Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

I don't eat to live. I live to eat.

Appetizers

Deep-Fried Shrimp Tacos with Papaya-Pomegranate Slaw and Peanut Dressing

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Deep Fried Shrimp Tacos with a Papaya-Pomegranate Slaw and a Peanut Dressing

This vibrant recipe came out of a Mystery Box Challenge I did for fun on my snapchat. If you guys watch MasterChef (which if you are a foodie and love reality-tv competitions like me, then you are most certain familiar with) then you know that mastering this pressure test is indeed a great feat of creative thinking, time management, technical skills, and acute focus.

The premise of the Mystery Box is that the contestants must create a restaurant quality dish in under 60 minutes with only the ingredients underneath the box and select pantry necessities (flour, eggs, sugar, lemons, spices, etc). Unlike in other shows such as Chopped, contestants may use as little or as many ingredients.

I wanted to see what I was capable of doing in the kitchen. I’ve been cooking for years now, and I’ve tried my hands at a number of dishes but I wanted to see if I was truly up to the mark.  And so I had my sister create a box for me. I told her to make sure to put things that could potentially pair well in all different combinations of sweet, salty, sour, savory. Well this is the box that she came up with –

 

It’s by no means a nightmare, but I can’t lie – the cereal did throw me off.

I was filming this on snap (I have a penchant for being attention-seeking on camera) and my friends were watching as each snap came in. I had to deliver.

And so it began. I got my knife ready. The timer started.

I can be quite neurotic in the kitchen. Nobody should get in my way or tell me what to do. Let me do my thing.

I decided to make shrimp tacos. And boy was it a smart choice. Much to my delight, Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal works amazing as a crunchy topping for shrimp! To counter the sweetness of the cereal, I added a little bit of turmeric and chili powder to the mix, then coated the shrimp in egg wash  and then the cereal.

 

The cabbage and papaya are crunchy and pair well together. The pomegranate gives a lovely deep red color and sweetness to the slaw. I then seasoned the slaw with  a simply citrus dressing with orange, red chili, salt, and sugar.

 

I struggled a little bit during the challenge with the dressing. The original plan was to make a peanut flavored aioli. But of course, my aioli was not thickening up and with 5 minutes remaining I poured in some cornstarch which of course made a gunky mess. I threw it out, started over with some peanut butter, oil, lime juice and that made a killer dressing.

I also made home-made tortillas. This challenge was the first time making them, and I was not aware that they consisted of a little bit of baking powder. Additionally, I should have made them less thick. So they came out a little dense. But you live and you learn from your mistakes. Next time, they’ll come out perfectly thin, soft, and pliable.

Sometimes the best dishes come from random ingredients from your fridge and the inner-workings of your mind. The deep-fried shrimp is crunchy and flavorful. The slaw adds an extra crunch and sweet and citrusy. The peanut dressing with lime adds extra flavor. All in all, this is an awesome taco that is sure to please!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 from 1 vote
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Deep Fried Shrimp Tacos with Papaya Pomegranate Slaw and Peanut Dressing

A taco consisting of deep-fried shrimp, a citrus-y slaw made of papaya, cabbage, pomegranate, and a peanut and chili dressing.

Servings 8 tacos

Ingredients

  • 7-10 flour tortillas

Shrimp

  • 1 lb shrimp (peeled and deveined; about 21-25 shrimp)
  • 1 cup Honey Bunches of Oats Almond Cereal
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2-2.5 cups vegetable/canola/peanut oil

Papaya-Pomegranate Slaw

  • 3/4 cups cabbage (shredded)
  • 3/4 cups papaya (shredded)
  • 1/4 cup red bell pepper diced (may substitute with orange or yellow)
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
  • 1 small red chilie (optional)
  • 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 3/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Peanut Dressing

  • 1.5 tbsp peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 2 tsp lime juice
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1/4 tsp sugar

Instructions

  1. Start by making your slaw. Shred your cabbage and papaya with either your knife or food processor. Chop your bell pepper into a small dice. Add in your pomegranate seeds.

