Zaiqa

Potato ‘Cutlets’ or ‘Tikki’ are one of the best Indian snacks for a gathering of hungry foodies at a party or as a comfort food during winters. They also fulfil as a good side dish along with a patla salan/thin gravy curry and chawal/rice for a delicious meal.

Qimah Bhare Aloo ke Cutlets

You can prepare plain seasoned mashed potato cutlets or stuff the potato cutlets with little leftover dry Qimah/Minced meat for some delicious eats. I enjoy them along with chutneys, Tomato chutney and Kothmir-Pudina wali Chutney or Coriander-Mint Chutney. My personal favorite chutney along with these cutlets is Kothmir-Pudina wali Chutney. They can also be served at Iftaar during Ramadhan

Potato Cutlets/Tikki/Cakes

Ingredients:

White potatoes – 4, large
Black pepper – to taste
Cilantro – 2, tbsp, finely chopped
Wheat flour – 3 tbsp
Salt – to taste

Method:

Wash the potatoes and boil them with their skin on until they are fork tender. Drain, peel and mash them with coarsely using a fork while they are still hot. Once they are cool enough to handle but still warm, add black pepper powder and salt to taste and mix well.
Shape them into patties, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch in thickness. Dip them in the flour on both sides. Remove excess flour and shallow fry them in oil, just before serving, at medium high in a large non-stick frying pan in batches. Let cook until the first side until it is golden brown, about 3-5 minutes, then gently flip them using a rubber spatula and cook the other side for more 3 minutes. Remove them on a tray. Wipe the pan with paper towels, and add a little more oil. Repeat until all the potato mixture is finished. Cover the tray with aluminium foil and keep them warm in an oven at 200°F until all are done.

Qimah Bhare Aloo Cutlets – Potato Cutlets/Cakes stuffed with Minced meat

Ingredients:

(You can use any left over dry minced meat curry, or prepare some minced meat from scratch. To prepare minced meat, follow this or this recipe, or the recipe that follows below-)

For Stuffing:

Minced meat – 200 gms
Onion – 1 small, finely sliced
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – t taste
Salt – to taste
Tomato puree – 2 tbsp
Canola oil – 2 tbsp
Mint leaves – 2 tsp, finely chopped

For Potato Cutlets/Cakes/Tikkis:

White potatoes – 4, large
Black pepper – to taste
Cilantro – 2, tbsp, finely chopped
Wheat flour (Durum Atta) – 3 tbsp
Salt – to taste

Method:

For the stuffing, gently sauté the onion in the oil until golden brown in color. Add ginger garlic paste and the remaining spices. Add meat, stirring to break up all lumps as the meat cooks and mix it all thoroughly. When all traces of pink have disappeared, add tomato puree and let cook for 4 minutes or until dry and there are no traces of water. Stir in the finely chopped mint leaves, check the seasonings and let cool completely.
Wash the potatoes and boil them with their skin on until they are fork tender. Drain, peel and mash them with coarsely using a fork while they are still hot. Once they are cool enough to handle, add black pepper powder and salt to taste and mix well.
Next shape the potato mixture into small golf balls and make a well in the center. Put about a teaspoon of the filling into the well and gently enclose it inside the potato mixture. Neaten the shape of the cake and patch up any cracks and gaps taking care that the filling nicely enclosed inside. Flatten it slightly between your palms.
Dip them in the flour on both sides. Remove excess flour and shallow fry them in oil at medium high in a large non-stick frying pan in batches. Let cook until the first side until it is golden brown, about 3-5 minutes, then gently flip them using a rubber spatula and cook the other side for more 3 minutes. Remove them on a tray. Wipe the pan with paper towels, and add a little more oil. Repeat until all the potato mixture is finished. Cover the tray with aluminium foil and keep them warm in an oven at 200°F until all are done.

Suggested Accompaniments: Enjoy them as a snack along with Tomato chutney and Kothmir-Pudina wali Chutney or Coriander and Mint Chutney, or serve them as a side dish along with a curry and Pulao or your choice.

Luv,
Mona

Finally the snow seems to be melting away and I can hear water running down on the streets into the drains through everywhere. It wont be long when the piles and piles of snow will slowly flow away and evaporate, and I am so looking forward to it all inshallah.

