Paav Bhaaji

I still remember when the trend of Paav Bhaaji came to my town. I was in Elementary school and I loved the flavors and so did everyone in the family. The funny thing was that all of a sudden Paav Bhaaji became a favorite dish for all. Now I have never been to the roadside stalls to eat Paav Bhaaji, though I somewhere always wanted to, but the small town I belonged wasn’t very apt with women standing on roadside eateries during those days. While writing this, I feel as if it was centuries ago, but honestly it was just a few decades ago and the amazing thing is that my small town has changed so much in the last few years that it’s exciting as well as scary. See, small cities have their own magic. People are friendlier, have more time in hand and almost everyone knows everyone. From that time where I would meet 50 people in a radius of one mile to now meeting almost the same number, but with the warmth missing.

Anyways, coming back to Paav Bhaaji. So, my father would always bring it home as a take away and we would all love it to the core. Slowly, my mom started getting Pav bhaaji masala and we would enjoy home made Paav bhaaji. So, my home made Paav bhaaji masala is my mother’s recipe.

I had tried my hands at Paav Bhaaji multiple times and always loved every bite of it. Though my mother used so many different veggies like cauliflower and carrots for her Paav Bhaaji, I only stick to Potato and Bell pepper, making it closer to the original flavors.

The Paav are also homemade. They are pretty easy as well. If you follow the recipe properly, you will be able to make these pillow soft amazing buns at home. You can serve the buns with anything, but as Paav with Bhaaji, they just seem to taste super amazing. To make them taste more delicious, split the buns, spread some butter and sprinkle some Paav Bhaaji masala on them and toast them on the Tava/ Pan.

Click and make your own Paav at home

Homemade Buns / Paav – Haala’s Dastarkhaan

Homemade Buns / Paav

I still remember when the trend of Paav Bhaaji came to my town. I was in Elementary school and I loved the flavors and so did everyone in the family. The funny thing was that all of a sudden Paav Bhaaji became a favorite dish for all. Now I have never been to the roadside stalls to eat Paav Bhaaji, though I somewhere always wanted to, but the small town I belonged wasn’t very apt with women standing on roadside eateries during those days. While writing this, I feel as if it was centuries ago, but honestly it was just a few decades ago and the amazing thing is that my small town has changed so much in the last few years that it’s exciting as well as scary. See, small cities have their own magic. People are friendlier, have more time in hand and almost everyone knows everyone. From that time where I would meet 50 people in a radius of one mile to now meeting almost the same number, but with the warmth missing.

Anyways, coming back to Paav Bhaaji. So, my father would always bring it home as a take away and we would all love it to the core. Slowly, my mom started getting Pav bhaaji masala and we would enjoy home made Paav bhaaji. So, my home made Paav bhaaji masala is my mother’s recipe.

I had tried my hands at Paav Bhaaji multiple times and always loved every bite of it. Though my mother used so many different veggies like cauliflower and carrots for her Paav Bhaaji, I only stick to Potato and Bell pepper, making it closer to the original flavors.

The Paav are also homemade. They are pretty easy as well. If you follow the recipe properly, you will be able to make these pillow soft amazing buns at home. You can serve the buns with anything, but as Paav with Bhaaji, they just seem to taste super amazing. To make them taste more delicious, split the buns, spread some butter and sprinkle some Paav Bhaaji masala on them and toast them on the Tava/ Pan.

Kolkata Chicken Roll

We love Chicken rolls. Those of you who read my blog and follow my recipes would know that I love different styles of Chicken wraps, be it a Chicken Roll or Burrito or Tacos. I think the love for Chicken rolls came from my Mom. During one of her trips to Mumbai, she had tried some Mutton Tikka boti rolls at a Parsi eatery and tried reinventing them at home which is actually loved by the whole family.

So, when I came across a wonderful pictures of Kolkata Chicken Roll, I had to give it a try. The flavor of Kolkata roll is not just different, it actually bombards your taste buds with a joy ride of different things. From what I have read, its pretty renowned and a popular street food in Kolkata. Though I have never been to Kolkata, there is something about the food and culture that connects me to it and I find it amazingly attractive. Recipes like this are so easy and fuss free that while it connects you to your roots, which is just so important for people like me who live so far off from their home country, but also makes it easy for your kids to eat. Its healthy, nutritious and perfect for on the go too.

I grew up eating and loving my mother Tikka Boti Roll, which she initially only made with meat but then also started making with Chicken and I loved both. I have always been a fan of being able to make something that was good for road trips. See, some trips allow you to stop by at hotels on the way, but not all and for those trips or those after game hunger pangs while you might be stuck in heavy traffic, these are the recipes that just don’t come handy but also are flavorfully satisfying.

