Peri Bites

I'll say it, I love deep fried things.

Anything works ! 

but these succulent and cheesy peppers are on the top of the list !

They are a bit time consuming, but really easy and well worth the effort.

And you can do a lot with this recipe. Like you can skip chicken and just do cheese.

Or

You can skip cheese and add chicken with boiled potato mash.

Just have fun with it !

You'll need

15-20 jalapeno chilies (or any other large chilies)

1 cup of break crumbs

2-3 eggs

(For the Filling)

100 grams of chicken, boiled and shredded.

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

3 tbsp of cream cheese.

salt to taste

1/4 tsp of freshly ground black pepper

1-2 Green onion chopped

1 tbsp of peri peri sauce (you can skip this if you dont have the sauce on hand)

Mix all the ingrediants of the filling. Keep aside.

Make a slit lenght wise on the chilies, being careful not to cut the chilies all the way.

Carefully remove the seeds.

Put the filling in the chilies.

Dip in egg, than crumbs. Do this again so that there is double coating on the chilies.

Keep in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Deep fry in hot oil, making sure not to over-crowd the pan.

Fry till golden brown.

Enjoy !

Bihari Boti

EID MUBARAK EVERYONE !

Eid Ul Adha honours the willingness of prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice is first born son Ismail as an act of submission to Allah's command and his son's acceptance of being sacrificed, before Allah intervened to provide a lamb to be sacrificed instead.

Eid ul Adha is celebrated on the 10th day of the last Islamic month of the year 'Zul Hijjah'

We, Muslims, do our part by sacrificing goats, cows, camels, or lambs.

This year my father got 3 goats and a cow.

For Bihari boti you'd need

2 kgs of Beef/Mutton/chicken (cut in small cubes or strips) I used Beef.

3-4 tbsp of yogurt

3-4 tbsp raw papaya paste with skin (or 2 tbsp of meat tenderizer powder)

1 tbsp red chili powder

1 tbsp red chili flakes

1 tbsp all spice powder (garam masala)

1-2 tbsp mustard oil

1 tbsp Chat masala

1 tsp ground cumin

1 heaped tbsp of bihari boti masala 

1 large onion sliced, browned and crushed.
1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste

Marinate beef (or any other meat you're using) in all the above ingrediants for 6-7 hours.

Add the marinated meat to 2-3 tbsp of oil. Cook till the meat is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently.

When its cooked, add about 1 tbsp of lemon juice and green chilies. Mix.

Serve immediately with onion rings and lemon wedges on top.

Enjoy!!

Linking the recipe to Meat Lovers Month

Potato Gnocchi

Gnocchi is an Italian dumpling. Its soft and delicious !

I've been looking forward to making these for a long time, but they looked so intimidating.

But today i was like, what the heck, i'll give it a try.

they're not as hard as they look

no, they're not hard at all

they are super easy !!! 

I decided to toss it in chicken and tomato sauce

This turned out delicious.

For The Gnocchi

400 grams of potatoes

1 small egg

1/3 cup of flour

a pinch of salt

For The Sauce

200 grams of Chicken mince 

1 Carrot (diced)

1 tsp of Ginger Garlic paste

1/2 cup (approx) of Tomato Puree

1/4 cup of Tomato Ketchup

Salt to taste

1 tsp red Chili flakes (or according to taste)

1/4 tsp of dried thyme (or fresh, or any other herb you like)

1 tsp of Sugar

Boil Potatoes till fork tender

Peel and mash with a fork (i used) or potato ricer. Do not, i repeat, do not do this in a food processor.

add the egg, salt and half the flour and form a soft dough. Add the remaining flour if the dough is sticky.

The dough is made :)

Make sure that you dont over work the dough.

Divide in 4 parts. Roll each part in the form of a rope on a lightly floured surface.

Cut 1 inch pieces and place on a floured tray

You want to make indentations on the gnocchi so that it holds the sauce. I had this weird looking think in my kitchen which i used. You can use a fork to do this as well.

You can freeze this at this stage if you want. 

Boil a pot of water.

When the water starts to boil, add a gnocchi, few at a time. Wait till they come to the top (this would take about 1-2 minute), than wait for 30-40 seconds more and remove with a slotted spoon and place it in the prepared sauce.

FOR THE SAUCE :

Heat 1-2 tbsp of oil, add carrots and onion. Cook till translucent

Add the chicken mince and ginger garlic. Cook for 1  minute.

Than add tomato puree, ketchup, salt, red chili flakes, thyme, sugar and about 1/2 cup of water.

