Monthly Archives: September 2016

Fried Batere (Fried Quails) (Desi Style)

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Bater is Urdu name for quails. These are small chicken like birds with very less quantity of meat but they are very famous in Pakistani (specially Gujranwala City) and Lebanese cuisine. In Pakistan, there are 3 methods of cooking Quails, in curry, fried or barbecued. This is my version of fried quails. I add spices and herbs and fry with a thin coating of gram flour to give it crunchy outside.

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Ingredients:

  • 24 batere (quails, skinless)
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 – 1 ½ tbspns Red chilli flakes
  • ½ tspn turmeric powder
  • 1 tbspn cracked dried coriander
  • 1 tspn cumin seeds
  • 1 tbspn minced garlic
  • 1 tspn fenugreek leaves
  • 1 tspn carom seeds
  • 1 tspn garam masala
  • 1 tspn chaat masala
  • 1 cup gram flour
  • 2 green chillies (chopped finely)
  • 1 bunch coriander, chopped
  • 2 tbspns mint, chopped
  • 4 lemons (small size) (squeezed, seedless)
  • 2 tbspns vinegar
  • Oil or deep frying

Method:

  • In a mixing bowl, mix all the spices, lemon and vinegar into a thick paste.
  • Take a big, not very deep platter and pat dry the quails. Apply this spice paste to the quails and keep aside for 1 hour in refrigerator. This will help in marination and maintaining the shape of the bird.
  •  After one hour of refrigeration, add gram flour and mix with the juices, lemon and vinegar without adding any additional liquid.
  • Heat oil in a deep pan, wok or kadai and fry in batches depending on the size of your wok. 5 – 8 mins per quail on medium heat.
  • Serve them on a platter with some lemon slices, green chillies and fresh coriander.
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Smokey Chicken Handi

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Chicken handi is one of the famous dishes of Pakistani desi restaurants. This is my version of boneless chicken handi and trust me this is the best one. Coal tempered boneless chicken cubes, cooking in light curry with basic and simple spices is a delight and a crowd pleaser on dinner table…. Try this recipe and let me know what you think by commenting below this post…..

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Ingredients:

  • 1.5 kg cubed boneless chicken (mix of thigh and breast pieces)
  • 3 medium – large size onions, sliced
  • 3 tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 cup yogurt
  • 2 tbspns ginger and garlic, freshly crushed
  • Green chillies (as you like)
  • Fresh coriander, chopped (1 cup)
  • 1 tbspn fenugreek leaves, fresh or dried
  • 1 cup oil + few drops for coal tempering

SPICES

  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tbspn red chilli flakes
  • 1 tspn carom seeds
  • 1 tbspn coriander powder
  • 1 tspn turmeric
  • 1 tspn garam masala
  • 1 tspn cracked black pepper
  • 1 piece of cinnamon
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 tspn cumin seeds

Method:

  • Heat oil in a deep pan and fry onion until they are translucent. Add ginger and garlic and fry until the mixture is golden brown. Add chicken and stir fry until it turns white. Add tomatoes and all the spices except black pepper and fenugreek leaves.
  • Cook on high flame until the tomatoes lose the stiffness. Add whipped yogurt and mix. Cover and cook on medium heat. Meanwhile put a piece of coal on flame so it is ready when needed.
  • After 15 minutes of cooking, check if the chicken is cooked and the oil has started to separate. If no, then cook for further 5 minutes. If yes, then turn off the flame, add cracked black pepper, green chillies, coriander and fenugreek leaves and temper it with coal.
  • Dish out and garnish with green chillies and coriander.