what the heck to cook added frustration to my mix of not-so-fun emotions. Poor hubsters. =P So anyway the moral of the story is, I googled random things to come up with any idea for dinner and found this! I was skeptical but it came out pretty decent!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb of chicken, cut into small cubes
1/2 lb peeled shrimp
2-3 halal turkey sausages, sliced up (the spicy kind are best)
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 packet onion soup powder (comes in a blue box from Lipton and can be found in the soup aisle)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 tbsp butter
2-3 tbsp Old Bay (or any cajun or creole seasoning powder)
red pepper flakes to taste
1/4 cup chopped parsley (or dry parsley flakes)
2-3 tbsp chopped dill
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in skillet and sautee the onion, bell peppers, celery and garlic until slightly soft. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add chicken and Old Bay (or cajun seasonings) to same skillet and sautee until no longer pink. Remove and set aside with the veggies. Add shrimp and Old Bay (0r cajun seasonings) to the skillet and sautee until cooked.

In a separate sauce pan, melt the butter and add the flour, stirring with a whisk to blend into a thick, smooth roux. Add the onion soup powder and about 2 cups of water, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and cook about a minute or so. It should thicken up really quick. Add the parsley and dill and the veggies and meats and stir. If the mixture is too thick, add water. If it is too runny, cook until it thickens up. Serve over white rice.

NOTE: the person who posted this recipe on the website had zucchini, green chillies and potatoes in the mix as well.

Texas Vegetarian Chili

I went to a multi-faith cooking class in May and the women there had done a Texas-themed menu. The food was super-duper good and easy to make. So i'm giving the recipes exactly as I got them from them, and I'll let you know the variations I've done.

Here we go,

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. black beans, red beans, pinto beans
2 tbsp. salt
2 yellow onions chopped
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 cup buttter
1 pint sweet peppers diced and seeded
1 pablano pepper seeded and diced
2 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 chipotle chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. chili powder
28 oz. can diced tomatoes drained
28 0z. can crushed tomatoes
15.5 oz can white hominy drained

Directions:

Soak beans in ample water overnight with 2 tbsp. salt

Rinse and drain beans.

Place beans and 2 yellow onions in a slow cooker and cook for 6 hrs.

Drain liquid from beans.

In a large stockpot add 1 cup butter, 1 yellow onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 pint diced sweet peppers, 1 pablano pepper and 2 jalapeno peppers. Cook until onion is clear.

Add beans to onion and pepper mixture.

Add 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, 28 0z can of crushed tomatoes, and 15.5 oz can of white hominy.

Add remaining spices and cook on medium until it comes to a boil. Then turn to low and cook for 3-4 hours.

To serve top with sour cream & cheddar cheese. Enjoy!

OK NOTES:
First of all, I dont own a slow cooker, so I just used a regular pot and my regular stove. Worked wonders for me! I just had to keep watching it though.
I only used red beans and I thought it was fine, although the chili I had at the event did taste a lot better than mine...but then I also added about 4 lbs of ground beef when I made just because my husband can not eat something without any meat in it. Omnivore, nothing. He's all carnivore.

Also, at the event they really went all out with the chili. When serving it, first they put a scoop of rice (in each individual serving), then came the chili, then fritos, then sour cream, then cheddar cheese, then green onions. SO obviously it tasted divine.

Also, I'm thinking for desi people, it should be a bit more spicy?
I dunno, maybe you will need to play around with it a bit.

Again, enjoy!

Cajun Shrimp and Mushroom Sauce

Three of my favorite things in one sauce...mmmm! This goes great with the Fettuccine Alfredo listed below.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb-1lb of raw shrimp
1 large onion sliced
2-3 cans of sliced mushrooms
about 1/4 cup of Cajun seasoning ((my dad likes to use no-salt cajun spices because they tend to be very salty))
1 tsp italian seasoning

In a large skillet or wok, heat oil and sautee the onions until translucent. Add the shrimp and cook until pink. Add the mushrooms and seasonings and cook until the water is gone and the shrimp are cooked. ((about 15 minutes)) YUM!

Fettuccine Alfredo

So I thought I'd follow Sadia with another pasta recipe!

This is my dad's famous home-made fettuccine alfredo recipe that gets people begging him to make it for them. It's easy, but kind of time consuming, but the rich, velvety sauce made from scratch is well worth it!

Ingredients:

1-2 boxes of Fettuccine noodles ((as many as you need))
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1 quart half-and-half
about 1 cup of parmesan cheese
7-10 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
about 1/4 cup of dry basil
1-2 tsp italian seasoning
salt to taste

Boil the noodles according to the box.