I marinated the Boneless Chicken with Salt, Ginger garlic paste, Lemon Juice and Yogurt. Spices I used were Fenugreek leaves, Tandoori powder, Red chili powder, cumin powder and fennel powder. Chicken can be marinated and left in the refrigerator overnight but if you are short on time, it can also be marinated for 30-45 minutes.

This recipe might not be exactly same as what you might have experienced in Kolkata, if you have been lucky enough to try the street food there, but after the numerous trials and efforts made by me and going through uncountable recipes of different kinds, I managed to stick to this one for the Kolkata Chicken rolls. I am not too sure how the Chicken rolls are different from the Kolkata egg rolls, but my mom would always spread some egg was on the Roti and fry it for the Tikka Boti so I did the same thing for my recipe and I feel the taste is deliciously enhanced. This recipe is inspired by numerous flavors that I have tried all my life and I feel with the numerous trials that I have made, I am able to give this dish a flavor different from my regular Chicken rolls. Hope you try it, like it and enjoy it as much as my family and I do.  

Pasta with Garlic Chicken and Mushroom

This is a great recipe and cooks pretty quickly as well. I am not a fan of Alfredo sauce with my Pasta and honestly the boys were never big fans of cheese sauce either but when I came across dish that has Mushrooms and Chicken cooked with Garlic, it kind of sounded interesting.

So I got down to trying and cooking my own. I love Mushrooms, but the kids aren’t a big fan so the dish had to be interesting enough. Roasting garlic in the oven enhances the flavor in a dish. So, I roasted garlic with skin with olive oil, salt and pepper till its soft and mushy. Cook the chicken pieces in a pan with little oil, salt and pepper. Further adding butter and oil to the same pan and added the mushed garlic and a little chicken broth followed by mushrooms. After it comes to a boil added a little heavy cream and further the cooked chicken. I also added Red chili flakes and White pepper for extra flavor.

This dish can be served by itself or with Rice too, since its a little saucy, but I personally felt that it goes on best with pasta. I served it with Spaghetti Pasta and a side of Garlic bread. Trust me, my boys who do not like Mushroom at all loved this dish. This dish easily qualifies as an awesomely flavorful and delicious dish. The taste is that of a dish you’d get at a high end Italian restaurant. It might seem a little complicated but trust me if you follow the recipe and make it once, you will become pro and will manage making this dish in no time. This dish is actually perfect for those surprise dinner dates. This impresses anyone and everyone.

Haala’s Fish Burger

We love Fish in all kind of different ways. We love it grilled, curry, fried, steamed, baked. Any which way, we love it. Since we cannot eat non halal food outside, it refrains us from eating Chicken or meat burgers outside and I ended up making my own in different styles. Yes! I make around 4-5 different kinds of Chicken and meat burgers at home. Now, you know even if you know how to cook 1000 different kinds of meals, you kids would still want something more and you have to super creative at times to satisfy those little minds.

So, after completing my creative journey on satisfying the “not so little” tummies with my chicken and meat burgers, the demand came on to Fish Burgers. My first question was that why would I make something that we can easily eat outside to which the reply was an explanation…simple one and harsh too… It’s a time to stay at home and we aren’t going out to eat either. And, of course that was enough to convince me into making Fish Burgers.

I used Tilapia Fish fillets. You can use any other fish fillet of your choice. Going for a fish which does not have a very overpowering flavor is always better when you marinate and roll it in flour. I personally feel that any fish like Salmon or Kingfish will only taste nice in a burger if you spice them up and fry them without rolling them in flour. It’s my personal outlook and you can always choose to differ. I mixed in the spices with the fillet, rolled them in a mix of flour and corn starch powder. Later pan fried them. Once cooked and crunchy from both sides. Spread some butter on both half of the butter and just heat them a little on a pan. Toasting the burger is optional, so you can always omit this step. You can also grill place them in between burger buns with Onion, Tomato, Lettuce, garlic mayo sauce and Hot sauce. Sprinkle some dry parmesan cheese powder.

These burgers don’t take too much time and very satisfying as well. You can also serve the fish fillet with the veggie only without the burger as a fish salad.

Indonesian Chicken Satay

Most South East Asian countries offer their version of Chicken Satay. Though I have never visited any of the countries [despite they are so close to India], from what I have watched and read, its a popular street food. This one is the Indonesian version and to me, is the easiest, you can get everything you need from the supermarket, simple to put together and simply delicious. The kebabs have a peanut sauce mixed in the marination and I find peanut butter to be an awesome substitute.

Satay Chicken is more known as Malaysian and Thai, though Indonesia is actually the country that came up with the dish. All these countries have their own recipes and versions of these wonderful dish. I will be sharing Malaysian Chicken satay as well. I am a big fan of Malaysian food but for some reason always find it easier to make the Indonesian version of Chicken Satay, since its easy and scrumptious and my kids love it.