Frozen Moment #5 – Spring’s not very far from now

The weather was in single digits yesterday, after a long long time. I was very delighted to take a walk, and feel the cool but bearable winds. During the days, sunlight streaming in through windows when the sky is clear and not cloudy gives me utmost pleasure and awaken my dull and boring days.

Today I prepared Khatta shorba, one of the easiest, light and delicious Hyderabadi curry that I enjoy along with Khadi dal and Chawal for a filling dinner or lunch.

Aloo-Gosht ka Ka Khatta Shorba – Aromatic Soured Meat Stew

Khatta Salan means ‘tangy curry’. Sometimes the curry is also referred to as Khatta shorba means ‘tangy stew’. The sourness from the tomatoes and tamarind, a slight heat from red chilli powder and the subtle sweetness from onions along with the roasted spices impart an aromatic and delectable flavor to this tomato stew. This same tomato base or shorba is used in many other versions of the khatta shorba, which are Karele ka Khatta Shorba, Bhendi Ka khatta shorba, Arvi-Gosht ka khatta shorba etc.

Aloo-Gosht ka Khatta Salan – Meat & Potato in Aromatic tangy Tomato Stew

Ingredients:

Lamb shouldermeat with bones – 600 gms, washed and cut into bite size pieces
Yellow Onion – 3, large, finely sliced
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Salt – 2 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs, fresh
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Roasted Cumin seed powder – 1/2 tsp
Roasted Coriander seed powder – 1/2 tsp
Tomatoes – 5, large red and ripe, finely chopped
Potatoes – 3, medium sized, quartered
Tamarind juice/Lemon or Lime juice – 3 tbsp
Canola oil – 5 tbsp

Method:

• In a large pressure cooker at medium high heat, add oil, and as soon as it warms up add the sliced onions and fry until golden brown. Add ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, cumin powder and meat bones. Let cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add tomatoes and cook along until it starts leaving oil. Pour in water to cover and pressure cook until the meat is cooked.
• Add the quartered potatoes and tamarind/lemon/lime juice and around 2-4 cups of water to the meat stew and let it cook  half covered for a further 5-10 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove from heat and serve.

Suggested Accompaniments: Chawal and Khadi dal.

Note: You can replace potatoes with peeled and quartered turnips to make it ‘Shalgam aur Gosht Ka Khatta Salan’ – Turnip and Lamb meat in a Tangy Sauce.

Luv,
Mona

A few days back I was chatting with one of my very close friends. When she said she had sautéed taro root for lunch, that was enough for me to search for Arvi/Arbi/Taro Toot/Colocasia, in the market the coming weekend to buy some of those fresh tubers.

Colocasia/Taro root – Arvi

Taro root is a startchy vegetable just like potato but has a delicious nutty flavor. Roasted taro root is one of my favorite side dishes. I could eat it as a snack, as a side-dish. I also find this method of preparing this root vegetable easier as the skin peels out quite effortlessly after boiling and a quick roasting lessens its sliminess considerably. Simply boil them until tender then stir fry them to perfection. Lovely! Enjoy the stir-fried wholesome starchy tuber.

Masalewali Bhunihuwi Arvi – Spice Crusted Roasted Taro root

Ingredients:

Taro root/Caolocasia/Arvi – 8, medium sized
Canola oil – 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds/Rai – 1 tbsp
Turmeric – a pinch
Nigella seeds/Kalonji – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Roasted Coriander/Dhaniya powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Dry Raw Mango powder/Amchur powder – 1 tsp (optional)

Masaledaar Bhunihuwi Arvi – Spice Crusted Sautéed Taro root

Method:

1. Wash the taro root and add them to a pressure cooker. Pour in water to cover them. Close the lid and pressure cook until they are soft but not over cooked. You can also steam them until they are fork tender. Once soft, peel and cut into small pieces.
2. Pour oil into a large flat heavy bottomed frying pan at medium high heat and as soon as it warms up, throw in the mustard seeds, nigella seeds, turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder and red chilli powder. Add a splash of water and let it cook for 30 seconds.
3. Working quickly, spread the taro root pieces in a single layer in the pan above the masala, and let them sear. After a minute, when they are nicely browned, lower the heat and gently flip them all so that they sear well on all sides and the masala gets coated evenly on all the taro root pieces. Sprinkle Amchur powder all over stir fried taro root.
4. During the last 2-3 minutes, cover the lid of the pan. Remove from heat and enjoy the sautéed Taro root.

