Author Archives: Ayesha Haq

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About Ayesha Haq

A versatile chef ...

Aalu Kabab/ Potato Cutlets/ Aloo Tikki

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Aalu tikki or aalu kabab one of the famous side dish or tea snack in sub continent cooking. Mashed potatoes seasoned with spices and fried in portions in a delight to have.

You can adjust the spices and chilies according to your taste, my recipe is a bit spicy. Its a tea party crowd pleaser and actually tingles your tongue with aroma and spice. Give it a try and let me know how you go…..

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Ingredients:

  • 6 large potatoes (boiling potatoes) (peeled and boiled to perfection)
  • 3 green chillies (large size, chopped fine)
  • 1 cup fresh coriander leaves (chopped fine)

SPICES

  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tspn chicken salt (available in Vegetarian option as well)
  • 1 tspn red chilli flakes
  • 1 tspn cracked black pepper
  • 1 tbspn chaat masala
  • 2 tbspns cracked dry coriander seeds
  • 1 tspn coarsely ground pan roasted cumin seeds
  • ½ tspn ground fennel seeds
  • 1 tspn dry fenugreek leaves

FOR FRYING

  • 2 eggs (whisked)
  • 2 cups oil for shallow pan frying

Procedure:

-In a large mixing bowl, mash the boiled potatoes until the mixture is lump free. Now add all the spices, green chillies and coriander. Add the fenugreek leaves by crushing between your palms; it will really bring out the flavour and fragrance.

-Mix well until it looks like a dough. Now make a small ball from this dough and flat it with your fingers and give it a round shape. Do the same with the rest of the mixture. It will make 12 tikkis.

-Place the tikkis in a wide plate without over lapping and refrigerate for 1 hour.

-Heat some frying oil on griddle or frying pan.

-Whisk two eggs in a bowl for coating the tikkis. If you are vegetarian, you can skip this step and fry tikkis directly. Or dip each tikki separately in this egg wash and fry until its golden brown and crisp from both the sides. Approximately 1 minute per side in hot oil.

-Serve hot with mint chutney or as a side dish with Pulao or Biryani.

Hara Masala Keema/ Tawa Keema

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My Top favorite recipe…. Less spice more aroma, less cooking time more enjoying time, one of the easy and light desi dishes. Try and lemme know how you go!

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Ingredients

  • 500 gms beef/ mutton mince (chicken Maryland or thigh mince will work)
  • 1 large tomato (chopped)
  • 1 green chillies (sliced)
  • 5 tbspns oil
  • 50 gms butter

SPICES

  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tspn red chilli flakes
  • 1 tspn cracked black pepper
  • 1 tspn dried fenugreek leaves (crushed)
  • 1 tspn garam masala
  • 1 tbspn cracked coriander seeds

FOR HARA MASALA

  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 inch piece of root ginger
  • 1 green chilli
  • 1 cup coriander leaves
  • 1 cup mint leaves

FOR GARNISH

  • Few coriander leaves
  • Green chillies
  • 1 lemon (juice squeezed)

Procedure:

-Heat oil on tawa/ griddle/ flat pan and place the chunk of mincemeat. Break it into small pieces with the spoon while frying and add salt when the color changes.

-Add tomatoes while the mincemeat is still moist. Cook on low heat until the tomato is tender. Now add rest of the spices except coriander seeds and fenugreek.

-Coarsely crush all the herbs and roots in a mortar and pestle for hara masala (green masala).

-Add this crushed mixture in meat and stir. Mix and when the moisture evaporates (not completely), add butter, coriander seeds and fenugreek leaves.

-Garnish with some coriander leaves and green chillies. Drizzle some lemon juice and serve with roti.

Special Fried Fish

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My own creation…. tastes like “Bashir Dar – ul – Mahi” (a famous fried fish restaurant in Lahore, Pakistan) but home made and tastier. Can be a good option with boiled rice or as it is with chutney and chips.

Loved by all!

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Ingredients

  • 1 kg fish (Rohu, Blue Grenedier, Snapper)
  • 5 tbspns lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup gram flour
  • 1/2 tspn baking powder (levelled)
  • 1 tpspn crushed ginger and garlic
  • 1 tbspn cracked black pepper
  • 2 tbspns red chilli flakes
  • 1 tbspn sesame seeds
  • 1 tbspn crushed coriander leaves
  • 1 tbspn coarsely ground coriander seeds
  • 1 tbspn crushed fresh mint leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for deep frying
  • Potato chips to serve with

Procedure

-In a shallow wide mixing tray (in which you can fit your fillets of fish) place the fish fillets in a way they are not over lapping or turned from any side.

-Pat them dry with a kitchen towel or paper towel, whatever suits you. I use paper towel as the fish can leave its smell in kitchen towel and you can throw away the used paper towel.

-Then in a mixing bowl combine everything except gram flour, sesame seeds, water and baking powder.

-Mix well and pour over the fillets in the dish.

-Turn the sides of the fish and coat well in marinade. Leave for 15 minutes.

-Meanwhile in a separate bowl combine sesame seeds, gram flour and baking powder. Now add this to the marinated fish and use your hands to coat the fish with gram flour coating. Use cold water if required. (Dip your hands in cold water rather than pouring it)

-Heat oil to 180 – 190 degrees celsius.

-Deep fry 2 – 3 fillets per batch for 10 minutes or shallow fry for 5minutes per side.

