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Spicy Kheema Spaghetti

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Growing up I always had a deep craving for what was considered “White people’s food” – burgers, hot dogs, pasta. Now of course I had access to it, but eating zabihah halal, I was limited to only eating vegetarian and seafood unless of course my mom made it for me using halal meat at home.

But much to my disappointment, there was no way she was going to ever produce a hot cheesy lasagna or a crispy chicken parmesan, no matter how many times she’d seen it on Food Network. These were anghraizi food and my mother was not anghraizi and therefore was not about to make these things. If I was hungry I was going to have to be satisfied with daal chawal.

So when I did request my mother to make spaghetti for me as a kid, I knew there wasn’t a chance in hell that she was going to pull out a block of parmesan or chop up a sprig of basil …these ingredients were foreign to her.

Instead she came up with this dish.

With spicy ground beef/lamb marinated in turmeric, fennel powder, and lots of garlic cooked along with onions, tomatoes, and chilies – this literally is the Indian version of a  spaghetti and meat sauce. And after trying some, I didn’t care if it wasn’t authentic Italian like the way I saw Giada make it; it was too damn delicious.

I recently asked my mom for the full recipe, did a bit of adjusting, and now I am sharing it here with you all.

I start off by marinating the kheema (ground beef) in turmeric, fennel powder, coriander, cumin, and lots of garlic – this makes the kheema super flavorful. I then add in onion, bell pepper, serrano chilies, and fresh tomatoes along with some water to make a thick meat sauce.

Instead or oregano or basil, I add in a generous helping of fresh cilantro and toss it in some pasta noodles such as spaghetti or linguini.

This is a wonderful comfort dish, an easy week-night meal, and super kid-friendly!

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Spicy Kheema Spaghetti

Ingredients

  • 1 lb spaghetti, linguine, or pasta of your choice
  • 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb ground beef or lamb (may also substitute with plant-based ground meat or diced mushrooms)
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp fennel power
  • 3/4 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 2 small onions
  • 2-3 jalapenos or serranos
  • 1 28 oz crushed tomatoes can (or substitute with 5-6 fresh tomatoes chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/3 cup cilantro (chopped)

Instructions

Spicy Kheema Meat Sauce

  1. Add your olive oil to a hot pan and begin to brown the ground meat.

  2. Add in your salt and seasonings, cook the meat through.

  3. Once the meat has browned, add in your diced onions and serrano chilies.

  4. Once the onion becomes translucent, stir in the ginger-garlic paste and cook for a few minutes.

  5. Now add in your chopped tomatoes. Stir around. Add in about 1/2 a cup of water in order to attain the consistency of a sauce.

  6. The water will gradually evaporate and the meat sauce will thicken. Add in the sugar and taste and adjust for seasonings.

Pasta

  1. In a large stock pot, boil a quart or so of salted water. To boil faster, cover with a lid.

  2. Once the pasta water has come to a rapid boil, add in the pasta. Cook until al-dente. Should take about 10-11 minutes. (See package instructions.)

  3. Drain the pasta and toss in the meat sauce. Garnish with cilantro. Your pasta dish is ready to serve!

Chili Chicken

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Indo-Chinese is super popular in India; although I am not quite sure if it holds the same regard in China. In any case, this week-night chicken dish will knock your socks off. It’s savory, it’s bold, it’s hot, and the perfect thing to make when you are craving something that requires little effort.

Chili Chicken is actually an Indo-Chinese concept – you take the holy trinity of  traditional Indian marinade – ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, and chili powder – combine that with soy sauce and wok-cooking and boom! You’ve got yourself a match made in heaven!

I start off by chopping up boneless chicken thighs into bite-size cubes and marinating them in soy sauce, chilli powder, paprika, turmeric, and ginger-garlic paste. Since this is a chili chicken, be generous with the chili powder. If you are a bit of a wimp, you can of course decrease the ratio of chilli powder to paprika which will still give you intense color and flavor without the heat.

 

 

What makes my chili chicken different than some other recipes is that I also add in a finely diced bell pepper and serrano chilie. It adds a little bit of extra sweetness, plus sneaks in some veggies.

 

Next is ketchup. I know some people might find it weird and gross, but its sweetness balances out the rest of the flavors and it is in fact authentically used in several Indian street foods.

 

 

My secret ingredient is MSG. I always say, “A little MSG hurt nobody.” I know it’s got a bad rep but after doing some research, I am truly convinced that the negativity it has received has been truly overblown.

If you’ve ever watched “Ugly Delicious” on Netflix (if you haven’t, I highly recommend you do, it’s a great food docu-series) then you’ve probably seen the episode on Chinese food where David Chang completely rips apart the notion of “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”  – a name given to attribute GI intolerance to supposed MSG used in Chinese cooking when the reality of the matter is that MSG is found in several products (such as chips, cheese, salad dressing) but people seem to only attribute it to Chinese food  – hence making you critically think about how racism has impacted the way we view ethnic food in American food culture.

After coating the chicken in the marinade, the rest of it is pretty straight-forward; you toss everything together and allow it to cook down until the coating on the chicken caramelizes, forming a lovely charred crust on the exterior of the chicken pieces.

 

 

 

And there you have it! An amazing Indo-Chinese chicken dish. You can eat this up with naan, toss it in noodles, or even roll it up in a paratha like I did here for a killer lunch!

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Chili Chicken

An easy to make Indo-Chinese chicken dish that combines the holy trinity of Indian cooking - turmeric, chili powder, ginger-garlic paste with soy sauce, msg, and wok cooking.