When I was looking into the various chicken Satay recipes, I realized that even though they all had very close similarities, they all taste entirely different and are easily distinguishable. The Indonesian version is easier and kind of a little faster than the other.

The Peanut Sauce in the recipe has been substituted with Peanut butter and if you happen be someone who prefers going more authentic, you can always try getting some peanut sauce from the Asian market. The traditional Peanut sauce is made by grinding Peanuts, soy sauce, Hot peppers, baby onions and lemon together. The paste is usually thick and water is only used little at a time. if you plan to make yours at home, I suggest you to use peanuts without skin, and use dry Red chilies as an option for hot peppers. Lemon juice and little water as needed. Just using a blender to combine everything together.

Since I use Peanut butter, I add Red chili flakes, sugar, soy sauce and lemon juice separately. I feel marinating the chicken pieces together with all the spices and Peanut butter does an amazing job and makes the dish deliciously flavorful. I have made thise for school lunches, home lunches, small gathering and for pot luck. It has always been loved and appreciated and its a super amazing recipe to bookmark and pass on. Enjoy!!!

Chicken Rotisserie with Veggies

I have always loved Chicken Rotisserie. Looking at the chicken in those glass ovens with whole chicken turning around seem amazingly delicious and I always thought they taste this perfect only at restaurants, since I tried making it at home in the oven, but unfortunately, the oven does not give you the same result as the restaurant, because there is no way for you to rotate it and make it crispy and cook it evenly.

But, the problem grows more when you are a foodie and the crave to cook something is just too hard to let go. Your creativity needs that platform and you need rush out all the ideas and serve t on a platter. And little do people understand that similar to people getting upset when they aren’t able to take their favorite vacation, the home based or a restaurant based chefs happen to be the same. Till you are not authorized or left to decide and serve things as what you heart desires, you go a little crazy.

Since I was going nuts over cooking the Rotisserie, we came up with the idea of grilling the chicken. Same marination, little less oil, just sparingly brushing it around every few minutes, working hard with gas grill and charcoal grill, different times. Both were great, smoky flavor, taste of fresh cooked on fire, crunchy but not the Rotisserie, the flavor we were looking for was still very much missing. And, Finally Mr. Parveez bought me a Rotisserie maker. Can you imagine the excitement ? It was beyond what can be expressed in words.

Another thing, we aren’t a fan of Turkey. As much as we have always tried fitting ourselves in the traditional American “Thanksgiving” holiday, we still could not get ourselves to eat Turkey with ease. I always found the bird to be a little dry and it failed to absorb the flavors of the marinade that I used, hence it stayed bland and made gulping it down my throat even more difficult.

Finally with my Rotisserie maker, I was ready to roll. The chicken if marinated overnight or for at least 6-8 hours, makes the chicken absorb the flavors well. Make sure you make slits at the right places as shown in the pictures below. Also, the marinade needs to be rubbed in well, specially in the cuts and slits made. I always prefer using the whole chicken with skin. The fat from the skin adds a lot flavor to the chicken and it tastes incredibly delicious as well. The chicken should be tied from the legs and wings to be able to hold properly while being turned around. Mine was crispy and done in around an hour. This is must try if you are a Rotisserie fan like me. It surely does add a lot of glamour to your dinner table and is always a very fancy addition to the menu.

Shikari Chicken Rice

This is an invention by only hearing about the dish…Yeah I know I can go nuts when it comes down to trying to make a new dish. This happens to be one that I really planned out well and craved to make it.

Like I always say, every dish has a story. This one has one too. While speaking to a close friend about different Biryanis that we get at famous and not so famous eateries in India, I was told that a popular restaurant served something that was close to Biryani, but not Biryani. That really got my interest. Giving me further details, that its mildly flavored bed of Rice served under these awesomely juicy grilled chicken. I mean who wouldn’t want to act on this description and try and make it. It’s actually not just the details of the dish, but the way it was described and the fact that it topped the list of Chicken and Rice. I had not even seen the dish, yet I was head over heels in love with the dish and felt challenged to make it.

When you are aware of a dish, you tend to study it by searching about different chefs who have made it or by trying the dish out at different restaurants or even making the dish a couple of times to achieve the desired flavor or result. But when its a dish, you have never heard of until now, tried, seen or tasted, and you crave to cook it, you are definitely a crazy chef…LOLzzz. I think I fit the bill.

