Kadhi Pakoda

Kadhi: A beautiful fresh dish perfect for a hot day

Its summer here again and the weather today is just crazy. There is a full blown sandstorm outside.

See that? I took this from my bedroom window and just as I was trying to take a picture my whole room got covered with a blanket of sand :( So all I could crave for today was my mum's recipe for kadhi. It is this beautiful Indian dish made with buttermilk and gram flour dumplings (pakoras) in it. Have it with some rice and you will love it inshaAllah.


 Ingredients:

  For he Curry:

1. Gram flour- 1/2 cup
2. Red chili powder- 1/2 tsp
3. Turmeric powder- 1 1/2 tsp
4. Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp
5. Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp
6. Onion - 1, pureed
7. Buttermilk- 500 ml
8. Coriander leaves- finely chopped, for garnish
9. Water- as required
10. Salt- to taste

For the Tempering:

1. Cumin seeds - 2tsp
2. Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
3. Asafoetida- a pinch
4. Curry leaves- 8-10
5. Green chillies - 2, cut into two inch pieces
6. Dried red chilies- 3-4
7. Onion- 1, finely chopped

For the Pakoras:

1. Gram flour- 2 cups
2. Red chili powder- 1 tsp
3. Cumin powder- 1 tsp
4. Baking soda- 1 tsp
5. Onions- 3, sliced
6. Green chillies- 2,finely chopped
7. Coriander leaves- 1/4 a bunch, finely chopped
8. Salt- to taste
9. Water- as required

Method:

 For the Curry:

1. In a large pot,mix together the gram flour, red chili powder, turmeric powder, ginger- garlic paste,onion, salt buttermilk.
2. Mix together slowly so that there are no lumps.
3. Add about 2 litres of water, to make the mixture really thin and runny. It should be a really thin and  watery mixture. It will look something like this.
4. Put the pot on high heat and stir continuously till it gets to a boil.
5. Cover and leave it on slow heat.
6. It might take about an hour or more. So leave it alone and don't worry about it.
7. Meanwhile get the pakoras ready.

For the Pakoras:

1. Mix together the gram flour, red chili powder, cumin powder, baking soda and salt. Add very little water so that you get a very thick paste. It will look something like this. we want a really thick paste because once we add our onions, they will leave their water as well and the batter will be of the right consistency.
   
   
   
   
2. Add the chopped chillies, coriander and sliced onions. mix well. keep covered for about half an hour.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. After half an hour it will look something like this. see the onions left their water as well.
   
4. Heat oil on medium high  in a wok. When the oil is hot enough add spoonfuls of the better and fry till golden brown. 
   
   
   
   
5. Add these to the curry once the curry is cooked and thick enough. It should look something like this.
   

Tempering.

1. Heat about two tablespoons of oil.
2. When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds till they begun to splutter. add asafoetida, onions and red chilies. Cook till  onion are almost golden brown. 
3. Add the curry leaves and green chilies.
4. The curry leaves will splutter. Fry for a minute.
5. Don't let the onions burn.
   
6. Add to the curry.
7. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander.
   

 Enjoy with plain steamed rice and do let me know how it turned out ;)

Chicken Teriyaki

Its  just one of those times  when I get a craving to eat something  sweet and sour. Also, as always  I want to speed up family dinners. This is just the recipe for that. Now chicken teriyaki is a japanese dish known for its sweet an smoky flavour and shiny appearance. Typically a chicken teriyaki is made with soy sauce and mirin. Mirin is a slightly sweet wine that gives the smoky and sweet flavour. After searching several recipes, I came up with a perfect full proof halal chicken teriyaki with no use of any alcohol but a beautiful sweet, smoky and sour flavour. Now, ‘teri’ means to shine and ‘yaki’ means to cook on a griddle or grill. An original chicken teriyaki wont use spring onions or ginger, but  this is the way  I like. So you could call this recipe a spicy indo-japanese chicken teriyaki my style. Trust me you will love it. Serve it some rice. I like to serve it with some spicy schezwan  rice, just because I love it all hot n spicy ;) would inshAllah soon post a recipe for the schezwan rice.

Do try it and give me some feedback guys. Always love to hear it from you.

Ingredients:

1.        Chicken – 500 gms, boneless, cut into cubes
2.        Ginger-  1.5 tablespoons, chopped
3.        Garlic- 2 tbsp, chopped
4.        Spring onions- 5, whites and greens chopped separately
5.        Salt- to taste
6.      .  Black pepper- to taste
7.        Oil -2-3 tbsp or as required

Sauce :

1.        Dark soy sauce-  2-3 tbsp
2.        Vinegar- 2 tbsp
3.        Hoisin sauce- 2 tbsp
4.        Honey- 1.5 tbsp
5.        Barbecue sauce – 2 tsp (optional)
6.        Red chilli sauce- 1 tbsp (optional)

 Marinade:

1.       Dark soy sauce- 1 tbsp
2.       Vinegar- 1 tbsp
3.    Brown sugar- 2 tsp
4.    Black Pepper- 1 tsp
5.      Salt – to taste

 Method:

1.        Marinate the cubed chicken with the ingredients of the marinade. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
2.        Heat oil in a wok. Add the marinated chicken pieces and stir fry till the chicken  is slightly caramelised and tender. Drain the chicken pieces on an  absorbent paper.
3.        In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for the sauce.
4.        Heat  the same oil and add the chopped ginger, garlic and whites of spring onions. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes till the ginger and garlic gets cooked and the onions are translucent.
5.        Add the chicken pieces.
6.        Add the ingredients  for the sauce  and cook till the  gravy is thick and shiny.
7.        Add the spring onion greens.
8.        Serve hot. 

