Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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

Recipes

Pav Bhaji

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I highly recommend making Pav Bhaji while we’re on quarantine because –

 1. It’s an easy one-pot item

2. It’s a great way to use up extra produce you have lying around in your fridge before your next grocery trip

 3. It’s mind-blowingly delicious

Pav Bhaji is an Indian street food that consists of mashed veggies cooked in copious amounts of butter and served with a fluffy bun or pav.

I used the following vegetables – potato, cauliflower, peas, tomato, bell pepper, serrano chilies, onion, carrots. But the only veggies I’d say are essential are the potatoes, onions, tomatoes, maybe the cauliflower? Everything else you can substitute with whatever you have on hand.

In general I am okay with using store-bought masala mixes for many of my favorite Indian foods but for some reason I have yet to stumble upon a pav bhaji mix that I actually like. In fact, the first time I used a pre-made pav bhaji mix for pav bhaji, it was so strange-tasting that I ended up having to throw the whole thing out. (Yeah it was that bad).

The spices I use for my homemade masala include – dried red chillies, cumin, coriander, fennel, cinnamon, amchur, red chilli powder, turmeric, and kasuri methi. If you notice I didn’t add any cloves or cardamom – I like it to be a little less garam masala-ish because I think when you have those warmer spices, it can become a too overpowering in a vegetarian dish.  

I used brioche buns because they are buttery and rich and wonderful, but again don’t feel like you have to go to the grocery store for that. You can use hamburger buns or make your own little dinner rolls from scratch with ease.

This is a fabulous quarantine week-night quarantine recipe if you’re craving Indian food but are sick of daal and rice.

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Pav Bhaji

Servings 3 people

Ingredients

  • 10-12 small buns

Vegetables (yield 6-7 cups chopped)

  • 1 potato (large)
  • 1 onion (medium-sized)
  • 1/2 bell pepper
  • 1 tomato (may substitute with puree)
  • 2 serrano or jalapeno peppers
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 1/4 cup cauliflower (chopped into florets)
  • 1/4 cup peas
  • 5-6 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1.5-2 tsp salt or to taste
  • 2 cups water

Pav Bhaji Masala

  • 1 dried red chilli
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/4 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp amchur powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 3/4 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp kasuri methi

Garnish

  • 1/4 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 lime (cut into wedges)

Instructions

  1. Make your pav bhaji masala mix. Toast your dried red chilies, fennel, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon. Allow to cool and then grind. Add in the powdered spices – amchur, turmeric, chili powder, and kasuri methi. Mix well. Set aside.

  2. Chop all your veggies. In a hot pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter (or to taste).

  3. Dump in all your veggies and sautee for a few minutes. Add in your ginger-garlic paste and allow it to cook through.

  4. Now add in your salt and water. Partially cover with the lid. And turn the flame to medium-low heat. Allow everything to cook down.

  5. Once the potatoes are fork-tender and most of the water has evaporated. Mash veggies with a potato-masher or with a wooden-spoon.

  6. Now add in your pav bhaji masala. Feel free to adjust the consistency by adding more water or cooking down further.

  7. Taste and adjust for seasonings. (Please note that if you are using a boxed masala, you may need to add less salt as most of them contain salt.) Garnish with cilantro, onion, and lime juice. Serve with toasted and buttered buns.

Chicken 65 Bao

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This week I made a Tik Tok account (follow me: fatimasfabkitchen)!  My gen Z cousins – Afsah, Amena, and Ammaar (no they are not triplets), had been raving about how this was THE app to go viral on. At first I was skeptical; the 60-second phone-recorded videos don’t even compare to the high quality youtube videos that take days and weeks to painstakingly conceptualize, film, and edit – but I understand the appeal. Most of us don’t have the time, money, or tech knowledge to make high-end content that will get you thousands of subscribers on a highly saturated platform; also youtube did a great disservice to brilliant creators by demonetizing. (that’s a different discussion for another day).

My Chicken 65 video did receive quite a few views and likes, and I have to say it’s nice to finally get noticed after years of food blogging. Now that I’m on break and quarantine, I have all the time in the world to grow an audience on Tik Tok and drive my parents insane.  

The Chicken 65  (don’t ask me why it’s called that, I have no idea) is a spicy and crunchy deep-fried chicken dish seasoned with several spices and added to tempered curry leaves. Apparently it is Hyderabadi (usually served in weddings), but my mom never really made it growing up so I learned about it by eating out and word-of-mouth.

I thought the Chicken 65 would be perfect served in a fluffy bao bun and a carrot, cucumber, cilantro, and onion slaw with a kimchi mayo (it’s just kimchi juice and mayonnaise). It’s an adorable sandwich that packs a punch –spicy chicken, a bright and vibrant mayo, and a crunchy slaw.

For the bao buns, I am not even going to bother to try coming up with my own recipe because I just use Asian At Home’s Seonkyoung Longest’s recipe (she is AMAZING, please google her if you don’t know who she is). You can also save time and buy it at the store (you can usually find them in the frozen section).

This is the stuff I would serve in my hypothetical pop-up restaurant. This recipe has that Signature Food status. Go ahead and make these (I know most of you have that free time now), you won’t be disappointed!

