Chana Batata | Lagda | Aloo Chole | Chole Chaat | Chana Chaat | Chickpea Chat

 Ingredients:

1 cup dried chickpeas (kabuli chane/chhole)

2 large potatoes or 10 baby potatoes (aloo)

2 medium sized tomatoes (tamatar)

Handful of tamarind (imli)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (zeera)

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (raai)

1-2 cloves of garlic (lehsan  ke beej)

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder (lal mirchi)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)

1 teaspoon sugar (shakkar)

1/2 teaspoon salt or as per taste (namak)

10-12 curry leaves (kadipatta)

1 green chilli OPTIONAL (hari mirchi)

Fresh coriander leaves (hara dhaniya)

1 tbsp oil (tel)

Method:

1. Wash well and soak the chickpeas the night before or at least 8 hours before cooking.

2. Once the chickpeas are doubled in size, boil them in a pressure cooker for 6 whistles on medium, with 4-5 cups of water and one teaspoon of salt.

3. Wash and boil potatoes. You can boil potatoes along with the chickpeas if you like.

4. Wash and soak tamarind. Remove all the seeds and threads.

5. When potatoes are cooled down peel them and take some of the potatoes in a blender jar add tomatoes, tamarind, garlic, and cumin seeds and grind it to a fine paste using boiled chickpea water.

6. Heat oil in a pot and splutter the mustard seeds and curry leaves then add salt, sugar, chili powder, and turmeric powder. Sauté for a minute and then add prepared paste. When the raw smell is gone and the masala is cooked well, add chickpeas and cubed-boiled potatoes.

7. Cook on high till starts boiling then cover and slow cook for 20-25 minutes. Serve garnished with chopped coriander leaves and slit green chili.

Shami Kebab Recipe

Shami Kebab is another very famous variety of  kabab. Shaami kebabs can be made with chicken, mutton/lamb or beef but traditionally beef shami kebab are considered as authentic and taste better than chicken or mutton and lamb. But you can use the meat of your choice and as per convenience. Usually, shami kebabs are shallow fried but I like mine deep fried with those crispy edges formed by egg wash you can also coat shami kebabs with bread crumbs, I do sometimes, as it perfectly compliments the soft, gooey kebabs. Shami kebab can be made ahead and freeze well for about three weeks hence very popular item during Ramadan food preps.

Here is my recipe for Shami Kebab which I have been making since last few years or you can say since I started cooking :D

PS: Excuse me for bad picture quality as sometimes you are just not in the mood of photography but later you decide to share is publicly, that's what happened here. Hope you all will find the recipes useful. Feel free to leave a feedback on recipe once you have tried it. All the best! :D

Chicken Reshmi Kebab

Well the name "Reshmi Kebab" comes from the texture of these kabab. Resham means silk silk in Urdu language and most of these kebabs and korma were invented during mughals and nawaabs era hence the names of mughlai dishes are really unique and better not be translated. Chicken reshmi kebab are also known as malai kebabs or murgh malai kebabs for the same reason that is soft as malai (cream). This recipe can make a perfect starter at the dinner as well as a great recipe for iftar during Ramadan as these kebabs are really nutritious, easy to prepare and are light on stomach. You can freeze the marinated and prepare kebab and grill just before serving. Though usually these kebabs are made with pieces marinated and grilled on skewers but as I have tweaked the recipe to bring that smokey flavour, I prefer grinding the the chicken along with all other ingredients for marinade and trust me the kababs turn out very juicy and full of flavours.

My twist to the Chicken Reshmi Kebab Recipe may sound weird at first I mean who roasts almonds with dried red chillies? but guess what?

