Raghda Pattice

So it has been a long long while that I am writing this post. I really have no excuse for being absent from this space. It’s just life happens at times and you tend to give importance to your regular day stuff than your hobby like this blog. I am still cooking (as it is the regular day stuff) and eating delicious food but just am not able to take pictures, store it, write about it, and then post it. I wish I can take breaks in my regular life for the regular stuff, just like I do for this hobby of mine J… complicated I know, but so is LIFE!

Enough of philosophy, let’s go to the recipe of this delicious snack that is healthy and loved by all you serve.

Ingredients:

1. Two cups dry vatanas (available at any Indian grocery store) – soaked overnight
2. Two medium sized potatoes
3. One medium sized tomato
4. Three tblsp cooking oil
5. One tsp cumin and mustard seeds
6. One tsp asafetida powder
7. 6-7 curry leaves
8. 4-5 green chilies
9. One tblsp lemon juice
10. Salt and turmeric powder, per taste
11. Tamarind chutney as desired (available at Indian grocery store)
12. For garnishing – chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, chopped coriander leaves, aloo bhujiyas (available at Indian grocery store)

Process:

1. In a pressure cooker boil vatanas, one potato, and tomato for 6-7 whistles (or till you think that the vatanas are cooked, this step depends on the type of cooker you use).
2. In a separate bowl, boil the second potato till fully cooked.
3. Mash this potato and add salt and turmeric powder, mix well.
4. Shape the potato mixture into tikki style (like patties).
5. On a frying pan, heat one tblsp of oil and fry tikkis till golden brown on both sides.
6. Dish out on a paper napkin and keep aside.
7. Mash up the vatanas, potato and tomato that you boiled in step 1 above.
8. In a wok, heat oil add cumin and mustard seeds, let it splutter.
9.  Add curry leaves, green chilies, and asafetida powder.
10.  Add mashed vatanas, potato, and tomato from step 7 above.
11.  Mix well; add lemon juice, salt and turmeric powder.
12.  Turn off the stove and serve.
13. To serve: place the patties  in #6, place a dollop of raghda, garnish with chopped onions, tomatoes, and coriander leaves. Sprinkle aloo bhujiya and tamarind sauce and serve.
14. This tastes best when it is warm.

ENJOY!!!

Read More

Samosa - Ramadan Special

Ramandan is almost here but the preparation for this festival has been going on for months in my house and my heart. I always look forward to the month of Ramadan not only because of the good food we make but also because this is the best way to purify my heart and my body. Through the fasting, I feel like my body goes through an entire cleansing process and through all the prayers and reading the Quran it purifies my heart and soul. It is the best month out of the entire year. Our Prophet (SAW) has said that it is someones bad luck if they don't take full advantage of this month.

The devil (shaitan) is looked up in hell for this month and a true believer will submit to Allah (swt) in a true manner this month. This is so true, 'cause if you ask me to fast for a single day in any other months besides Ramadan, it would be impossible for me; but the month of Ramadan it is so easy and only Allah (swt) makes it easy for me. Regardless of the cold winter or hot summer; regardless of the fast being 6 hours long or 14 hours long... its always easy. This year it will fall in mid-July to mid-August. The hottest months of the year in Boston area; but I know for sure that it will be easy for a true believer!

Coming to the other part of Ramadan - Food!!!

We are not supposed to eat or drink from Sunrise to Sunset. This means that when sunsets we all eat a delicious spread of fruits, snacks, meals, and desserts! There are some dishes that are specially made in Ramadan, like this Haleem and Nihari. Samosas are one of the most endearing snack that you would find at any Southeast Asia Iftar (breaking the fast time). These are easy to make, you can make loads of them and freeze it. When you are working and/or do million things together (like me:) ), this is the best item to make for a quick snack or serve at a surprise visits of guests.

It may look complicated to make, just like I felt for Nachos, but once your are on it, you are on the roll!

