Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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Ras Malai Ice Cream

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Ras Malai is a traditional Indian dessert most often served at weddings. It consists of a sponge-like discs soaked in a sweet milk syrup flavored in cardamom and saffron. It’s got an interesting texture – some hate it and liken it to wet paper, others love it and find it incredibly addictive.

Well no matter how you may feel about ras malai, you are going to love this ice cream.

And no, this is not kulfi (which is made with khoya). I’ll save that recipe for another day.

And the best part is that it requires no ice cream machine at all!

I am not a fan of the three-ingredient no churn ice cream – sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, sugar that’s swept the food blogging world by a storm in the past few years. It tastes like sweet whipped cream to me. Not ice cream.

So instead, I decided to go with a lovely semifreddo base. Semifreddo in Italian translates into “Semi-frozen” and is a cross between gelato and soft-serve. To start off, I whisk egg yolks and sugar together over a double-broiler until it thickens and turns pale yellow. I then fold in heavy cream that’s been whipped into stiff peaks to give it a heavenly airy-like consistency.

Since this is ras malai, I of course added saffron and cardamom. But since most Indian desserts contain those two ingredients anyway, that in itself is not enough to get someone to recognize that this indeed is a ras malai ice cream.

My secret ingredient is ricotta cheese.

Okay, do not freak out. I know what you’re thinking. Ricotta is not found in Ras Malai whatsoever. 

But I’m telling you, It’s genius. Ras malai is made out of milk that’s been curdled and strained – the makings of cottage cheese or paneer. Ricotta gives this ras malai ice cream a very similar texture without giving a funny taste.

To round everything about, I add in a squeeze of lemon juice and stir everything together. I pour it all into a tubberware container with a lid on it (or if you want to go that traditional semifreddo shape, you can use a loaf pan) and plop it straight into the freezer. This ice cream takes about 6 hours to freeze or preferably overnight.

And there you have it, a super fun ice cream that is sure to wow all your guests! It’s bold, it’s sweet, it’s creamy, and is the complete embodiment of an Indian summer in a cone.

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Ras Malai Ice Cream

A no machine ice cream using a semifreddo custard base flavored with saffron and cardamom

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 6 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 5-7 saffron threads
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (or to taste)
  • 1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (full fat)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp crushed almonds and/or pistacchios optional

Instructions

  1. Set up a double broiler. Add an inch of water to a pot. Bring to a boil. Find a bowl that fits over the bowl without touching the water. 

  2. In the bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar. Add on top of double broiler. Lower the heat. Whisk vigorously for five minutes, or until mixture has turned a pale yellow. Do not let eggs overcook and scramble or else you will have to start over!

  3. Remove custard from double boiler and allow to cool. 

  4. Using an electric or hand-held mixer, whip up the heavy cream until you get stiff peaks. Once custard has cooled, fold it into the mixture.

  5. Soak the saffron strands in 1 tsp of hot water. Add to the ice cream. 

  6. Add in your ricotta, lemon juice, cardamom. Combine thoroughly. 

  7. Pour into container and cover. Let it freeze for at least 6 hours or ideally overnight.

  8. When serving garnish with chopped nuts (optional). 

Loaded Chicken Tikka Nachos

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Alright we’re about half-way through Ramadan. You haven’t had a proper night’s sleep in over two weeks, you’re devastated at the fact that you’ve gained 10 pounds, you’ve probably snapped at a family member or was at the receiving-end of someone’s hangry tyrannical rampade, and you’ll explode if your non-muslim co-worker asks you again, “Not even water?”

You’re just plain exhausted. And the energy you had at the beginning of the month to make a ten item iftar meal including pakoras, dahi vadas, samosas, fruit chaat, rooh-afza plus actual dinner just simply isn’t there. You want something quick, simple, and easy.

Good news! I’ve got just the treat for you.

These loaded Indian-style nachos are fast, simple, and a real crowd-pleaser. They consist of spicy shredded chicken cooked in tikka masala spices, spicy rajma or red kidney beans, and a creamy and vibrant avocado chutney.

 

Let’s start off with the chicken. If you do have some left over chicken tikka or tandoori chicken in your fridge, you can of course save yourself time and add that to the nachos. If you don’t, fear not.  My shredded chicken is a fairly painless process, and I find it’s less likely to dry out then thicker pieces cut up chicken breast.

