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….
Chicken Empanadas
I am from a small town in India, living in a big town in USA. Married to a man who shares the same passion for travelling and food as me. That kind of makes me believe that marriages are made in heaven and yes, I make sure I remind that to Mr. Parveez at least a hundred times during the day..LOLzzz. Jokes apart, where I love the cozy and cold destinations, he loves the sun, and our boys have taken completely after him, not just their faces and habits, but also their choices match his more than mine.
On our 5th and 11th anniversary, we took a trip to Mexico and Puerto Rico. Not only were the beaches clean and beautiful, the water was shallow enough for us to let the kids play. Besides the beautiful views, what also attracted us was the food. We loved the food, specially guacamole, Empanadas and Mufungo. Out of all the foods we tried, Empanadas became my favorite. I feel that might be their faint resemblance to samosas and the fact that they are baked [empanadas have baked and fried option] gives you the liberty of over eating.
Being Muslims, we couldn’t try the pork or chicken and beef empanadas, but the shrimp and veggie options helped me get a faint idea of how I’d like my chicken stuffing to be. I baked them instead of frying and the taste was fantastic. It is a family favorite and perfect for tea/coffee get together or play dates.
Chicken’s versatility has earned it a place on the table at least three times on our dinner table in a week. And while a fried chicken and golden fried samosas will always be a classic favorite, making these hearty chicken empanadas come in second place, being a very close favorite. To avoid a dry filling, it’s best to seek out ground chicken made from dark meat. In most cases this means you’ll need to get it from boneless thighs and leg meat. This recipe will leave you with some leftover filling, which freezes beautifully for future Empanada endeavors. Baked Empanadas can be cooled, covered in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 2 months; you can thaw and reheat them in the oven until warmed through.
Chicken Banjara Tikka
It’s just impossible to be Kebab fans and not try different recipes of kebab. It’s sad when I see people liking different kebabs at restaurants, but not being able to make the difference out in flavors. Flavor have so much to say, every spice blends in uniquely with another spice creating delicious stories. Every place has their own f
These kebabs have a very nutty flavor with low to moderate spice level. They are great as side dishes or for a coffee/tea party. This dish is very different from the regular kebabs. The marination is very earthy, fresh and the taste of each spice can be distinguished.
I believe some of the best, healthiest and quick kebab or tikka recipes come from the Nomads and I have a valid reason for it. Nomads were travelers, never settled at one place for long. So, basically they always had fresh food, since they didn’t have ways to store their meat and they must be grinding their spices right before it needs to be used. A fact that most of run away from these days is that frozen food tastes as good as fresh, which isn’t true at all. But, what breaks my heart even more is when I see people knowing something deep down but still not agreeing to it.
You could be in the best shape of your life, but your internal organs might be reacting to all the junk you feed it, the preservatives, the chemicals are taking toll and ruining your internal mechanism and the only way for you to set it right is by eating good and clean food.
Well, now the story…So, generally when I try a dish for the first time, its always an experiment and since I hate wasting food, I make sure the quantity is little. I made these kebabs and my little one was barely 4 years old. But, unlike most 4 year old, he had very strong taste buds and was very vocal about his food choices. So, Banjara tikka was served and he loved them, but since I had not made much, they finished faster than I could blink. My little one started throwing a tantrum for more and started crying when told that we didn’t have any more. That’s when I realized that I had some left over kebabs from previous day, which looked similar in color. I put them on the skewer the same way and got them to the dining table. He stopped crying, picked up the skewer, smiled but didn’t look too sure, so, he smelt it, Yes! you read it right, he smelt it and put it back saying,”its not the same kebab” and started crying again. We couldn’t stop laughing and I promised him to make the same kebabs for dinner the next day, which I did.
This dish is simple, it contains peanuts so you will have check for a substitute if you are allergic to nuts.
Chicken Balls
This dish was a play date day invention. My boys had friends over, all wanted chicken, but some wanted spicy, other not so spicy and the rest preferred something with cheese. These balls have different fillings, some are filled with ketchup so they are a little sweet and sour, some have green chili chutney and some have shredded cheese. The kids loved them and it was an instant hit.
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.
Chicken Baida Roti
Chennai Chicken 65
This chicken is an inspiration from my friend’s mother in law. My friend, originally belongs to Bihar and fell in love with a boy from Tamilnadu… “Ab Miyaan Biwi raazi to kya karega Kaazi”…which means , if the Bride and and Groom agree to get married, there isn’t much a priest can do…LOLzzz. Jokes aside, we were once invited to her house on lunch where her super awesome and super cook, mother in law made this dish.
I loved it and knew that it was completely different from the Andhra style. I tried hard to get the recipe but she preferred keeping it to herself. The only tip she gave was that she doesn’t fry the chicken before cooking it in yogurt sauce. That tip was more than enough to crack the whole recipe.
This recipe is easy to make and makes a lovely side dish. Its completely different in taste from the Andhra chicken 65. Its simply amazing how different recipes are from one state to another and both dishes are equally delicious.