Aloo bhajji | Potato Pakora | Aloo Pakoda Recipe

Aloo bhajji/potato pakora

Because it's raining and everyone is craving pakoras at tea time so made these simple aloo bhajjiye. :) no glam, nothing fancy bas jhat-pat teatime fixes. 😇

How to make Aloo bhajji | Potato Pakora | Aloo Pakoda Recipe:

Green Moong Dal Bhajiye | Mung Bean Pakora | Moong Dal Pakora

When it's raining, what everyone wants? Yes! You guessed it right! Pakora! So here it's been raining for last few days and we have had different savouries as tea time snacks. Apart from all the jhat-pat or quick fix snacks there are these few that requires a little bit of advance planning like soaking the beans and grinding etc. These Moong Dal Bhajiye is one of them.

Scrumptious Green Moong Dal Pakora is an easy tea time savoury snack having a simple recipe and requires just a little efforts. I'm sure you will love

Almond Pudding Recipe | Almond Pez Recipe | Badam Gehu Ki Pez

The most popular Ramadan dessert in Kokan is Pez! We have many different varieties of pez but this almond one is very common. People usually make pez in large quantities and share it with neighbours. It's a healthy dessert that keeps you cool after a long day of fasting and Taraweeh prayer.

The authentic recipe calls for milky extract from soaked whole wheat but you can replace that with wheat starch for a quick fix. You can skip ghee altogether if you are avoiding fats. And if allergic to dairy, you can replace milk with coconut milk but then you'll have to compromise for taste. ;)

Almond Pudding Recipe | Almond Pez Recipe | Badam Gehu Ki Pez

Dreamy Creamy Delight

I don't follow recipes but my heart for making desserts! And Ramadan is the time when there has been at least one dessert a day. Yes, I said at least one because traditionally they prepare 2-3 sweet dishes a day including puddings (like pez, khawru, gauty halwa etc.) and pancakes for example malpua, pelway and all). So, here's one such dessert from this Ramadan. I didn't follow any particular measurements for this recipe so just sharing how I made it.

Dreamy Creamy Delight Recipe:

Spring Fried Chicken Recipe

Thousands of recipes for fried chicken still we keep browsing Internet for more ideas and recipes to give a twist to the dish everytime we are going to fry chicken (at least in my case) and sometimes we come across really great recipes. But once when I was tired of scrolling through different web pages my sis came to my rescue and shared this recipe she had tried. I decided to follow the recipe to the T (tee?) :D and it came out so so good that I have decided to follow the same recipe without any variations.

How To Make Spring Fried Chicken:

Tapioca Patties Recipe | Sabudana Tikki Recipe | Sago Vada Recipe

Excuse me for poor presentation and photography because I was running out of time before iftar 😔

There are days when you get tired of kebabs and samosas and all the meaty and cheesy stuff and want something that's simple and light. As it's not possible to skip chicken/mutton and cheese altogether during Ramadan so what we can do is to make some light dish on side and that's what I did, made these Sabudana Vadas.

Sabudana vada or sago vada is a very popular breakfast item from Maharashtra. It's a simple and filling snack that's equally loved by vegetarians as well during fasting days. Deep fried tapioca pearls gives unique crunchy flavour to the simple potato patties. We sometimes dip vadas in beaten eggs before frying just to enhance the golden colour but that's totally optional and better be avoided as sabudana vada comes under veg snacks category.
PS: avoid using fresh coriander in vadas as it makes vadas quite soggy.

Tapioca Patties Recipe | Sabudana Tikki Recipe | Sago Vada Recipe

Chicken Egg Salad

This chicken salad is my go to recipe. It's simple, easy and tastes great! Can be used for making sandwiches and wraps or you can serve it with tortilla chips. You can skip mayonnaise and

Baked Chicken with Vegetables and Lemon Sauce

Nicely baked, rich in flavours, loaded with vegetables with a side of lemon sauce, this baked chicken was a perfect dinner.

Baked Chicken with Vegetables and Lemon Sauce Recipe:

Aloo Samosa Recipe

The most popular Indian snacks are Samosa and Pakora. There are many varieties of samosa but the most common is Aloo Samosa or also know as Punjabi Samosa. You can easily find aloo samosa anywhere in food streets to high end restaurants here in India.

