Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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Fish Pakora Bao Buns

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A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend Aamina Khan took me out to try bao buns for the first time in Chicago and I fell in love with them instantly!

Most of the menu included pork, but we were able to try the shrimp ones which were tangy and sweet. I thought I could easily give it a go and make my own version.

I’ve also been meaning to do a fish sandwich recipe, so this was the perfect concept to incorporate the bao bun and the humble deep-fried pakora.

I took a catfish fillet, cut it up into bite size pieces and marinated in ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, and an array of spices – turmeric, chilli powder, paprika, onion powder, methi, amchur, cumin, coriander. I coated the pieces in chickpea flour and rice flour and fried the little nuggets until crispy.

For a nice contrast to the heat and spice of the fish – I topped the pakora with a sweet chilli sauce and for crunch – made a salad of onion, bell-pepper, and carrot seasoned with chaat masala.

These babies are super cute and fun – the perfect picnic sandwich or afternoon snack. This is what wavy Indian fusion is all about – taking traditional foods and presenting them in new dynamic ways.

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Fish Pakora Bao Buns

Ingredients

  • 3/4 lb fish fillet catfish, cod, halibut or fish of your choice
  • 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1/3 cup yogurt
  • 3 Tbsp rice flour
  • 3 Tbsp chickpea flour (besan)
  • 3 Tbsp rice flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt or to taste

Spice Blend (powdered spices)

  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek)
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp amchur powder
  • 2 tsp fennel

Salad

  • 1-2 carrots (cut into matchsticks)
  • 1 small onion
  • 1/2 bell pepper (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp chaat masala
  • lime juice to taste

Other Condiments/garnish

  • sweet chili sauce may substitute with mango chili sauce or chutney of your choice
  • 2 tbsp cilantro

Instructions

Fish Pakora

  1. Cut up your fillet into bite-size pieces.  Add your ginger-garlic paste, yogurt, spices, salt, rice flour, chickpea flour. Combine well and set aside for about 15 minutes. If the mixture is a little too clumpy, just add in some more yogurt and mix thoroughly.

  2. In a heavy-bottom pot or skillet add in about an inch or two of oil. Allow it to become nice and hot.

  3. Add in a handful of fish pieces at a time. They will only take a few minutes to cook thoroughly. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with paper-towel.

Bao Buns

  1. If you are using frozen ready-made buns, cook using the package insructions. You may steam or microwave. If steaming – line a bamboo steamer with some parchment. Place your bao buns in the steamer and cover with the lid. Move the steamer to a pot or pan filled with an inch or two of water. They should take about 15 minutes or so.

Assembly

  1. Place your salad ingredients (carrots, bell-pepper, onion, chaat masala) into the bao bun. Then add 3-4 pieces of your pakora and top with the sweet chili sauce. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Idli

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This week I wanted to do a more traditional South Indian recipe – something classic and comforting, healthy and wholesome and a homage my roots. Idli is all of these things and more and is served with a hot and spicy lentil soup called sambar or a tangy cilantro-coconut chutney. Check out my little home-video to see how I make it!

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Idli

A classic South Indian recipe – Idli is a soft and fluffy savory cake consisting of rice and lentils and accompanied with chutneys and sambar

Ingredients

  • 2 cups idli rice
  • 1 cup urad daal
  • 1 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds
  • 3/4 tsp salt to taste
  • 3 cups water may need less or more, looking for the consistency of pancake batter

Instructions

  1. Wash and rinse the idli rice and daal separetely for a few minutes. Try to remove as much of the cloudy starch as possible. 

  2. Add the idli rice and daal to two separate bowls and soak with water overnight. 

  3. The next day, drain the water. Add lentill/daal and idli rice to a high-processing blender along with some water and blend until fine.  You will likely have to do this in a few batches.

  4. Empty mixture into a large bowl. Cover with clean lint cloth or plastic wrap and place in a warm area with no drafts. Let it sit for 12-24 hours. (Note – if it’s winter, the idli batter will take longer to ferment. If it’s summer, it will happen much faster.)

  5. The next day, check the batter for signs of fermentation. The  batter should have a certain odor and bubble formation. Now add in your salt. (The reason we add the salt now and not before is because salt can slow down the fermentation process). 

  6. Get out your idli maker and gently brush some oil over the molds. 

  7. Add your idli batter to each mold. Slide your idli plates one by one on to the pole/rod. Add an inch of water to the steaming pot that comes with your idli maker. Gently drop the pole of idli molds into the steamer. (Tip – leave the bottom plate empty so you don’t have to worry about water seeping in. If this doesn’t make sense, just watch the video).  Place the whistle on the steamer and place on 

  8. The steamer should start to whistle. The idle will take about 15 minutes or so. Remove from heat and remove molds out of the steamer. 

  9. Wait a few minutes for idli to cool down and then gently, using a pairing knife, remove idli from the molds. If you oil them well enough, they should come out gently. 

  10. Serve with hot sambar and cool chutney. 

Meal-Prep Bean Salad

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Red Kidney Beans, Onion, Bell Pepper, Jicama, Carrot, Cilantro

My friends are all highly successful career-women with very little time to spare in the day for cooking.

And while they do seem to love seeing my 10-step fusion recipes with 20 different ingredients and 3 different sections, for the purpose of practicality they need something easy and reliable that they can make week-after-week that will keep the taste-buds satisfied and the waistline consistent.

So that’s why I thought it would be nice to share this simple, five-minute salad recipe.

It is so simple that I feel kinda embarrassed for sharing it but because it’s so freaking good I’ll have to relent.

I use diced jicama, carrot, red bell pepper, onion, cilantro along with some red kidney beans and some roasted sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes, I think is what gives this salad a fabulous kick compared to your average bean salad. Anyone who dislikes sweet potatoes can bite the dust.

I keep the dressing very simple here. Just a bit of lime juice, agave nectar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Salads are of course incredibly versatile so feel free to swap out vegetables or add additional ones such as lettuce or corn.

Make a whole batch of this salad Sunday night and add it to all your lunches throughout the week. You won’t be disappointed!

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Meal-Prep Bean Salad

A healthy meal-prep salad consisting of roasted sweet potatoes, jicama, carrots, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, beans and a dressing made with lime juice and agave nectar

Servings 5 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 sweet potatoes diced
  • 1 cup carrot diced
  • 1 cup jicama diced
  • 3/4 cup bell pepper diced
  • 3 Tbsp onion diced
  • 1 13 oz can of beans of your choice (black bean, kidney bean, cannelloni etc)
  • 2 Tbsp cilantro
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil (for roasting potatoes)

Dressing

  • 4 tsp agave nectar or honey
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • lime juice to taste
  • 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1/4 tsp pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Set your oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel and then dice your sweet potato. Coat with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer baking sheet to oven.

  2. Remove once sweet potatoes are lightly brown on the edges. This should take about 35 minutes. In the meantime, work on prepping your other ingredients.

  3. Chop your veggies in any shape, way, or form you’d like. For this salad, I prefer to dice over julienne. 

  4. Combine all the veggies and dressing ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust for seasoning as needed.