Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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

Recipes

Ramadan Chaat

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I make this bold and colorful dish at least 10 times every Ramadan. It has become a staple on our iftar kitchen table. And oh my god, is it a crowd-pleaser!

And the best part is that it is quick to make and requires minimal effort, thus making it perfect for a weekday after a long fast where you really don’t have the energy to stand around a stove frying pakora or rolling up spring rolls.

It’s got all the right elements – sweet, salty, spicy, savory.

Ingredients – chickpeas, hot sauce, tamarind chutney, turmeric, chaat masala, garam masala, pita chips, yogurt, tomato, cucumber, potatoes, cilantro, sev (not pictured here)

 

Channa Masala

To start the dish off, I make a quick chana masala for the base – just a little bit of caramelized onions, garam masala, and canned garbanzo beans. (If you’re really in a rush, you can even skip this step and just toss in the garbanzo beans.) To add some starch, I use potatoes. Some chaats I’ve noticed add boiled potatoes. But I like to cut them up into bit-size pieces and roast them in the oven with a little bit of salt and turmeric until they’re lightly crispy.

 

turmeric potatoes to be roasted

 

Then I add a quick refreshing salad – a mix of tomato, cucumber, cilantro, and red onion. For crunch, I add some sev (a fried indian snack made of chickpea flour that looks like thick yellow strings) and broken up pita chips (if you want to go the traditional route, add in papdi – you can find them usually at indo-pak grocery stores.)

cucumber, cilantro, tomato, red onion

Layer it up

Lastly, I top it off with some yogurt, tamarind chutney, red-chili sauce (or harbenero), chaat masala, and cilantro chutney. I layer the dish so that you get a little bit of everything in each bite. And there you have it – an easy weekday iftar appetizer that’s healthy and a great alternative to anything fried!

***This is best made within twenty-minutes of serving. If you let it sit for too long, it will get soggy!

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Ramadan Chaat

Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 15.5 oz chickpeas
  • 1 potato
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp salt (for potatoes)
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp oil
  • 1 small onion (divided)
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1/4 tsp salt (for chana masala)
  • 1 small cucumber
  • 1 tomato
  • 1/4 tsp salt (for salad)
  • 2-3 handfuls paapdi or pita chips
  • 1/2 cup sev
  • 3-4 tbsp tamarind chutney
  • 2-3 tsp cilantro chutney
  • 4 tbsp yogurt
  • 1-2 tbsp red hot chilie sauce (or to taste)
  • 1/4 tsp chaat masala (optional)

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 F. Peel and wash your potato. Cut into bit size pieces.

  2. Add potato, 1/4 tsp of salt, turmeric, black pepper, and oil into a baking dish. Bake until lightly brown and slightly crunchy. This should take about 25-30 minutes.

  3. In the meantime, prep your salad. Dice your cucumber, red onion, tomato, and cilantro. Divide the onion - half will be for the salad, the other half you will use for the chana masala.

  4. Work on your chana masala. Drain your chickpeas and rinse well. Add your oil to a hot pan and 1/2 of your small onion to the pan. Once they are brown and caramelized, add in your chickpeas, garam masala, and salt. Sautee for a few more minutes or until flavors are well combined.

  5. Once your potatoes are done roasting, your salad is prepped, and your chana masala is done cooking, you are ready to assemble the dish.

  6. In your serving bowl, add a thin layer of yogurt to the bottom. Then crush a handful of pita chips/paapdi and add that on top.

  7. Add your potatoes and add a few teaspoons of sev. Take a tablespoon or so of your tamarind chutney and drizzle that around the dish. Do the same with the cilantro chutney and the hot sauce.

  8. Now add your chana masala, a few more teaspoons of your various chutneys, and another handful of pita chips/paapdi.

  9. Add your salad on top (makes sure it is combined and that you seasoned with a little bit of salt.) Add your yogurt in dollops as well as your remaining chutneys. Add your last handful of chips/paapdi and your remaining sev.

  10. Serve this within 20 minutes! If you let it sit for too long, it will become soggy!

Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa

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I recently watched this one episode of Black Mirror called Nosedive, a sci-fi show on Netflix that takes place in a world where technology takes over every aspect of life. I won’t spoil it for you or anything, but basically the premise of the episode is that a young woman lives in a futuristic society where people’s value is solely based on their social media presence.

And while it is supposed to be satire, I’m seeing the effects in our 2017 world.

I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I love the fact that it gives people who otherwise are marginalized, a platform. I love that it gives people the means to express themselves. That it educates people. That it creates a family.

But I hate that you forget what’s reality and what’s not. What life is really all about. That this is just a self-image I’m projecting that can’t even come close to representing the full extent of me. That it makes you feel envious of what others have and obsessed with what’s missing. That your societal value is based on how many likes you get, how many followers and retweets you have.