In a large non-stick wok or sauce pan, heat the heavy whipping cream and half-and-half, stirring occasionally. When the liquid gets hot and begins to steam, you have to start gently stirring it constantly. Add the garlic slices and cook, stirring, for a while. By a while I mean a good half hour at least! The garlic should begin to get very mushy and eventually melt right into the sauce. You can spoon out the garlic and give it a good mash with a spoon too. Add the basil and italian seasonings and keep stirring. After about 30-45 minutes, the liquid should seem just a tad thicker and like some has evaporated. At this point ((and also after the garlic has melted into the sauce)) lightly sprinkle a layer of the parmesan cheese over the sauce and stir gently to blend. Keep repeating this until you have put in all the cheese. If you just dump it in and give it a whirl, it'll most likely clump up and not blend in smoothly. At this point, the sauce should be significantly thicker. Taste for saltiness ((the cheese should have made it salty enough)). Pour over the noodles and enjoy!

Usually, when my dad makes this he always makes a Cajun Shrimp and Mushroom sauce to go with it and we add some garlic bread and voila, a magical meal! I'll include the recipe for the shrimp and mushroom sauce as well.

Hakka Noodles

So I felt like we had covered a variety of recipes but no pasta recipes! I looove pasta, all pasta. I would have it any day over our traditional desi food. This recipe is another of my cooking show recipes that I've played around with a bit. These are Indian-Chinese type noodles, so while they have veggies and stuff they're also a little spicy so the people who want desi desi food generally like them too! I first started making them with chicken (tiny cubes) but there was this one time I didnt feel like going and defrosting a bunch of chicken, so I tried them with gyros and they tasted soooo good. So you can really try either way.

Ingredients:
1 12 oz. package medium egg noodles
1/2 tsp haldi/turmeric powder
3/4 lb boneless chicken cut into tiny cubes OR
12-15 gyro slices cut into thin strips
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp chopped green chilies
1 tbsp salt
1 green bell pepper
1/4 medium cabbage
1 julienne cut carrot (or carrot matchsticks)
1 sliced green chili pepper
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp thai chili sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice

First, take a pot and boil water for the egg noodles with haldi and salt. Add the egg noodles, and remove when they're almost done. You don't want them to be completely cooked because they'll cook with the sauce too.

In a wok, add oil, minced garlic, and the chicken or gyros. Stir-fry the meat with black pepper and the green chili paste. When it's stir-fried (for chicken, when the water's dry and it's done), add the veggies and stir-fry with all the sauces. You can add salt to taste if you're using chicken. Once everything's stir-fried, add the noodles and mix it together well. If it looks too dry add some olive oil or a little water. Cover and let it cook on low heat for about 5 mins. It's ready to serve!

You can experiment with this recipe however you like. It's super fast to make so I sometimes throw it together for lunch or whatever too. I've tried it with pesto sauce which is also reallyyyy good. It gives it a fun italian kick. I've also tried it with just hara masala - none of the red sauces, just green chili sauce, some crushed red pepper, green chutney, oregano, etc. Also turned out really good. Really this'll probably turn out good however you try it.

Harees/Ganjee

Ganjee, or Harees as I was recently taught by my dad is the proper name for it, is a yummy Indian soup that is a staple for iftaar in South Indian families, or at least in my dad's family. It is usually served with fried yummies. I got the recipe from my Nani-in-law and tried it today! Yay me!

I've usually had this with kheema but you can make it with kheema, vegetables, or neither. I'll include both in the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
1-2 green chilies, cut in half or thirds
1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste
1/3 tsp garam masala
pinch of haldi/turmeric
1 small tomato, diced
1 carrot, sliced, or a handful of baby carrots
a handful of green beans ((fresh would work best I think))
handful of peas/tuvar daaney
1/3 lb kheema or the size of a fist ((there should be very little in the soup))
1 handful of uncooked white rice
1/2 handful of moong daal/yellow lentils
mint/pudina, crushed dried form or fresh finely chopped to garnish
finely chopped hara dhanya/cilantro to garnish

Crush the rice and daal just slightly in a coffee grinder or soak for a few minutes and crush with your hands only a little! Heat oil in a pot and sautee the onions until they are translucent. Add the garlic-ginger paste and garam masala and sautee for a minute. Add haldi and green chilis and sautee for another minute. Add the tomato and cook for another minute or so until they start to look mushy. Add either the vegetables or kheema and cook. When the veggies or kheema look just about cooked, add the rice and daal and stir. Add about 3-4 cups of water and salt to taste, cover and cook until the rice and daal are soft and mushy. You can add finely chopped/crushed mint/pudina and finely chopped hara dhanya/cilantro. Enjoy!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Mushrooms are the kind of thing that you either despise, or loooove. I am of the latter. I love me some 'shrooms!!!!! But I prefer the non-hallucinogenic type OF COURSE! hehe :P

I think I literally made this recipe up after eating about half a tray of stuffed mushrooms at my cousins place once, and it's really mess-up-proof. You can play around with the ingredients and add or subtract whatever you like! It's a hit at every gathering I've made this for.

