Zarda

Servings: 15-20 people

Ingredients:

Milk curd, raisins, peel almonds,
 coconut slices, and cherries

• 3 cups sella Basmati rice
• 1/3 cup almonds (peeled)
• 1/3 cup coconut slices
• 1/2 cup muraba (cherries)
• 1/3 cup green raisins
• 3 green cardamoms
• 1/5 teaspoon yellow food colouring (powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon orange food colouring (powder)
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron
• 5 tablespoons butter
• sheera
• milk curd

sugar

Sheera Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup water
• 2 and 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 green cardamoms

Milk Curd ingredients:

• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 green cardamoms

Directions:

Take the sella rice and soak for 2 hours.

To make the milk curd, pour in the milk into a pot with the green cardamoms. Boil the milk, and when it comes to a full boil add in the white vinegar. This will separate the milk from the water and become a curd consistency.

Drain all the water with a strainer, and put the curd in a bowl. Mix in the sugar with the curd. Set aside.

In a medium sized pot (dakchi), pour 4 and 1/4 cups of water, and add in the butter and 3 green cardamoms, along with the food colourings, and let it come to a boil on medium-high heat.

When it starts boiling, drain all the water from the soaked rice, and put in the pot. While placing the rice in the pot, also stir it 2 times gently. And let it cook for 15 minutes on high heat.

During this time start making the sheera. To make the sheera, take a small pot and add in the water, sugar, and the cardamoms, on medium-low heat. Let it boil, and when it has become a little thick, then turn off the heat.

After 15 minutes, in the pot with the rice, you will see that there is a little bit of water left in the pot and the rice has increased in size (length wise). At this point pour the sheera into the pot, and stir gently (2 times only).

Let it cook for 5 minutes on high heat. Then turn the heat onto low, and cover the pot with its lid for 15 minutes.

Take off the lid and sprinkle the saffron on top, then cover the pot with its lid again for another 15 minutes.

Take off the lid, after 15 minutes, and add in the almonds, coconut slices, muraba (cherries), green raisins, and milk curd. Gently mix.

Turn off the heat, and your delicious zarda is ready to serve (keep it open for 15 minutes, for the steam to leave the pot).

Karalay (Stuffed Indian Bitter-melon)

Servings: 8-10 people

Ingredients:

Bitter-melon marination:

• 11 medium sized bitter-melons
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon turmeric

Bitter-melon stuffing:

• 7 medium onions (cut into small thin pieces)
• 2 lbs. ground chicken (or ground veal, beef, turkey)
• 3 tablespoons chapli kebab masala
• 2 tablespoons dry methi
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon tandoori chicken masala
• 2-3 tomatoes (cut into small pieces)
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground garlic
• 4 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped

onions cut into sllices

Directions:

Peel the karalay (do not throw away the peels, leave it in the bowl with the karalays).
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of salt along with the turmeric on the karalay's and peels and rub them. This will make all the bitterness will go away.

Then wash the karalays and the peels 4-5 times. Squeeze out all the water from the peels and put in a separate bowl.

Cut 1/2 inch off of each karalay on one side, and take out the seeds with a butter knife. Throw away the seeds, and wash the karalay again. Squeeze out the water, and put them aside.

Place the meat in a steel bowl and put in all the ingredients listed above for the stuffing. Mix with hands.

Fill all the bitter-melons (karalay's) with the stuffing (approximately 1/3 of the meat will be used here).

Note: If the karalay rip apart while you were taking out the seeds...then after stuffing them, bind the karalay with a white thread. And when you are serving, gently remove the thread, everything will be intact.

Pour some cooking oil into a frying pan and place the karalays in the pan, cook them on low medium heat. Keep turning them until they become golden brown from the outside. It will take approximately 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat.

Put the peels in a non-sticking pan with 1/4 cup oil, and fry the peels on medium-low heat, until they become golden brown.

peels are cooking

the peels with 1/4 cup oil

Then add in the rest of the meat, and mix gently, 2-3 times and cover the pan with its lid.

After 6 minutes, take off the lid, and you will see all the water has come out of the meat. Let it dry (will take 10-15 minutes to dry the water). Then add 1 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon red chili powder, and mix gently.

you can also add one of the chopped tomatoes here

Turn the heat on low, and place the fried karalay on top, and cover the pan with its lid for 5-6 minutes. Take off the lid and its ready to serve.
Note: if you want your karalay to stay crispy, then don't cover the pan in the last step.

Ground Beef and Mixed Vegetables Lasagna

Servings: 15-20 people

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. medium ground beef
• 450 g marble cheese
• 300 g ricotta cheese
• 441 g cottage cheese
• 1 pack of oven ready lasagna strips (need 20 lasagna strips for this dish)
• 2 cans of pasta sauce (680 mL each)
• 1 kg of mixed vegetables bag
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 5 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons red chili powder
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/5 teaspoon clove powder
• 1 medium onion
• 5-6 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground ginger

Directions:

In a deep pan, place the ground beef, onion (cut into slices), ginger, garlic, and 1/4 cup water into the pot, on low-medium heat.