Luv,
Mona

I remember when I was kid, my mother used to get up early and prepare the whole days meal while we were all still sleeping, and also fix everybody’s lunch boxes, sometimes each one different from one another according to the likes of each person. By lunch time in the school, tired and bored, lunch was always what I looked forward to. Yummy and heartfully delicious simple home food to satisty the hungry stomach. Later, when I was in the junior college, I had to stay away from my parents. I then seriously missed food, especially filling lunches. That is when I began to develop a like for Shaami-sandwiches for lunch everyday. My mother would prepare Shaami in bulk, and send to me. I used to store them in the freezer, content and happy. That is when I learnt to prepare these.

Shaami, Shikampur and Kofta are all prepared the same way from a dough like cooked meat+dal+spices paste. Boneless/Minced meat is cooked dry along with lentils, onions and spices to perfection, along with a few fresh herbs, spices and chillies. This is then ground to a dough like paste which is then shaped into various kinds. If you shape it into a diamond like oblong kawabs, it is called as ‘Shaami‘, if you shape it into a small patty with a finely chopped onion+yogurt+herb relish, it is called as ‘Shikampur‘, and if you shape them into small golf balls, they are called as ‘Kofta‘. Each of them are shallow fried in oil and then eaten.

Preparing the meat+dal mixture before hand, and storing it in sandwich bags, like I have explained below, saves a lot of time. Infact during my holidays, I buy the ingredients for this in bulk, and prepare and store them in the freezer for future use. Comes extremely handy to me.

You can serve Shaami and Shikampur as snacks along with chutney to your guests, or add them between your sandwich bread for lunch, between burger buns for a delightful meal, or you can add a few Shaami along with little chutney, salad and mayonnaise and roll them between a Paratha as a wrap. Kids will love it.

Shaami and Shikampur and Kofte – Fragrant and Spicy Meat Kababs

Ingredients:

Boneless Lamb/Veal meat (or) Minced Lamb/Veal meat – 700 gms
Yellow onions – 2 large, roughly chopped
Chana Dal – 1 cup (pre-soaked for 1 hour and drained)
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder/Lal mirch powder – 3 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
Cinnamon sticks/Dalchini – one 8 cm long stick
Salt – 3 tsp
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp
Green Serrano chillies (or) Small green chillies – around 12, roughly chopped
Small Thai Red chillies – 3, chopped (optional)
Lemon juice – 4 tbsp
Cilantro – 1 cup, roughly chopped

Method:

1. In a pressure cooker at medium high heat, pour half cup water, and add lamb, pre-soaked dal, chopped onions, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, cumin seeds, and ginger garlic paste and cinnamon stick. Mix well. Close the lid and let it pressure cook until the meat is tender. Later, open the lid and let it cook until all the liquid has evaporated and it is mostly a dry mixture. There should be no water in the mixture left. This is important, else you will not be able to properly shape them later on and they will end up cracking while you shallow fry them in the end.
2. Let the mixture cool down. Once cool, remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Add the mixture to a food processor. Throw in the cilantro, garam masala powder, chillies, lemon juice and process without adding any water until smooth and pasty. The mixture is ready.

During earlier times, this mixture was grinded using a Sil-Batta or a grinding stone from the past. Sil referring to flat stone and Batta referring to a cylindrical grinding stone. The process must have been a vigorous exercise for arms.

Method of storing the extra meat mixture for future use:

Meat mixture packed in Sandwich bags to be stored frozen for later use

I often prepare the meat mixture for Shaami/Shikampur and Kofta in bulk at a time. Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, store the extra amount in ziplock sandwich bags. Stack them up and freeze for future use. When you feel like having it, take a few sandwich bags out of the freezer and keep them on the countertop until they defrost to room temperature. Shape them into Shaami or Shikampur or Kofta and shallow fry them to serve. It saves a lot of my time this way.