Ingredients:

2 packages of fresh white mushrooms OR about 1 lb ((?)) try to go for the smaller, more bite-sized ones.
1 tub of cream cheese, at room temperature to soften
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
((you can also add any type of cheese you like, like mozzarella, bleu, asiago, or pepper jack!))
a pinch or two of red chili powder OR red pepper flakes
about 1/4 cup finely chopped chives
salt to taste

Wash the mushrooms thoroughly by scrubbing with your hands to remove all the dirt. Dry with paper towel. Remove the stems as best as you can, leaving the inside hollow, like a tiny bowl. Chop up the stems.

In a bowl, add the cream cheese and the rest of the ingredients along with the chopped mushroom stems. Mix well to blend.

Brush olive oil over a cookie sheet. Using a small spoon or butter knife, stuff the filling into each of the mushroom "bowls". You can add enough to make a small mound on top. When they are all finished, drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the mushrooms, and sprinkle the tops with plain or italian season bread crumbs and more parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until the mushrooms are brown and kinda shriveled up. CAREFUL! These are extremely hot for a good 5 minutes after baking!

Vegetable Pulao

This is my Khala ((Anju Masi))'s recipe for a suuuper easy and totally yummy vegetable pulao. You can use whatever vegetables you like, but this is what I use:

Ingredients:

1 cup of uncooked rice
1 onion, diced
2 potatoes, diced
1/3 cauliflower, large florets
3 carrots, thick slices
1/2 cup peas/tuvar daaney
1 ripe tomato diced
1/2 tsp red mirchi powder
1 tsp dhany and zeera powder/cumin and coriander ((I actually can't remember if she said to add this, or if I did last time, buuut what the heck, extra flavor can't hurt!))
pinch of haldi/turmeric powder
salt to taste

In a large pot, heat oil and add onions, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes and cook for about 2-5 minutes. Add caulifower, peas/daaney, and the masalas and cook, covered for about 2-5 minutes. The tomatoes should emit some water as it cooks and that should be enough, but if it still looks TOO dry, add a little water. The vegetables should only be about half cooked, more or less.

Wash the rice and put in rice cooker. Add the vegetable mixture and 2 cups of water, stir and let the rice cooker do the work!

This is especially yummy with some dahi/yogurt and achaar/pickle! :)

Gosht ka Khaliya

This is also a recipe I learned from a relative just before I got married. I'm not sure if it's just a South Indian thing or what, but my aunts make it and I love it.

Ingredients:

1 lb beef, lamb, or goat cubes
2 medium onions, chopped in small bits
2-3 medium tomatoes, also small cubes
1 bunch of finely chopped hara dhanya/cilantro
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
handful of curry leaves
4 whole green chillies, slit down the center
salt to taste
1/3 tsp red mirchi powder
1 tsp zeera/cumin powder
1 tsp dhanya/coriander powder
1 tsp methi/fenugreek powder or seeds ((if you have))
1 tbsp imli/tamarind soaked ((more or less to your preference))
2 spoons tomato paste
1 green mango/kachcha aam in large chunks ((optional))

In a large pot/dutch oven, add the onion, tomato, cilantro, curry leaves, garlic, green chillies, and salt and give a good mix. ((my aunt mixes and smushes with her hands)) Add oil and set over medium heat. Add the red chili powder, cumin, coriander, and fenugreek powders and cook for 7-10 minutes, covered. Add the meat and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1-2 cups of hot water, cover and cook until the meat is tender.

Add the soaked imli juice, tomato paste, and the green mango chunks, cover and cook over low heat for about 10-15 minutes until the mango is soft.

Rasam/Char/South Indian Hot and Sour...soup?

Okay so basically in the South of India, they make this awesome stuff. It's spicy, it's sour, and its basically used like a daal; served over rice! You can also slurp it up like a soup! This is one of those dishes that everyone includes in their "favorite foods" list, at least every south indian. =D

I feel like everyone has a different set of ingredients they use or a different method of making this, but it always turns out basically the same. When I first started making it ((from a relative's recipe, so it is authentic!)) I had some trouble with it looking, or smelling, or tasting like Rasam/Char, but I think I'm finally getting there! So here's how I do it:


Ingredients:

1/2 bunch of cilantro/hara dhanya leaves
1 tomato
4 cloves garlic

handful of dry red chilies
handful of dhanya/coriander seeds
about 2 tbsp zeera/cumin seeds
about 2 tbsp methi/fenugreek seeds
about half a handful of curry leaves
1 heaping tbsp black peppercorns

1 small ripe tomato, diced ((optional))
1 tbsp imli/tamarind soaked in warm water ((Adjust to your preference))
salt to taste

Take the first set of ingredients and blend them to a paste/puree. Dry roast the second set of ingredients on a dry frying pan and then grind to a fine powder in a coffee grinder. ((I don't have a coffee grinder, so I used one of those small food processor/chopper thingies. It took a little while, but I did get a satisfactory masala powder.)) This masala can be stored in a ziplock or bottle for future use in sambhar or daal as well for an extra kick.