The spicy potato filling wrapped in flaky pastry with added carom seeds is sure to please your taste buds and satisfy your hunger pangs. ;)
So, I am sharing my homemade punjabi aloo samosa recipe which is very easy to make and always a hit.

Aloo Samosa Recipe

Here is how to make dough to get a flaky crispy covering:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon carom seeds
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• Water for kneading

Mix all the dry ingredients with the help of a fork so that flour seeds and salt are well incorporated. Pour in oil and mix vigorously till the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Now add water as needed and knead stiff dough. Keep it dough ball in a bowl and wrap it with cling film and proceed to prepare the filling.

Ingredients for filling:

• 2 large potatoes
• 1 cup dried green or white peas (soaked for at least 4 hours) or fresh green peas
• 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• 2 inch piece of ginger
• 1 green chilli
• 1/4th teaspoon of asafetida
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1 teaspoon mango powder
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Boil potatoes and peas in a pressure cooker.
2. Peal and mash the boiled potatoes.
3. Make paste of ginger and green chilli using little water.
4. Heat oil in a wok and add asafetida (if using) when is crackles add chopped parsley and ginger and green chili paste sauté for a minute then add all the spices and salt. Stir well and finally add mashed potatoes and boiled peas. Mix well and let it cook covered on low flame for 3-5 minutes.

Making samosa:

Divide the dough in golf ball sized portions and roll out 1/8” thick in oval shape. Cut the rolled dough lengthwise, take one half and put a spoonful of filling in the center and bring in the pointed edges over the filling making a triangle. Gently press the open edges to seal the cone and voila! You samosa is ready. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

When you are done with making samosa, heat oil in a deep frying pan. Check the temperature of oil by putting in a bit of dough if it takes a few seconds to come up your oil is at right temperature for frying the samosa, if the dough comes up immediately, lower the heat. Fry samosa at low to medium heat till golden brown and crispy. Serve hot with sweet tamarind chutney.

Savoury Cheese Sticks

Mozarella cheese fingers covered with chicken  and vegetable mixture seasoned with desi spices that create unique blend of flavours. Can be frozen for two weeks. As it's loaded with goodness of vegetables and packed with protein from chicken and cheese, it make a healthy treat of you bake instead of deep frying.

Savoury Cheese Sticks Recipe

Ingredients:

• 200 g Mozarella cheese block
• 1 cup boiled and shredded chicken
• 1 large potato
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 medium sized carrot
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1/2 cup sweetcorn kernels
• 1/2 cup cauliflower florets
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• Salt as per taste
• Beaten eggs for coating
• Bread crumbs for coating
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Cut Mozarella cheese into thick 2 inches long sticks and keep in fridge for later use.

2. Wash, cube and pressure cook all the vegetables adding just half a cup of water, a little salt and ginger garlic paste. Vegetable should be mushy but there shouldn't be any excess water.

3. Take cooked veggies in a mixing bowl and add shredded chicken and all the spices and mix well. If it's too sticky, add some seasoned bread crumbs.

4. Now take a little portion from above mixture and spread on a flat surface, place a cheese stick and close ends in such a way that cheese is well coated with chicken and veggies mixture.

5. Give egg wash and coat with bread crumbs. You can in freezer and deep fry or bake till golden while serving.

White Sauce Croquettes

White sauce because we were bored of potatoes and bread and lentils. So, tried this new base for croquettes and it was a hit instantly! Though the mixture is very soft and sticky initially but when you keep it in fridge for an hour it becomes easy to handle and you make shapes of your choice.

I have used chicken and spinach filling but again, you're free to throw in whatever you want!

White Sauce Croquettes Recipe

Ingredients:

For base:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 stick or 4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups full cream milk
1 cup grated cheese
3-4 cloves of garlic
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
1/2 dried oregano

For filling:

1 cup chopped spinach
1 cup shredded chicken
1/2 cup boiled sweet cornkernels
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/2 mixed vegetables of your choice like carrot, bell peppers, mushrooms, green beans etc.
2 tablespoons hot and sweet sauce
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

For coating:

Beaten egg
Seasoned flour
Bread crumbs

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add ginger garlic paste, hot and sweet sauce and salt and then add rest of the ingredients for filling and saute well till everything is crisp.