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Chili Chicken

  • 1.5 lb boneless chicken thigh and/or breast
  • 4 tsp soy sauce
  • 3/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
  • 1/2 bell pepper (finely diced)
  • 1 small green chilie
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 3/4 tsp msg or to taste
  • 1-2 tsp lime juice (or to taste)
  • 2 1/2 tsp oil
  • 2 tsp hot sauce (such as Frank's) optional

Instructions

  1. Begin by marinating your chicken. Combine soy sauce, turmeric, chilli powder, paprika and add to chicken. Mix well. Let sit for 30 minutes or keep in the fridge for up to 12 hours.

  2. Add oil to a frying pan or wok on medium-high heat. Add and sautee the finely diced bell pepper for a few minutes. 

  3. Now add chicken. Toss and cook for a few minutes. Then add in ketchup. 

  4. Allow liquid to evaporate. With time, the ketchup will caramelize and form a nice charred coating on the chicken. This process should take about 15 minutes. 

  5. Add in your lime juice, hot sauce, and salt. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Garnish with fresh cilantro. 

Thai Fish Tacos

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This recipe combines two of my favorite things in the food world – tacos and thai food.

If you’re  a boring and dull traditionalist who thinks certain foods should only be cooked a certain way, that certain cuisines should not mix with other cuisines, and that fusion is “weird and confusing” then this probably isn’t for you. Heck, most of the recipes on this blog are probably not for you.

But if you’re down for all sorts of cool and creative food combinations, funky alternatives to the typical fare, and vibrant and fun dishes, then you’ll love this. And let me assure you, this recipe totally works!

I begin by making a simple pad thai sauce – a sweet, sticky, sour, salty concoction made with three quintessential thai ingredients – fish sauce, palm sugar, and tamarind concentrate. (If you have a bottle of good quality pad thai sauce already in your cabinet, you may forgo this step.)

 

If you’re already familiar with palm sugar, you’ll know it’s as hard as a brick and so you’ll have to dissolve in water along with the rest of the ingredients over the stove (if you cannot find it, you can always substitute with brown sugar).

I add half of the sauce to the fish marinade, and the other half to the crunchy slaw.

For the rest of the fish marinade, I whiz up some bell pepper, serrano chilie, shallot, and ginger in a food processor along with a bit of lime juice. This combination along with the pad thai sauce ensures that the fish has an amazing depth of flavor. I dare you to make this for someone who claims to hate fish and see if they change their mind.

I let the fish sit in the marinade for about 20 minutes or so and fry it in a pan until both sides are golden brown and the fillet is opaque throughout. Once cooked, I let them sit on a plate and lightly flake the pieces with a fork.

 

 

The slaw is crunchy and delightful; for a thai twist I added shallots, roasted peanuts, and sprouts to cabbage and carrots.

 

 

To assemble these, I heat up some tortillas, add a dollop of mayonnaise to the center, spread it all around, add the flaked fish, and then the slaw. Serve these babies up with some sliced lime wedges and extra sriracha.

And there you have it! A recipe that contains the flavors of a pad thai but in a fun summer-time-by-the-beach taco package.

 

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Thai Fish Tacos

A fish taco with pad thai flavors and a crunchy slaw consisting of cabbage, carrot, shallots, peanuts, and sprouts. 

Servings 9 tacos

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb fish fillet (tilapia, cod, halibut)
  • 7-8 tortillas (flour or corn)
  • 1/4 cup sriracha mayonnaise (optional condiment)

Pad Thai Sauce (divided) (you may substitute with store-bought)

  • 1-2 tsp tamarind concentrate *or to taste
  • 1.5 tbsp palm sugar *may substitute with brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tsp lime juice
  • 1/2 cup water

Fish Marinade

  • 1 shallot
  • 1 serrano chilie
  • 1/4 bell pepper
  • 1 small piece ginger
  • 2-3 tbsp pad thai sauce (see above)
  • 2 tsp lime juice

Slaw

  • 2 cups cabbage
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 carrot
  • 1/3 cup sprouts
  • 2 tbsp roasted peanuts
  • 2-3 tbsp pad thai sauce (see above)
  • 3/4 tsp red chili flakes
  • salt (to taste)

Instructions

Pad Thai Sauce

  1. Combine ingredients (palm sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind, water) in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar has dissolved and sauce has slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings. ***Note: The amount of tamarind concentrate you add will depend on the brand. Darker brands are more concentrated and tart so add conservatively. **** Allow to cool.

Fish

  1. Begin by making your marinade. In a small food processor or blender, whiz up the bell pepper, chilie, shallot, lime juice, and ginger. Coat your fish fillet(s) in a shallow bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoon of the pad thai sauce to the marinade. Adjust for seasoning. Let sit for 20 minutes.

  2. Bring a frying pan to medium-high heat. Add a little bit of oil to coat the pan and fry the fish fillets on both sides. The fish will be ready to turn once the flesh turns opaque about half-way up the side. 

  3. Let the fish sit on a plate and gently flake with a fork. 

Slaw

  1. Chop up all your ingredients (cabbage, carrots, peanuts, shallots, sprouts) finely. Combine well. Dress with pad thai sauce, chilli flakes, and lime juice. Adjust for seasonings. 

Taco Assembly

  1. Warm your tortillas in the oven or over the stove. Add a small dollop of sriracha mayo and spread around. Then add a generous helping of fish and top with slaw. Serve with lime wedges and sriracha.