Potatoes and Tuna Kebabs

Servings: 14 kebabs

This recipe was inspired by my sister, Saima.

Ingredients:

• 6 small to medium size potatoes
• 2 cans of chunk or flecked tuna
• 3 green onions
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
• 2 tablespoon of Chapli kebab masala
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground ginger

Directions:

Boil and peel the potatoes. When they have become tender, mash them with a masher.

Drain the tuna cans, add a little bit of water and then drain again. Use a spoon to squeeze more of the water out.

The ratio between mashed potatoes and tuna will be 2 parts potatoes to 1 part tuna, as shown in the picture.

Place the potatoes and tuna in a big bowl together, and put the rest of the ingredients in the bowl as well (spices, cilantro, mint, onions) and mix with hand.

everything combined

Once everything is combined, make into small patties. This mixture makes up to 14 kebabs.

Then beat an egg, and dip each patty in the egg and fry in a frying pan with very little oil on medium high heat.
These are very delicious healthy kebabs, and because of the ginger and mint, the kebabs has no fishy smell at all.

Chili Chicken

Servings: 7 people

Inspired by my friend, Rahat Khan.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. of boneless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces

Marinating Boneless Chicken Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce 
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black paper
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground garlic

Other ingredients for cooking:

• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 pinch clove powder
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 7 random size tomatoes peeled and cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground garlic
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground ginger
• 4 random capsicum (peppers)
• 3 medium sized onions
• 2 cups of water with 2 teaspoon of cornstarch

Directions:

Marinate chicken the chicken with the marinating ingredients, for up to two hours.

Take 4 random size capsicum (orange, red, and yellow) and 3 medium size onions, and cut them into bite size pieces.

Beat one egg and pour onto the marinated chicken. Mix with a spoon so all the pieces are coated with egg. Then put 1/2 cup of all purpose flour on the chicken and mix so all the chicken pieces are covered with flour. Then heat up 2 cups of oil in a deep frying pan on medium heat. Fry all the pieces of coated chicken (can cook up to 20 pieces in the frying pan at a time).

Each batch will cook in 3 to 4 minutes. Flip each piece after a minute. Once they are done, place on plate.

Take one deep pot, add one tablespoon sesame oil, garlic and 3 tablespoons oil from the frying pan from earlier, and cook on medium heat.

After a minute, add all the spices and stir.

Then add the capsicums, and stir

After 3 minutes, add tomatoes and ginger, and stir.

It will take about 6 minutes for the tomatoes to disappear, if you are using crushed tomatoes then 3 minutes for this process.

Add fried chicken and stir 2 to 3 times.

Take 2 cups of water and mix 2 teaspoons of cornstarch. Pour this water into the pot and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.












Then take out your delicious chili chicken in a serving dish, garnish with green onions. Serve with vegetable rice or just plain boiled rice.

Paya

Servings: 5 people

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Paya about 3 to 2 and 1/2 pound.
• 1 medium size onion
• 7 cloves of garlic (peeled and chopped)
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground ginger
• 1 and 1/2 tea spoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 2 pinch clove powder
• 2 medium size tomatoes

Directions:







Burn slightly each piece of Paya as shown in the picture, so that any of the extra residue of hair left, will burn off. If the Paya you bought already has been roasted on the fire, then skip this step. Each piece will take about 30 seconds.











Place all of the Paya pieces in a bowl, then wash each piece with water. While you are washing, scratch each piece with a knife, so that each piece will get cleaned even further.

After washing and using the knife it will look like this.

In a pressure cooker, put the sliced onion and pour 1/4 cup of oil, and cook on medium heat. When the onion becomes translucent, add in the chopped garlic and stir.

After 1 minute, add the Paya pieces and stir.

After 5 minutes, add all the spices, ground ginger, and stir.

After 3 minutes, add the tomatoes and stir, 3 to 4 minutes. After stirring, and when your tomatoes disappear, add 6 cups of water.

Place the cooker lid on with its weight, and when it starts whistling, then lower the heat, and let it cook for two hours.