Heat oil over medium heat and add rye/mustard seeds, a couple curry leaves, and two dry red chillies, and fry for a couple minutes. When the mustard seeds start to "pop", add the tomato/cilantro/garlic puree and stir fry for a couple minutes. Add about 1 tsp of the ground masala mix. Add the chopped tomato and cook for a minute or so until they become a little mushy. Smash the cooking tomatoes a bit with the back of your spoon. Add about three or four cups of water, the soaked imli juice, and salt to taste, and bring to a boil. When is starts to boil, taste, and adjust the salt, imli, or mirchi level to your liking. Aaaaand it's done!

This is a very strong tasting dish ((gives you a bit of a KICK when you take a swig)) so it should be bursting with flavor. So you can add more masala powder or whatever you want. Also, this is supposed to the consistency of water, no thicker. When it's served, a lot of people will not mix it, but will let the bulk of it settle to the bottom and only pour the top water over their rice. I like to give it a little mix for my own plate however.

Singaporean Rice

This is the recipe for my singaporean rice. It's really simple and it looks very impressive AND it tastes great so its a must for everyone to try! I originally got this recipe from a desi cooking show, but I altered and adjusted and this is my now standard recipe.

Rice:
2 cups rice
1/4 cup oil (or whatever is standard in rice)
1/2 tsp zeera
1 knorr chicken cube (you can find halal ones at all desi stores)
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
3 cups water

Sauce:
1 lb boneless chicken, cut into little cubes
1 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper (optional, but this makes it look and smell so good!)
1/4 bag carrot matchsticks (or some julienne cut carrots)
2-3 stalks green onions chopped
1/4 cabbage thinly sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper (I add this if i have it, if not thats ok)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp ground green chili peppers
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp chili garlic sauce
2 tbsp thai chili sauce or 1/2 tsp tom yum paste (optional)

Paste:
3-4 tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp ketchup

Garnish:
2 oz angel hair pasta, broken to about 1 inch
5-6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 green chili peppers, long slices
1/4 cup oil

Pasta layer:
about half a box of angel hair pasta, boiled with salt and set aside

First, you take a wok and you fry the ingredients for the garnish (sliced garlic, sliced peppers, and pasta) in the oil until golden, then you take it all out and set it aside. In the same oil, you can prepare the sauce. First to the hot oil you add minced garlic and then the chicken, black pepper, white pepper, salt, ground chili peppers, and crushed red pepper. Stir-fry the chicken till the water's dry. Then you add in the veggies (except the green onions) and stir-fry for about a minute with soy sauce. Then add in all the rest of the sauces and cook until the chicken is done. At the end you add in the green onions. There should be a little bit of sauce in with the veggies and chicken but not too much.

For the rice, you just cook like regular rice: warm the oil, add in the zeera, then add the water, salt, and the chicken cube. When the water boils add the rice and cook till done.

In a separate boil, mix up the mayonnaise, red chili powder, chili garlic sauce, and ketchup. This paste should end up being an orange-ish color.

Now that everything's ready, we just have to layer it. So take a shallow dish, and first add in the rice. On top of the rice you add the chicken and veggie sauce. On top of that is the mayonnaise paste, and on top of that is the boiled pasta. On the very top is the garnish - the fried angel hair, garlic, and green chilies.

And then you serve! This should serve about 6 people, so if you want to make more/less just adjust. And as for the sauces, you can add or subtract as you wish. I generally add random sauces when I have them so you can just adjust the taste however you want. The sauce may taste a little off when it's cooking, but when its layered it just all comes together.

Beans and Rice

This is a very common, daily use dish in a lot of spanish and island cultures ((bahamian, coasta rican, jamaican, etc)). It's easy and adds a little flair to regular rice as a side for things like grilled fish or chicken. ((Ginger-glazed mahi mahi recipe below!!))

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked white rice
1 can of beans of your choice ((black beans are more popular for this dish))
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced/crushed
1 3/4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
1 tsp cumin/zeera powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder

Heat oil over medium heat and add the onions and garlic and sautee for a couple minutes until slightly tender and translucent. Add the rice and sautee for a minute or so. Add the cumin and chili poweder and stir well. Add the broth, stir and cook uncovered. When the rice looks halfway cooked, add the beans, cover and cook over low heat until the rice is done.

