With wide variety of Chicken Kebabs that we try every now and then, some cooked at home and some eaten at restaurants. This Kebab dish is from one of our favorite restaurants, which has quiet a few branches around New Jersey and a few neighboring states. This Kebab was always a family favorite and a dish we regularly ordered.
And then for some reason the restaurant nearest to our house shut down. Now, for people who live or have been to United states know that nothing is “close”, but when we think 5 miles, we mean its close. So, we basically didn’t have any of the restaurant branch anywhere close which definitely makes us sad, but there is always an option to try and make what we like. I feel this is sometimes a test just to prove ourselves our caliber.
So, I got down to trying out making these awesome bites of goodness. It did take a few trials but I think the perks of being in love with your food and being able to play with your spices makes you enjoy cooking food that satisfies your taste buds. The hard part is to just try and get the correct amount of spices to make a dish taste exactly like how we have eaten. The best part is that these experiments make get some wonderful dishes to your dining table which are always a delight and loved.
Lahori Chargah Chicken is one of the easiest and yummiest kebabs that I make. I believe there are few different recipes for Lahori Chargah and you might find some recipes different from what I make. My recipe is based on the first and the only Lahori Chargah I have tried.
There was a small restaurant that we used to go to when my first born was a few months old. We had a pediatrician for him who had her office pretty far from our house. Now those days, I wasn’t driving hence we always had to get a weekend appointment since it would otherwise be hard for Mr. Parveez. For some reason we always got an afternoon appointment and despite the appointment and reaching there on time. The lady who ran it had a very limited menu, one kind of Biryani, 2-3 curries and 1-2 kinds of Kebabs. This happened to be one of them that we really loved and this was a part of our regular order. She also made a different kind of Biryani which we later on found out that she actually didn’t make it herself , but used to get from a near by restaurant. We still loved going to the little cozy restaurant as we were pretty satisfied with the little menu with simple dishes, until one day she decided to move and close the restaurant.
That’s when my search for making a perfect Chicken Chargah started. I saw a famous brand name that sold Chicken Chargah masala, so I bought it and followed the instructions. Now knowing how particular Mr. Parveez and I are about the store bought Masalas, we couldn’t really continue with the box Masalas and I had to get down to figuring out and making my own masalas at home and following the flavor, I actually did. Its amazing how flavors communicate with your taste buds and I believe communication is the key to every successful relationship, be it any.
So, there I was mixing in my Roasted cumin powder, Black Pepper, Red Chili Powder, White Pepper Powder and Tandoori Powder with Apple cider Vinegar and Ginger Garlic Paste. The reason for using both Black Pepper and White Pepper is that adding too much of Black pepper tends to make the food bitter, so adding a little gives you the kick and adding White Pepper along side gives you flavor similar to Black Pepper without adding the bitterness to the food. Chargah is usually made using whole chicken but I always use Chicken legs, as I find them better and easier to serve. So, make them anyway you like and enjoy.
Bengaluru Muslim homes serve a wide variety of fried fishes. This recipe happens to be one of the recipes that I learnt from my mother in law.
The recipe is pretty simple and does not need too much time in marination. Its a perfect recipe for a side dish and goes great with Dal chawal. It’s an easy recipe and is great for beginners. The fish I have used is Golden Pompano, but the masala recipe goes great with King Fish, Pomfret and Tilapia. Just make sure the slices are thin. Thin slices absorb the spices better and are crunchy when pan fried.
My hometown, Jodhpur never got a lot of seafood. In fact, I grew up eating only one kind of fish, Surmai or King Fish and that too in just 2 ways, one in a curry and second was fried without any marination with a little masala sprinkled over it. And, I never liked fish curries.
Things changed when we had our more frequent Delhi trips and since we were old enough to venture out, my father introduced me to some delicious variety of fried fish in Jama Masjid and if you have ever been to Delhi and you are a non vegetarian, then you have to visit Jama Masjid and try the food there. Some old restaurants still serve the authentic and traditional Mughlai dishes which are hard to resist for a Non vegetarian foodie.
Coming back to the fish, though trying different kinds of fishes, I never tasted a tandoori pomfret till my trip to Mumbai in 2003. I still remember the place not being that nice but serving some great food. I loved the pomfret but we didn’t spend a lot of time for me to remember the taste for long. A few years later, I get married to Mr. Parveez and my Father in law had this special place from where he would bring Tandoori Pomfret and Tandoori prawns….God bless his soul, he is the reason behind my husband’s exclusive and awesome taste buds. And my father in law made me enjoy and understand the flavors of Tandoori Pomfret better.
And since then Tandoori Pomfret is a part of our seafood special.
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.
We love Malaysian food. The taste is so close to Indian and yet has its own flavors. I have tried making different cuisines and so far, after Indian and Mughlai, Malaysian is my all time favorite.
Chicken satay is a great kebab recipe, specially with kids. The marination is simple and does not have to be kept for long either. The kebabs come out spicy so, if you like them to be mild, you could either use less of the spice or add a little cream, roughly 1/4 cup for 1 lb of chicken. The flavor would definitely change and might not taste as authentic as the real Malaysian satay but it would still be nice and would be the closest you can get to the dish. I actually prefer adding less spice.
This is great for calorie conscious and diet needs. Its high in protein and does not require any flour coating so its quiet healthy.
This is great for tea or coffee parties, play dates, quick bite and unannounced guests. The level is great for beginners and can easily be made for those pot lucks as well.
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. 😉
When I first moved to USA, after being married, this dish was one of the initial kebabs I started making as a side dish with dal chawal. I would even make it as an appetizer when we had guests over. One of the easiest and family loved recipe. The kids love it too and its great to be served as a Sunday Brunch or a play date.
