Category Archives: Uncategorized

Gulab Jaman (Semolina free)

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Semolina free gulab jaman…. all milk & extremely easy to make ………

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups full cream milk powder
  • 2 tbspns self raising flour
  • 1 tspn baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 – 3 tbspn ghee
  • Some almonds, pistachios and silver edible foil for garnishing
  • Oil for deep frying

FOR SHEERA (SUGAR SYRUP)

  • 3 cups water
  • few cardamo seeds
  • 3 cups raw sugar
  • ½ cup brown packed sugar
  • 1 tspn kewra essence

Procedure:

-In a saucepan put everything given for sheera and stir to a boil.

-In a mixing bowl combine all the ingredients (except eggs) given for gulab jaman and mix.

-Now whisk two eggs and gradually add them to the dry ingredients and knead. Knead the dough and if it is sticky leave it for 5 -minutes.

-Heat oil to the point where you drop a small ball of dough, it rests at the bottom for some seconds and then rise to the surface of the oil with a little bit of hissing. To get this temperature you may have to repeat this temperature test twice or thrice.

-Now with clean hands roll 12 – 14 balls or ovals from this dough and drop 4 – 6 at a time (depending on the size of your pan) to fry. When they come up to the surface of the oil keep moving the balls gently to get even colouring. When you get the desired color take the balls out of the oil and put them in hot sugar syrup.

-Dish out, garnish with pistachios, almonds and edible silver foil, and serve.

 

Chicken Shaljam (Chicken & Turnip Curry)

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Another not very popular but popular Pakistani home cooking dish. I like it, its yummy, and really really easy …..

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 1 kilo chicken cut into curry pieces
  • 2 large turnips cut into 4 thick wedges each
  • 2 onion medium sized sliced
  • 250 gms thick yogurt
  • 4 glasses warm – boiling water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 tspn ginger paste
  • 1 tspn garlic paste
  • 2 big cardamoms
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 – 6 peppercorns
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tbspn red chilli flakes
  • ½ tspn turmeric powder
  • 1 tspn garam masala
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 tspn fenugreek leaves
  • 1 cup chopped coriander
  • 4 – 6 green chillies (half sliced, half as they are)

Procedure:

-Heat oil and fry onion until they are brown and a little bit crunchy.

-Take them out with a slotted spoon and turn off the flame. The oil will be hot enough to fry spices and we do not want to burn the chillies.

-In the same oil, add all the spices (except garam masala and fenugreek leaves) and garlic and ginger paste and stir. After a minute turn on the flame and add chicken and salt. Stir fry on medium high heat until the chicken starts getting white and then golden.

-Add turnip wedges and mix.

-Now add water and reduce the heat and let it come to a boil. Meanwhile, crush the fried onions in mortar and pestle. Mix with yogurt and add this yogurt mixture to the boiling chicken stock.

-Keep the flame low to medium and cook it covered for 30 minutes. Take off the lid and add coriander and green chillies and simmer the curry to your wish. If you need runny shorba type of curry, then take it off the heat now or for a little thick curry let it simmer for 10 more minutes. Add garam masala and fenugreek leaves and serve hot with home-made chapatti.

Grilled Cob/ Grilled Sweet Corn

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My favorite side BBQ dish, unlike Nandos I don’t like any peri peri sauce on it. I like it with light butter or as it is …..

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 4 sweet corn cobs
  • Some butter to serve

Procedure:

-Preheat BBQ grill. Place the cobs on the grill on low to medium heat in a way that corn sits around the fire (not on the fire).

-When it starts changing its color or become deep yellow in color, roll the sides. When the cob is deep yellow from all the sides then put it on fire side and give it a nice colour (Do not burn).

-Serve with some butter on top.

Deghi Badaami Chicken Korma (Ultimate)

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The best recipe for Chicken Korma. In Pakistan, people make this on weddings and other events and it tastes the best. My recipe is better than that recipe…… whenever I make it my home is filled with bay leaf and garam masala and my family loves it …….

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • Chicken cut into 12 – 16 pieces, skinless
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tbspn red chilli powder/ chilli flakes
  • ½ tspn cracked black pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 6 cloves
  • 1 tbspn ginger grated
  • 1 tbspn crushed garlic
  • 4 peppercorns
  • 1 tspn turmeric powder
  • 1 tbspn garam masala
  • 1 ½ cup yogurt
  • 2 sticks of cinnamon
  • 2 large onions (sliced)
  • 1 cup oil
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 cup whole blanched almonds

Procedure:

-Heat oil in a pan and fry onion until they are golden red (more kinda brown).