Ingredients:

1. TYJ Spring Roll Pastry Sheets (2 Packages)
2. Two pounds goat meat - grounded, cleaned, and washed
3. Seven medium sized onions - finely chopped
4. 17 small green chilies - finely chopped
5. A bunch of cilantro - finely chopped
6. Two-three stems of mint leaves - finely chopped
7. Salt per taste
8. Three tblsp ginger-garlic paste
9. Half tblsp garam masala
10. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
11. Two tblsp cooking oil
12. For sticking the sheets - two tblsp all purpose flour, mixed with three tblsp of warm water (making a thick paste)

Process:

1. In a deep pan, heat cooking oil, and add ground meat.
2. Mix in to the meat, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, salt, and turmeric powder.
3. Cook meat till all the water evaporates and meat becomes dry.
4. Switch off gas and let it cool.
5. In a cheese cloth put the chopped onion, green chilies, cilantro, and mint leaves (You may want to do this in batches).
6. Squeeze out all the excess water. (The more water is squeezed out the better mixture will be made).
7. Mix together dried onion mixture into the meat mixture.
8. Mix well with hands.
9. Keep it aside and start making samosas.
10. Take the pastry sheets and divide it into four rectangular lengthwise (as show in the picture above).
11. Take one sheet, and fold it into a triangular shape.
12. Fill the triangle with kheema (meat) mixture.
13. Fold out the remaining sheet in a triangular form making a samosa.
14. In the last portion of the sheet, add the flour mixture and stick it to close out the samosa.
15. Repeat the process with the remaining sheets - this will make about a 150 samosas!!!!!!
16. Place the samosas in a ziploc bag side by side and freeze them.
17. 15 minutes prior to frying the samosas, take them out from freezer and spread it on a tissue paper, while heating the oil in a deep pan.
18. Deep fry the samosa till golden brown and serve hot with ketchup and green chutney.

Sending this Ramadan Friendly Recipe event hosted by The Halal Foodie...

 

ENJOY!!!

Read More

Nachos

Somethings you just fantasize over, even though you know that I won't be as hard as making Shahi Chicken. Nachos was one of these things. I, for some reason, always thought that this is something I won't be able to make until one day we ordered Nachos from a local place and what we got was burnt, not enough cheese, no guacamole and tiny little portion (not even enough for one person) for a price of $9. It ruined my evening big time and I was not going to compromise this again.

The next day I was on a mission to make perfect nachos. And hurray! It was a no pain job and I can't believe I never tried this simple yet delicious recipe before. Talk about low confidence....

Ingredients:

1. One large bag of Tortilla chips (I used Tostitos brand "With a Hint of Lime")
2. For Salsa - One big red onion chopped, One big tomato chopped, One green bell pepper chopped, a bunch of fresh cilantro chopped, salt and lime juice to taste
3. Guacamole - see recipe here
4. Sour cream - store bought
5. Refried beans - store bought
6. Mexican four cheese - store bought

Process:

1. Place all of tortilla chips in a baking pan.
2. Spread all of Mexican four cheese on top of the chips.
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes (at 350 degrees Fahrenheit) or till cheese melts.
4. In a bowl mix together all the items in #2 and make salsa.
5. Spread salsa over to one side of the chips and cheese.
6. Spread sour cream over to other side of the chips and cheese.
7. Spread guacamole over to another side of the chips and cheese.
8. Lastly, spread refired beans over to the last side of the chips and cheese.
9. Serve immediately.  

If you like, you can mix together salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and refried beans and place it on top of chips. I like to spread it out separately 'cause everyone have their own preferences of what they want to eat.

ENJOY!!!

Read More

Shami Kabab Burger

It's been raining a lot lately, which is really good, however I really miss the 'summer weather'. I really hope that this summer doesn't turn out to be a rainy one like we had the year before. I want to be able to do BBQs, hang out at the beach, do picnics and all the other summer fun stuff before Ramadan, which is scheduled to start July 20th. So I really want this weather to improve up a little bit and then it can rain as much as it wants during Ramadan to make our fasting easy going :)... talk about selfishness man!

So Ramadan is coming up and we are all gearing up for it. Not only spiritually but also deliciously!! After a couple of random posts I will be posting over all the dishes that are very popular during Ramadan in our household and will share the recipe and other stories with you all.. so look forward to this space!!!

