Ramadan recipe of the day... 2017

[ghazi52]

Iftar recipe of the day: Samosa Chaat

A favourite all year round, chaat makes a grand entry onto our dining tables in Ramazan. With endless varieties such as dahi bara, aaloo, chana and fruit chaats, it is hardly surprising that you frequently find them at Iftar.

So, what makes a great chaat?

There has to be a main ingredient such as chickpeas, potato or samosa, some crunch in the form of paapri, vegetable and spices to add flavour and chutneys (sauces) to bring everything together.

So, if you have been longing to try your hand at making some delicious chaat varieties at home, here’s one you can start with:

Samosa Chaat

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked or canned chickpeas

3 tablespoons oil

½ teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)

2 medium-sized chopped onions

1 cup finely-chopped tomatoes

2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste

2 to 3 green chilies

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder (dhania powder)

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

1 teaspoon dry mango powder

Salt to taste

A dozen small or 5-6 large aaloo samosa

For garnishing

Imli (tamarind) sauce

Chilli sauce

Dhania chutney

½ cup finely-chopped onions

Chaat masala as required

Coriander leaves to garnish

Lemon juice

Yogurt

Fried green chilies

Method

Sauté chopped onions in a pan until translucent and then add two teaspoons of ginger-garlic paste. Stir until the smell of garlic and ginger fades away.

Next: add 1 cup of finely-chopped tomatoes and mix.

Now add the dry spices: lightly ground cumin, a pinch of turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder and stir.

Fry the masala until the tomatoes become softer, and oil starts to separate from the mixture.

Add a few green chillies and salt.

Add canned chickpeas to the mixture, mash a few chickpeas – this will thicken the gravy – and simmer the masala on medium flame.

Add garam masala and dry mango powder when the mixture starts to bubble. Mix well.

Cook until the gravy has become slightly thick.

Assembly

To assemble, plate out this channa masala in a serving bowl. Break a samosa into pieces on top of the channa masala. Finally, add the chutneys and spices and garnish with onions and fresh coriander. Lemon juice and fried green chillies are excellent additions. Enjoy!

 

[ghazi52]

4 delicious ways to use dates this Ramazan

With the month of Ramazan just a day away, of course we’re thinking dates – the much-loved, widely consumed staple for a fasting person.

Highly nutritious and filling, dates are found on every table during Ramazan. One of the most revered staples of the month, they are very versatile and can be used to make a variety of scrumptious desserts, appetizers as well as sauces.

While we will continue to enjoy them whole, here are some delicious ways to use dates this Ramazan.

Peanut butter, banana and date sandwiches

PHOTO: naturalhealthmag

Make these with whole meal bread and you will have a delicious and wholesome meal for Sehri. Of course you can ‘desify’ it and couple it with Lassi. This recipe calls for pitted dates and peanut butter along with bananas and honey. If you really can’t resist, you may use Nutella instead of honey but remember the point is to eat healthy.

Find its recipe here.

Roast chicken with dates, olives and capers

PHOTO: Ottolenghi

This recipe makes a delicious roast chicken. The dates give it a rich sweet taste which is balanced beautifully with the capers and olives. This recipe is perfect for an Iftar when you invite guests over. It is easy to make and can feed a number of people. Pair it with rice or cous cous.

Find the recipe here.

Saffron, date and almond rice

For lovers of rice and dates, this is the perfect recipe. The rice are fragrant and flavoursome and would go well with most of our favourite curries.


Find the recipe here.

Mascarpone stuffed dates

PHOTO: Food and wine

This recipe serves dates how we like them best; bite size. The dates are stuffed with lusciously light mascarpone cheese and dusted with unsweetened cocoa. The bitter-sweet contrast in flavour is a delight for the taste buds.

Find its recipe here.

 

[ghazi52]

Kabuli Chanay or chickpeas are truly a sub-continental favourite; across borders, ethnicities, religion, caste and colour, come Ramazan, tea time, dinners, coffee mornings or the ever favourite while out shopping snack.

One of my favourite things about Kabuli chanay is that all cooks and cuisines make and serve it a little differently, giving it their own personal and cultural twist.

Chickpeas make a great salad

Chickpea salad is a simple salad, loaded with carbohydrates and an explosion of taste


Chickpea salad is a simple salad, loaded with carbohydrates and an explosion of taste. The base could be just chickpeas, boiled potatoes, fried fritters or papri (crackers), dahi bara, samosa, puffed rice, legume or chickpea snacks, served with a variety of chutneys, sauces, tahini sauce and dahi (yogurt), topped with chopped vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, green chillie, green onions, cucumbers, and garnished with cilantro, mint or endless possibilities.

