Lucknow offers some super amazing delicacies. The old time Awadh offers numerous vegetarian recipes which are delicious and mouthwatering. And since, its also the city of Nawabs, the Non vegetarian dishes are equally delicious if not more. With all my respect to my vegetarian friends, the non vegetarian food from Lucknow is one of the main reasons why people still visit.
I remember visiting Lucknow with my parents in 2002 and tasting the super yummy Tunde kebab and awesome Biryani. Too bad, we were just there for 2 days and I am sure there was a lot to discover in the food section. Please do try the Lucknowi Biryani and Lucknowi Tunde kebab recipe too.
Nevertheless, from what we tasted, it was like a party in our mouth. One of the best things we tried were Tangdi Kebab and with a lot of research and trial and errors, I was able to get what I had tasted.
This dish fairly easy and the cooking process isn’t that tough to follow so, if you are a newbie, this should be a good one to try.
This dish is a gift of my husband, Mr. Parveez. On days when I am confused and find it hard to decide on what should be cooked, he would come up with his innovative ideas and suggest on something new he would like me to try, unless he makes his way to the kitchen and treat me something super fatabulous.
Anyways, one day I was all confused and he suggested making this chicken dish. The dish uses 4 kinds of chilies so spice factor is a little high and if you aren’t daring enough, I would ask you to cut down on the spice level. This dish makes a great side dish with dal chawal.
As a kid, Delhi was like second home to me. I hail from Rajasthan and having my maternal family from U.K., we always were either travelling or having family over and Delhi had the closest international airport. Even besides that, there were numerous reasons for visiting Delhi.
Now, if you have ever been to Delhi, you know its a food heaven and if you want to taste delicious non vegetarian food, Jama Masjid is the place. Wonderful restaurants with hot steaming food, kebabs, curries and Biryanis served with pillow soft naans.
The funny part is that many of those restaurants have opened their chains in New Delhi or other areas but the food tastes best when you visit Jama Masjid. I think its my love for the crowd and those hustling markets and the sound of Rickshaw driver yelling that connects to my childhood and memories of going to Jama Masjid with my father and enjoying the food at those restaurants, makes me relive those days and therefore, I still prefer going to puraani Dilli or Old Delhi.
This recipe is one of my favorite kebabs from Jama Masjid. I could never get the recipe of the original kebabs but through experimenting with flavors, I cracked the recipe and remembered my childhood flavor. A recipe worth trying.
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.
Fritters/ Pakoras and chai are big part of Indian cuisine, or may be one of the most important ones. There is no one who hasn’t had them or doesn’t crave for them. Specially, when pakora can be made out of anything, and I mean anything, potato, onions, daal/lentil, green chilies, cauliflower, coriander leaves and inspired by all the wonderful types, I experimented the same with chicken.
I wanted to make sure that it doesn’t look or taste anything like fried chicken. These go well with tea and are best when served as an evening snack. If you are a non vegetarian and love pakoras [who doesn’t], this is a must try.
This is a lovely side dish that goes well with dal-chawal. I love the flavor of kasoori methi with chicken and therefore, you will see it finding its place in a lot of my recipes. The fact is that even a spoon enhances the flavor of the dish and brings out the flavor of the spices as well.
These kebabs are easy to make, little crunchy on the side since we add a little corn starch to it, soft from the inside thanks to the yoghurt and absolutely flavorful. If you are looking to impress guests or just have a little fast track kebab on the side at your dinner table, this is your go to dish.
Its an easy one to make so if you are a new cook, try this one.
As the name suggests, this recipe is from the era of Mughals and I believe must have been a favorite of Mughal Emperor, Jahangir, made by Noorjahan Begum, thus named after her. Going through history, its amazing to read of how different ingredients were introduced at different times. Like spices or khada Masala, like cinnamon, bay leaves or cardamoms and cloves were never a part of the Indian cuisine and were brought in by the Mughals when they migrated to India. I believe there has been no other clan unlike the Mughals who not only brought in so much with them but also adapted the cultures of India and settled with the people and built families.
Where the spices were brought in by the Mughals, India already had food enhancing flavors like Turmeric, red chilies, coriander etc. Mixed together, the food that came out was super amazing like this kebab or a lot Biryanis that I share on this website.
The super amazing cuisines that we taste at so many restaurants today have been fusion dishes of the old era which apparently weren’t recorded under the term “fusion”. The acceptance of a culture, embracing the traditions, values and flavors and giving the best of what we have does not only result in super new flavors but also becomes a part of our cuisines for the coming generations . For me reading history about a dish is as fascinating as trying to cook a dish.
Persian cuisine has been around for many years. The kebabs from the middle east have been very popular and the mix of spices and the flavors of them being cooked with veggies gives them a different kick, which makes them differ from regular kebabs. The fact that they use spices not usually use in Indian cuisine. The taste is distinct and very scrumptious.
I came up with this recipe on a Friday night, returning after my son’s soccer match, with 2 tired and hungry boys. Looking at the thawed chicken on my chicken island reminded me how I assumed that I would be home by 6 PM and will have enough time to cook the chicken and I spent the time leisurely enjoying the evening traffic on NJ turnpike.
Anyways, I had to make something out of this chicken, something yummy and before my boys were done with their shower. This is when this super quick chicken was invented. The name comes after all the masalas and spices used.