To make shredded chicken, I boil boneless chicken thighs/breasts in a pot of boiling water along with some ginger-garlic paste and (halal) chicken bouillon cube. You can of course add whatever you want to the water, the point is to make a flavorful stock for the chicken!

Let the chicken slow-cook for about an hour or so until it’s shreddable with a fork. (If you’re really pressed for time, you could probably get away with doing it in 35-40 minutes by constantly breaking it up with your tongs or a fork!)

Once the chicken has finished slow-cooking and all the water has evaporated, I take the chicken out of the pot and in the same pot, I add in some oil, tomato paste, chicken tikka masala spices and throw my chicken back in and allow it to absorb all those wonderful flavors.

Instead of adding plain old beans straight out of the can, I wake them up a little by making rajma – a spicy red kidney bean curry. I start off by sautéing some onions and serrano in some oil and then add in a chopped tomato. I then add in my beans and allow them to simmer in the delicious sauce until it becomes nice and thick. I season with a generous amount of cumin powder and cilantro and my bland beans are now transformed into mouth-watering goodness.

I also made an avocado chutney but you can totally substitute with guacamole if you’d like! I blend up some toasted cashews, cilantro, avocado, green chilie, onion, salt, and lime juice into my mini food processor. It’s tart and creamy and absolutely delicious.

 

Assembly is super easy and takes no time at all. First make a layer of tortilla chips (if you want to be super Indian, you can also use leftover parathas and naan), then add chicken and beans, then some cilantro, then heaping handfuls of cheese, then another layer and so forth until you’re satisfied with the amount you’ve made.

Pop it in the broiler and take them out once the cheese has melted, and there you go!  Now top with all your favorite condiments – chutneys, guac, salsa, sour cream – whatever your fasting stomach desires.

This is a fun appetizer to have on your iftar table and kids and grown ups alike will  absolutely devour them!

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Loaded Chicken Tikka Nachos

Indo-Mexican loaded nachos with shredded chicken tikka, rajma (spicy red kidney beans), and an avocado chutney

Ingredients

  • tortilla chips (about 1/2 a bag)
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Shredded Chicken Tikka

  • 3/4 lb boneless chicken thighs and/or breasts
  • 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1/2 chicken stock cube may substitute with 2-3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
  • 2 tsp oil
  • 2 tsp yogurt or sour cream
  • salt to taste

spices for shredded chicken tikka *** may substitute with store-bought masala mix

  • 1/4 tsp amchur powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp coriander
  • 1/4 tsp fennel powder
  • 1/4 tsp dried kasuri methi leaves
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 pinch of sugar

Rajma (Red Kidney beans)

  • 2 tsp oil
  • 1 15.5 oz red kidney beans
  • 1/2 small onion (3-4 tbsp)
  • 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 serrano or jalapeno chilie
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1 tbsp cilantro

Avocado Chutney *** may also substitute with guacamole

  • 1 avocado
  • 2 tbsp cashews
  • 1 handful cilantro
  • 1 serrano chilie
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1/2 small onion
  • salt to taste

Optional Garnish

  • sour cream
  • chopped red onion
  • guacamole
  • hot sauce
  • salsa

Instructions

Shredded Chicken Tikka

  1. Add your chicken pieces to a pot of boiling water/stock. Add in your ginger-garlic paste and boillion cube. Bring to a boil and remove fat that arises at the top.

  2. Lower heat to medium and stir. Allow chicken to tenderize until it easily shreds. This should take 45 minutes - 1 hour. In the meantime, you can make your rajma and chutney. 

  3. Use a fork or tongs to help break up the chicken. Once chicken is shredded and water has evaporated, remove chicken from pot/pan. In same pot, add in your oil and tomato paste. Allow tomato paste to break down. then add in your chicken back to the pot and the chicken tikka spices. Combine well. 

  4. Add in a pinch of sugar and yogurt. Stir and adjust for salt. 

Rajma

  1.  Rinse and wash the kidney beans and set aside. 

  2. Chop up half a small onion and a serrano or jalapeno. Add to a hot pan along with ginger-garlic paste and sautee in oil.  

  3. Add in cumin and coriander powder, salt, and chopped tomato. Stir. Then add in our beans. Cook for a few minutes until tomatoes break down and thicken up. Garnish with cilantro. 

Nacho Assembly

  1. Set your broiler to 500 F. On a large baking sheet-pan, add one layer of chips, then chicken and beans, then cheese. Repeat until you are satisfied with amount of nachos. 

