Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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

Main Dishes

Shrimp Biryani

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Shrimp Biryani is one of my favorite types of biryanis and a great weeknight dish when you want biryani but don’t have the time it takes to cook a chicken or lamb biryani which often requires you to marinate your meat overnight.

Biryani is mostly about getting ratios right – there needs to be the right amount of rice to masala, the correct amount of spices, yogurt, ghee, and fried onions. Too much or too little of anything can throw the whole dish off.

For the shrimp biryani, I start off by sauteeing the shrimp in the same pot I fried my biryani onions in along with some chili powder and turmeric. I then made a paste with some ginger, garlic, and serrano chilies (allows more of the heat and flavor of the chilies to come through) and added it to the shrimp with some salt, yogurt, garam masala and biryani masala. Some people also like to add tomatoes but I do not add any to my shrimp biryani.  

The rice is pretty standard – I parboil it and add all the typical aromatics – cardamom, cloves, mace, peppercorn,  shahzeera, fennel powder (except cinnamon which I feel is too strong for shrimp biryani but works great in a lamb biryani).

I then layer the shrimp biryani in the following order – rice, shrimp, fried onions, cilantro, another layer of rice, fried onions, lime juice, saffron, butter. Cover.

If you are using an oven – cook at 350 F for about 20-25 minutes or so. If you are using your stove-top, cook for about 5 minutes on high-heat and 8-10 minutes on low heat. As you can see it comes together very quickly!

I didn’t post many pictures showing the step-by-step process because I did in fact make a Tik Tok video for it. Follow me at fatimasfabkitchen.

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Shrimp Biryani

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 5-7 Tbsp butter and or/oil (divided plus more for frying onions)
  • 1 2/3 cup sliced onion (to fry)
  • 1 lb shrimp
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 1 large piece of ginger
  • 4-5 serrano chilies (divided)
  • 2/3 cup yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp garam masala
  • 3 Tbsp biryani masala
  • salt or to taste
  • 2/3 cup cilantro (chopped)
  • 4-5 mint leaves
  • lime juice (to taste)
  • 3-4 saffron strands (optional)

Rice

  • 2 1/4 cup basmati rice
  • 1 mace
  • 3 cardamom
  • 2 clove
  • 1 tsp shahzeera
  • 1 tsp fennel powder
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 Tbsp salt (to salt the water)

Instructions

Biryani Onions

  1. In a pot, add a couple tablespoons of oil. Add your sliced onions and stir on high heat for a few minutes. Then turn the heat down to medium low and fry until golden brown. Be careful not to burn the onions! Set the onions aside.

Shrimp Masala

  1. In the same pot you fried your onions, add some more butter or oil (if necessary). Now add in your peeled and de-veined shrimp.

  2. Add a teaspoon of chili powder and turmeric each. Stir and cook until shrimp is pink.

  3. Now take your ginger, garlic, and a couple of serrano chilies and form a paste by grinding the ingredients together in a blender. Add to the shrimp. Cook for five minutes.

  4. Now add in your salt, yogurt, garam masala, and biryani masala. You can add some whole serrano chilies (add some slits) too. Add a couple tablespoons of water and cook down for several minutes. At the end, the gravy should be mostly dry.

  5. Toss in some chopped cilantro and mint. Set aside.

Rice and Assembly

  1. Wash and rinse your basmati rice very well. Soak the rice in cold water for about 30 minutes or so.

  2. In the meantime, fill a pot with water and add your aromatics -bay leaves, shahzeera, fennel powder, cardamom, mace, cloves and a tablespoon or so of salt. Bring to a ferocious boil.

  3. Once your rice soaking in water turns translucent, add it to the boiling water. Cook for a couple of minutes or until almost al-dente. The basmati rice shouldn't be about 80% of the way cooked through.

  4. In your assembly pan or pot add a layer of rice. Then your shrimp. Then cilantro, half of your fried onions, then another layer of rice, more fried onions, butter, and saffron (make sure to soak the strands in a few tablespoons of warm milk).

  5. If you are baking in the oven, make sure to cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake at 375 F for about 25 minutes. If you are using the stove, cover your pot with foil and top with the lid so that no steam escapes. Cook on high-heat for 5 minutes, then turn the stove to low-heat and cook for another 8 minutes or so.

Tamarind Salmon

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Weeknight baked salmon is a go-to for most people because it’s incredibly healthy and even the non-fish lovers get on board. Therefore, I thought it was high-time that I did my own version.

For the marinade, I make a lovely spice rub with cumin, coriander, and fennel. I also add in a good amount of chilli powder for some heat along with some freshly grated garlic and ginger.

I then add in the star of the marinade – the tamarind and jaggery which bring about equal amount of acidity and sweetness and bring out those classic South Indian flavors.

In terms of cooking the salmon – there are multiple ways to do it and you don’t have to do it how I did it.