Cook on low flame till saucy and thick.

Add the prepared gnocchi to the sauce.

Toss to coat.

You can serve this as it is. Or...

Put this in an oven-safe bowl, top it with shredded cheese and oregano...

and bake at 180 degree centigrade for 10 minutes.

Enjoy !

Portugese Trinchado Nandos Style

Hey everyone !!

I haven't posted here in quiet a long time, been so busy with hospital and prepping for the wedding.

I've got piles and piles of recipes that i want to share with you all.

I'll be posting regularly now ; I promise !

I am a huge fan of Nandos; absolutely love the trinchado that they have on their menu.

So I thought why not try making it at home :D

Its really easy, as you can buy readymade peri peri sauce from almost all the superstores in Pakistan (and i guess they are sold in other countries too, not sure though) OR you can make you own Peri Peri sauce. (I used the mild version of the readymade sauce)

So for this recipe, you'll need

For the Rice :

300 grams of Boiled Rice

1 small Capsicum chopped

1 small Carrot chopped

1 tbsp of soye sauce

3 tbsp of Peri Peri Sauce

Salt to taste

For Trinchado

200 grams of Boneless chicken 

1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce

1 small Onion Sliced

1 small Carrot sliced

1 small capsicum sliced

4-5 tbsp of Peri Peri sauce

1/4 tsp of Crushed Black Pepper

Approximately 1 cup of Chicken Stock

1 tbsp of Tomato Ketchup

1 tbsp Corn flour dissolved in 4-5 tbsp of water

FOR THE RICE :

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in wok

Add the Veges, stir fry on high heat with a bit of salt.

Add the peri peri sauce and than the rice. 

Mix thoroughly and serve.

FOR THE TRINCHADO

Marinate chicken in 2 tbsp of peri peri sauce and worcestershire sauce for an hour

Grill the Chicken

and than cut in in chunks

In the same pan, ad a bit of oil and than sliced onion. 

Cook till a bit transparent, about half a minute

Than add capsicum, carrot , salt and pepper.

Stir fry.

Add the peri peri sauce, chicken stock and the cooked chicken.

Let it simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.

Than add the cornflour dissolved in water.

Cook till thickened.

Serve with rice.

ENJOY !

Cinnamon Rolls

I love a good cinnamon roll.

I've tried a few times at a popular outlet in Karachi, but they're way too sweet for my taste.

So i made it my life's goal to try a recipe that was equally delicious but with moderate sugar ! :D

I came upon this recipe last year, even tried it once but was not happy with the results, they burnt from the bottom as i cooked them at a slightly high temperature.

They are just perfect this time !

Super soft, and oh-so-delicious !

(Recipe adapted from Ree Drummond)
Ingrediants:
2 cups of Flour + 1/4 cup to add later
1 cup of Milk
1/4 cup Vegetable oil
1/4 cup of Sugar
1 Tbsp Yeast
1/4 tsp of Baking Powder
A pinch of Baking Soda
1/4 tsp of salt
100 grams of Butter
1-2 tbsp of Cinnamon Powder
1/2 cup of Powdered Sugar

Heat 1 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of vegetable oil almost to a boiling point. Turn off heat and  Leave to cool for about 25-30 minutes.

When luke warm, 1 tbsp add yeast and 2 cups of flour.

Mix with a spoon to form a sticky dough. Leave to rise.

After an hour, it would look somewhat like this.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour..

...1/4 tsp of Baking powder..

...a pinch or baking soda...

and 1/4 tsp of salt. Mix together.

Roll out the dough in a rough rectangle on a lightly floured surface

pour 100 grams of melted butter on top, spread it evenly with your fingers or a pastry brush.

 Add powdered sugar on top (many recipes use brown sugar instead or regular white one, so its up to you which sugar you want to use)

I used a sifter to add sugar, it helps distribute the sugar evenly.

Sprinkle generous amount of cinnamon powder.

Starting from the far end, roll the dough towards yourself to form a log.

Pinch the ends.

Cut the log in 1 inch thick slices. I was trying to be extra smart, so i used a thread, which makes a perfect clean cut without smashing the rolls. You can use a regular knife of course !

Place the sliced rolls on a buttered baking sheet.

Bake in a preheated oven at 150 degree for abour 18-20 minutes

Till light golden.

Top them off with a cup of whipping cream (you can add sugar in the cream, i didnt)

ENJOY !! 

P.S : yea i ate one straight from the pan :D