-Serve hot with chutney and chips.

Chicken Skewers with Eggplant Dip

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Chicken Skewers with Eggplant Dip is my desi version of Shish chicken and Babaganouge which is originally from Lebanon. I love Lebanese food as it is healthy, quick and easy to digest. So I just added a bit of my spices and made chicken tikka and mixed babaganouge recipe with my Pakistani Bengan ka Bharta Raita and created this yummilicious dinner for myself. This is the 2nd week I am having it everyday and trust me I still dont wanna switch….. This is absolute LOVE

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

FOR CHICKEN SKEWERS

  • 2 chicken breasts (cut into cubes)
  • 2 tbspns lemon juice
  • Some salt and black pepper
  • ¼ tspn white pepper
  • 1 tspn red chilli flakes
  • ½ tspn garam masala
  • ½ tspn coriander powder
  • ½ tspn chicken powder
  • ½ tspn meat tenderising powder
  • 2 dollops of yogurt
  • 1 tbspn cream
  • Fresh crushed hara masala (2 cloves garlic + a small piece of ginger root + few mint leaves + few coriander leaves + 1 green chilli = crushed in mortar and pestle)
  • Some oil for brushing over the skewers while BBQing.

FOR EGGPLANT DIP

  • 1 large size eggplant
  • 1 red onion chopped fine
  • 1 tomato deseeded and chopped
  • Mint chutney (few leaves of coriander + few leaves of mint + 1 green chilli + salt to taste)
  • 2 cups yogurt
  • Some boiled rice

Procedure:

FOR DIP

-Put the eggplant on your naked burning stove and let its skin blister. Turn the sides and when the eggplant skin is blistered from all the sides put it in a bowl to cool down a bit.

-Meanwhile crush the mint chutney ingredients in mortal and pestle. Crush it fine. Whisk 2 cups of yogurt in a mixing bowl and add mint chutney. Whisk until the chutney is well combined with the yogurt.

-Add chopped onion and tomatoes to it. Now carefully with the help of knife, take off the blistered skin of the eggplant. You need to be careful as the eggplant is still bubbling hot and you may burn your hands. Chop off the stem of the eggplant and chop the cooked pulp.

-Add this pulp to the yogurt mixture. Mix and refrigerate for 1 hour.

-While its chilling we can make our BBQ and boil some rice. So for BBQ, place the chicken cubes in a deep mixing bowl and marinate it with all the ingredients given for skewers apart from oil.

-Keep aside for 15 minutes.

-Now start threading the chicken pieces on the skewers and grill on a preheated BBQ grill until the meat is well done but not burnt. It should be juicy and golden brown.

-Serve hot meat with boiled rice and eggplant dip.

-Enjoy!

Nutella Cheese Cupcakes #NoBake

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Nutella cheese cupcakes……. what a delight to make and please the crowd. Enjoyed by all age groups, ideal for any event.

#NoBake

I don’t add any extra sugar to this because its already too rich and sweet for me. But if you want to add any sugar feel free to add while you are softening the cream cheese.

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

FOR BASE

  • 300 gms graham crackers
  • 150 gm butter

FOR CHEESECAKE

  • 500 gms cream cheese (room temp)
  • 1.5 cups Nutella
  • 1 cup cream
  • Some chopped hazelnuts for decoration

Procedure:

-In a food processor, crush the graham crackers coarsely. Add melted butter and give it a wet sand texture.

-Now take 24 muffin liners and put them in the muffin tray. Fill each with 1 tbspn heap full of graham crack mixture and press each with the back of spoon to give an even base.

-Make the cream cheese filling by softening the cream cheese with an electric hand mixer. Add Nutella and mix again until the Nutella is mixed.

-Now add cream and mix on medium speed until the cream is well incorporated and the mixture is soft and a bit airy.

-Now scoop the mixture in each muffin container. I used ice cream scoop to make my job easy and for the smooth dollop.

-Decorate with some chopped hazelnut. Refrigerate for 4 hours or more.

-Serve.

Fruit Chaat 2

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Its my special version of fruit chaat in the month of Ramadan…. full of nutrients and taste. Love it!  can’t eat any other fruit chaat after eating this…..

Fruit Chaat

Ingredients:

  • 2 apples (cut into cubes with peel)
  • 6 firm dates (cut lengthways)
  • ½ cup boiled chickpeas
  • 1 peach (peeled and cut into cubes)
  • 1 cup grapes (cut into halves)
  • ½ pear (cut into cubes)
  • 1 kiwi (cut into slices)
  • 1 cup pomegranate kernels
  • 2 ripe bananas (sliced)
  • ½ indian guava (deseeded and cut into cubes)
  • 6 – 8 strawberries (diced)
  • 1 cup pineapple chunks

FOR SYRUP

  • 1 mandarin (juice)
  • 1 naval orange (juice)
  • 1 tspn raw sugar
  • Some black salt
  • Some black pepper

FOR GARNISHING

  • 4 slices of kiwi
  • Some halves of medjoul dates
  • Some strawberries

Procedure:

-Wash and cut all the fruits according to the instructions given above.

-Mix them in a deep mixing bowl.

-Now combine all the ingredients for syrup in a separate bowl. Stir well until the sugar is dissolved.

-Now pour the syrup all over the fruits and mix.

-Keep aside for 30 minutes, transfer it to your serving bowl, garnish with fresh fruits and have fun.