  2. Set tray in the oven and allow the cheese to melt. Once melted, remove from tray. 

  3. Garnish nachos with chutney, hot sauce, guacamole, sour cream etc. Your nachos are ready to serve!

Dahi Vada

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Dahi vada is the quintessential desi iftar comfort food; you’d be hard-pressed not to spot it at least a few iftar parties that you go to. It’s tangy, cool, fried yet not heavy, and full of amazing aromatics – thus making it the perfect dish to break a long day’s fast with.

There are different variations on the dish depending on where you are from. This is a Hyderabadi version and is my mother’s recipe.

As the name indicates, there are two key components to this dish – the dahi (yogurt) and the vada.

I start off by making vada. Vada are essentially soft fried little fritters. There are two main types of vada – one made with urad daal (lentil) and the other with besan (chickpeas flour). This time around I used chickpea flour, although urad daal makes a killer vada as well.

I take some chickpeas flour and add in some spices/salt (cumin, coriander, chilli powder, fennel powder), ginger-garlic paste, along with some cilantro, green onions, and curry leaves. I mix in some water along with a pinch of baking powder until I get the consistency of thick pancake batter.

I then take spoonful’s of the batter and fry them up until they are a lovely golden brown.  They will puff up and should be airy and light in texture. I then add the vada into dahi that has been thinned out with water.

But this dish is not just fritters dipped in yogurt. Instead, I add in a bit of garlic and temper some oil with some brilliant aromatics – mustard seeds, cumin, dried chilies, curry leaves, asafoetida. I then add that on top of the yogurt. This step right here is what makes this dish so phenomenally, mouth-watering good.

This dish is special in my household because it is only made in Ramadan. It’s delectable and comforting and if you plate it right, it can definitely be a visual show-stopper as well!

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Dahi Vada

Ingredients

Vada (fritters)

  • 1.5 cup chickpea flour (besan)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 3/4 tsp fennel powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • 1 green onion
  • 3-4 mint leaves optional
  • 1 - 1 1/4 cup water
  • 3-4 cups oil for frying

Dahi (yogurt)

  • 3 cup yogurt
  • 2 1/2 - 3 cup water (or to taste)
  • 1 tbsp salt (or to taste)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 serrano pepper (optional)
  • 1.5 tbsp oil
  • 3/4 tsp cumin seeds
  • 3/4 tsp mustard seeds
  • 6-7 dried ancho chilies
  • 6-8 curry leaves
  • 1 pinch asoefitida

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, add in your chickpea flour along with your spices and salt. Whisk and combine. (Don't add the baking soda just yet.)

  2. Chop your cilantro, mint, green onions, and curry leaves. Add and combine to flour. 

  3. Slowly add in your water and mix. You want the mixture to attain the consistency of pancake batter (thick but still a little runny). 

  4. Let batter sit for 30-40 minutes. Before frying, mix in the baking soda.

  5. In a wok or heavy-bottom pot, add in your oil. Allow it to reach a temperature of about 350 F. 

  6. Add a few heaping tablespoon full of batter to your oil at a time. Fry until golden brown. The vadas should puff up. If they are taking too long, increase your heat and add less. If they are frying up quickly they will be raw on the inside. Lower the heat and/or add more vadas to the pot. 

  7. Remove with a slotted spoon and let it sit on a plate lined with paper-towel. 

  8. Add vadas to some warm water for 10-15 minutes. Let them soak a bit so they turn soft.

  9. Now work on your dahi (yogurt). Add your yogurt to a large serving bowl or tray with higher sides. Add water depending on how thin or thick you want your dahi mixture to be. Add salt to taste (this will depend on how much water you add as well - thicker mixture will require less salt). 

  10. Finely mince the serrano chili and garlic and mix. (You may also whiz it up in a food processor or electric grinder.) Remove vada from water and add in to the yogurt and make sure each one is soaked. 

  11. Before serving, temper your oil. Start off by having all your ingredients ready - curry leaves, dried ancho chilies, mustard seeds, and cumin seed- and set them aside.

  12. In a small frying pan or pot on medium heat, add in your oil and then your cumin and mustard seeds. Once they become fragrant and start to pop (after a minute or two), add in your dried chilies and curry leaves. Remove off heat and stir around for thirty seconds. Make sure nothing burns. 

  13. Spoon immediately over the dahi vada. Be careful not to let the hot oil splatter on yourself.

  14. Your dahi vada is ready to serve!