Ginger-citrus-soy glazed Mahi Mahi

Ingredients:

Mahi Mahi fillets or any fish you prefer
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup of water or broth
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp soy sauce
1-2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed or grated
1 tsp lemon or orange zest
1 tsp lemon or orange juice
Sambal or crushed red pepper flakes to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Season the fish fillets with a little salt and pepper and place them in a shallow dish or plate. Combine the sesame oil, water, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, citrus zest and juice, salt, and pepper band pour this mixture over the fish to coat it. Cover and put it in the fridge for at least 20-30 minutes to marinate.

Heat a bit of oil in a frying pan and fry the fish ((save the marinade!)) or grill on a George Foreman grill or broil until cooked through. ((Fish should flake easily with fork))

Pour the reserved marinade into a sauce pan and cook, stirring, until the marinade reduces to a glaze-like consistency. You can add a slurry of cornstarch and cold water to help thicken it up. At this point, you can taste it to adjust the flavor to your liking.

Pour glaze over fish and serve warm.

Sunni's Calzone Recipe

ok. first and foremost, this is the first ever time im posting a recipe that eyes other than mine shall see and minds other than mine shall attempt to comprehend. That being said, proceed at your own risk. LOL.

(note: this is a calzone, so you can put whatever you want in it. leftovers from last night are ok. so are sauteed veggies or fish or even lima beans if you want. Im just telling you what i do. I'm just making stuff up as i go. i usually just toss in whatever i find in my pantry, but alhamdulillah its turned out really good so far.

...i actually just waltzed over to my pantry to see what i have there so i could remember what was in it)

Dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 little pack of yeast

salt to taste

HOT water as needed (the hotter the water, the better)

3 tbsp oil

Meat Filling:

2 lb loaf of boneless beef

1 onion sliced

3 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp oregano

2 tbsp barbecue sauce

1 tsp red pepper flakes

ground cumin as desired

lemon juice as desired

black pepper as desired

In the Calzone:

Marinara Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

Bell Peppers

Sliced Jalapenos (the jar kind)

1 egg for glaze

First of all, knead the dough by mixing all the ingredients together. I usually just put everything in the bread machine, and let it do its thing, but by hand works fine too. An electric mixer works well, too but you still have to knead by hand again. You can use a store bought pizza dough (like pillsbury), but everyone thought the homemade dough tasted better. its also more economical if youre making it for more people. Ive also found that even if you do double the amount of dough used, you still only need one sachet of yeast.

Leave the dough covered in a warm place (i leave mine in the bread machine) for about 3-4 hrs to let rise. I once let it rise for that long and then put in the fridge overnight. It turned out really well.

Next for the meat, cut the loaf into small 3 inch pieces. It will cook faster this way, but you dont have to cut it. Add in all the ingredients and water enough so that the meat has drowned. Cook for approximately 2 and a half hours. Make sure to have all the water dry up, and your meat should be such that when you test it, it should crumble easily.

Let the meat cool, and crumble it using a wooden spoon.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Next grease the pan, generously, with olive oil.

Roll the dough into a ball. Dust the work surface with all-purpose flour. Using a rolling pin, spread out the dough into circular shape. Thickness should be as you desire, but I've found about 1/4 of an inch works well for me, because it does spread itself further when you add the filling.

First, put in a tbsp of marinara sauce on one half of the dough leaving approximately half an inch at the corners. This will be the area we will seal. Do not use more marinara! The calzone WILL tear. Then add mozzarella cheese. Then meat, then bell peppers, then jalapenos. Add some more cheese. Any other ingredients are optional as are these. Season with salt and pepper.

Now close the calzone. Brush the edges with water and carefully take the edges over the filling. Firmly press together. Now using the back of the fork, press down sealing the calzone closed.

Brush the top with the calzone with a whipped egg coating. This is not neccessary, it just makes it shiny. Make 3 slits in the top of the calzone.

Put on the baking tray and cook for approximately 10-15 minutes, or till golden. Most ovens should not require you to flip the calzone over, but Ive found in mine that it cooks unevenly if I dont.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired. I have yet to find halal parmesan, so i dont do this.

Now serve with ranch or bleu cheese and enjoy!

I just found a video that demonstrates how to to make it. LOL! I could have just posted this link and that would be that. Well, at least you'll know what I mean now.

Murgh Mussallam - Chicken in a Yogurt Based Sauce

So Sana asked for a fun, yummy, exciting and NEW desi recipe. Well, this recipe is all that and more importantly, it's unique. The best thing about it is that although it's 'desi', it does not involve a ton of the traditional spices in bulk which we normally use. However, despite that, the flavor is amazingly rich and just absolutely full of flavor. I think one of the most impressive thing about a dish with flavor is if its been crafted using simple ingredients.

The following recipe is sure to to be a delightful change for your regular desi tastebuds. But also, it is a recipe that's very appropriate for hosting non desis. I definitely recommend adding this to your menu if you ever happen to host a diverse crowd :)

I got this recipe from a desi website. Keep in mind that when desi sites list their ingredient quantities, they are doing so with chickens from desi land in mind. It's laughable, but really, the size of the average chicken or goat over here is much larger. That's why it's best to kind of do your own estimation and increase as you see fit.

