Chicken Samosa

Assalamo Alaikum,

I wanted to share this post that i make me quite excited with my fellow readers,

“As we enter the month of Rajab, we are reminded of the need to prepare for the blessed month of Ramadan.

“The month of Rajab is the month of planting, Sh’aban the month of watering and Ramadan the month of harvesting.”

“The month of Rajab is like the wind, Sh’aban is like the rain clouds and Ramadan is like the rain”

This is a beautiful reminder. We cannot expect to harvest in Ramadan if we fail to plant the seeds of goodness in Rajab and nurture the goodness in Sh’aban.

O Allah, bless us with the ability to work righteous deeds in this month and the next. Help us reach Ramadan in a state that we are ready to harvest.

(Abu Bakr Muhammad bin ‘Omar al-Warraq al-Balkhi al-Hakim (d.243 AH), quoted by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (d.795 AH) in his book regarding the virtues of the different months and the deeds one should strive to carry out in them; Lataif al-Ma’arif)” 

Ramadan is coming oh!! i cannot wait for Ramadan,MashAllah this month somehow puts a magical spell on me for example  the stuff i struggle to do during rest of the year Ramadan makes it easy on me my spiritual energy becomes amazing ,this Ramadan I’m praying that  i have the same energy all year long in Sha Allah:).So i’m starting early as above quote states and in sha Allah with the help of Allah Subhana wa tallah!!

Food is an important part of Pakistani family and every occasion has its own special dishes like samosas if i make samosa other then Ramadan everybody would say it feels like Ramadan,
Ramadan is incomplete without Samosas. I’m sharing my tasty chicken samosas which i usually make ahead of Ramadan in large quantities (as i can be easily frozen ),so i have to spend less time cooking and more time praying in sha Allah.

Chicken Samosa

Recipe

Ingredients:

Dough:

All purpose flour  2 cups

salt 1 tsp or to taste

oil or ghee     4 tbsp

water enough to make a semi soft dough

Filling:

Chicken Qeema  1 pd

Onion sliced one medium

Oil 2 tbsp

Ginger paste  1 tsp

Garlic paste   1 tsp

Chili powder  1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

Salt to  taste 

Cumin seeds   1/2 tsp

Frying:

Oil        2-3 cups

Direction:

Mix Flour and salt together

then add oil and mix thoroughly

now add water little by little to form a semi soft dough (not very hard and not very soft)

leave to rest for at least 15 mins.

In a saute pan heat oil for filling and add sliced onion

fry until golden brown

Now add chicken qeema and then ginger and garlic paste ,

Add chilli powder , tumeric,salt and cumin seeds, cook on high until brown

Lost the picture of ready qeema 😦

Make golf ball size  balls from the dough and using rolling pin roll out the balls in  8 inch circle

Cut in the middle of the circle

Fold one side over like this

then apply water on the side and flip over the other side ,pinch it from top to bottom so it sticks

hold it in your hand like a cone

add about 2 tbsp of filling and apple water on top edges of the samosa

press together the mouth of samosa to close it so it wont open up while frying, at this point you can place the samosas on a flour tray and freeze until hard ,then place them in zip-lock bag and defrost and fry as many as you want ( you can freeze samosas in layers on a tray by using wax paper or plastic bag in between)

 Heat oil in a deep wok or Karahi on medium high heat and then fry samosas on medium low until golden brown

strain them out in big strianer to remove excess oil

Serve hot with delicious green chutney and enjoy!!

Shahi Tukray (Pakistani bread pudding ) &Eid Eats 2014

Assalamo alaikum,

Dear reader today I’m sad and happy both ,sad as it’s almost time to say alwida (goodbye)to our dearest guest “Ramadan” ,it seems like it just came and now leaving we tried our best making Duas and prayers may Allah accept it in sha Allah!!

And I’m happy as one of the most joyous occasion is almost here that is “Eid ul Fitr“, in Urdu it is called”meethi Eid” which means sweet Eid , so you can understand this occasion is filled with sweetness ,we wear new clothes, give each other gifts ,hugs and eats lots of good food specially desserts .”sheer korma” is a must (which by the way I have to share the recipe with you guys soon ).

Today I’m going virtually to an Eid party that is EidEats a virtual event organized by Sarah Mir of Flour and Spice and Asiya of Chocolate & Chillies ,this is my first virtual party so I want to bring a dessert and one of my favorite desserts and best for parties as you can make it ahead of time so guys Eid Mubarak and enjoy !!!

