Zaiqa

Zafraani Malai Murgh, Baingan ka Bharta, Tamatar Tuvar dal and Khushka was the dinner today after our second roza الحمد لله. The Iftaar was light~ Khajoor, Aloo Samosa with ketchup and fresh Plums.

Zafraani Malai Murgh – Chicken in Creamy Saffron sauce

Ingredients:

Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Long green chillies – 4, each cut into two
Fried crisp onions – 1/2 cup (store bought)
Chicken/Murgh, with bone – 1150 gms, cut into pieces
Salt – 2 tsp
Yogurt/Dahi – 1/2 cup, lightly whipped
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
Half and Half cream – 1/3 cup (you can also use light cream instead)
Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp
Saffron threads – one pinch
Slivered almonds – 1 tbsp

Zafraani Malai Murgh

Method:

1. Wash the chicken and pat dry. Keep aside.
2. In a saucepan at medium high heat, pour in oil and as soon as it warms up, add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for a few seconds. Add the green chillies and fried onions. Mix well. Add the chicken pieces and salt and fry until opaque, around 5-8 minutes. Pour in yogurt, red chilli powder and turmeric. Stir gently to mix and close the lid. Let cook for 5 minutes. Pour in half and half and gently mix well. Cover the lid and let cook for 8-10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Let cook uncovered for a further 10 minutes. Serve immediately along with Parathas or Naan or Khushka.

Baingan ka bhartha – Roasted Eggplants in tomato onion sauce ~ I

Brinjal – 4
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Onion – 1, large, finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1 1/2 tsp
Long green chillies – 4, chopped
Tomato – 2, finely chopped
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 2 tsp
Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
Cilantro+Mint leaves – 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Fresh ingredients for Baingan ka Bhartha

Baingan ka Bhartha

Method:

1. Wash the brinjal and pat dry. Take a rimmed baking sheet and place a large sheet of aluminuim foil on it. Place the brinjal on the foil and place the baking sheet under the broiler-high setting for 15 minutes. Turn the brinjal after 8 minutes. Once the brinjal are evenly black in color, remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, peel and discard the skin and finely chop the flesh of the brinjal. Keep aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, add oil and as soon as it warms up, add the onion and fry just until soft. Do not let it brown. Add ginger garlic paste, green chillies and cumin seeds and fry them along for furthur 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, coriander seed powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix well. Cover the lid and let cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add the chopped brinjal flesh and mix well. Cover the lid and let cook for 5 more minutes. Add garam masala and fresh chopped herbs and let cook uncovered for a few minutes. Serve.

Luv,
Mona

Sauteed Beans are my favorite during these wintry seasons. One such dish that I usually prepare when Fava beans are available in the market is Ful masala.

Ful (fool) in Arabic are called as Fava beans or broad beans in English. Ful-Roti was my favorite combination during my stay in Saudi Arab. Most of the restaurants in Saudi sell Ful and we enjoyed it along with Tameiz, a kind of delicious bread sold in the Saudi markets. My friend had posted the recipe for Tameiz sometime back on her blog.

Cooked Ful /Fava Beans

Dried Fava beans are available in Walmart Supercentres, and usually at many middle-eastern grocery shops. 

These beans have a meaty texture and a distinct taste. I sometimes add the puree of fava beans to curries as it adds body, thickness and nutrition to gravy curries.

Ful Masala – Fava Beans in a Tomato-Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:

• Extra Virgin Olive oil – 2 tbsp
• Yellow Onion – 1 cup, finely sliced
• Garlic – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
• Roasted Cumin powder – 1/4 tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Tomato puree – 3/4 cup
• Tomato Ketchup – 3 tbsp
• Fava beans – 1 can
• Cilantro – 1 tbsp (for garnish)

Ful Masala – Fava Beans in a Tomato-Garlic Sauce

Method:

• Drain and rinse the fava beans if you are using canned fava beans, and keep aside. If using dried fava beans, wash and soak them in surplus water overnight in a cool dark place. Drain the water. Using fresh cool salted water, pressure cook them until soft. Keep aside.
• Pour oil into a nonstick kadai or wok at medium high heat. As it warms up, add the onion and let it caramelize until nicely golden brown in color. 
• Add garlic and saute for a few minutes. Add cumin powder, red chilli powder and salt. Pour the tomato puree and tomato ketchup. Mix well. Let it cook for 2 minutes. 
• Add the fava beans and gently mix with the tomato sauce. Cover the lid and let cook for 3 minutes. 
• Garnish with cilantro and serve warm.

Suggested Accompainments: Enjoy Ful along with Tameiz, Pita bread, or your regular Roti or Rice.

Cheers,
Mona

It has been snowing; snowing very hard here since friday night. Today, I finally see sun in the sky and I immensely enjoyed the early morning sunlight streaking in through all the windows into my house. Beautiful and cheerful day it is alhamdulillah!