First I took the salmon and brined it in just some salt water for an hour. This helps keep the fish moist later. Instead of baking it at 425 F, I actually broiled it for a few minutes on each side. This is a great method if you are in a rush and don’t have any time to spare. The fish came out nice and caramelized while still remaining flaky and tender on the inside.

I served my big salmon fillet with some South-Indian style lemon rice but you can of course do whatever – quinoa, salad, fries – it will all be delicious.

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Tamarind Salmon

An easy weeknight broiled salmon recipe made with tamarind, jaggery, and spices.

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb salmon fillet
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 3 tsp tamarind concentrate amount will vary based on brand
  • 2 tsp brown sugar or jaggery (gur)
  • 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

Spices (to be grinded into spice rub)

  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1.5 tsp chilli powder or paprika

Instructions

  1. We will start off by brining the salmon. Fill a shallow dish with water that is big enough for your salmon fillets. Fill with water and dump a few tablespoons of salt. Drop in the fillets and let sit for about 30 minutes.

  2. Remove salmon from brining water, rinse salt off, and pat dry.

  3. Now make your marinade. Toast and grind up your spices. Add to the salmon along with the brown sugar, tamarind, ginger, garlic, and oil. Rub gently on both sides. (Keep in mind that some tamarind concentrates are more intense than others. I am using the Indian brand Laxmi here. If your tamarind is lighter, you might want to use more of it.)

  4. You can pan-fry, bake, grill, or air-fry the fish. Timing will depend on how big and thick your fillets are. For a smaller 1/4 lb fillet, I cooked my salmon at 380 F for about 8 minutes in the air-fryer. If you are worried about accidentally over-cooking in the air-fryer, start with a shorter time and check on it. If salmon has turned opaque, it's ready. You do not need to flip the salmon on the other side in the air-fryer.

  5. The fish should be flaky and tender! Serve with roasted potatoes or lemon rice and/or favorite chutneys.

Low-Carb Pad Thai

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Pad Thai is a phenomenal noodle dish, but if you’re trying to watch the calories it isn’t always the most ideal thing to eat.

Luckily, I stumbled across an amazing solution.

I found these fabulous shirataki tofu noodles that absolutely do the trick. Unlike rice or flour noodles, shirataki noodles are made out of the fiber of yam – which allow them to be a low-calorie option. The trick to preparing them is to not boil them. Just drain and wash under cold water and then allow that water to evaporate over medium-high heat.

A pad thai sauce is a delicate balance of sweet, sour, and salty respectively in the forms of palm sugar, tamarind, and fish sauce. Getting the ratio right can be a bit difficult, especially since brands can vary – so make sure to taste and adjust before adding it in to your stir-fry.

What goes in a pad thai is totally up to your personal preference – some people like egg, some people don’t. Some people do just sprouts, some do carrots, some do both. Pick and choose whatever you have on hand – it will be fine, I promise.

Pad thai is so simple and easy to make at home, please do give these a try even if you are on a diet!

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Low-Carb Pad Thai

A low-carb version of pad thai using shirataki noodles. 

Ingredients

  • 16 oz Shiratake Tofu Noodles (2 8 oz packs) comes in different varieties, feel free to use whichever you’d like
  • 6 oz tofu (or substitute with protein of your choice)
  • 4 green onions
  • 4-5 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 cup carrot (cut into matchsticks of ribbons)
  • 1/3 cup sprouts
  • 1.5 Tbsp roasted peanuts (crushed)
  • 1 small cucumber optional

Pad Thai Sauce

  • 3 Tbsp tamarind concentrate amount needed may vary, depending on brand you’re using!
  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 4 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 59 grams palm sugar (3 cubes) may substitute with 2-3 Tbsp of brown sugar
  • 2 tsp red chili flakes (or to taste)

Instructions

Pad Thai Sauce

  1. Combine palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind and water in a small bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Mix. Microwave for a few more 30 second intervals until palm sugar has dissolved. You can also do this over the stovetop. If you are using brown sugar, you can skip the microwave. Just mix until the brown sugar is combined!

    Note – You may need less or more of the tamarind concentrate depending on the brand you’re using! I use the Thai brand pictured above. Make sure to taste and adjust. It should be a balance of sweet, salty, and sour!

Shirataki Tofu Noodles

  1. Drain the noodles and rinse well under cold water. Do not boil. Add to a hot wok or pan on medium-high heat with no oil just so you can evaporate the water and allow the noodles to slightly crisp up. Once the water has been evaporated fully, remove from pan.

Stir-Fry

  1. Add your oil to the wok. Now add in your protein. Cook for a few minutes, then add in you green onions (white ends) and garlic. Cook down. Make sure not to burn the garlic! 

  2. Remove from wok. Then add your noodles back in along with your pad thai sauce. Allow the pad thai sauce to simmer down fully and coat the noodles. The sugar in the sauce will eventually start caramelizing and turn the noodles brown. 

  3. Toss in your carrots and sprouts. Combine well. Top with peanuts, sprouts, sliced cucumbers. Serve with lime wedges.