Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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

Recipes

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.

Chaat Fries

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If you love chaat and you love fries, you will absolutely these chaat fries.

These fries are perfect for iftar – they’re cheesy, spicy, and incredibly addictive. Forget the samosas, everyone will go straight for these and ravage them in seconds.

I made my own oven-baked fries by using a method I learned off of Adam Ragusea’s youtube video where you boil your fries first and then bake at 450 for an hour. No frying required and you get the crispiest fries!

But if you’re pressed for time or want to take a short-cut, feel free to a buy a bag of frozen fries and season them a little bit with your favorite seasonings (I recommend garlic and onion powder, a bit of tandoori masala) – it will work just fine.

For these chaat fries to be extra delicious, I melted pepper-jack cheese over the fries and topped them with rajma chaat.

Rajma are basically red kidney beans and although they are perhaps less commonly used in chaat than chickpeas, I think they go really well on fries.

To make the rajma chaat, I sautéed some onions in ginger-garlic paste and added a couple of spices: turmeric, chili powder, cumin, coriander, and lots of chaat masala.

I added the layer of beans to the fries and then all the regular chaat fixings – tamarind chutney, cilantro chutney, onion, tomato, cilantro, yogurt, sev.

This is a fun appetizer where you can make everything from scratch if you’re up for it (homemade fries and chutneys, fresh red kidney beans) or everything store-bought if you want to spend a little less time in the kitchen (frozen fries, jarred chutneys, canned beans). Either way it will be delicious!

***Note – I didn’t take pictures of the step-by-step process because I made a Tik Tok video for it that I’ve uploaded to instagram as well. Follow me on Tik Tok: fatimasfabkitchen and IG: fatimasfabulouskitchen (video is in my highlights).

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Chaat Fries

loaded chaat fries – rajma chaat on top of cheesy fries

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 28 oz fries (store-bought or homemade)
  • 8 oz pepper-jack cheese (may substitute with mozzarella or cheddar)

Rajma Chaat

  • 1 12 oz can of red kidney beans (or 1 1/2 cup freshly boiled beans)
  • 1 Tbsp oil
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 2 tsp tomato paste (may also substitute 1 chopped tomato)
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp amchur
  • 1 tsp chaat masala
  • salt (to taste)
  • lime juice (to taste)

Chaat Fries Toppings (feel free to use whatever chutneys you'd like)

  • 1/2 small onion (diced)
  • 1 tomato (diced)
  • 2 Tbsp cilantro
  • 3 Tbsp tamarind chutney
  • 3 Tbsp cilantro chutney
  • 3 Tbsp yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp sev

Instructions

Rajma Chaat

  1. Drain and rinse your kidney beans. Add your oil to your pan and sautee your diced onion in ginger-garlic paste.

  2. Add your tomato paste and allow it to cook down. (You can also use a regular tomato instead.)

  3. Add your beans and spices. Add a little water to loosen it up. Cook for a few minutes and set aside.

Fries

  1. Season and cook your fries however you'd like. If you want to take a short-cut, feel free to use store-bought fries. (I made my own oven-baked fries using a method that requires you to boil the fries first and then bake at 450 for 45 minutes. The fries are wonderfully crispy!).

  2. Add your fries to a baking sheet and top with cheese. Melt in the oven using the broiler setting until cheese has melted.

Assembly

  1. Top the cheesy fries with cooked rajma beans. Then add your diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, chutneys, yogurt, and sev. Fries are ready to serve!

    (*note – melt the cheese and top the fries a few minutes before serving so the cheese remains melted and hot when eating).

Kashmiri Chai Boba

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**** This is obviously not meant to be authentic! Real noon chai (originating from Kashmir) is typically served warm with just salt. The intention behind this post is to come up with a fun fusion sweet treat while still being appreciative of kashmiri tea which comes from a rich food culture.

One of my favorite things to do in Ramadan with friends is to get bubble tea before or after tarawih. But since we’re on lockdown and most boba places are shutting down early, I thought it would be nice to share a recipe where you can try and make it at home using Kashmiri Chai.