Anyways, you came for the taco recipe. And how does this stuff relate? Because it’s the stuff you discuss over a plate of tacos. What’s the future of the relationship we have with technology? What is the world going to look like in fifty years?

These shrimp tacos are light and balanced and perfect for spring-time. For this recipe, I sautee shrimp in butter, cumin, coriander, paprika, and fennel with a little bit of diced onion. The butter makes the shrimp extra delicious and the onions add a slight sweetness that cuts the salty bite from the shrimp.

Shrimp with cumin, coriander, fennel, salt, onion, and butter

I also make home-made corn tortillas with masa flour (store-bought is completely okay, but if you have the time, I highly recommend making them from scratch!) To top the shrimp off, I make a beautiful mango salsa consisting of a mango, jalapeno, cilantro, onion, tomato. The sweetness of the mango pairs wonderfully with the acidity of the other ingredients. I also add a spicy mayo (just mayo and a good quality hot sauce) before topping the tortilla with the shrimp and salsa. This adds a bit of creaminess to your taco.

Spicy Mayo

And this guys is balance! Make this for a bunch of friends while you discuss climate change, driveless cars, the end of antibiotics, imminent nuclear warfare or maybe even that one guy or girl you swiped right on that dating app. Whatever it is, these tacos will get everybody into an active and lively conversation. And that’s really what good food is supposed to do.

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Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa

Servings 8 tacos

Ingredients

  • 2 lb shrimp (peeled and deveined)
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp paprika or chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt (for shrimp)
  • 1 mango (should be ripe, yet firm)
  • 1 jalapeno
  • 1/4 cup cilantro
  • 1 small onion (divided: 1/2 for shrimp, 1/2 for salsa)
  • 1 avocado
  • juice of lime (to taste)
  • 1 tomato
  • 3/4 tsp salt (for salsa)
  • 14-16 corn tortillas
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2-3 dashes of hot sauce (or to taste)

Instructions

  1. Prepare your salsa. Dice up all you ingredients - mango, jalapeno, cilantro, 1/2 small onion, avocado, tomato and combine. Add salt and lime juice to taste.

  2. On medium-low heat, add in your butter, garlic, and the remaining half of your onion (diced finely), and sautee until lightly brown. Turn the heat up to medium high and then add in your shrimp, salt, and spices. The shrimp only take a few minutes to cook. Once they are pink, turn off the heat.

  3. Take your corn tortillas and lightly toast them on a grill pan or regular pan. 

  4. Combine your mayo and hot sauce and add a little bit to the bottom of each tortilla.

  5. Add a couple of shrimp to each tortilla and top with mango salsa. Serve with extra hot sauce on the side.

Talava Ghosht

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Fried Mutton aka Talava Ghost

Fried mutton. It’s delicious.  It’s crispy. It’s spicy. It’s garlic-y. It will satisfy all your meat cravings.

For this recipe I use pieces of boneless lamb which I marinate in lots of garlic, salt, and turmeric.

To tenderize the lamb fast I use a pressure cooker. If you don’t have one, you can slow braise over medium-low heat for a couple of hours.

Once tenderized, I caramelize sliced onions in a separate pan. I then add in the meat and fry it up until it turns a bit crispy. I season with fennel, nutmeg, garam masala. Lastly, I add in a few squeezes of lemon and garnish with cilantro.

My mom likes to make this with some daal and basmati rice but you can eat it with roti and any other curry of your choosing. Heck, you can even put this in some tortillas, top it with some guac, and make some amazing lamb tacos or put it in white bread with slices of tomato and layer of mayo and make some killer sandwiches!

In the cooker

Lamb Tacos with salsa verde, feta, and onion

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Talava Ghosht

Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs lamb (boneless, cut into pieces)
  • 7-8 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 large onion
  • 4 tbsp oil
  • 1/2 tsp fennel
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • lemon juice (to taste)
  • 1 tbsp cilantro (chopped)

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, add your meat, garlic (chopped), salt, and turmeric. Let it sit.

  2. In the meantime, slice your onion into half-circle slices.

  3. If using a pressure cooker, add meat and water to the cooker. Turn the heat to medium, attach the lid and let it cook for about 20 minutes or about 6-8 whistles.

  4. Turn off the heat. Let it cool for 10 minutes. Carefully lift the lid (be careful not to let the steam burn you!).  The water should have evaporated but if there is a little bit left, cook on low heat to let it evaporate out fully.

  5. Sautee your onions in oil in a separate pan. Allow them to brown and caramelize.

  6. On medium high heat add in your meat and then your spices. Allow meat to brown up and get crispy on the edges.

  7. Lastly, taste and add additional salt if necessary. Add a few squeezes of lemon juice and cilantro.