***

To prepare Shaami:

1. Wash your hands clean. Take a small amount of cool water/oil into a cup. Take the above prepared meat mixture, the size of a golf ball into your hands. Dipping your right hand fingertips into the water, shape the mixture into a oblong diamond shaped Shaami(as shown in the picture above). Keep aside. Continue preparing Shaami until you get the number of Shaami you need.
2. In a small frying pan at medium high heat, pour little oil and shallow fry the Shaami until crisp dark brown on each side. Shallow fry them in batches and serve warm.

***

To prepare Shikampur:

1. Finely chop 1 medium onion, 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, and 4 small green chillies. Add 2 tbsp hung thick yogurt and salt to taste. Mix well. This is the yogurt relish. (Prepare more of this if you are planning to make many Shikampur for a large crowd)
2.Wash your hands clean. Take a small amount of cool water/oil into a cup. Take the above prepared meat mixture, the size of a golf ball into your hands. Make a well in the centre and add about a tablespoon of the relish prepared in the above step. Working gently with your hands, bring the edges together and cover the filling properly to shape into a flattened patty(as shown in the picture above).
3. In a small frying pan at medium high heat, pour little oil and shallow fry the Shikampur until crisp dark brown on each side. Shallow fry them in batches and serve warm.

***

To prepare Kofta:

1. Wash your hands clean. Take a small amount of cool water/oil into a cup. Take the above prepared meat mixture, the size of a golf ball into your hands. Wetting your palms with little water, shape the mixture into smooth balls and keep aside. Continue preparing the koftas until you get the number you need.
2. In a small frying pan at medium high heat, pour little oil and shallow fry the kofta’s, a few at a time, until crisp dark brown on their sides.
(Note: Koftas prepared this way are used in Kofte Ka Qorma)

***

You can also prepare Nagrisi Koftey using this same meat mixture.

Tip: If you feel like the meat mixture you have prepared for shaami, shikampur or kofta is very loose and not tight enough to hold a shape, dry roast about 2 tbsp or more of gram flour/besan for a few seconds, and once cool add it to the meat mixture. Mix well and you will now be able to shape it better. Add more if you require.

Luv,
Mona

This week’s weather forecasts are perhaps among one of the most monstrous weather conditions I had ever experienced here, with terrible snowstroms and piles and piles of snow everywhere. How much I dislike winter.

Frozen Moment #4

Thankfully I and my family are at home for the holidays, but my I feel sorry for all those people who have to go through the harsh snow strom. Keep safe and warm everyone! I also feel miserable to watch my hubby shovel the snow and fight with the car to get it started everytime after a snowfall.

After all this back breaking endeavor of scooping out the bulky mounds of snow, I decided to treat my hubby with one of my most loved recipes that I had learnt from my dear mother. It is one of the simplest dishes to prepare, and even so, one of the most delectable red meat dish that you will remember always.

Burhani Gosht – Lamb in an Aromatic Sauce

This recipe uses the lamb breast riblets, also called as Seenay ka gosht in Urdu. It contains ribs and fat sheets arranged in layers and is one of the most delicious tasting flesh. However it is also high in fat content. You can also replace it using lamb thigh meat which again has a delicate flavor.

Burhani Gosht – Lamb Breast in an Aromatic Sauce

Ingredients:

• Boneless or with bone Lamb, cut into pieces (or) Lamb Breast Riblets/Seenay ka Gosht– 600 gms
• Canola oil – 3 tbsp
• Onion – 2, medium sized, finely sliced
• Green cardamom – 3, whole
• Ginger-garlic paste – 2 tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Garam masala powder – 2 tsp
• Cilantro – to garnish

Method:

• Wash and clean the meat, and keep in a colander for the water to drain away.
• In a pressure cooker at medium high heat, pour in oil and add the sliced onion and stir fry until it golden brown in color. Add green cardamom and stir. Add meat and ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Mix well. Pour in a cup of water and close the lid. Let it pressure cook on medium heat until it is tender.
• Later, open the lid, and let it cook on medium heat, until the meat is quite dry. Sprinkle garam masala powder. Remove from heat and serve. (Just to give it a special touch, I added a few saffron threads to the curry to make my guests happy)

Suggested Accompaniments: Serve this curry warm along with warm parathas.

Cheers,
Mona