Pakistani style Spinach and chicken curry - Palak Chicken

Palak gosht was cooked a lot in my mother’s household during the winter season. I never liked what meat did to the spinach. While living in London, once I had Palak chicken at one of the Pakistani restaurants and loved it. Later I tried my own version at home and have not looked back ever since. My brother O who was studying at University of Warwick during that time, became the guinea pig for my cooking experiments.

My palak chicken not just got a high approval rating from him but I also got a request to make some palak chicken for him to take along to Warwick. For the year he was there, I used to make a stack of food for him and freeze it which he would take along to eat for next 2 weeks. A quarter in to the year, I started getting phone calls from his Pakistani and Indian class mates with specific requests for food, followed by thank you phone calls.

I wasn't thrilled to find out that O’s flatmates were eating all of his home cooked food. My firsthand experience taught me that the one thing that you miss the most while living away from home is the home cooked food. I quietly doubled the food he took to Warwick. Things sisters do for little brothers!!! Last night O called me from his office and asked me if I could make some palak chicken for him. I am always happy to fulfill such farmaish. We had it with boiled rice.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

Chicken – ½ kilo (6-8 pieces)

Fresh Spinach – 1 kilo (You can use frozen if fresh is not available)

Tomatoes – 4 Medium sized (make a puree with 2 green chilies)

Fresh Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp (heaped)

Mustard Seeds – 1 tbsp

Dried Whole Chilies - 4-5

Roasted Cumin seeds – 1 Tbsp (crushed)

Roasted Coriander seeds – 1 Tbsp (crushed)

Crushed Red Chilies -1 tsp (Adjust to taste)

Salt – 1 tsp (adjust to taste)

Oil : 6 Tbsp

Method:

1. Wash the spinach and steam it in a large pan. Once steamed, puree it with the hand blender. Put aside.
2. Heat the oil and add ginger garlic paste to it. Cook till its changes color.
3. Add mustard seeds to it. Let it cook for a minute till you can smell them. Add the dried red chilies and cook for 10 secs. Add a dash of water to stop it from burning.
4. Add cumin and coriander seeds. Cook for 30 sec.
5. Add chicken and cook for 5 -7 mins till it completely changes color.
6. Add tomatoes, salt and crushed chilies and cook till the water dries.
7. Now add pureed spinach. Cook till the water dries and the oil comes out on the side.

I love serving this with boiled basmati rice. This also pairs well with homemade chappati – flat bread.

 

Nargisi Koftay - Pakistani Style Curried Scotch Eggs

Ramzan is finally over! Phew! We are celebrating Eid in far east on Monday. Fasting in peak summer is a real test of faith as well as of one’s endurance. My inquisitive non-Muslim friends often ask me, how we Muslims survive the long testing hours of fasting without food and water and soaring temperatures? I am not sure they believe me when I tell them it’s a mix of practice and unreserving faith that makes us get through very tough days of fasting and sleep deprivation.

Now that ramzan is over, it’s that time of the year when we feast (read: over eat). Eid menus are planned out days ahead and tons of sweet and savory delicacies line up the dinner tables and tea trollies. At ammi’s house, there was a bit of set menu for Eid ul Fitar.  Breakfast will always have boiled vermicelli served with hot milk. Abbu liked having a bowl of it before heading for Eid namaz.  Dessert will be either Sheer Khurma or a dense milky Kheer – rice pudding. Haleem is always a non-negotiable which is prepared a day ahead of Eid. The tea trolley will be decked with savory spicy channa chaat and some gulab jamans. All guests coming to the house will enjoy all of these things for 2-3 days of Eid, meaning ammi will prepare these things in large quantities. Fresh channa chaat will be made every day and will be served with lemonade or tea.

For Eid lunch, there would be a pulao, a kofta curry for sure and some special chicken dish of hers. I don’t remember eating nargasi koftas at home a lot, but they were cooked only on very special occasions or for some very special guests. I am sharing my recipe of Nargisi koftas that fits Eid festival perfectly.

Eid Mubarak to everyone back home! Please don’t forget to include the less fortunate ones in our festivities and especially remember nearly one million people displaced from their homes as Pakistan fights the battle for its survival. Let’s hope that tomorrow will be a better day!

Ingredients for Koftay- Scotch Eggs

Minced beef – ½ kg

Chickpea lentil - Channa Daal – ½ cup – soaked overnight

Garlic 5-6 cloves

Ginger – 2 inch

Onion – 1 medium sized (chopped)

Green Chilies – 2 medium sized

Water - 1 ½ cup

Salt – 1 tsp

Eggs – 2

Dry Spices:

Whole Cloves – 8

Whole black Peppercorn – 10

Cinnamon stick – 1 inch

Black Cardamom – 2

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp heaped

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp heaped

Whole dried red chilies – 3 - Round  

Egg – 1 for coating

Oil – 1 cup – for deep frying

Eggs – 8 (hard boiled)

Ingredients for curry

Onions – 3 Large

Tomatoes – 2 medium sized

Ginger/Garlic paste – 1 tsp

Water – 1 cup

Oil – 6 tbsp

Dry Spices:

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp heaped - Crushed

Coriander seeds – 1 tsp heaped - Crushed

Whole black peppercorn -6

Cloves – 5

Black Cardamom – 1

Green Cardamom pods – 3

Cinnamon stick – 1 inch

Yogurt – 1/3 cup

Koftay - Scotch Eggs : Make this mixture a day ahead.

1. Dry roast all the spices and grind them in a spice mill.
2. Add minced beef, ginger, garlic, green chilies, onion, channa lentil, ground spices, salt and water in a pan. Cook it over medium heat for 45 mins till the water dries up and the lentil is fully cooked. Let it cool down completely.
3. Add the cooked minced meat to a food processor. Add 2 eggs, 1 medium green chili and grind everything finely. Store it in a sealed container overnight in the fridge.
4. Next day: Wrap hard boiled eggs in the minced meat.
5. Coat it with a lightly beaten egg and deep fry on high heat.
6. Brown the koftas carefully. While frying, do not touch them unless needed as they can crumble and break, remove on kitchen paper.

Curry :

1. Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and fry onions till translucent. Add ginger/ garlic and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add tomatoes and cook for 2 mins on high heat. Add a cup of water and boil. 
3. Blend the onions & tomatoes in to a fine paste in a liquidizer.
4. Heat the remaining 3 tbsp of oil in the same pan and fry the dry spice.
5. Add the paste to the oil and cook till water dries up and oil comes out on the side. Be careful as the water dries up, boiling hot bubbles can burn your hands. Cover the pan as the water dries up.
6. Add yogurt and cook till water dries up.
7. Add 2 ½ cups of water and let it come to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer till oil comes out on the top.

Serving: Ladle the hot curry in a serving dish. Cut the fried koftas in half and arrange them on the curry. Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve it with homemade flat bread – chappati or Naan.

Dahi Bhalay - Pakistani style Fried Lentil Cakes in Sweet Yogurt Sauce

Peak summer and Ramzan are a rather challenging, patience testing combination. But never even once it falters the resolve of a believer when it comes to fasting. For people who fast away from home and in non-Muslim countries, things are even tougher. The work hours don’t change meaning even when your energy levels are dwindling and eyes are droopy due to sleep deprivation one still needs to keep on marching. This also means that the expatriate families hardly have time to prepare the elaborate iftar we are accustomed to while living in Pakistan or any other Muslim country. 

I personally enjoy a fuss free iftar with a simple meal accompanied by a hydrating drink. But those who can’t settle for fuss free iftar, prepping ahead is a viable option. I am sharing the recipe for Dahi Bhallay (as we Punjabis call it). I prepare everything in advance and freeze them. The assembly takes very less time. I made these for Ammi and MIL on my last trip to Pakistan in April this year and both of them loved it.

Phase 1 : Make sweet Tamarind chutney

Wet Tamarind – 300 gms

Water - 3 cups

Sugar - ¾ cup

Salt – ½ tsp.

Method:

1. Soak the tamarind overnight in 3 cups of water.
2. Next morning mash the tamarind with hand and separate pulp and seeds. Strain the liquid.
3. Boil the tamarind liquid with salt and sugar till it reduces to about a cup. Cool and refrigerate.

Phase 2 : Make the Spice mix

Whole Cumin – 1 tbsp

Whole Coriander seeds – 1 tsp

Dried chilies – 4-5

Whole Black peppercorns – ½ tsp

Method:

Dry roast all the spices in a frying pan. Once cooled, grind it to make a powder. Store the spice mix in a sealed bag or container in the freezer for later use.

Phase 3 : Make Bhalay – Barray – Lentil Cakes

Maash Lentil – 1 ½ cup (Soaked overnight)

Baking powder – 2 tsp

Salt – 1 ½ tsp. adjust to taste

Freshly ground black peppercorns – 1 tsp

Oil – for deep frying the daal bhalay – Lentil Cakes. I prefer sunflower oil.

Method:

1. Using a liquidizer, make a thick paste of the lentil with all the ingredients. I find it easier to divide the lentil in 2 or 3 portions and then grind. This yields a finer paste. Mix all the batches thoroughly.
2. Heat the wok with 1-2 cups of sunflower oil. Once the oil is boiling hot, add heaped table spoon of batter each in the wok in a quick succession. Do not crowd the wok as this will suddenly cool down the oil and deflate the bhalas. Fry to a gentle golden color. Once crisp, take them out on a kitchen paper. Repeat the process till all bhallas – Lentil cakes are fried.
3. I am using about a dozen bhallas for now. Soak the bhallas in boiling hot water for about 15 mins. Drain water, let them cool. Then press each ballah – Lentil cake between palms of your hands to squeeze the water out. Be careful not to break them. Put aside.
4. The remainder can be frozen in a sealed container for later use.  

Phase 4 : Make the Yogurt sauce.

Yogurt: 2 cups

Sugar – 3-4 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Water: ½ cup

Homemade dahi bhalla spice mix – 1 tsp (adjust to taste if you need more)

Chaat Masala – 1 tsp (adjust to taste if you need more)

Method: 

1. Mix all the ingredients to make a thin yogurt mixture. Keep aside.

Dahi Bhalay Assembly

1. You can assemble them in individual serving dishes or in a large casserole style dish.
2. Cover the base of the dish with spiced sweet yogurt.
3. Add a few dollops of Sweet Tamarind sauce.
4. Place the (water soaked and squeezed) lentil cakes on top of it.
5. Top the lentil cakes with the remaining of the spiced sweet yogurt.
6. Put a few swirls of sweet tamarind sauce. 
7. Add a dusting of chaat Masala and fresh mint or coriander.
8. Let it sit for 10 mins before serving. Happy Fasting!

Potato Stuffed Samosas & Green Mango Chutney

Like the rest of the world, few foods are associated with certain events and seasons in Pakistan too. Such as Kashmiri Chai is an integral part of the food served during the wedding festivities in winter season, Gulab Jamans and Ladoos are served to celebrate joyous occasions, samosay and pakoras are served with fiery chutneys as the monsoon opens the heavens after hellish summers in Pakistan.

Our love for samosas just doesn't end with the celebration of monsoon rain but takes center stage during the month of fasting – Ramzan. No iftar table is without vegetable or minced meat samosas, served with various types of chutneys.  

While growing up in Pakistan, I don’t remember samosas were ever made at home. They were always bought from family’s favorite Halwayee – Specialized sweet makers. I learnt how to make samosas after I moved to London as the local version could not satisfy my taste buds.  Ammi would always buy the uncooked vegetable samosas from Sajid Sweets in Sadaar Rawalpindi and freeze them. They were fried before iftar at home and served with homemade mint, coriander yogurt chutney. I used to (and still do) make a concoction with ketchup and mint chutney which was not pleasant to look at but tasted great with a samosa coupled with a sweet cup of tea for iftar.

With Ramzan and Monsoon not very far away, I thought it’s a good idea to share my version of the samosa recipe. I am planning to make a stock of these before the month of fasting begins end of June this year.  

Special Utensil : Griddle /Tava

Ingredients for samosa dough:

Flour – 1 Cup

Oil : 2 Tbsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Ajwain /Carom Seed – ¾ tsp

Water – ½ cup for Kneading. Use more if needed.

Knead the dough soft but firm with hand or in the kneading machine. Use water as needed. Let the dough rest for an hour before making small dough balls (Smaller than a golf ball). This dough will make around 12 small dough balls to make 12 chapattis (24 samosas).

Filling:

Potatoes – 1 kgs – Boiled /peeled/ mashed

Onions – 2 medium (thinly chopped). 3 tbsps. oil for frying the onions.

Fresh Green Chilies – 2 Medium sized (thinly chopped)

Fresh Coriander – 1/2 cup – chopped

Fresh Mint – 1/2 cup - chopped

Roasted Cumin seeds 1 ½ tsps. (Heaped – Crushed in Pestle Mortar)

Roasted Coriander seeds – 1 ½ tsps. (Heaped - Crushed in pestle mortar)

Anaar Dana powder (Dried Pomegranate powder) – 2 tsps. / Alternative: Dried Mango Powder – Aam choor – 2 tsps.

Crushed red chilies – ½ to 1 tsp.  Adjust to taste if you want more or less.

Salt – 1 tsp (heaped) – Adjust to taste if you want more.

Method:

1. In a frying pan, pour 3 tbsps. of oil and fry the chopped onions till they are translucent. Do not brown. Remove on a kitchen paper. Let them cool completely before use.
2. Mash the potatoes and add all spices, cooked onions and herbs to it. Mix and set aside for an hour.

Making Samosas:

1. Heat the griddle/ tava on the stove top. 
2. Mix 3 tbsp. of flour with 4-5 tbsp. of water. Make a thick paste. This will be used to bind the samosa crust together. Make more if needed.
3. Dust the working top with dry flour and roll out each dough ball in a round shape using a rolling pin. Flatten and stretch it like a chappati.
4. After dusting off the excess flour, put the chappati on the hot griddle. Cook both sides for 15-20 sec each enough to make it stable to handle. No need to cook it through. Remove from the stove and store in a hot pot like container so it stays warm and soft. Make all of the chappatis before beginning to stuff them.
5. Cut the chappatis in half. Each half will make one somosa.
6. Take half chapatti and apply flour paste at the straight edge and fold the sides together like an envelop. It will look like a cone.(See the photo.)
7. Stuff the cone with about 1 tbsp of filling. Do not over fill. Seal the open side with the flour paste. Hold it together till it is firmly sealed.  

These samosas can be made in advance and freeze well. Defrost and fry whenever needed.

Fry them in medium hot oil on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper. Serve hot.

Ingredients for Green Mango Chutney

Unripe mangoes – 2-3 medium sized (peeled, diced)

Fresh Mint – 1 cup

Fresh Coriander – 1 cup

Green Chilies – 2-3 (add more if you want it to be spicy)

Juice of 2 medium sized Lemons

Sugar – 2 tsp – heaped.

Salt – ½ tsp (adjust to taste).

Method: 

Blend everything together in a liquidizer with ¼ cup of water till it becomes a smooth paste. Check for the taste. Adjust the seasoning if needed.

Pottery by Blue Saint

www.thebluesaint.com

Fruit Chaat - Pakistani Fruit Salad

Fruit chaat – Pakistani fruit salad is a staple diet during the month of fasting.  No Iftaar table in Pakistan is complete without a large bowl of Fruit Chaat. It is quick and simple to make and is packed with all the right things needed after hours of fasting. Pakistanis love their sweet and savory chaats. That’s why one can always find road side vendors selling these all over Pakistan. 

City of Lahore and Karachi both have their own particular versions of chaats. Everyone I know has their own favorite chaat place in their respective cities. Every household has their own unique recipe for this fruit salad. The shopping trips with friends, aunties and ammies usually conclude with gossip sessions over a plate of fruit chaat or dahi Bhalay at their favorite eatery.  We Pakistanis love our fruit chaats.

My version of fruit chaat has lesser sugar than the usual. I enjoy the natural sweetness of the fruits served in balance with a hint of spice.  Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Bananas 2 – peeled/ sliced (Add 1 tsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the sliced bananas to save them from discoloring).  

Apples – 2 – peeled /diced

Oranges /Malta/ Kinos – 2, peeled, each slice cut in half. Deseeded.

Fresh Orange Juice –  250 mls

Guavas – 2, Deseeded- diced.

Fresh Pomegranate seeds – 1 cup

Salt – 1 tsp

Sugar – 1 tbsp

Chaat Masala – 1 tsp heaped. (Use your preferred brand. I make my own blend).

Method:

Add all the fruit in a bowl.

Add the sugar, salt & chaat masala.

Add freshly squeezed orange juice.

Mix the fruit and let it sit for 15 mins before serving. You can dust it with a bit more chaat masala and a few leaves of fresh mint as garnish.