After 2 hours, turn off the heat. Then after 1/2 hour release the steam by carefully taking off the lid. If there is too much soup, then turn on the heat and let it cook more until your desirable amount of soup is left.

Then turn off the heat, let it cool a bit, and put in a serving dish. Enjoy with roti, naan or with boiled rice.

Mix Dal/Jalsa Dal (Mixed Lentils)

Servings: 5 people

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Channa daal
• 3 quarter of a cup mash split mash daal
• 1 small onion ground
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoon ground  garlic
• 1 and 1/2 table spoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 tea spoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 pinch of clove powder

Directions:

First wash the lentils three times with water and then soak for 2 hours.

For this recipe, take a pressure cooker, and put the ground onion in the cooker with 1/3 cup of oil and cook on medium heat. When the onion becomes translucent, add ground garlic and stir.

After about one minute or so, add all the spices and stir, again

After a minute or so add ginger and stir.

Then add 4 cups of water and let it boil. When it comes to a boil, add the lentils in. And stir one to two times, then put the cooker lid on.

Note the time when the cooker starts whistling. After 10 minutes (from when it starts whistling), turn off the heat. When its safe, take off the lid and check if everything is tender,

Pour into a serving dish. Serve with roti, naan or with boiled rice.

Yummy Braided Bread

Ingredients:

Dough Ingredients:

• 3 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 and 1/2 table spoon sea salt
• 4 table spoon coconut oil ( you can use any other oil about 3 quater of a cup
• 2 eggs
• 1 table spoon dry yeast
• 1 table spoon sugar

Filling Ingredients:

• 2 cups of frozen mix vegetable
• 1 medium size onion (cut in to thin slices)
• 1 table spoon freshly ground garlic
• 1 table spoon freshly ground ginger
• 1 table spoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon hot red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pinch of clove powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 2 cups of broccoli cut into small pieces
• 2 lbs. of chicken breast cut into small pieces(OR instead of chicken breast you can use 2 lbs. of ground meat)

Directions:

Take a big bowl and add the flour, salt, sugar, eggs, and coconut oil. Mix together evenly with your hands or standing mixture. In a separate bowl pour in the yeast and add a cup of room temperature water with a pinch of sugar. Let it sit for two minutes. Then after two minutes add this yeast mixture into the flour mixture.

Add lukewarm water and make the dough, about 1 and 1/4 cup of water you will need to make the dough. The dough should not be hard or very soft. Preheat the oven to 130 degrees. Once it has reached this temperature, turn the oven off. Cover the bowl with its lid. Place the dough pot in the oven for 2 to three hours until the dough becomes double the size, then put the pot in the fridge.

Directions for the filling:

Pour the mixed vegetables into a pot, add 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Let it cook until all the water disappears.

In a non-stick pan, add 1/4 cup oil and the sliced onions and cook on low medium heat. When the onions become translucent, add the ground garlic and stir.

After a minute or so, add the chicken and stir. Keep stirring on and off.

When you see that water has come out from the chicken, dry it up. When the water almost disappears, add the broccoli and ginger, and stir.

Stirred after adding in broccoli

Then add the cooked mix vegetables and all the spices and stir.

In one cup of water add one table spoon of corn starch mix it and add it into the pan with all the cooked ingredients, keep cooking this for five minutes.

After 5 minutes, your filling mixture is now ready, it should be completely cooled down before filling the dough.

Braided Bread process:

With all the above ingredients you can make two extra large braided breads.
Make two balls from this dough. Use a rolling pin to spread the ball long and normal thin. Put half of the chicken vegetable mixture in the middle.

Cut the sides of the dough with a pizza cutter as shown in the picture.

Take one strand of dough at a time and make a braided design. Do this until the filling has been covered, as seen in the picture.

On a flat baking tray, place parchment paper and sprinkle oil. Place the braid carefully on the tray and brush the braid with a beaten egg and sprinkle sesame seeds or kalongi seeds.
Preheat the oven to 360 degrees. And place the tray on the middle wrack. Cook until it has become a light golden colour.

Has turned golden

Take out the tray and brush the bread with melted butter and serve. To cut pieces, use a bread knife.