So, I am not aware of the Chicken served is with bones or without, but going according to my Biryani basics, I picked Chicken with Bones and marinated the chicken with spices and Yogurt for around 2-3 hours. Though my chicken came out delicious, I still recommend that a chicken is more flavorful if marinated overnight or for at least 6-8 hours, though in today’s time and age, things happen unplanned and we have a little time before we decide what we need to cook. For all those times, marinate, cover, and place the chicken in the refrigerator. Refrigeration helps blend the flavors faster and better. Once I was ready to cook them, I took them out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 400F or 180C. I placed them on the grill with a tray underneath to catch the dripping. The cooking time was around 25-30 minutes, with an extra 5 minutes of high heat grill, since I wanted them to look well done. If you want, you can cook them in the oven and do the latter process in a pan, or on naked fire. Any which way will give you great outcomes.

I made a gravy as well to spike up the layers of Rice. The gravy was made very similar to Biryani Yakhni shorba. For initial whole spices, I added fennel seeds along with cinnamon, cloves, green cardamom, and cumin seeds. I further fried the onions, taking half of it out for garnishing and using them while layering the Rice. That was followed by Ginger garlic paste and spice powders. Further adding tomatoes and Yogurt, combined with green chilies, mint leaves, and coriander leaves. I also added the marination left behind after the chicken is taken out, so it gets a little flavor from the chicken as well since we aren’t cooking the chicken in the gravy.

This is a lovely recipe for a weekend Brunch or to display your cooking skills to those uninvited guests, when you don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. It’s a pretty quick fix to traditional Biryani and modern-day Chicken over Rice. One of my self invented and the best recipes ever…Enjoy!!!

Chicken Tikka Masala Curry

One dish that Indians hold steady fast too, specially when we are far from home is Chicken Tikka Masala. Be it Paneer Tikka masala or Chicken Tikka Masala, it never fails to satisfy our taste buds. And, I think that’s why they are a part of every party buffet.

This recipe is very close to the restaurant style Chciken Tikka masala that you’d find at restaurants and you can always substitute the chicken with paneer and follow the rest of the recipe as is to get the perfect restaurant dish.

This recipe is one of the Best Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe that you can cook with ease. The flavor is smoky and making this dish at home also gives you the benefit of eating clean and fresh. At present my reasons to try this dish is because its the quarantine period and as much as I enjoy cooking, I leave some dishes to the restaurant to enjoy some favorites outside the house. But since we hit the Covid-19 Quarantine period, I had to start cooking at home and with the high spiked taste buds of my kids, I got down to making an at home Chicken Tikka Masala curry.

Ingredients to make Chicken Tikka Masala Curry Recipe, we would require Yogurt, I prefer the thick greek yogurt but you can always use the regular yogurt and hang it for 30 minutes to an hour. The thick yogurt helps adding a lot of creaminess to the curry. Boneless Chicken thighs work best for the recipe. A lot of times I have been asked why I prefer Boneless thighs over Boneless chicken breast and my answer is simple, that chicken breast tends to get dry quickly and specially with gravy dishes, Chicken breast fails to absorb the juices from the gravy.

The chicken needs to be marinated in ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, salt, vegetable oil and tikka masala spice mix to marinate the chicken. You’d require onions, whole spices, tomatoes [chopped and pure’ed] , chilies, ginger garlic paste and the regular spices as red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder and tikka masala powder, along with honey, kasuri methi and cream.

Chicken Kalmi Kebab

The origin of Kalmi Kebab is from the Mughal era, of course, I mean where else will Kebabs so delicious can come from except for the Mughals. The Mughals introduced Kebabs to the Indian cuisine and when their Kebab making skills were fused with the spices of India to give super delicious and scrumptious dishes. This dish now is very popular in Hyderabad and is very prodly an addition to the Nizam cuisine, which of course is greatly influenced from the Mughals.

Tangdi Kebab are everyone’s favorite. Tandoori kebabs are pretty popular amongst people and mostly when we think of Tangdi kebab, the first kebabs that come to mind are the red tandoori kebabs.

With the huge variety that Chicken offers in the “World of Kebabs”, these happen to be one of the easy ones and definitely something beginners can easily cook to impress. The kebabs need marination time, overnight is not needed, 3 hours are enough. If you are running out of time, marinate and wrap them up with cellophane or a tight lid and leave them in the freezer for 15 – 30 minutes. Not any longer or the chicken pieces would freeze.

The chicken can be cooked in the oven as well, but going through the traditional way for cooking Kalmi Kebab, I decided to pan fry them. With pan frying, the besan cooks properly adding crunch to the chicken, which otherwise in the oven to take longer. Again, you might prefer the oven and if you do, its 350F/180C for 20 minutes each side.

As I said before, the dish is great for beginners and super easy to make. If you are a great cook, this dish makes an excellent side dish to your party and the flavors show great efforts. Hope you enjoy making it as much as I did.