2. Remove from the fire and let the mixture cool down completely.

3. Now prepare white sauce for base. Heat butter in a pot and put in grated garlic cloves. As the garlic turns slightly golden Add chili flakes, pepper powder and oregano and then immediately add the flour and whisk well. Slowly mix in the milk to form a smooth mixture. Let it cook for a minute on high flame with continuous stirring. Turn off the flame and add one cup grated cheese. Mix well.

4. Once the sauce is cooled down a bit, add in the prepared filling and mix well then keep in the fridge for an hour so that it becomes thick and pliable.

5. Take out of the fridge and make croquettes shapes. Immediately roll in Seasoned flour keep in a tray. Repeat till you are done with all the mixture.

6. Now dip the croquettes in beaten egg on by one and roll in the bread crumbs.

7. Freeze for half an hour and then deep fry till golden. Serve warm.

Half Moon Pies

This recipe is best for freezing as it stays fresh for more than two weeks hence its always on the menu for frozen Ramadan items.
The crispy covering is the result of pate a choux dough which is then deep fried. We prefer creamy filling for this pastry as it goes just perfect with the crispy melt in mouth covering. But the best thing about such pies is, you can always experiment with fillings.

Half Moon Pies Recipe:

How to prepare choux dough for half moons:

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg (optional)

Directions:

1. Take butter, water, milk and salt in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. When the butter has melted completely, put off the heat and add all the flour and mix vigorously with wooden spoon and again place on medium heat. Let the dough cook on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes or till it makes a ball with shiny surface. Keep stirring with wooden spoon. A thin film of flour may form on the bottom of the pan while cooking the dough.

2. Take the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium low till the dough is warm to the touch. (Instead of using electric mixer you can cool the dough manually by tossing the dough with a metal spatula.

3. Once the dough is cool enough, add beaten egg, if using. The dough will become very sticky and after adding the egg but it will hold back together as you keep on kneading. (To avoid this mess you can skip egg).

4. As dough cools down completely, divide it into small balls. Roll out small and not very thin discs.

5. Put filling on one side of the disc and apply some beaten egg or water on edges with brush or using your finger and then flip the other end making half moon shaped.

6. Dip the pastry in beaten egg and then in bread crumbs and store in freezer safe container. Deep fry and serve when needed.

Creamy Chicken filling for Half Moon Pies:

Ingredients:

1 cup boiled and shredded chicken
1/2 cup boiled green peas
1/2 cup boiled sweet corn kernels
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt and pepper as per taste
1 teaspoon olive oil

Method:

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and toss well. Keep in fridge for an hour before using.

You can adjust spices as per your taste.

Crispy Bread Pockets

Just another way of eating sandwiches that's even more sinful than the regular ones because the bread itself gets breaded and then deep fried till crispy. So, basically there are loads of calories! But who counts calories when it's Ramadan? ;)
You can make filling of your choice to fill the pockets. Here I have used stir fried chicken and vegetables and topped it with loads of cheese! Because it's cheese and I love it. :D

How to make Crispy Bread Pockets

For making bread pockets you will need:

Sliced Bread (white or brown)

Beaten Egg

Seasoned Bread Crumbs (or you can use plain bread crumbs)

Water for sticking the edges

Oil for deep frying

Round shaped cookie cutter

Directions:

1. Slightly roll out the bread slices on a plain surface with the help of a rolling pin and cut with cookie like this

2. Apply little water on edges of bread discs and stick two discs.

3. Dip in the beaten egg then roll in bread crumbs and keep in the fridge for some time.

4. Heat oil for deep frying and fry the prepared bread discs till they puff up and are nice golden in colour. Remove on kitchen paper and let them cool down. Then cut into two equal halves. Your pockets are ready!