Chickpea has been known to Asia and Europe for over 8000 to 10,000 years and was cultivated in both continents. Archeologists claim that its earliest cultivation may have been in the regions encompassing the Mediterranean, Persia, Afghanistan and the lands surrounding it. History suggests that the subcontinent may also have been its place of birth, hence the wide use of chickpea in Pakistan, India and the Mediterranean ranging from hummus, pakora, puri chana, dal ka halwa and the list goes on.

Max Falkowitz, the national editor at Serious Eats, in his article titled Top Chaat best describes it saying the following;

"Chaat isn't generally part of a meal; it's a snack eaten in between: after school or work, in the lingering hours before dinner. In a culture that doesn't go wild over alcohol, meeting for a Chickpea snack can replace meeting for drinks or coffee."

The combination of cold and fresh salad with the warm chickpeas is surprisingly enticing, says Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook Jerusalem


The recipe I share with you today is from the cookbook Jerusalem by Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi, and serves as a perfect iftar delight. The book says the following about the salad;

"The inspiration for this salad comes from a [restaurant in London], whose food is inspired by southern Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East, very much echoing the same voices that are heard in Jerusalem’s kitchens. The combination of cold and fresh salad with the warm chickpeas is surprisingly enticing. You care serve this dish as it is, with a warm pita [naan], tahini sauce, hummus [raita].’

Come this fasting month, I made the spiced chickpea and fresh vegetable salad, and served it as side with chapli kabab, yogurt raita and hot naan, it was a real hit. Here it is from my kitchen to yours.

Ingredients
2 cups chanay, soak overnight (preferably 12 hrs.) in 5 cups of water and 1/2 tsp. baking soda.

2 small cucumbers

2 large tomatoes

8 ½ oz. radishes

1 red pepper seeded

1 small red onion

1 bunch cilantro

6 tbsp. olive oil

Lemon zest and 3 tbsp. lemon juice

1 ½ apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. garlic

1 tsp. super fine sugar

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1 ½ tsp. ground spice

1 tsp. ground cumin

Greek yogurt (optional)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

This salad is a great way to incorporate more veggies into your diet this Ramazan


Method
Rinse soaked Kabuli chanay, boil until tender, skimming foam. Drain and cool.

Chop cucumber, tomato, onions, radish, pepper and cilantro, drizzle salad dressing and toss lightly (5 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice zest, vinegar, garlic, sugar).

Mix cardamom, cumin, all spice and salt and add chanay to it.

In a pan put a tbsp. of olive oil, heat and toss chanay. Coat, lightly frying until warm, ensuring that they don't stick to pan.

Spoon warm chanay on one side of the platter, on the other side serve the cold salad, serve with a side of raita or greek yogurt, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

 

[mr.robot]

Waiting for promised posts of your cooking skills, which already look brilliant.

 

[ghazi52]

Why a bowl of pheni for sehri is a good idea

AAMIR YASIN

Rawalpindi likes to start its fast on a sweet note with this vermicelli that is fried and served in milk

While the city’s residents retire to bed, traditional sweet shops open their kitchens to start preparing sehri soon after taraveeh. While many people opt for dishes such as nihari or mutton karahi, there are also some traditional sehri dishes in high demand during the month of Ramazan.

One of these dishes is a bowl of pheni, which can also be eaten as dessert.
Sweet shops and bakeries in downtown Rawalpindi, from Raja Bazaar to Purana Qila, Bhabara Bazaar, Saidpuri Gate, Banni and Katarpura specialise in making the dish, but only a few are popular among locals.

A kind of vermicelli, pheni is fried and served in milk. The noodle is made from semolina, butter and fine wheat flour. Semolina, flour, sugar and butter are mixed into dough that is left in ghee for 15 minutes.

The dough is then stretched using a mixture of corn flour and ghee and doubled, and the process is repeated 10 or 11 times before the dough has been flattened and is ready to be deep fried. The pheni is fried and served with milk and sugar, and garnished with almonds and pistachios.

The pheni is made from semolina and ghee so it is digested slowly and keeps you from feeling hungry during the fast

The origin of the dish is debated – the name appears to have come from the Middle East or Central Asia, but the dish itself is similar to Indian puri and Rajisthani sutarfeni.

Mohammad Saleem, the owner of a sweet shop in Kartarpura, said pheni is a traditional Punjabi dish made mostly by people from Amritsar and Lahore. “We have been making it in Rawalpindi for the last 60 years,” he said.

Although pheni is made year round, the real season for it is Ramazan, he said, during which people have it for sehri.

He said that pheni was originally made with semolina, but some people used fine wheat flour, which ruined the taste of the dish.

