Beetroot Cutlet

As Indians, we love snacks and our snacking has no time. India has shops where you can find food, cooked fresh that comes under the category of snack, even though the one time calorie can exceed your breakfast, lunch and dinner combined, but, its still a snack.

Every tea time/ coffee time needs to have a snack at the side. Every time we have guests, making a fresh snack is considered honoring the guests. Though times have changed and most people serve store bought snacks, some people in India still prefer ordering fresh made snacks from the local stores when they expect guests, if they aren’t able to prepare them at home.

And, then still existing are people like me who prefer making their snacks at home, as much as possible and serving their guests and family with fresh made stuff. I am not bragging, honestly, I enjoy doing it and also have the time. There is nothing more amazing to flavors that are freshly cooked.

Our life these days, is so fast paced that its tough for us to take care of our health and we all know the culprit is lack of exercise and intake of processed food. In spite of all, we find it better to rely on medicines and cut down on all flavors of life, than changing our lifestyle. Its healthier if you find a little time in your busy schedule and follow the simple recipes I share.

The recipes are not just super delicious but also simple to follow and very clean to eat.

Laal Surmai fry

This is a recipe from Bangalore. All Bangalorean Muslims love to cook varieties of Non vegetarian food and one of the commonly made food includes, Surmai / King Fish Fry. As much as its a part of all da’awat or get together, it is made quiet often at homes, since it makes a perfect side dish with Dal Chawal.

I was introduced to this kind of fish after becoming an official member of The Parveezes. My father in law was a real foodie. May his soul rest in peace, he would travel an hour or two to get the best fish fry for the family. My husband, Mr. Parveez has loads of fond memories of various restaurants and places he went with his father as a kid and my boys are always happy listening to his childhood stories.

My Father in law was a friendly guy and he would make a little more effort with people who served good food, to get a hint of what all ingredients they use… its funny but I think that’s how all us foodies are. a close by market to that restaurant sold some masala in a packet that my Father in law started buying since it was recommended by the cook of the restaurant. Since then every time he went to buy the fish, he would get loads of packets of those masala so, we could mix up some lemon juice and ginger garlic paste with fish and fry them. The fish would be very similar in taste to that from the restaurant.

For the first few years after we got married, I would bring those masala packets from Bangalore and every now and then use them on special occasions only, since India trip was only once a year. Then one fine day, I thought of giving up using the masala packet and make my own, so we could enjoy the yummy fish more often. I wouldn’t say it was exactly same as to what we get from the restaurant, but very close and close enough for us to not crave the fish when we visited Bangalore.

Not just that, my late Father in law loved the fried fish I made with homemade masala and since then, there was no looking  back. This masala makes your King fish taste even better. Its an easy marination and makes a quick fish side dish that goes great with Sambhar and boiled Rice.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Buffalo Chicken Wings are easily one of America’s most beloved chicken dishes. Crispy, golden-fried wings coated in a spicy, tangy buffalo sauce are irresistibly delicious, juicy, and packed with flavor. No game night feels complete without a platter of these crowd-pleasing wings.

And if you’re part of an Indian family like ours, with sports-loving men in the house—my husband and two boys, who never miss a chance to watch a game—then learning to make Buffalo Chicken Wings is practically a necessity. They’re always a hit, whether it’s football season, a cricket match, or simply a weekend gathering with family and friends.

Chicken wings have become a regular feature in our living room during cricket matches, basketball games, soccer tournaments, and even wrestling events. Yes, we watch them all—and sometimes, much to my surprise, they even win over movie nights!

A few years ago, we discovered a halal restaurant that served Buffalo Chicken Wings, and they quickly became our go-to game-day snack. Every match seemed incomplete without them. But over time, the excitement faded. By the time we brought the wings home, the crispy coating had turned soggy under the sauce, and they simply weren’t as enjoyable. Eventually, Mr. Parveez gave up on wings altogether, and our sports nights became completely wingless… LOL!

Then one day, while picking up my regular halal meat order, I casually asked the butcher if he sold chicken wings separately. It sounds like a funny question now, but you have to remember that it was coming from someone who had never bought wings in her life. Armed with a pack of wings and a bottle of hot sauce, I headed home determined to recreate our favorite game-day treat.

After a little experimenting, this recipe was born. It may be slightly different from traditional Buffalo Wings and perhaps a little spicier, but trust me—it is absolutely worth it. Of course, you can always adjust the heat level to suit your taste.

