Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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

Recipes

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!

Nihari-Birria Tacos

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When I first made these for TikTok, I basically used my nihari recipe. But I realized that while delicious, it’s just nihari tacos not nihari-birria. So this time around, I tried to combine elements of both which resulted in this amazing hybrid of a taco.

This recipe is a bit involved and so I’ll divide it into five components.

  1. Pressure-cooking the meat: The first part of this recipe is like nihari – I pressure cook the meat in spices and ginger-garlic paste. You can use an instant pot or a traditional pressure cooker.

2. Shredding the meat: After the lamb is cooked down and tender, I separate it from the broth and gently shred it with a fork.  

3. Searing the shredded meat: Since I didn’t sear the meat at the beginning, I actually add it to some sauteed onions and allow it to get slightly crispy and charred with some added nihari masala. This step is important to add extra flavor to these tacos!

4. Consome: I add blended up dried chilies and tomatoes (soaked in hot water) to the left-over broth from earlier.

5. Taco assembly: This is straight-forward; I dip my tortillas in that lovely broth and add the meat and lots of cheese and onion. I cook it the tacos in a cast-iron skillet.

You’ve got the spices of nihari but the dried chilies and taco-component of birria making these truly a fusion taco!

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Nihari Birria Tacos

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs boneless lamb chunks (may also use beef)
  • 1.5 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1.5 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 Tbsp whole spices** (cloves, peppercorns, cardamom, bay leaf, mace, cinnamon etc)
  • 2 cups water
  • 3-4 Tbsp butter/oil
  • 1 large onion (diced)
  • 2 tsp nihari masala (store-bought or homemade)
  • 2 tsp fennel powder

Consome

  • 3 tomatoes
  • 5-6 dried chilies (remove seeds; I used chile de arbol)
  • 1 tsp nihari masala
  • 2 cups remaining birria broth/water

Taco Assembly

  • 20 tortillas
  • 8 oz cheese of your choice
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • cilantro
  • lime wedges

Instructions

Pressure-Cooking the Meat

  1. Combine the salt, turmeric, chili powder, and ginger-garlic paste with the lamb chunks.

  2. Take your whole spices (feel free to use whatever you have on hand. I used 1 cinnamon stick, 1 mace, 3 cardamoms, a couple of black peppercorns and cumin seeds) and tie it in some cheesecloth in the form of a little pouch. If you don't have cheese cloth, then make sure to strain everything at a later step. I'm sure no one wants to bite into an elaichi while eating a taco!

  3. Add the lamb and the pouch of whole spices along with the water in a pressure cooker or the instant pot. (You may also slow cook this in a pot over several hours).

  4. Put the lid on the pressure cooker and cook for about 6-10 whistles. In the insant pot it might take about 40-60 minutes depending on the cut of your meat and how big your chunks are. The meat should be tender and juicy once done. (Note – always wait for the pressure cooker to cool before opening it. I learned this the hard way a long time ago. Just look at my burned hand.)

  5. Once the meat is cooked, remove the meat from the broth. If you didn't use a cheese cloth for the whole spices, make sure to strain the broth.

Broth (Consome)

  1. Take the tomatoes and dried chilies and soak them in some hot water for about 10 minutes or until the chilies have softened. Make sure to de-seed the dried chilies before adding them!

  2. In a blender, blend together the tomatoes and dried chilies until smooth.

  3. Add the tomatoes and chilies mix to the broth we pressure-cooked the meat in. Add some water if needed.

  4. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Feel free to add some lime juice and nihari masala.

Searing the Meat

  1. In a pan, add your butter and sautee your diced onion.

  2. Once the onions begin to brown, add in the shredded nihari-birria meat. Allow the meat to develop some color and get slightly crispy.

  3. Add in your nihari masala, fennel powder, and taste and adjust for seasonings.

Taco Assembly

  1. Dip the tortillas in the consome broth. Cook it in a hot pan.

  2. Add your birria-nihari meat, cheese, onions, cilantro. Fold over on its side.

Instant Pot Veggie Pulao

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I always get people in my comments section on Tik Tok asking for instant pot recipes, so here is one that is simple and great for the weeknight.

For this veggie pulao I use a 1 ½ cups of water for 1 ¼ cups of rice. I know that if you do a quick google search you’ll find that different blogs claim different water: rice ratios, but this is what worked for me for this particular recipe. Keep in mind I also added two tablespoons of water to de-glaze the pot (as listed below!).

One thing that almost turned me away from using the instant pot is the dreadful “burn-error”. I researched for some tips to avoid it and one thing that works is just really making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom and to remove the insert and allow it to cool for a few minutes.

This recipe is incredibly versatile. For the veggies I used onions, potatoes, carrots, serranos, green beans, and peas but feel free to use whatever you have on hand; you can certainly use a bag of mixed frozen vegetable if you are in a hurry.

This Veggie Pulao is not only a hearty and comfort-food dinner but also great to pack for lunch!

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Instant Pot Veggie Pulao

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 3 Tbsp yogurt
  • 2 tsp achaar (optional)
  • 1 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 1/4 cup rice
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 2 Tbsp water (for de-glazing pot)
  • 3-4 mint leaves (optional)
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt

Whole Spices

  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 clove

Powdered Spices

  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp fennel

Vegetables

  • 1 c onion (about 2 small onions)
  • 1 c potato (about 1 medium-sized potato)
  • 1 c carrot
  • 1/4 c peas
  • 1/2 c green beans

Instructions

  1. Slice your onions and dice the potatoes and carrots. Set aside.

  2. Press the sautee setting on the instant pot. Set it for about 10 minutes.

  3. Add in you butter and oil. Once the butter melts, add all your whole spices. Stir for a minute or two.

  4. Now sautee the onions. Once they begin to brown, add the ginger-garlic paste. Stir for a few minutes.

  5. Now add your yogurt. Stir.

  6. Add the remaining veggies and powdered spices. Cook for a minute or two or until fragrant. Feel free to add in a little bit of achaar if you like your pulao spicy.

  7. Now turn off the sautee setting. Add a tablespoon or two of water to de-glaze the pot. Make sure nothing sticks to the bottom or else you will get a burn error when you go cook your rice. I like to remove the insert from the instant pot and just let it cool for a few minutes.

  8. Wash your basmati rice really well. Drain any excess water and add it to your instant pot along with the water and salt.

  9. Pop the lid on and cook on high pressure for about 14 minutes. Once down. Release the pressure.

  10. Serve with raita.