-With a slotted spoon, take the onion out in a plate leaving the hot oil In the pan.

-Remove the oil pan from the heat and add bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and black pepper along with ginger and garlic. As the oil is very hot, these spices will begin to splatter even if they are not on heat. Stir and do not let it burn.

-Return the pan back to heat and add chicken and salt. Fry until it starts getting a nice white and golden color. Add water and let it cook on medium heat (uncovered) until the water begins to boil.

-Meanwhile, using a mortar and pestle, crush fried onion to paste and mix with garam masala and yogurt. When the water in the pan begins to boil add yogurt mixture and mix. Cook covered on medium heat for 30 minutes or until the chicken fully cooked and tender to touch.

-Remove the lid and increase the heat from medium to high. Cook until the oil comes to the surface and gravy is formed.

-Add blanched almonds and serve hot with roghani naan or kulcha.

Panna Cotta

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Italian Dessert …… Very creamy, rich, smooth, sexy and silky!

I don’t like creamy sweet stuff much but this dessert is OK. My family loves it!

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 500ml full cream (300 mL cream + 200 mL full cream milk – lite version)
  • 10g gelatine (You can easily find gelatine at any grocery store, baking isle. In Australia, you can get Halal gelatine from Coles baking isle. The brand name is “Davis” and it is certified Halal.
  • 40g Sugar (I use raw for flavour)
  • 1 tbspn vanilla extract or vanilla pod
  • Some fruits and berries to serve
  • 125 ml hot water

Procedure:

-Pour the cream and sugar into a saucepan. Slice open vanilla bean and remove the pulp. Add both the pulp and shell to the cream and sugar, and bring it to boil for 10 minutes. Take saucepan off the heat and let it cool slightly.

-Pour 125mL hot water into a container and add 1 sachet or 10g of gelatine. (Every package has different style of making gelatine, follow your package instructions)

-Stir briskly with a fork until dissolved.

-Remove the vanilla bean from the mixture and add the gelatine. Mix well and transfer to your dessert bowls. Refrigerate for 4 hours at least and serve.

Dupatta Gali Lahore Pakora (Hawker Style)

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My favorite pakoras!!!!!! I remember when I used to shop at Liberty Market, Lahore (Pakistan), these pakoras were always on my “shopping snacks list”. I love street food and Thank GOD I don’t have any immune system issues. I can eat, drink, digest and sustain all this food easily, I never get sick after having them and whenever I go out for shopping (no matter what shopping; clothes, books, shoes anything) I always choose the markets with best street food.

The thing I like about these Pakoras is that they give veggies a lite coating of flour mixture, just to give an extra crunch and to hold them together which makes them lite otherwise Pakoras people make at home during Ramadan are just so dense and cake like. So here is the recipe……. enjoy!

Ayesha's Kitchen

Ayesha’s Kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cup besan
  • 1 tspn baking powder
  • 1 tbspn yogurt
  • 2 large potatoes (cut into thin lengthways slices)
  • 8 – 9 green chillies chopped
  • 2 large red onions sliced
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbspns red chilli flakes
  •  1 tspn cumin seeds
  • 1 cup spinach leaves (roughly sliced)
  • 2 tbspns whole coriander seeds
  • 1 tspn garam masala
  • Some cold water ( ½ cup) to make the paste
  • 4 tbspns chopped fresh green coriander
  • Some chaat masala to sprinkle afterwards
  • Oil for deep frying

Procedure:

-In a deep mixing bowl combine besan with all the spices, green chillies, baking powder, coriander and yogurt and stir. Gradually mix in some cold water and make a medium consistency paste (not too thick like dahi bhalle mixture nor too thin like gram flour paste, just like pancake batter)

-Make sure the batter is smooth, no lumps of flour.

-Now add all your sliced veggies and mix with your hands.

-Keep aside for 30 minutes.

-Heat oil to 180 degrees Celsius. (I am sure that hawker does not have a candy thermometer 😀 but the oil should be hot enough that if you drop a tiny bit of the batter it should not sink to the bottom of the wok. The mixture should rise and splatter on the surface of the oil.)

-Now drop tbspns of the pakore batter into the hot oil and fry until the pakoras get crisp and brown. Take them out onto your wire rack or any strainer BUT NO PAPER TOWEL. We don’t want our pakoras to get soggy. So put them on anything that is 1 cm above the surface of your bench top and has holes in it.

-Sprinkle some chaat masala for extra kick and serve hot with tamarind sauce or mint chutney.