Keep mixing every few minutes. After 10 minutes of mixing, put the lid on the pot for 6 minutes.

After 6 minutes, remove the lid, and let the water dry, on medium-high heat. Continue to mix until all the water is gone and a little bit moisture remains.

Turn the heat onto low. add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon red chili powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, cumin powder, and clove powder. Mix everything again.

If you see any big pieces of the ground beef, use the spatula to break it apart into smaller pieces. Turn off the heat and set aside (or if preparing for the lasagna a day before, let it cook and put in the fridge).

Pour in 1kg of mixed vegetables into a pot. Pour 3 tablespoons of cooking oil (from the 1/2 cup) and 1/4 cup water. Turn the heat onto medium. After 20 minutes, the vegetables will be ready (or until there is no water in the pot).

Once the vegetables are done, turn off the heat and add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper, and set aside (or cool it and place in fridge).

Note: if you want to use fresh vegetables (broccoli, mushrooms, zucchini, onion, etc) you will have to stir fry them instead.

Shred the whole brick of cheese. Take 1/4 of the shredded cheese and mix with ricotta cheese and cottage cheese in a bowl. (I will refer to this mixture as the '3 cheese mixture')

Open both the sauces, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder into each of the cans and mix. 

Although, I used oven-ready lasagna strips, I still put them in boiling water for 10 minutes.

When the water starts boiling, add in 2 teaspoons salt, 3 table spoons of cooking oil and place all the strips in the pot, and turn off the heat. In 10 minutes they will become a little soft.

Take a big baking dish (where you can place at least 5 lasagna strips side by side with approximately 2 cm space in between, because when they cook in the oven, the strips will expand.

First oil the dish. Then place 5 strips, each 2 cm apart.

Then spread 1 big tablespoon of the pasta sauce on each of the strips, and also spread a tablespoon of the cheese, ricotta, cottage mix onto each of the strips (see picture).

Now add/spread half of the ground beef.

Now, place 5 strips again, add in the sauce, and the cheese, ricotta, cottage mix, all like mentioned before.

Then add in all the vegetables, as shown in the picture.

Then again, place 5 strips, each 2cm apart, sauce, 3 cheese mixture, and then the rest of the ground beef.

Place the last 5 strips on top, and spread rest of the sauce on top.

Cover the tray, properly, with foil paper turn on the oven at 350 degrees. Place the tray on the middle rack, and bake for up to 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, loosen the foil and poke a knife through the opening. If the knife goes in soft/smoothly all the way down, then turn off the oven, and take out the tray. Spread the rest of the marble cheese on top. Turn the oven on low broil, and place the tray on the middle rack (no cover). When all the cheese has melted, turn off the oven, and take out the dish and let it settle for 15-20 minutes before serving.

after taking the foil off

Ready to serve

Palak (Spinach) Chicken

Serving: 7-8 people

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. chicken breast with bone OR 2 and 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast OR 3 lbs. of whole chicken
• 4 large bunches of fresh spinach OR 3 packs of the frozen chopped spinach (300g each)
• 3 small onions
• 1 whole garlic 
• 2 tablespoons of freshly ground ginger
• 3 tablespoons freshly crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/5 teaspoon clove powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder

Directions:

Wash and clean thoroughly all the spinach bunches (at least 4-5 times).

Chop the spinach and place in a large pot.

Add 1/4 cup of water into the pot as well.

Peel and cut a small onion and put that into the pot along with 4 chopped cloves of garlic.

Place the pot on the stove on low-medium heat, and place the lid onto half of the pot for 30 minutes.

Cut the chicken into small pieces.

Chop the 2 onions, and place in a non-sticking deep pan. Add 1/3 cup cooking oil into the pan as well.

Put the heat onto medium. When the onions start to become translucent, ground the rest of the garlic (approximately 2 tablespoons) and add it to the pan. Mix gently.

After about 1 and 1/2 minute, add in all the chicken. Mix everything again, and then cover pan.

After 4 minutes, take off the lid, mix again. Then cover again for 4-5 minutes.

Take off the lid, and turn the heat on high, to let the water evaporate.

After 4-5 minutes, the water will have evaporated, then add in all the spices and ground ginger and mix.

Add in the crushed tomatoes and mix again, then turn off the heat.

Check your spinach pot (it should be 30 minutes by now), take off the lid, and turn the heat onto medium high, and let the water evaporate.

Approximately 10 minutes later, turn off the heat, and put the contents of the pot (the cooked spinach) into the chopper, and chop it until its smooth (approx. 1 minutes). Then put this ground cooked spinach onto the cooked chicken.

Turn the heat onto medium, and mix everything gently for 2-3 minutes. Your dish is ready to be served with roti or boiled rice.