Burrito Bowl

When you live in a country far away from home, you tend to dry more of different cuisines in order to blend in. Ohh yes! You read that right. We as Indians try our level best to try and blend in sending our wonderful taste buds on a toss. See, believe it or not, Indian cuisine is one of the most wonderful cuisines you can come across. So many varieties of food offered by one country where the food palette from one state to another differs as much as countries in Europe.

Now, I don’t mean to look down upon other cuisines but I do feel very proud of my ethnicity. Having tried so many different spices, oils, vegetables is an experience of its own. So, coming back to living in America, we tend to please people around us and not or taste buds. Indian food with spices is actually a very healthy option for guilt free food. Leaving that we indulge in butter and cheese based cuisines coz that satisfies the masses and we want to be one of those. But for those of us, who yearn for meals with similar taste, Italian and Mexican food come the closest.

Being a Muslim and eating only halal, our best bet for food is either vegetarian or seafood. Also, not trying food made by people who do not stick to the rules of a cuisine and make it in a fusion way is not my cup of tea. So, people like me, who want try that authentic Mexican chicken rice bowl from their favorite Mexican restaurant, eat fish and try to cook same flavors with chicken at home. I tried my level best to stick to Mexican flavors to get the authentic taste. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

KFC Masala

KFC in India introduced their masala wings and people like us became crazy as fans, swearing by those spicy wings that there would nothing else ordered or eaten as religiously as them when any KFC is passed by.

Now, living all the way in USA, we aren’t that privileged to enjoy them here, and the craving is hard to suppress, so I tried to crack the recipe for the masala and trust me, its super close or almost the same. So, if you are like us and like that spice kick on your fried chicken, this recipe is for you.

This spice can be kept in an airtight container for up to one month.

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 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.

Chicken Shwarema

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.

Chicken Fajita

One day, Mr. Parveez was gone in a meeting, and I was frantically trying to get lunch on the table in time. Looking at the uncooked chicken breast on my kitchen island, confused what to do with it, I asked my boys what they would like. The answer was “Can you make tacos”. I decided, tacos as fate would have it, with two kids hanging on my legs whining about how they were nearing starvation [not to forget the kids are 11 and 7].  And then, I realized I didn’t have any tortillas…. which makes for a pretty crummy taco lunch…. So now I had 2 choices.  I could try to pack both of my starving children into the car for one package of tortillas, or I could try to come up with something using what I already had.

Dreading the prospect of trying to wrangle the rug rats into the car, I chose to figure something else out, which is when I came across this amazing recipe for homemade flour tortillas and I owe my undying gratitude to that website [which I forgot to save…ggggrrrr] because not only were these homemade flour tortillas deliciously amazing, it also saved me from dragging my lovely, but kind of crazy, children to the grocery store in pursuit of the store-bought kind of tortillas.

The recipe is delightfully simple.  The hardest part for me was trying to roast them which has to be done on super low flame and should be rotated non stop. I found it was easiest to flatten the dough with my hands as much as possible before using the rolling pin. And even if you’re not like me and aren’t used to making chapattis and most of your tortillas come out kind of oblong or misshapen, that’s okay. The shape takes away nothing from the deliciousness.

You don’t have to be  disheartened if you don’t have a stand mixer. Though, the directions call for one with the dough hook attached.  And  If you have a hand mixer you probably have dough hooks too! This recipe works for hand mixers too! And if you don’t have any, making dough with your hand isn’t that difficult either.

Making chicken is fairly easy and doesn’t require any marination or too much prep either. Treat yourself to something delicious and easy….

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.