Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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Aloo Baingan

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Aloo-Bhaingan (translated as potato-eggplant) is a standard Indian vegetable curry that’s great to eat with roti or rice.

A couple things I do to make this curry even better –  

  1. Instead of simply adding the eggplant into the gravy, I like to thinly slice the eggplant and pan-fry it on both sides which makes for an all around more flavorful dish.
  • I also pan-fry the potatoes instead of just having them boil in the curry. An extra step, yet more flavorful. You get the subtle taste of french fries in the curry.
  • Tomato paste! Adds a more intense tomato-flavor and acidity that the grocery store tomatoes simply cannot give you.
  • Kasuri Methi – It’s one of my favorite things to put into Indian curries and will definitely elevate the dish.

Don’t forget to check out my TikTok video tutorial as well!

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Aloo Bhaingan

An Indian Eggplant and Potato Curry (Vegan!)

Ingredients

  • 1 eggplant
  • 1 medium-sized potato
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tomato
  • 1/2 bell pepper
  • 1 jalapeno
  • salt (to taste)
  • 1.5 tsp cumin
  • 1.5 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1.5 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
  • 1-2 squeezes of lime juice

Instructions

  1. Dice all your veggies. For the eggplant, I like to chop them into thin slices. Set them all aside.

  2. In a wide pan, heat up some olive oil. We're going to begin by pan-frying our eggplant in batches on both sides until lightly brown. Sprinkle a little bit of salt on both sides.

  3. Remove the eggplant from the pan and in the same pan we're going to add some more oil and shallow-fry our potato. I like to dice the potato into small pieces because it cooks faster. Make sure to season with salt as they cook.

  4. Once the potatoes become golden brown and crispy, remove them from the pan. In the same oil we shallow-fried the potatoes, you're going to make the gravy for the curry.

  5. Begin by sauteeing the diced onions, bell pepper, and jalapeno.

  6. Once the onions become translucent, add the ginger-garlic paste and a pinch of salt. Cook for a minute. Now add the tomato paste and allow that to really cook down and caramelize.

  7. Toss in the spices (cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chili powder). Cook for another minute or so.

  8. Now add your chopped tomato and the water. Bring to a simmer.

  9. Once it comes to a simmer, add the eggplant and potato you fried earlier into the gravy. Pop the lid on and turn the heat to low. Cook for about 10 minutes or so. The eggplant will absorb all that flavor.

  10. Remove the lid and toss in some crushed kasuri methi and lime juice. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Garnish with cilantro.

Butter Chicken Pasta

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This recipe is a combination of what TikTok seems to love the most – Butter Chicken and Gigi Hadid’s Penne Pasta without the Vodka.

A couple things I do differently here than my standard Butter Chicken Recipe –

  1. I add a good helping of tomato paste. Tomato paste enhances the flavor and it’s what Gigi Hadid uses in her viral pasta.
  2. Cashews are optional. While I love the nutty flavor in butter chicken, for this pasta I think you can omit them and save yourself the trouble of pulling out the immersion blender.
  3. Pasta water. This thickens the sauce nicely.
  4. Cheese! This is self-explanatory.
  5. I went a bit lighter on the amount of spices. You can certainly double up on the spices measurements if you’d like. But since I’m putting this in pasta with cheese, I added less garam masala which made for a more sweeter sauce.

This Butter Chicken Pasta is nothing short of comfort food at its finest!

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Butter Chicken Pasta

A cross between Butter Chicken and Gigi Hadid's Penne Pasta.

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 lb pasta of your choice
  • 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Chicken

  • 1 lb boneless chicken
  • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Pasta Sauce

  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 2 small onions (diced)
  • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 3 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1.5 tsp cumin
  • 1.5 tsp coriander
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • salt (to taste)
  • two 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
  • 1/4 cup yogurt
  • 1 cup reserved pasta water
  • 1 cup half and half (may substitute with heavy cream)
  • 2 tsp kasuri methi

Instructions

Chicken

  1. Dice your boneless chicken into small cubes. Combine the chicken, ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, turmeric, and salt. Let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. If you do not have time, you can skip the marination and jump straight to sauteeing.

  2. In a large pan, add a tablespoon or two of oil. Sear the chicken on each side until brown. Remove from pan. In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to boil for your pasta.

Pasta Sauce

  1. In the same pan you pan-fried the chicken pieces you will make the pasta sauce. Begin by melting the butter.

  2. Add the diced onion and cook until transluscent. Then add the ginger-garlic paste and tomato paste.

  3. Allow the tomato paste to really cook down and caramelize. Now add your spices – paprika, cumin, coriander, garam masala, sugar, salt to taste. Cook for a minute.

  4. Now add your two cans of tomato sauce (8 oz each). Stir and bring to a simmer. (At this step you can begin to boil your pasta.)

  5. Once it's simmering on low heat, slowly stir in your yogurt. This will ensure your yogurt doesn't look messy and curdled in the sauce.

  6. Now toss your chicken that you cooked earlier into the sauce. Allow the chicken to simmer in the sauce.

  7. While the pasta boils, take some the pasta water and add it to the sauce. This will help thicken the sauce. Allow it to reduce down.

  8. Add in the half and half (may also use heavy cream).

  9. Toss in your pasta, grated cheese, extra butter (if you'd like), and kasuri methi. Combine. Taste and adjust for seasonings.

  10. Serve and enjoy!

Rajma Veggie Burger

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Now that we’ve got Impossible and Beyond Burgers I’m not sure if anyone really cares much for the traditional veggie burger which is a shame because I still love a good patty made with actual veggies and beans all mashed together and seasoned well.

 It is its own entity and shouldn’t be compared to a beef burger or anything mimicking the latter either.

Instead of using black beans, for my veggie burger I like to use rajma aka red kidney beans. You can use the fresh ones or a take a short-cut with a can like I do here.

For the seasonings I use a mix of cumin, coriander, turmeric, chaat, masala and amchur. And for the veggies – I use finely diced onions, carrots, bell pepper, and peas.

This is an incredibly simple recipe, and great for all your 2021 weight loss goals. I know for a fact that I can’t be the only one who has gained weight in quarantine.

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Rajma Veggie Burger

Ingredients

  • 1 15 oz can of kidney beans (may substitute with freshly boiled kidney beans)
  • 1 medium-sized potato (boiled)
  • 2 Tbsp carrot (diced)
  • 2 Tbsp onion (diced)
  • 2 Tbsp bell pepper (diced)
  • 2 Tbsp cilantro (diced)
  • 2 Tbsp peas
  • 1 serrano pepper (may de-seed or leave out if you don't want it spicy)
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp chaat masala
  • 1/2 tsp amchur
  • salt (to taste)

Burger Assembly

  • 4-5 burger buns
  • mayo
  • avocado
  • tomato slices
  • sliced onion

Instructions

  1. Drain you kidney beans and set aside in a bowl. Peel and boil your potato in salted water.

  2. Once the potato is fork tender and has cooled down, add it to the bowl of kidney beans. Using a fork or potato masher, mash together.

  3. Now finely dice all your veggies and add to the potato and bean mixture.

  4. Toss in your spices and bread crumbs. Mix well.

  5. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Add salt accordingly.

  6. Now take scoopfuls of the veggie burger mixture and form into patties. This recipe should make about 4-5 patties.

  7. Set aside in the fridge for a few hours to firm up. (This is an optional step. If you can't wait, feel free to skip to frying them).

  8. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to a frying pan and fry the patties on medium-heat on each side until golden brown.

  9. Serve with buns and your favorite toppings. I like to add cheese, mayo, onion, and avocado!