 

Shahi Tukray

Ingradients :

White Bread 6 slices

Sugar 1 cup

Water 1/2 cup

Cardamom 2-3

Saffron 2-3 strands (optional)

Oil for frying

Milk 4 cups

Evaporated milk 1/2 cup

Chopped pistachio for decoration

Preparation:

Cook milk until it’s 1/4 of its quantity ,then add evaporated milk cook until thickened ,keep stirring constantly as you don’t want the milk to burn,when thickened set it aside to cool down

Cut the bread slices into four triangles ,I prefer to keep the crust but it’s your choice,

To make sugar syrup boil sugar ,water , cardamom an saffron strand in a heavy bottom sauce pan, cook until sugar is completely melted and it becomes light syrup ,take it off the stove and set aside

Now deep fry bread sliced until golden brown,keep the heat on medium high heat and keep a close eye as bread get brown fairly quickly

Take the bread out on a plate

Now dip the dip bread pieces in sugar syrup let it soak ,then take out and place on your serving dish ,

When your finish soaking all the breads ,spread cooled and thickened milk on top of the bread evenly

Sprinkle with chopped pistachio ,let it cool in the fridge or serve as is and enjoy!!!

 

 

 

The Daring Bakers’ May, 2014 Challenge: PÃO DE QUEIJO

Assalamo alaikum,

Ever since I became part of the daring kitchen I have seen so many amazing recipe from all around the globe ,we get to make and taste delicious foods from all over world with the ingredients usually we use in our daily life but cooking them in different way ,which makes it really exciting every month!!!

This month’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge took us on a trip to beautiful Brazil! Renata of “Testado, Provado & Aprovado!” taught us how to make Pao De Queijo, tasty cheese buns that make the perfect snack or treat, and that will make your taste buds samba!

I have followed the recipe as is from here:

http://thedaringkitchen.com/forums/daring-bakers’-may-2014-challenge-pão-de-queijo

Ingredients:

4 cupstapioca starch

1 cup (250 ml) whole milk

2-3/4 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste depending on how salty your cheese is)

3 cups cheddar cheesecoarsely grated

1 to 3 large eggs

 

Directions:

Heat milk, butter, and salt in a small sauce pan until it comes to a boil. Watch closely as it may boil over. Remove from heat and set aside.

Sift tapioca starch into a large bowl.

Pour the boiled (hot) mixture over the tapioca and start stirring with a fork. The milk mixture will not be enough to form a dough yet. You will have a lumpy mixture, that’s what it is supposed to be.

Keep stirring with the fork,break the lump as much as you can,until the mixture cools down to warm

At this point turn on the oven at 400F

 

Now add grated cheese( I think I should have used a little less cheese as my bread came out a little too gooey) and mix it into topaica mixture

Now add eggs one at a time mix it by hand until the dough forms (I used 2 eggs) it’s ok if it’s is little sticky but should pliable dough

Now make balls a little bigger then golf ball use little vegetable oil to grease your hand so it’s easy to make and place them onto a greased or parchment paper lined baking try I used greased foiled tray worked well for me(I had a pretty little helper with me too)

Bake for 25 mins or until the balls have risen and have browned from the bottom if baked too long it will become and bitter.

Enjoy them hot or warm with coffee as Brazilians do!!

 

 

 

Nimki or khajoori (diamond shaped fried cookies)

Assalamo alaikum,
These sweet and salty snacks bring back so many memories when I was young my mom use to make them all the time ,at my house it’s called “nimki” but I have heard different names for it like khajoori or qormi also,it’s not a very healthy stuff but surely delicious if you put one in your mouth you can’t stop yourself,goes great with afternoon tea ,my mom always use to have some in her pantry for unexpected evening guests .
I have never made these ,when Ammi was making some I got really excited so I can share this recipe with my readers and have it saved for myself too when I want to give it a try .please do try this recipe and also let me know if you guys have any traditional snack recipes which you loved in your childhood??
Nimki
Ingredients
All purpose flour 5 cups
Sooji or samolina 1 cup
Sugar 1 cup
Salt 2 tsp or to taste
Kalonji 1 tsp
Ghee or Melted butter 1 1/4 cups
Water
Oil for frying
Directions:
In a big bowl Mix all the dry ingredients
Now make a well in the center add melted butter
Mix melted butter into dry mixture rubbing with your palm so it will become flaky
Now add water Little by little to make hard but pliable dough ,
Divide dough into four equal balls
Leave the dough to rest for 15-20 mins

Now roll out each dough ball into 1/4 inch thick

First cut into 1/4 inch thick strips and cut it diagonally to for diamond shaped dough pieces

Cut all the dough

Heat oil on a medium high heat, in a deep wok. Or karahi

Fry a small batch at a time until it’s golden brown ,

Take it out in a strainer to drain out excess oil
Can be served hot with tea or coffee and enjoy!!
or
Let it cool and store in airtight containers and enjoy it for a almost 1-2 months (if anything left :))

Meethay Chawal ( sweet rice pulao)

 