****UPDATE: I have updated this post to a newer version of this recipe that doesn’t require deep-frying. It is much crispier and requires less oil. Enjoy!

*****A lot of people asked me how to make the Bao buns from scratch. I use Seonkyoung Longest’s amazing recipe. Here is the link – https://seonkyounglongest.com/bao-buns/

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Chicken 65 Bao

Chicken 65 (A Hyderabadi Indian fried chicken dish) served in fluffy bao buns with a tangy kimchi mayo and crunchy carrot, onion, cilantro slaw

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 8-10 Bao Buns (home-made or store-bought) *may substitute with Pilsbury Grands! Biscuit Dough

Chicken 65

  • 1 lb boneless chicken thighs
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup corn starch
  • 1/2 tsp salt to taste; use less if using store-bought spice mix

Spices (May substitute with 2 Tbsp of store-bought chicken 65 mix)

  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder

Bhaghar (Stir-Fry Ingredients)

  • 4 curry leaves
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 3 serrano chilies to taste, may de-seed
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste (or fresh garlic and ginger chopped)
  • 1 Tbsp yogurt
  • 1 tsp sweet chili sauce (to taste)
  • lime juice to taste
  • 1 Tbsp cilantro (garnish)

Sweet Chili Mayo

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce (or to taste) may also use kimchi to make kimchi mayo

Slaw

  • 1 carrot (shredded)
  • 1 small cucumber (matchsticks)
  • 1 small onion (thinly sliced)
  • 1 Tbsp cilantro

Instructions

Chicken 65

  1. Wash and cut your chicken thighs into cubes. Add your spices, corn starch, salt, and egg. Mix thoroughly. Do not add the yogurt or ginger-garlic paste at this step. We will be adding it later because we don't want the mixture to be too soggy and not crisp up. Note – if you are using a store-bought chicken 65 spice mix such as shaan, add only a pinch of salt since the spice-mix already contains plenty of salt.

  2. In a wide pan or skillet, add 1/2 an inch of oil or enough to shallow-fry. Once the oil is hot, add a handful of chicken pieces. Make sure not to over-crowd the pan. Fry until golden brown. Remove onto a plate lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil.

  3. Wipe down the pan. And add another tablespoon of oil. Add in your curry leaves, mustard seeds and serrano chilies (cut into matchsticks). Cook for a few minutes. The mustard seeds should pop. Now add in your ginger-garlic paste, chili sauce, yogurt, soy sauce. Cook for a few minutes. Now add in your chicken. Stir and garnish with fresh lime juice and cilantro.

Bao Assembly and condiments (kimchi mayo and slaw)

  1. Steam your bao buns in a steamer according to package or recipe instructions.

  2. Mix together your kimchi juice and mayo – kimchi mayo. Combine slaw ingredients (onions, carrots, cucumber, cilantro) together. Taste and adjust for seasonings.

  3. Spread a little bit of kimchi mayo inside the bun. Then add your chicken and your slaw. Ready to serve!

Nectarine Cobbler

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Quarantine diaries –

I’ve been dying to go on a picnic and I’ve been determined not to let the coronavirus stop me. So I figured I’d go on a “Quarantine Picnic” in my living room.

On my picnic, I packed chicken 65 bao, a black-eyed peas salad with a lemon vinaigrette, roohafza lemonade, and the very best nectarine cobbler I’ve ever had. I set up my red and white gingam picnic blanket next to the tv, laid out my tubber ware, pitcher, spoons, napkins, and plates and while wearing my brand new sunglasses for the full effect.

Peach Cobber is the queen of summertime picnic foods – one of my all time favorite desserts. But they’re not in season right now, and actually neither are nectarines but for some reason my dad bought a bunch of them during the grocery battles and I figured they’d be just as good in this recipe.

This is a pretty standard recipe, the one thing I do a little differently is add a little bit of cherry jam. Not enough to call it a cherry-nectarine cobbler, but enough to add a little extra tartness and flavor. Helps especially when your March nectarines are so-so in taste.

The cake batter is buttery and rich, the nectarines are tender without being too mushy and the sweetness is balanced with lemon juice. This nectarine cobbler is the stuff of indoor picnic dreams and tastes even better the next day!

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Nectarine Cobbler

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

Nectarines

  • 4 1/2 cups nectarines (sliced); about 5 nectarines
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp cherry or strawberry jam
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • juice of 1 lemon

Batter

  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 small egg use half an egg if jumbo size
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 4 Tbsp white sugar

Instructions

  1. Wash, peel, and slice the nectarines. Add to a pot.

  2. Add 2 Tbsp butter, white sugar, brown sugar (2 Tbsp each), and jam to the pot. Stir on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes until everything is well combined and the nectarines soften slightly.

Batter

  1. In a bowl, melt 2 Tbsp butter. Add egg, milk, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, salt, baking powder, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon. Whisk thoroughly.

  2. In a medium-sized baking dish (8-9 inch pan) add your batter and then your nectarines mixture on top. Smoothen out into an even layer. Note – you can easily double this recipe to fit into a 13-inch dish!

  3. Cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 F for about an hour. Or until batter has set into a cake.