  2. Now make the dressing for the slaw. Combine orange juice, salt, sugar, chili and mix. Add to the slaw. Taste and adjust salt and sugar.

  3. Now make your peanut dressing. Slowly add in the oil to the peanut butter and whisk. Add lime juice, chili powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk until uniform.

  4. In a food processor grind up your cereal until it resembles the size and texture of breadcrumbs. (You may also do this in a ziploc bag, by pounding it repeatedly on some hard surface.)

  5. Add the chili powder, turmeric, and salt to the cereal mix. Put aside in one bowl.

  6. In another bowl, whisk an egg. Set aside.

  7. If you haven't already done so, peel and devein your shrimp. Take a shrimp and with one hand, dip it into the egg mixture. Then coat the shrimp in the cereal mixture. Repeat this step until all shrimp are coated.

  8. Fill up to an inch or two of a heavy-bottom pot or wok  vegetable/canola/peanut oil. Allow it to reach a temperature of approximately 375 F.

  9. Add a handful of shrimp at a time into the oil and fry until golden brown. The shrimp will only take 1-2 minutes to cook.

  10. Time to assemble. Take your flour tortilla, add your slaw, then your shrimp, and lastly the peanut dressing. Serve with lime wedges.

Fried Chicken – Indian Style

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Fried chicken is one of those timeless classics that has been done a million times over, and yet how could I not include it on my blog?

You know I’m brown so I just have to put an Indian twist on it. And let me tell ya brown people love fried food. We got our pakoras, samosas, puris, you name it. And even though fried chicken is not an Indian food, you can bet that if you set it on an iftar table, it will be gone in seconds.

What makes this recipe Indian-style, is the stuff in the marinade. I add ginger-garlic paste into the buttermilk along with a little bit of garam masala, turmeric, chili powder and some cut up green chilies. When you let this sit overnight, the buttermilk tenderizes the meat and the ginger-garlic paste really penetrates the chicken and packs a punch without being too overpowering.

I then dredge the chicken into a mixture of flour and classic fried chicken seasonings – onion powder, black pepper, paprika. Finally, I fry these up until they are nice and golden brown. You can use any cut of the chicken for this recipe, of course, but I generally like to use wings because they fry up quick. When I do use bigger pieces (such as thighs and drumsticks), I place the pieces on a baking rack and finish cooking them off in the oven after frying.

 And there you have it guys! A super flavorful, crunchy, crispy fried chicken. So damn good!

I really enjoy serving these with Frank’s Hot Sauce©, but any good barbecue or hot sauce will do. Make this for a summer cookout, a Sunday gameday, a birthday, and I’m telling you and your fried chicken will definitely be the talk of the party.

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Fried Chicken - Indian Style

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 5 people

Ingredients

Marinade

  • 1.5 cup buttermilk
  • 3 lbs chicken pieces
  • 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 2 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 2 green chilies (optional)
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp chicken 65 spice mix

Coating

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 quart oil (for frying)

Instructions

  1. Take your marinade ingredients - buttermilk, chilli powder, salt, garam masala, green chillies (cut into big pieces) and mix with a whisk or fork. (If you don't have ginger-garlic paste on hand, you can make some by combining 5-6 cloves of garlic with a 1 inch knob of ginger in a food processor or by finely grating using a microplane.)

  2. Add in your chicken pieces. I like to use wings for this recipe, but feel free to use any combination of drumsticks, thighs, breasts as well. Let it sit in the fridge overnight or for at least 6 hours.

  3. When you're ready to fry, take your chicken out of the fridge. In a shallow bowl, add your flour and spices and combine with a whisk.

  4. Take your chicken piece and shake off excess marinade. With one hand, dip it into the flour and make sure the entire piece is well coated. Place on a plate or rack. Continue to do this for all pieces.

  5. Add your oil to a wok or a heavy-bottomed pot and get it nice and hot. If you are using a thermometer, the oil should be about 350F. Before you add your chicken to the oil, make sure the chicken isn't stone-cold and has reached room-temperature.