Recipe for the filling I have used:

Ingredients:

1 cup boiled and shredded chicken

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (green and yellow)

2 Tablespoons chopped carrot

1 small red onion chopped

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon mixed herbs

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

Salt as per taste

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Method:

1. Heat butter in a pan when it bubbly add onion, bell peppers and carrot and stir fry for 2-3 minutes then add chicken and all the spices and fry on high flame for 2 minutes.

2. Place 1 teaspoon of this filling in prepared bread pockets.

3. Mix Cheddar and Mozarella cheese and top the bread pockets with cheese.

4. Serve at room temperature.

Steamed Egg Pudding

EGG PUDDING

Puddings are always a hit dessert in family functions and this one is one of those traditional pudding recipes that have been passed over by grandmas from generation to generation. It requires just a few simple ingredients to prepare this light, creamy pudding. either serve it warm or cool it for several hours in fridge it will taste great anyway. The is key is to steam it for right duration so that you can get that perfect firm texture. The perfect egg pudding will have a firm texture and will leave juices at the bottom after it has cooled down to room temperature.

Egg Pudding Recipe

Ingredients:

6 Eggs
1 Liter Full Cream Milk
1/3rd Cup Sugar (or as per taste)
A pinch of Salt
1/4th Teaspoon Cardamom Powder
1/4th Teaspoon Saffron Strands
Slivered Almonds and Raisins for garnishing

Direction:

1. Keep the apparatus ready by heating about 2 inches of water in a double boiler.
2. Break eggs in a mixing bowl one by one and beat well with a wire whisk. Add sugar and salt and keep pouring the milk little by little meanwhile. When all the milk has been added to the beaten egg mixture and sugar has melted almost completely, transfer the mixture into steaming pot or bowl and sprinkle cardamom powder, saffron strands and gently garnish it with slivered almonds and raisins.
3. Close the lid of steamer and let it cook for 30 minutes. Check if its done by inserting a wooden skewer, if it comes out clean the pudding is done.
4. Serve either still a bit warm or completely cold, the way you want.

Onion Pakora Recipe | Onion Fritters Recipe | Kanda Bhajji Recipe

Hot and crispy Onion Bhajji - one of the Iftar essentials at my place..

Hot, crispy and melt in mouth pakoras with chutney along with a cup of adrak wali chai and a good book (get your favourite books here http://www.amazon.in/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=1634753031) is what all I want on a rainy afternoon. I didn't know how to make perfect crispy bhajjiya until I went to stay at a hostel for a few days during Ramadan and I felt the need to learn some basic recipes for Iftar (breaking the fast after sunset). My mom explained the recipe on phone and I tried making the fritters for the first time but they turned a little soggy! :( but I didn't give up after that and kept trying till I learned the the art of making perfect Bhajji! :D and here is my recipe for Pyaz ki Bhajji -

How to make Onion Pakora:

Ingredients:

2 Large Onions
2 Green Chilies
2 Tbsp Chopped Coriander Leaves
1/2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
1/8th Tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 Tsp Red Chili Powder (optional)
3 Tbsp Gram Flour (Besan)
1 Tbsp Water
Salt as per taste
Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Peel, wash and finely slice the onions and take in a mixing bowl.
2. Add chopped green chilies, chopped coriander, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chili powder and mix gently.
3. Add gram flour and salt and mix well so that all things get well incorporated buy keep your hand light to avoid getting a water mixture. Adding a tablespoon of water makes your pakoras light and fluffy but you can avoid that if you want really very crispy bhajji.
4. Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Check if the oil is at right temperature for frying the pakoras by dropping a pinch of mixture if it comes to surface immediately then your oil is ready to fry the pakoras.
5. Drop the batter with the help of a spoon making tiny bhajjis. Fry till golden and enjoy the mouth watering kanda bhajji.

Note: Some recipe call for baking soda as an essential ingredient for pakoras but I literally HATE that thing! As the baking soda makes your pakoras really ideally crispy only till they're hot. Once they cooled down a bit you get a soggy mess that's good enough to through away in kitchen bin. So just AVOID baking soda.