Indian Style Chicken Achari Tikka:

Hey guys, I am back again after this hectic schedule with my exams going on. So here is a simple recipe, though it uses a number of spices but the rest of the recipe is fairly simple and In Sha Allah it will turn out lovely.

Ingredients;

1)      Chicken -1-cut into 8 pieces

2)      Ginger paste-  1 tbsp

3)      Garlic paste- 1 tbsp

4)      Turmeric powder- ½  tsp

5)      Vinegar- 2 tbsp

6)      Red chili powder- 2 tsp

7)      Yoghurt- 3-4 tbsp

8)      Tomato paste- 1 tbsp

9)      Shredded coconut-2-3 tbsp

10)   Fennel seeds- 1 tbsp

11)   Mustard seeds- ½ tsp

12)   Nigella seeds- ½ tbsp

13)   Fenugreek seeds- ½ tsp

14)   Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

15)   Oil- as required

Method

1)      Wash the chicken and make a few cuts on each piece of chicken so that it can absorb the marinade.

2)      Mix together chicken, ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric powder, vinegar, red chili powder.

1)      Add yoghurt and mix

1)      Add tomato paste and mix. Put it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hrs.

1)      Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2)      In a nonstick pan add coconut, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds and roast till you can smell the aroma of the spices. Turn the heat off.

1)      Cool the spices and coarsely grind in a mortar and pestle (or in a grinder).

1)      Add the spices to the chicken and lemon juice and mix.

2)      Grease a baking tray. Arrange the chicken pieces on the baking tray. Brush the chicken pieces with some oil and cook for 35-40 minutes or until the chicken is tender and nicely browned.

Hope you guys will try this recipe and do give me your feedback. Trust me its valuable.

Jazakallahu Khairan

Date- the fruit for heatlh

Allah said to Maryam (A.S) in the Qur’an;

“And shake the trunk of date-palm towards you; it will let fall fresh ripe-dates upon you. So eat and drink and be glad, and if you see any human being, say: 'Verily! I have vowed a fast unto the Most Beneficent (Allah) so I shall not speak to any human being this day.'

Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit.

1)     Dates are a source of protein, dietary fiber and are rich in vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B5.and Vitamin C.

2)     The fiber supplied by a few grams of dates has an immense benefit for your health. Dates are also great energy boosters.

3)     There are so many health benefits of dates that it is difficult to list all of them.

4)      Dates are even rich in several vitamins and minerals.

5)      These natural products contain oil, calcium,sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorous,manganese, copper and magnesium which are advantageous for health.

6)      It is said that consumption of one date daily is necessary for a balanced and healthy diet.

A few Ahadith related to dates;

1)     Sa’d bin Abu Waqqas related that the prophet (S.A.W.S) said:

“Whoever eats seven dates of Ajwah (a special date grown mainly in Madinah) will not be harmed by poison or magic for the rest of the day.”

2)     An-Nasai and Ibn Majah related that the prophet (S.A.W.S.) said;

“The Ajwah is from paradise, and it is an antidote against poison.”

3)     It is narrated in the Sahih that the prophet (S.A.W.S) said;

“The people of a house where there are no dates are hungry”

4)     An Nasai and Ibn Majah narrated in their Sunan that Aishah (R.A)said that the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.S) said;

“Eat fresh dates with dried dates, for when Satan sees the Son of Adam eating fresh and dried dates, he comments, “The Son of Adam remained until he started eating the new and the old together.’’

5)     In the Sahihain it is narrated that Abdullah bin Ja’far (R.A) said;

“I saw the messenger of Allah (S.A.W.S) eating cucumbers with ripe dates”

6)     Abu Dawud also narrated in his Sunan that Anas (R.A) said:

“The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.S) used to break his fast on some ripe dates, and if he did not have any, on dry dates. Otherwise, if he did not have any dry dates, he would have several sips of water.

7)     Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi narrated that the Prophet (S.A.W.S) used to eat watermelon with ripe dates, saying;

                “The hotness of this substance (dates) neutralizes the coolness of that (watermelon).

Palak Chana Dal/ Split Bengal Gram with Spinach

Hey people!!!!!
All right so its been ages since i started this blog but then i got busy with a lot of stuff. But here i am, to include you in my journey of food. So today lets start with a simple Indian recipe that includes spinach and split Bengal gram. Its simple yet tasty and is a beautiful addition to our daily diet.You can have this with a nice flat bread or even plain rice .

Ingredients:
onions(sliced)-2 medium
spinach (roughly chopped)-1 bunch
split Bengal gram (soaked in water for 20 minutes)-1/2 cup
garlic(chopped)-6-8 cloves
ginger chopped- 2 inch piece
dried red chilies-3-4turmeric - 1/4 teaspoon.salt to tasteoil- 2-3 tablespoons

Method:
1)Boil the lentils with 2 cups of water and turmeric until just tender.
2)Drain the lentils and keep aside.
3) Heat oil in a wok.Add the red chilies and saute till they change color. Add ginger, garlic and onions and saute till light golden.
4) Add the Bengal gram and saute for a minute or two. Add the spinach and cook until nicely wilted and cooked


5) Add the salt and serve hot.

Hey Everyone!!!!

Hi People!!
If you are a food fanatic like I am, then we are gonna have a good time here Inshallah.I love food and love to cook and eat and be creative with it .I am  an Indian livinf in Saudi Arabia .I have a 9 month old daughter.So if we have readers who are mothers, let us all share and discuss our ideas.Hope you try my dishes and have fun with them .