I made some Shami Kababs for a dinner party few weeks ago and had some left, so during one of the weekdays, I made these shami kabab burgers which weren't just filing but very delicious as well. Dear Hubby kept asking for more but I only had a few shami kababs left. This is a simple and filling snack that is worth trying!

Check out my Kheema Shami Kabab recipe here and Chicken Shami Kabab recipe here. You can use either one of these kababs to make these burgers. I used the kheema shami kababs.

Ingredients:

1. Two - four leftover shami kababs
2. Two burger buns (I use the Pepperidge Farm ones, they are so soft!)
3. Half cup shredded lettuce
4. Two to three slices of onions
5. Two tblsp Chipotle Mayonnaise
6. Cheese (optional)

Process:

1. Place some cheese on one side of the bun and toast till cheese melts away. (You can skip the cheese and just toast the buns).
2. Spread one tblsp of chipotle mayonnaise on the non cheese bun.
3. Place shami kababs, lettuce, and onion.
4. Place the cheesed bun on top and enjoy!

So easy, yet so delicious!

ENJOY!!!

Read More

Mozzarella Sticks

This snack is to die for if you are a cheese lover, like I am... We always order this from our local Pizza shop and at UNO's, we always used to wonder how exactly they make this sinful delicious side dish. This was when I was in my teens. Later on, I got so addicted to making everything at home and tried variety of recipes from all over the world but never tried to make these sticks; until the other day, my niece mentioned it to me and said she loves it. I decided to make this for her. I went on Google and searched variety of recipes and finally decided to make my own recipe for it, a bit spiced up and a bit Indianized, may I add. :)

Ingredients:

1. Store bought mozzarella sticks
2. One cup all purpose flour
3. One cup Italian bread crumbs
4. One beaten egg
5. One tblsp red chili powder
6. One tbsp chaat masala
7. Oil for deep frying

Process:

1. In a bowl, mix together bread crumbs, red chili powder, and chaat masala, keep aside.
2. Dip sticks in all purpose flour (one by one).
3. Dip floured sticks in egg and coat well (one by one).
4. Roll egg coated sticks in bread crumb mixture (step 1). 
5. Again, dip the crumb coated sticks in egg and coat well (one by one). 
6. Again, roll egg coated sticks in bread crumb mixture (step 1) (one by one). 
7. Keep the double coated sticks on a plate and put it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes. 
8. In the meanwhile, heat oil for deep frying the sticks. 
9. One oil is well heated, add two sticks at a time and deep fry till golden brown. 
10. Keep fried sticks on the paper towel for excess oil to be drained out. 
11. Serve hot with ketchup....

After making this dish, I had to do my food photography session, my niece was very patience throughout the whole process, however at the end she could not hold herself back and kept wandering around the plate full of this delicious snack... You can see the innocence in her eyes... Isn't she the cutest baby!!! I love her to death... 

This post is dedicated to my little niece... Love you Gudda... 

ENJOY!!!

Read More

Chili-Garlic Bread/Toast

Hello all beautiful people out there... 

It has been crazy busy with the tax season. I get home at 7-7:30 leave at 8:30 in the morning. Working Saturdays and Sundays!! But, it is much more peaceful, since I am working for myself now! Yes! I am my own boss and it feels so good! Now I always think, why I didn't do this earlier. But anyways, its never too late!

Coming to my quick and easy snack, yes I need a lot of these kind of recipes for the busy season. This is one of the best tea time snack, I have came up with so far. You have to try it to believe me... 

Ingredients:
1. Three slices of bread, sides removed.
2. Two tblsp (each)- green, red, and yellow pepper - finely chopped
3. Three cloves of garlic - finely chopped
4. Two tblsp - butter at room temperature
5. Red chili flakes - per your desire (optional)

Process:
1. Mix together all the ingredients from #2 to #5 above.
2. Spread it on the three bread slices.
3. Toast in it mini oven for 5-6 minutes.

 

 

ENJOY!!! 

Read More