Chicken cut into pieces, 1 kg (I use a whole chicken most of the time)

Juice from 1 lemon (I use about 2 big ones)

Ghee, 1 tbsp (I use vegetable and olive oil  mixed, but more than 1 tbsp and more like a few, since its for frying onions)

Onions, sliced, 1 cup (I used an additional 1/4 cup maybe)

Ginger, 1" piece, chopped (I used a bit more)

Yogurt, 1 cup (I use a bit more, since the yogurt makes the 'gravy' part of this dish. It's veryyy hearty and yummy, so you want more of it!)

Almonds, ground, about 12 (I use a bit more)

Raisins, 10-12 (I use those plus cranberries too. They add SUPER yummy taste)

Garam masala 1 tsp (definitely need more than that, about 1 tbsp)

Saffron, few strands

Additional ingredients I use: potatoes, carrots, peas

Lemons cut into wedges, onion slices, and chopped green coriander to garnish

Method: 

Marinate chicken in lemon juice and set aside for 2 hrs. Heat the oil, add onions and ginger, and saute till brown. Remove from heat and cool. In a food processor, grind onion/ginger mixture into a smooth paste. Then blend in the yogurt and almonds into this paste. The paste should be hearty/thick enough to make a decent amount of 'gravy' for the chicken. In the oil leftover from the onions, saute the chicken lightly. Then add the yogurt/onion/etc mixture and cook covered with a heavy lid. After about 20 minutes, add raisins;cranberries, garam masala, and saffron. At  this point I add potatoes, carrots and peas as well. You might want to do this a bit earlier if you think the potatoes are big in size and may take longer to cook. Then cook until chicken/veggies are done. Garnish with lemons, onions and coriander.

Chicken Makhani

Who doesn't love some chicken makhani, right? Especially from Sabri Nihari in Chicago...mmm. So I searched and searched online for a good recipe and found one I guess I like more than the rest. This, of course, is MY version of it. BUT if anyone has a better, more authentic recipe please share!! Thanks!

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast, cup up into small pieces
about a half a stick of butter
1 tbsp tandoori masala
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
2 green chilies
1/2 tsp red mirchi powder
1/2 can of tomato paste
about 1 cup or so of heavy cream
1-2 tbsp Kasoori Methi leaves
a pinch of sugar
salt to taste

A lot of the recipes called for marinating the chicken in yogurt and spices and then grilling or broiling it. Instead, I melt 1/4 stick of butter and add the chicken, tandoori masala, 1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste, and a little bit of salt. When the chicken is cooked, remove and set aside.

In the same pot, add the remaining butter and a little oil if you want, and add the remaining 1 tbsp garlic-ginger paste, garam masala powder and green chilies and cook for a couple minutes. Add the tomato paste and about a half cup of water and cook till it becomes thick. Add red mirchi powder. Add the cream and salt to taste and cook for a minute or so. Throw in the chicken and cook for a minute. It should be a bit thick at this point. Add the sugar and kasoori methi leaves, stir, cover, and remove from heat.

Karhai Chicken

UThis is the way mom makes karhai chicken and its always a hit! And it's super easy!

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken
3-4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
a small chunk of ginger, about the same amount as garlic, cut in small pieces to match the garlic
1 cinnamon stick
5 black peppercorns
4 cloves
1 cardamom pod
1-2 green chillies cut in 1/2 inch pieces ((adjust to your preference))
2 large ripe tomatoes chopped
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tbsp dry Kasoori Methi leaves
salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Throw in the garlic, ginger, black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamon pod the green mirchi and sautee stirring continuously. After a few minutes, or when the garlic starts to take on a golden color, add the chicken and cook till chicken is no longer pink. You can increase the heat at this point. Add the tomatoes, crushed red pepper and salt, cover and cook until tomatoes break down. Uncover and simmer until sauce thickens. Add the kasoori methi at the end.

HELP

Okay gals, I'm in desperate need of new, fun, exciting desi recipes!! If any of you have any please post and save me from the daily stress of "omg what am I gonna make today?!" Much appreciated!

Best Pizza Dough Ever :-)

So I've been making pizza for a good while now, except I never bothered experimenting with any new recipes and kind of just stuck to one. Today, I tried out a new one. I found it on all recipes, but I'm posting it here with my own instructions. I think part of what's cool about this recipe blog is that we get to add little tips and such while writing up our versions of various recipes. This helps the person who's maybe aiming to try a new dish feel more confident about the how and what. You can definitely find these sorts of tips in the comments and reviews section of most websites that feature recipes, but you generally have to go through hundreds of those to understand what to do differently, and even then it's very confusing.