Dahi Tamatar Murgh – Baked Tomato-Yogurt Chicken

Food, especially in winter has to be comforting! The first thing Irf asks me after he returns home is, ‘Whats for dinner today?’ So, I try and prepare meals that are effortless to me and satisfying to my family too. These kind of quick curries, like the one I am writing about today, is my family’s favorite. This dish is easily done in less than 45 minutes. You just have to mix them all up, marinate for a little while, and let it slow cook by itself for the required time in the oven, and in the mean time you can prepare your other dishes for the day or complete the other chores. It doesn’t have the use of much oil, and you can even lessen the oil to one teaspoon if you wish! The yogurt and tomatoes give the chicken a delicious sweet-sour taste, and the garam masla makes it a little bit spicy. Its a very warming dish for these chilly winters.

Dahi Tamatar Murgh – Slow Cooked Tomato-Yoghurt Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken Breast Pieces/Murgh – 800gms, cut into bite size pieces
Tomato Paste – 3 tbsp
Olive Oil – 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste – 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Yogurt – 2 tbsp
Garam Masala – 1 tsp
Turmeric – 1/3 tsp
Cilantro – 1/2 cup, finely chopped

Dahi Tamatar Murgh – Slow Cooked Tomato-Yogurt Chicken, in a baking dish

Method:

1. In an Oven proof flat baking dish, mix all the above ingredients, except the coriander leaves, and let it marinate for 30 minutes or 2-4 hours preferably at room temperature if you can preplan it.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F
3. Cover the dish tightly with an aluminium foil and put this dish in the middle rack of the oven.
4. Check once after 25 minutes, and mix it well. Cover it again with the aluminium foil and put it back at the same temp in the Oven to cook completely.
5. Remove the dish after 45 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Suggested Accompaniments: Basmati Chawal or Naan or Roti or Parathas or Pulao..

Check out these great sites:

Free Rice

Ripple

They are both for a very noble cause, and spread the word.

Luv,
Mona

Recently my hubby bought home fresh Mackerel fish as he knows I love Seafood. I thought of whipping up a curry using whatever I had in the refrigerator, and believe me, it was one yummy meal alhamdulillah.

Khatti Machli – Mackerel in a sour, Tomato-Tamarind Sauce

I had it along with Khichdi and my family members loved the combination. The sourness of the gravy with tomatoes and tamarind gave a very good flavour to the fish. You can even have it along with Basmati Chawal or Naan ki Roti.

Khatti Machli – Mackerel in a sour, Tomato-Tamarind Sauce

Serves : 3

Ingredients:

• Fresh Mackerel – cut into big pieces (or) you can use any fish you like, like Salmon, or King fish, or Snapper
• Olive Oil – 2 tbsp
• Yellow Onion – 1, small, roughly chopped
• Red Ripe Tomato – 1, cut into quarters
• Tamarind concentrate – 2-3 tbsp
• Red Chilli Powder – 1 1/3 tsp
• Curry leaves/Karyapaar (fresh) – 8
• Black Mustard seeds – 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Turmeric/Haldi – 1/3 tsp
• Dry Roasted CorianderSeeds – 1 tsp
• Dry Roasted Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Method:

• Pour 2 tsp oil into a non stick heavy bottomed pan at medium heat. When the oil is warm enough add chopped onion, and stir fry it till lightly browned.
• In a blender container add the fried onion with oil, tomato and tamarind. Blend till its a smooth paste. You add little water to aid in blending.
• Add the remaining oil to the pan and as soon as it gets warm, throw in some curry leaves and mustard seeds. As they start to splutter, add the mixture from the blender container and let it cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Throw in the salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds. Also pour in half a cup of water and mix well.
• Add the Mackerel pieces into the cooking gravy and close the lid. Let it cook for 3 minutes. Open the lib and gently turn the pieces. Again close the lib and let it cook for 3 more minutes. Serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: Basmati Chawal or Naan ki Roti.

Luv,
Mona

When I was in Saudi Arabia, I and my family loved the garlic sauce from THE famous chicken fast food restaurant named Al-Baik in Jeddah. I tried hard to find a recipe that is closest to the original garlic sauce that I had tasted in Saudi Arabia in this restaurant. After many efforts this the closest I could get to it.

This is one of my most favorite sauces which I especially enjoy along with Tandoori chicken.

(Note: This is not the original Al-Baik Garlic Sauce recipe)

Garlic Sauce – Lahsun Chutney

Ingredients:

Large potatoes – 2 (boiled, peeled and cut into pieces)
Garlic cloves – 6
Salt – 1/2 tsp
Egg yolk – 1
Olive oil – 3/4 cup
Lemon juice – 1/2 cup
Vinegar – 3 tbsp
White pepper – to taste

Method:

1. Grind garlic with salt in a grinder. Add potatoes to it and again grind it till smooth.
2. Beat the egg yolks and add to it. Add all the remaining ingredients and grind for a few minutes till mixed well and smooth in consistency.
5. Add a little bit of water and mix it well if it appears to be thick.
6. Pour into a sterilized bottle and store in the refrigerator.

Luv,
Mona