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!

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 !