  6. Add a few pieces at a time to the oil. Fry until golden brown. If the chicken is taking a while to fry, then your oil is not hot enough. Add less chicken and raise the heat. If the chicken is frying quickly and nearly burning, lower the heat and add more chicken to the pot to help drop the temperature. The internal temp of the chicken should be 165F.

Onion and Potato Pakora

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Onion and Potato Pakora

Are you even desi if you don’t have some crispy fresh-out-of-the-oil pakora on your iftar table? These spicy and crispy fritters are sure as hell to add to your waistline. But hey it’s Ramadan. After a long fast you deserve to indulge a little bit. (At least that’s what I keep telling myself anyway). They aren’t the most glamorous-looking things by any means; nonetheless they are sure to satisfy your deep-fried desi-food cravings.

People make all sorts of pakora – eggplant, different mirchis (peppers), even fish! But if you ask my opinion, I think onion pakora are the truly the best. The onions add a sweetness that counters the spicy batter creating something so phenomenally good.

Pakora spices 

aromatics for pakora (left to right), cilantro, mint, ginger, curry leaves

For this recipe, mash up some boiled potatoes. Then chop up some onions into moon-shaped slices and add in some grated ginger, curry leaves, mint, cilantro, and chopped green chilies to some chickpea (gram) and rice flour. For spices use all your classics – turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, cumin, a tad bit of garam masala and a few heaping tablespoons of fennel powder (according to my Mom, that is the secret ingredient that makes these so damn flavorful).  Fry them up slowly until they are nice and dark golden brown. Serve these with your favorite chutney or hot sauce and the whole fam will be gobbling these down at iftar until there are absolutely none left.

Potatoes, Chilies, Spices

Pakora Batter

Frying Pakora – getting them nice and golden brown

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Onion Pakora

Course Appetizer
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 7 people

Ingredients

  • 1 potato (about 2/3 cup mashed)
  • 4-5 serrrano chillies
  • 2 cup onion (sliced)
  • 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • 1 tbsp mint (chopped)
  • 3 tbsp ginger (grated)
  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • 1/2 cup rice flour
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 quart canola/vegetable oil (for frying)

spices

  • 1.5-2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp crushed chili pepper (or to taste)
  • 2 Tbsp fennel powder
  • 1 Tbsp coriander
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 3/4 tsp tumeric
  • 1/4 tsp ajwan seeds

Instructions

  1. Peel your potatoes and put them in a pot of water. Turn on the heat to high and let them boil.

  2. In the meantime, prep all your ingredients for the batter. Slice up your onions into crescent-shaped slices.

  3. Finely dice your chilies. (If you can't tolerate spice that well, then use less or feel free to de-seed them.)

  4. Chop up your cilantro and mint and grate your ginger with a microplane zester. If you don't have one, you can place the ginger in a mini-grinder or food-processor.

  5. Once your potatoes are fork-tender, drain them and add them to a bowl. Mash them up with a fork or a potato masher or your hands. (Just make sure they are cool enough before if you do use hands!)

  6. Add in your salt, spices, chilies, cilantro, mint, ginger and combine. Then add in your flours and continue to mix until everything is evenly distributed.

  7. Add your water. Mix well. Your batter should be the consistency of a thick banana bread (not thin like cake batter but not thick enough to be a bread dough).

  8. Fill either a heavy-bottom pot, dutch oven, or wok with oil and let it come to a medium-high temperature.

  9. Using a metal spoon, drop spoonfuls of batter into your oil.

  10. Fry until golden brown. Once done, remove with slotted spoon or tongs and lay on a paper-towel lined plate. (Pakora take their time to fry. If they are turning brown too fast, they'll end up being raw on the inside. And so you'll have to slightly turn down the temp and/or add more pakora to the pot in order to decrease the temperature. If they are taking too long, then your temp is too low. Raise the heat and add less to the pot.)