Anyway, sorry about the tangent. I heard we have some new visitors to this blog. I'd like to just say welcome and feel free to comment away :-) Make yourself at home!

Now onto the recipe!


3 1/2 cups bread flour (it's white flour, but a bit different than all purpose flour. works better for pizza crusts and such)
1 package active dry yeast (make sure its the quick/rapid rise yeast, not the slow one!)
1/2 tsp brown sugar or honey
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (not hot, just warm)
2 tbsps olive oil, or you can use vegetable oil

Fill a large bowl with the water, then dissolve the package of yeast along with the brown sugar or honey in it. Set that aside for 10 minutes. Add olive oil and salt, and stir the mixture. Then add 2 and a half cups of the flour right in that bowl. Mix with a fork. It's going to be a very runny mixture, but stir for a bit. Don't attempt to soften the lumps, that's not going to happen and you don't want that anyway. Then, on a separate flat surface (like a cleaned counter top or wooden board) sprinkle a good amount of the remaining flour. On top of that, dump the flour and yeast mixture. Top with more remaining flour, then start kneading to form a dough. This is a very messy process at first, but it comes together OH so nicely in the end and is totally worth the wait! Keep adding flour and working it into the dough until the dough is no longer sticky. You can use more than the suggested amount of flour in this recipe. However I strongly suggest not using more than an additional half cups or a total of 4 cups. You don't want the dough to be very tough, but soft yet not sticky. Keep kneading for a good 15 minutes.

Lightly oil a separate large bowl, then transfer the dough in it. Cover with a towel and let it sit in a warm corner for an hour. By the end of that time, the dough size should have doubled. At this point, punch a hole in the dough. Knead some more if you wish. Form into a ball. Then take a pizza pan, oil it, and spread out the dough. You can make a large thick crust, or 2 smaller thin crusts.

After you spread the dough out, let it sit for 15 additional minutes. This will allow it to slightly rise again. While waiting, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Get your cheese and pizza sauce out (I use Bertollis olive oil & garlic) and chop up any veggies (I use lots of bell peppers, onions, etc. You can use canned olives, or you may not use any veggies at all!).

After the 15 minutes are up, top your pizza dough with sauce, cheese, and veggies. Bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly

P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps

Okay I dunno if any of you have tried these but they are sooo good, along with almost everything else I've ever had at P.F Chang's. My sister found this recipe and they taste pretty much exactly like the real thing!! Woot.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground chicken ((You can ask your butcher to make this for you or mince it yourself in a food processor))
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 can of water chestnuts finely chopped
a few green onions finely sliced
1 tsp garlic-ginger paste ((since we're desi and we have it ready, otherwise 3 cloves garlic minced and about 1 tsp grated ginger))
about 4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tsp hot oil/chili oil/sambal olek ((more or less to your preference))
1 tsp honey or brown sugar
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp cornstarch
some recipes add a couple tsps ketchup ((i didn't))
some recipes also add hot mustard ((also didn't add this))
some recipes also call for hoisin sauce which I also didn't do but I think it would be great
a few whole lettuce leaves, rinsed and set aside to drip dry

Add ground chicken to oil and sautee over medium high heat until no longer pink. Add onions, water chestnuts, and garlic and ginger and stir fry. Add soy sauce, chili sauce, honey, rice vinegar, and whatever else you decide to throw in here and stir fry. Mix the cornstarch with a little cold water and add to the stir fry and stir until the water/sauce is thick but there shouldn't be too much sauce. Mix in green onions and remove from heat. Taste and adjust by adding soy sauce, chili sauce, ginger, or honey.

Scoop the mixture onto the lettuce leaves, roll, and enjoy!

Maklouba

I'm currently obsessed with simple yet rich middle eastern food. My good friend made this a couple nights ago for an iftaar and I was in heaven. This is ANOTHER good friends recipe for it. Props Hazima!

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken or lamb
2 or 3 cups of rice ((Basmati does NOT work well with this recipe. Uncle Ben's is recommended))
1 tsp garam masala (OR whole garam masala: few cloves, few black peppercorns, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 or 2 bay leaves, 2-3 cardamom pods/elaichi, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds))
couple pinches of nutmeg
3-4 chicken bouillon cubes
pinch of haldi/turmeric
half a cauliflower in small-medium size florets
3-4 carrots sliced thick
1 small eggplant sliced in rounds
2 medium potatoes sliced in rounds
1 medium tomato sliced in rounds or chopped up ((This is totally optional))
salt to taste

Boil the chicken with the garam masala, haldi, bouillon cubes, salt and about 4-5 cups of water. You want a lot of water in the pot so there is stock left over to cook the rice in. Add more if you need. Boil until the chicken is just cooked.

Meanwhile, soak the rice for 20 minutes. Drain, and add a little olive oil and garlic powder for taste. Cut up all the veggies and fry them in oil until golden brown. Don't let them cook too much, they should only be half cooked.

