Vada Pav

Vada Pav, not something that us Pakistan think about when we want something for a snack. Our snacks are usually samosa, pakora and stuff. But why not give this a try too?

I had Vada Pav at a small chaat place here in Muscat. I fell in love with it. I've had it countless times since than. But now since I live much further from that chaat place, I thought why not try to make it myself.

So this is the recipe that I came up with. 

The recipe of Garlic chutney is adapted from Tarla Dalal

Ingredients:

(For Vada):

1/2 tsp of Mustard Seeds

1/2 tsp of Cumin 

1/4 tsp of Ginger Garlic Paste

2 Green Chilies (roughly chopped)

1 small Onion (diced)

1 tsp of Red Chili Powder (adjust according to taste)

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp of Turmeric powder

a pinch of Chaat Masala (optional)

2 large Potatoes (boiled and roughly mashed)

Juice from half a Lemon

(For the Batter):

1/2 cup of Besan (Gram Flour)

a pinch of Baking Soda

Salt to taste

a pinch of Red Chili Powder

a pinch of Cumin

(For Green Chutney)

1/2 bunch of Coriander

1/2 bunch of Mint

1 Green Chili

1 clove of Garlic

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp Cumin

2-3 tbsp Tamarind paste

(For Garlic Chutney)

6-7 Cloves of Garlic

3 tbsp of grated Coconut

1 tbsp of Red Chili powder

Salt to taste

(Other Ingredients)

4-6 Pav/Burger buns

Method:

(For Green Chutney)

For the Green Chutney, Blend everything together with a little bit of water. Keep Aside. 

(For Garlic Chutney)

For Garlic Chutney, heat a little bit of oil in a small frying pan, cook garlic cloves till they are light brown. take out the garlic than roast grated coconut. Blend garlic, coconut and red chili powder. Add salt. Keep aside. 

(For Batter)

Mix besan, baking soda and the spices. Make a lump free, medium consistency batter with water. Keep aside. 

(For Vada)

Heat oil in a frying pan. Add Mustard Seeds. When they start to splutter,

add Cumin,

and ginger garlic paste.

When fragrant, add Green Chilies,

Onion, salt, turmeric and red chili powder. Cook for a minute. Add a splash of water if the spices starts to burn.

Add boiled potatoes and lemon juice.

Mix and keep aside to cool.

Make balls of the potato mix. 

Dip in besan batter and deep fry till light golden brown. 

To assemble Vada Pav, lightly toast the pav, apply green chutney and dry garlic chutney. Place vada on top and lightly crush with the top half of the bun. 

Enjoy!

Cuban Chicken Sandwich

I saw this recipe on Food Network's Eat Street. It involves marinating the chicken with orange juice, i was instantly intrigued. I did change it just a little bit to suit my taste.

All the credit goes to the 'Bongo Brothers' food truck in NYC.

The sandwich is super juicy while the orange juice adds a tiny bit of tangy flavor to it. Really delicious!

I like to eat mine with Onion rings, but you can totally skip that if you dont like it. Serve with fries.

(This recipe serves 2. You can easily double or triple the recipe)

You'll need :

(For Chicken Marination)

1 chicken breast (or boneless chicken thighs) cut in cubes

Juice of 1 Orange (mandarins, sweet limes, or whatever floats your boat in the category)

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Red Chili Flakes

1/2 tsp of Black Pepper

1/4 tsp Oregano (dried or fresh, whichever you can find, I used dried)

1/4 tsp Cumin powder (Zeera powder)

1 tsp of Olive Oil (or any other oil)

1-2 cloves of roughly chopped Garlic

(For the Sauce)

3 tbsp Mayonnaise 

1 tbsp Cream

1 tsp White Vinegar

Salt to taste

pinch of Black Pepper

1 tsp Tomato ketchup

1 tbsp of finely chopped Onion

(For Onion Rings)

1 large Onion (cut into medium thickness rings)

4 tbsp All Purpose Flour (Maida)

4 Tbsp of Corn Flour

Salt to taste

Buttermilk (to make the batter)

NOTE: Make your own buttermilk by adding a tsp of vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Leave for 10-15 minutes. Than use as required.

(Other Ingredients)

Buns (store bought, homemade, your choice)

Lettuce

NOTE: This can also be made into a wrap, using flat bread or tortillas.

Add all the ingredients of the marinade in a bowl. Mix together.

Add chicken pieces. Mix to coat evenly than leave for 1 hour in the fridge.

Fry the chicken with all the juices till cooked through and the marinade becomes thick and saucey.

Like so.

(For The Sauce)

Add everything in a bowl

Mix together. Keep aside.

(For Onion Rings)

Mix flour, corn flour, salt and red chili powder in a bowl.

Add buttermilk to make a dropping consistency batter.

Dip Onion rings in the batter and deep fry

till golden brown.

(To Assemble)

Apply a generous amount of sauce to the bottom of the bun. 

Add lettuce, chicken, and onion rings.

How gorgeous is this?!

Hope you like it!

Enjoy!

Chicken BBQ Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Me and hira were in a mood for some juicy burgers tonight. I thought of asking my brother but i'm sure he would've said that he wants a zinger burger (as usual), but we wanted something amazing and different. So after half an hour of brain storming, letting my imagination run wild and searching and mixing up different recipes. I came up with this!

You can surely skip the italian dressing and wastershire sauce if you dont have it on hand. You can even skip the caramelized onions if you don't like them

This recipe makes about 7-8 patties. You can even freeze the leftover patties for 3-4 months.

Ingredients:
(For the patties)
Chicken mince : 1 pound (or breast of 1 chicken, made mince at home)
Onion : 1 medium
Garlic : 3-4 cloves
Salt : to taste
Red chili flakes : 2 tsp (adjust according to your taste)
Red chili powder : 1/2 tsp (adjust according to your taste)
Worcestershire sauce : 1 1/2 tsp
Italian dressing : 1 tbsp
Barbecue Sauce : 4 tbsp
Cheddar cheese : 2 tbsp grated
Black pepper : 1 tsp

(For the Sauce)
Mayonnaise : 4 tbsp
Salt : to taste
Italian or french dressing : 1 tbsp
Onion : 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
Vinegar : 1/2 tsp
Sugar : 1/2 tsp fine

(Other Ingredients)
Onion : 1 sliced
Barbecue sauce : 1/4 tsp
Soy sauce : 1/4 tsp

Burger buns
Lettuce
Cheese slices
Ketchup

Method:

To the chicken mince, add finely diced onions, Finely chopped garlic,

salt, red chili flakes, red chili powder, black pepper,

Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce, italian dressing and cheddar cheese.

Mix. Leave for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Keep aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan.

Add onions and a pinch of salt.

fry on low flame till transparent, about 10 mins. Than add soy sauce and/or BBQ sauce (both of these can be skipped) :D

Take off heat. Keep aside.

Make patties.

Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Add the patties. Fry on 1 side for approximately 4-5 minutes (depends on the thickness of the patties)

Flip.

When the patties are cooked, Put the cheese slices on the patties, cover for a minutes, for the cheese to melt slightly.

You can toast the buns if you want (i didnt)

Apply a tbsp (approx) of the sauce.

Lettuce.

The patties.

caramelized onions.

And there you have it !! 

a super juice and delicious burger !!

ENJOY !!

Submitting this recipe to Turning the Table

Submitting this recipe to Midweek Fiesta