There are also two types of pheni prepared at his shop – one made using vegetable oil and the other in desi ghee.

Pheni is better than bread because it is made from semolina and richer in fibre

“The time for sehri is short, so we prefer a bowl of milk and pheni and a cup of tea. The pheni is made from semolina and ghee so it is digested slowly and you do not feel hungry during the fast,” Naeem Ahmed, who lives in Chaklala III and was visiting the store to purchase pheni, said.

He said children and elderly people in particular want something that is healthier than spicy food, making pheni a good option for them. The dish also requires little time to prepare, so a bowl of pheni is ready within 10 minutes.

Satellite Town resident Suleman Malik said he used to eat French toast for sehri but has taken up pheni because he comes back home from work late and does not have much time to pick up food. “The semolina is better than bread made from fine wheat flour because it is richer in fibre,” he added.

Raja Zahid from Bhabara Bazaar said pheni is a fresh item available in the city that is also affordable, which is why he prefers it.

How to make pheni recipe Desi food:

Pheni recipe is a very tasty sweet dish. It is mostly make on Eid or Diwali events. It is very easy to cook and take very short time.



It is more tasty and delicious than vermicelli. Children like to eat pheni. It is cook with milk and also eat in dried farm.

Ingredients:

Milk: 1/2 kg
Pheni: 2 cup
Cardamom: 2-3
Sugar: according to your taste
Almond: 5-6 for garnish

Preparation:

Take a tensile add 1/2 kg milk, Cardamom and sugar in to it on burner and boil it. After 3 to 4 minutes add 2 cup pheni in to it and boil for only 2 minutes and closed the burner. Now it is ready make garnish with almond on it.

 

[ghazi52]

5 unlikely pakora mixes that are actually really good



Pumpkin pakoras, anyone?

No one can deny that pakoras are an iftar staple.

Most of us can never tire of these delicious fried goodies, but at the same time, having pakoras every single day can get a little monotonous. It's a conundrum, really.

So how do we manage to enjoy pakoras without getting bored by them? Ditch the usual onion, potato, chilli for more unusual ingredients.

Here are a few suggestions:

Eggs

Photo credit: NOH


Boil eggs and toss them in your pakora mixture. These can actually be a favourite among children and taste wholesome.

Cabbage

Photo credits: Spicy Treats


You'd think cabbage in a pakora would taste bland but a pinch of salt seasons the cabbage and the water content leads to juicy pakoras!

Halloumi cheese

Photo credit: Tastemade


Halloumi is a Turkish cheese, which is ideal for cooking on its own. Because of that, it makes for delicious pakoras. Try them!

Pumpkin

Photo credits: Roti n Rice


We were hesitant to try pumpkin in pakoras but we quite enjoyed the fleshy pull apart texture.

Sweet potato

Photo credit: Hebbar's Kitchen


This is a favourite! Use the same recipe as you would for potato pakoras and the slightly sweet taste and the soft texture is going to be a huge hit!

 

[ghazi52]

Iftar recipe of the day: Khow suey

photo of khow suey.

There are many recipes for khow suey out there but this is by far the best we have encountered.

The recipe has oodles and oodles of flavour; the khow suey is juicy, has the essential crunchy elements, some tang from the lemon, heat from the chilli, and is perfectly balanced spice wise.

Curry

1kg yogurt
4 tbs besan
8 green chillies or to taste
15 curry leaves
Salt to taste
½ tsp turmeric
½ garlic

Method

Blend yogurt and besan.
Make a paste of green chillies, garlic, salt, turmeric in a chopper.
Fry curry leaves in steaming hot oil. Then put it on medium heat and add the paste. Sauté for awhile, add then yogurt and besan mix. Let it cook until you get the desired consistency. Add water if needed.


Meat

4 chicken boneless breasts, cubbed.
2 large onions – chopped
2 tbsp ginger – chopped
1 tbsp garlic – chopped
Salt to taste
Red chilli to taste
1 tsp garam masala

One bunch of fresh coriander leaves – finely chopped
Marinate chicken with all ingredients except onion, set aside for half an hour at least.
Fry onions until golden brown on low heat, add the marinated chicken. Cook until meat is done.

Spaghetti

Boil. Drain. Soak in cold water.

Garnishes/ toppings

Fried samosa wraps
Fried noodles
Fried potato chips (thinly sliced)
Sautéed carrots, green peppers
Fried garlic
Chopped fresh coriander and mint leaves
Lemon slices
Basically, whatever you want.

Hope you enjoy cooking it as much as eating it!

 

[Motti]

That Halloumi cheese looks very tempting!