Kashmiri Chai also known as Noon Chai comes from the region of Kashmir – located in the northern part of India and currently under siege (If you don’t know about what’s going on in Kashmir, I highly urge you to take the time to read up on it!). It’s famous for its pink color and is usually served with a bit of salt.

And yes I know, traditionally you’re supposed to drink it warm. But I am always down to play around with new ideas and honestly, this chai is just as awesome in the iced form too.

Now Kashmiri Chai can take a little practice to make and requires you to follow the directions to a T.

I’ve outlined some tips for you to help ensure you get a lovely blush pink shade:

  • You have to brew the tea for at least 30-40 minutes, if not longer! Keep cooking the tea until you have about ¼ of the water you originally started with.
  • When you add the ice cubes, turn the heat off. This whole process is supposed to shock the tea into turning pink.
  • Stir. Stir. Stir. You can use a ladle or a whisk or both.
  • The tea has to resemble the color of pomegranate juice before adding the milk. If it’s too dark, then you’re tea will end up being a tan color.
  • Use evaporated milk. I’ve had better luck with it than regular milk. Plus It just tastes better in tea and helps give a slightly creamier consistency.
  • The shade of pink is not supposed to be this hot pink strawberry frappuccino color. The pinkest I could get it was a dark pink blush. If you’re able to get it even lighter, awesome! But if you can’t and you still want it super pink, you can always add in some food coloring or roohafza!

After you make the tea, let it cool and store it in the fridge until iftar time (or whenever you want to drink it). Add some ice, tapioca pearls (you can find these online) and top with whipped cream, pistachios, and rose petals.

(****Instead of pictures, I did a whole video tutorial that you can find on my instagram page: fatimasfabulouskitchen or Tik Tok: fatimasfabkitchen)

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Kashmiri Chai with Boba

Ingredients

Kashmiri Chai

  • 5 cups water
  • 2 star anise
  • 5 cardamom pods
  • 1 Tbsp kashmiri tea leaves
  • 1/2 tsp himalayan pink salt or regular salt
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup ice cubes
  • 1 12 oz can evaporated milk
  • 1 Tbsp sugar or to taste

Boba Tea Stuff

  • 3-4 Tbsp Tapioca Pearls
  • Whipped Cream optional
  • chopped pistachios optional
  • rose petals optional

Instructions

Kashmiri Chai

  1. Fill up your pot with water. Add your salt, cardamom, and star anise. Slowly bring to a boil.

  2. Now add your tea leaves. Using a ladle or whisk stir every 5 minutes or so. Brew for at least 30-40 minutes. The tea will start looking orange-brown at first, but eventually the tea should having a dark reddish-purple color (like pomegranate juice) and you should have about 1/4 of the water you started with left in the pot.

  3. Now add in your baking soda. It will bubble up. Stir.

  4. Now turn off the heat and add in the cup of ice cubes. Whisk/stir vigorously for at least 5 minutes. This will ensure you retain that deep pomegranate color.

  5. Turn the heat back on to medium and cook down for another 15 minutes or so, stirring consistently.

  6. Add in your can of evaporated milk. The tea should turn a pink shade. Keep stirring. The tea should become nice and frothy. Cook down for another 15 minutes or so.

  7. Add your sugar. Stir. If you are unsatisfied with the color, you can always add food coloring or roohafza at this step.

  8. Remove tea from stove and let it cool to room temperature. Then place is in the fridge to chill until you are ready to serve.

Turning the Chai into a Boba Drink

  1. Boil tapioca pearls according to package instructions and let soak in water and honey or sugar for a half hour. Make sure not too keep them out for too long because they can harden over time.

  2. When ready to assemble, take a talll glass and add your boba and ice. Then add your chilled kashmiri chai.

  3. Top with whipped cream, pistachios, and rose petals. Your Kashmiri Chai Boba is ready to drink!