Assalamo alaikum,

Dear readers it was that one beautiful evening when I was craving crazily for some desi (Pakistani ) dessert. Something that was quick and easy ,but most of recipes needed lots of ingredient a and lots and lots of hard work I wanted to work with the ingredients already in shopping didn’t wanted to do any trips to market.Only thing came into my mind was “Meethay Chawal” I was lacking some ingredients but still could have this yummy dessert without them.So I started looking for recipe called my sister my eldest one all the way in Pakistan she gave me this great recipe that I’m sharing with you all ,my meethay chawal’s were amazingly delicious I hope it work for you guys too inshAllah!!! I didn’t have khoya or any ingredient to make khoya but I’m going to link you to this recipe from bajia’s cooking youtube channel ,this is great video for making khoya inshAllah:)

Meethay chawal

Ingredients:

Saila basmati rice (parboiled basmati rice) 1 1/2 cups

Food coloring orange 1/4 tsp

Sugar 1 cup

Butter unsalted 1/2 cup

Cardamom 4-5

Cloves 4-5

Cinnamon 2-4 small sticks

Whole Almond raw 1/4 cup

Golden raisins 1/4 cup

 

Direction:

Soak rice in warm water for around 45 to 50 minutes

Cook raw whole Almond covered with water in a microwave safe bowl for 1 min

Let it cool and take off Almond skin as it slips off easily

 

Boil water in a big pot add food coloring and cardamom to boiling water

Now cook rice in boiling water until 80% done

Drain the rice

Now in a clean pot add butter ,cloves and cinnamon cook on low flame until butter melt and whole spices are fragrant

Add golden raisin to butter and cook for few minutes

 

After adding cooked rice in butter,mix thoroughly but making sure not to over mix

 

 

Cook on medium high until sugar is melted and mix evenly

 

On high heat ,dry the moisture from sugar

 

Cover the rice and simmer on low heat until rice is completely done

Now add blanched and skinned whole almonds to rice

 

If you have khoya sprinkle that on top

Serve hot or cold equally delicious and enjoy!!

 

 

Bhuna gosht (meat in thick gravy)

Assalamo alaikum,

Eid_Mubarak every body!!! It was an amazing Eid for me lots of work but with lots of fun.MashAllah my preparation started way ahead of Eid day prepping my kitchen ,fridge and home for Eid .i had to empy out my freezer as lots of meat would be coming in on Eid day and second day of Eid. I fried lots of onions so on Eid day cooking would be quicker .I bought some pearl onion ,peeling them would have been hard task but somebody told me soaking them in water would make easier peeling it surely made it easier to peel then I put those in a jar with white vinegar ( this is good to eat with meat helps with digestion). I sharpened my knife as we will be cutting big pieces of meat into smaller pieces that comes after Qurbani .I made also sawaiayian will surely post that recipe too inshAllah.

Also I had prepare clothes for kids,myself and my hubby dear new clothes only needed some ironing for morning prayers eid day.

Then on Eid day ,I hope it’s not getting boring for you guys I’ll just make it short after Eid prayers me and my younger ones went to Eid carnival and my husband and older boys went to slaughter house for Qurbani.i had really good time at the carnival organized by our mosques ,when it was almost time for my husband to come home with meat I went t home .i cooked kaleji (goat liver ) on Eid day,lamb stew and Grail .I was so busy could not take picture of all those dishes but I will surely post the recipe inshAllah.

Today I’m sharing the recipe of bhuna gosht that I made for a Eid party at my brothers house,I made it in a big amount but you can always reduce the ingredients as per your requirement .

Bhuna gosht

Ingredients:

Beef/mutton/. 6 pd

Onion 6 medium sliced

Garlic paste 2 tbsp

Ginger paste 2 tbsp

Whole garam masala. ( bay leaves,green cardamom, black cardamom, cinammon sticks, cloves, whole black pepper)

Oil 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

Coriander powder 3 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon

Chilli powder 3 tsp

Cumin powder 2 tsp

Garam masala powder 2 tsp

Yogurt 1/2 cup

Tomato purée 2 cups

Fresh coriander 1 bunch finely chopped

Green chillies chopped in big chunks for garnishing

Procedure:

Heat oil in big shallow pan

Add whole garam masala and fry for a 10 -20 seconds

Now add sliced onion until light brown

It’s time to add your meat in and fry it for a minute

Now add ginger and garlic paste fry until meat changes it’s color

Keeping cooking the meat until all redness of meat it gone

Put in your powdered spices and salt then fry until thoroughly mixed in with meat

Now put yogurt in the meat mixture fry again for 4-5 min on high heat

If the masala is too dry add may be 1/2 cup of water but if it has some liquid cover and cook on low flame until meat is tender

When meat is tender fry it again on high flame until you have thick gravy and oil Separates from gravy.

Add in your tomato purée and cook on high flame until tomatoes changes color and oil is Seperate from gravy

Add chopped coriander and green chillies and mix again

This kind of curry is really good with Naan and parthas

I hope you will enjoy my recipe as well as me and my family did!!

Comments are always welcome on this blog:))