When the chicken is done, remove from the pot and set aside. Strain the stock to remove all the garam masala and other chunks of stuff. You can broil the chicken at this point to give it a little color.

In a large pot or dutch oven, place the browned chicken pieces, then layer nicely with the veggies. You should arrange these nicely and not just dump it all in. Then add the soaked rice on top. Place a plate on top of the rice to weigh everything down ((not to cover the pot with)), and pour the chicken stock into the pot. There should be enough to cook the rice thoroughly. If not, add more water.

Cook on medium till the water boils, then lower it a bit till the rice is cooked through. When it's done, place a large serving platter over the pot and flip it over carefully. When you remove the pot, the maklouba should retain the shape of the pot ((this is why the plate on top of the rice is key)) and be in lovely layers with chicken on top, then veggies, then rice. You may garnish with parsley or toasted almonds or pine nuts.

Note: This may be my desi side lashing out but I feel like there is a lack of oil in this dish. So I feel like I would either add it to the pot before putting in all the layers or drizzle some olive oil on top after flipping the cooked product over onto the platter.

Aloo-Pyaaz Kachoris!

When I asked Zubair what he wanted for iftaar today his answer was "I dunno...something cool." So I told him to find me something "Cool" and I'd attempt. His mom makes these and he loves them so I gave them a go!

Ingredients:

Filling:
2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled, and mashed
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 tsp dhanya/coriander seeds
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 green chili finely chopped ((or as many as you like))
1/3 tsp red chili powder
1/3 tsp zeera/cumin powder
2 tsp lemon juice ((or to taste))
handful chopped cilantro/hara dhanya
3-4 green onions, finely chopped
handful of green peas ((optional))
salt to taste

1 cup maida/all purpose flour

Mix the flour, a pinch of salt and gradual amounts of warm water to form the dough. Cover and set aside.

Mix together the cooled, mashed potatoes and the rest of the ingredients for the filling. You can adjust this to make it as spicy/lemony/salty as you like.

Pinch off a little bit of dough, roll out into a small thin disc, about 2-3 inches in diameter. Put about 2 teaspoons of potato filling in the middle. Dampen the edge of the dough with water and gather all the edges. Pinch them together, and give a little twist to make sure it's sealed well. Give a little smush in between your hands to flatten just slightly. Bake the kachoris at about 300 degrees for about 15 minutes or untill golden brown or deep fry.

Cherry Cream Cheese Danish Dessert Thing

This is sooo yummy as breakfast or as a dessert. Its like a cherry cream cheese danish pie! And so easy!

Ingredients:

2 cans pillsbury crescent sheets

2 tubs of Philadelphia cream cheese softened

1-1/2 cups Powdered sugar, divided

1 Egg white

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 can (20 oz.) cherry pie filling (or whatever pie filling you like)

3 Tbsp. Milk


Unroll one can of the crescent sheets and press down on the bottom of a greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Try to press some up the sides of the pan as well.

Beat the cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the powdered sugar, the egg white and the vanilla with an electric mixer (if you have one) until well blended. Spread this mixture onto the crust and then cover that with the cherry pie filling.

Cover with the other crescent roll sheet and try to smush the sides down to meet the bottom crust if you can.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and then cool slightly. Mix the milk with the remaining 3/4 cup of powdered sugar until well blended. Drizzle over the danish. Cut into rectangles and serve! Refrigerate any leftovers in the fridge.

Note: I haven't made this in a couple years but I used to make it regularly for a while and everyone loved it. The only thing I remember not liking about it is that the top crust seemed to get kind of soggy after a while because of the cherry pie filling. But it was still yummy!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup or 2 sticks butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

2 eggs

halal extract, 2 1/2 tsps (completely optional)

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

one 12 ounce bag of chocolate chips. increase or decrease as desired. i used half a bag. i also used peanut butter, walnuts, etc

preheat oven to 350 degrees

cream together butter, sugars, eggs and extract.

combine flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt. add slowly to the butter-sugar mixture. use hand mixer on slow speed if necessary. the result should be dough of decent thickness.

add chocolate chips to dough. 

with fingers, make golf sized balls of dough (about 25 big ones, or 50 smaller ones). spread on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

now this part is the one that requires the most attention. bake cookies for NO LONGER than 9-12 mins. they SHOULD NOT be completely cooked when you take them out, NOR should their color be exactly golden brown. after taking them out of the oven, make sure  to leave them in a COOL place without touching them for about 10 minutes. this will allow them to continue setting in place and cooking in their own heat which is important to ensure chewy-ness without them falling apart.

Enjoy!

Tips: don't double or half the recipe. it doesn't turn out as good. these proportions are pretty accurate.

also, this makes a good amount of cookie dough. You can freeze it or store it in the fridge for about a week or more if you wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap.