Mr. Parveez hails from Bangalore / Bengaluru. Now, if you ever want to eat good non vegetarian food in Bangalore, the right place is a Muslim wedding. There is no restaurant that can cook that much variety and that too with so much flavor.
I tried these Harabhara kebabs first time on our Valima, the after wedding party which is a celebration from your in laws and is as grand as the wedding. So, we were served with at least 25 varieties of foods that comprised of lip smacking Biryani, yummilicious curries, delicious sides and breads, awesome sweets and scrumptious kebabs and these kebabs were one of them. It was love at first sight and since then, my Father in law [God bless his soul] made sure these were always part of the menu for all the family weddings or parties.
Now, as much as I loved these kebabs, I could never get my hands on the recipe. The caterer was always sweet enough to say “Bhabhiji, we will cook it for you whenever you desire them”, which indirectly means “We ain’t sharing it, its our own”.
Eating these awesome kebabs every trip to India, I had to come up with my version of it. I tried and these are very close to the actual dish. They are pretty easy to make therefore, if you happen to be a new cook, this is an awesome recipe to impress your family or guests. If you make it with boneless chicken, these could make great filling for rolls too.
I lived in Jordan for 2 years. One of the dishes that I loved the most was Shwarema. Now, Shwarema is popular in the whole middle east or middle eastern restaurants but there is a huge difference between Shawaremas from different countries are very different from each other. Where Shwarema from Dubai or Saudi is filled in pita, Shwarema from Jordan is filled in a thin roti kind of bread.
The best part was that the Shwarema had some garlic sauce in between and was served with pickled olives and cucumbers. It would be soft, juicy, mildly spicy and flavorful….so tried making what I liked. It tastes very close to the original Jordanian Shwarema and if you are like me and want more flavor from the chicken then the bread, this dish is for you.
This is great for kids, the flavor isn’t too strong that they can’t handle. Makes a great wrap for school/office lunch, or a picnic roll. It tastes great even when it has cooled off so you don’t have to worry about it not tasting too good when eaten later.
Shami Kebabs are an authentic muslim dish. Any occassion, kebabs are always a part of our dining table/ Dastarkhaan . Among all those wonderful kebabs, Shami kebabs are one of the most popular ones and no Ramadan or Eid are complete without them.
Shami kebabs are boiled meat , chicken, lamb or beef with chana daal, whole spices, garlic and some salt to taste until completely tender. Onions, turmeric, chili powder, egg, chopped green coriander, chopped green chillies and chopped mint leaves may be added in preparing kebab.
The cooked meat is then ground in such a way that is fibrous and does not become a paste. It is then shaped into round patties and is shallow fried.
With increase in vegetarianism and vegans, various new methods and recipes of making shami kabab have emerged in most families. This one is the most authentic one that I have inherited from my family. A little variation to make them taste better.
These chicken seekh kebabs are fast track and guilt free. I made them one day when I was running short of time and I wanted something not too fancy, or heavy but something nice. I am sure we all go through one of those days when we want to eat something nice but then time is short and we don’t want to consume that makes us feel bloated.
And the fact is that Mr. Parveez always prefers his lunch to be something nice, yet light. You might be confused thinking that being husband to a wife who could spend her life time in the kitchen, how does he manage to think this way. Well, let me tell you, Mr. Parveez is a food loving guy but he is also a Man of self control. He has his days, with Biryani and gulab Jamuns to name a few, but, he never goes over board with rest things. He would make sure he eats within limits. And to make sure nothing tempts him, he always asks me to come up with less oil/ no oil/no carbs versions of food and I take them as a challenge and invent the best to my capability.
So, it was one of those days and I managed to come up with this recipe. Its great for on the go lunch, lunch boxes, light dinner and kid play dates. Its a great dish if you are carb conscious or a health freak.
Every Muslim family would tell you there deep bond with meat/ chicken samosas. Believe it or not, samosas are big part of the Muslim culture not just in India/Pakistan/Bangladesh, but also the middle east. These fried triangular delicacy came in with Mughals. In the middle east, they are known as Sambosa and are either fried or baked. When Mughals came to India, they brought these with them and further added spices and veggies to it making them Indianized.
With time, the size of Indian vegetarian samosas became a little large, like the heart of Indian people but since meat samosas would be difficult to fill and make the same size, we stick to the original size of this Mughlai dish.
As a kid, Ramadan and Eid were never complete without these samosas and I would look forward to my mother’s samosas, but, since I grew up in a joint family, it was disappointing not to be able to get more than 2-3, but that taste would linger for a very long time. My mom would make samosa rotis at home from scratch and it was fabulous the way she would roll the rotis together, after putting a number small rotis with little oil in between . She would then cook them and keep taking the layer off. Trust me, its so amazing to watch them coming off and the samosas come out super crispy and delicious.
Keeping that taste alive, I regularly make them and my kids can never have enough. Samosa is a favorite of most people but eating frozen or those samosas that you find in desi grocery store that upset your stomach later a re a torture to your taste buds and body.
This recipe is fairly simple. It would be great if you make your own pastry at home but if for any reason you aren’t able to, buy them from the frozen section and make your own filling. Make sure you make extra, coz no one I know can eat within limit. 😉
I love reading and its funny but I can read anything if I don’t have much of an option. One such time was while we were travelling and I came across a book that was based on cuisines from Kashmir. Though the book didn’t have any recipes but I did come across the ingredients mostly used and that Murgh paras kebab is popular chicken kebabs using kasoori methi and eggs as the main ingredients. The rest are what I felt would make the dish flavorful.
This dish is not very spicy and the taste on bell peppers and onions add a very earthy flavor to the dish.
I have never met a kid or a person who enjoys chicken and does not go crazy over chicken lollipops. I, myself go overboard and hate to admit, but I go overboard when it comes to these little round juicy, crunchy creeps. After all, no one eats one chicken lollipop, NO, NEVER. In my books, if you don’t indulge and go crazy with them, you are committing a sin, BIG TIME.
This dish is meant to be enjoyed with friends/family and made enough so, everyone can enjoy to the max. I am posting a video as well that teaches you the easiest way to make lollipops out of your wings. The video isn’t just easy to follow but its the safest way to not cut your fingers. So, if you wish to try making these, please do watch the video and follow.
So, coming back to the lollipops. My boys love chicken wings and I would serve those on play dates/ game nights/ get together. The chicken wings I made gained so much popularity between our friends that I believe a lot of people went out of their way to be at our every party only to devour the juicy wings…LOLzzz. So once in Bangalore, my boys tried chicken lollipops and the dish just earned themselves a new fan. That’s when the mommy had to try her skills to make a new dish. Now, I make 4 different flavors of chicken lollipop but I still have not tried making something close to what my boys had tried but, I came up with my own recipes and they all are lip smacking delicious.
So if you are a fan of chicken lollipops like us, this recipe is a must try. Just like other recipes with chicken wings these will surely impress you and your loved ones.
These boneless chicken kebabs are one of the mildest and juiciest kebabs that I make. The softness comes from Khoya, which also relatively makes the kebabs a little sweet and soft. They are rich without being creamy and the taste of kasoori methi with spices adds a slight bitterness enhancing the taste of these fabulous kebabs.
These are easy to make and make a great dish for people who prefer milder flavor. I don’t think it will be a favorite among kids since the flavors are strong, unless your kids love experimenting with different flavors. Otherwise, these go great as kebabs themselves, just served over as snack or an appetizer at a party or as a side dish.
This recipe was an invention on a kids play date. The kids wanted fried chicken, well kind of fried and something that tastes close to tandoori, and it shouldn’t be something that they have already tasted. Oh Boy! Do you have kids who can test your creativity to a complete different level. Well, fortunately I do…LOLzzz. And as much as it tires and drains me out at times, it leaves me with the happiness of being able to create more recipes and compete with my own self to come up with something better.
A lot of people these days are giving up on red meat for health reasons. Though we do not consume Beef at all, and most of my red meat is either Goat or Lamb, a lot of my friends do not consume red meat altogether. Considering that I came up with this recipe of Chicken ke Seekh.
Though nothing beats the juicy lamb when it comes to seekh kebabs, but this recipe does satisfy your taste buds without a fuss.