Since then, there has been no looking back. These wings have become a favorite among family and friends alike. My kids’ friends request them whenever they visit, and I still remember the day my son came home smiling because one of his friends had apparently been telling the entire class about the amazing wings he ate during a playdate at our house. Needless to say, that made both of us very proud.

These Buffalo Chicken Wings are crispy, flavorful, and guaranteed to win hearts—whether you’re serving them on game night, at a gathering, or simply because you’re craving something delicious.

Chicken Tenders

This recipe was made when I once thought of making fried chicken for a play date. The children whom we were expecting didn’t consume too much spice. This recipe has moderate spice, easy to handle by kids and its super crunchy.

Once upon a time, we did get frozen chicken tenders or chicken nuggets. This was around 11 years ago, me a new mom trying to have my son taste everything out there ..I have no idea why I never wanted to try cooking things on my own with a fear that all these “gora khana” or “American food” cannot be tried at home. I believe its the motherhood, when new does not let you pay attention to other things that you might enjoy exploring. Funny, right but that’s a reality. Ask any new mom, its Baby, Baby and Baby and times when you get to breathe for yourself, all you want is your Pj’s and a cup of coffee, or wait a warm plate of reheated noodles, store bought, left overs from the restaurant or anything.

My older son suffered from reflux and believe it when I say, that I was ready to feed him anything that his body would not convert to vomit. It’s sad but a fact that store bought chicken tenders were preferred over home made Biryani, and I felt that my cooking skills were so bad that he prefers store bought. It took me a while to understand that being a little child finger foods made him happier and that helped him keep the food down. So, during those days, to keep my sanity I would buy anything that my son enjoyed eating. After around 2 years, once the home food made its place in his taste buds, I started feeling that the frozen chicken nugget is too much junk and I stopped bringing them in altogether. By the way, all along Mr. Parveez always told me to give up bringing in all the garbage from the frozen section. My husband has always been against frozen food.

So, years later, the play dates started increasing and it was getting hard to satisfy the little tummies with sandwiches and cheese toast so, I finally came up with my own version of chicken tenders and if you try this recipe, there will be no looking anywhere ever. Its easy to make and never met a kid [or even an adult] who didn’t take seconds.

Chicken Sizzler

Chicken sizzler is just such a super amazingly happy dish. I feel your hunger just grows by a 200% , seeing that sauce sizzle on that hot iron plate and the sizzling sound is so very pleasing.

Sizzler is best with boneless chicken or fish served with boiled rice and your choice of vegetables. I love the sizzlers in India, the spicy, smoky flavors at our favorite joint is just like a dream come true for people like us, who are so far away and that we don’t get halal sizzlers in USA, or at least not around us. So, for people like us, we invent our own.

So, there is a very sweet story to share as well. Mr. Parveez saw me longing for sizzler and bought me these wonderful iron sizzler pans and they were lying in my pantry closet waiting to be inaugurated. So, finally one day, while kids were at school and Mr. Parveez was working from home and I decided to test my gift. Usually, I always prefer making new things in my own time and keeping it a surprise and once I was done making it, the look on Mr. Parveez’s face is hard to express in words. I do have a picture of him but, he would not allow me to post it here …LOLzzz. It will always be treasured in my personal collection.

Saucy Chicken Lollipop

This is second kind of Chicken Lollipop that I invented and all because my older one came in asking that he needs sauce “dripping” on the lollipops. I have mentioned it numerous times in my other food stories of how well demanding my boys are. So, after thinking out in detail about how I can make them extra juicy, I came up with this recipe.

It requires a little marination and further its cooked in little oil, unlike other chicken lollipop recipes, where they are deep fried, so its kind of a guiltless pleasure that lets you over indulge. Further, more sauces are mixed in and you let it cook further in the sauces.

This recipe is super saucy and the chicken lollipops are not too crunchy but soft and juicy.

Haala’s Chicken Lollipop

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.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

We attended a kid’s birthday party and they ordered this wonderful looking Pizza with chicken dipped in hot sauce all over it…Sounds incredibly delicious, right??? Well, it looked super scrumptious too, except that I couldn’t take a slice or even a bite…Why??? coz the chicken wasn’t Halal…Yupp!!! a food loving Muslim family juggling to stay positive and eat what the religion allows…You think its tough? Not really, its isn’t as bad as it used to be 13 years ago. You find loads of Muslim joints and food trucks now and I am sure it will increase with time. But, Meanwhile, for all these yummy looking dishes, there are people like me, all set to cook and share recipes.

So, if you are like me who would love to have their taste buds enjoy the juices of these wonderful flavors, you are on the right path.