YFC: Home-made Fried Chicken

Be it in the form of KFC or a cloned recipe, Fried Chicken has literally taken this world by storm. What can we say? It is finger lickin’ good and we all love to indulge in some from time to time. For most of us though, we’d prefer making it at home.

I’m in love with the extra-crispy recipe that KFC has and have tried hunting for a good clone for ages. Unfortunately, all the recipes that I have tried so far don’t quite come up to par with the original. After all the experimentation with what works and what doesn’t (corn-flakes and a wet-batter are a definite No-No), I’ve come up with this one recipe, and even though it’s not as good as the original, it is pretty a decent version that is loved by kids and adults alike. I know it’s cliché but I decided to call this Yousuf’s Fried Chicken (abbr. YFC).

So without further ado, let’s get into the technicalities of what goes into making succulent YFC:

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts (with skin) cut into 3 pieces each OR 6 drumsticks [TIP: You can choose any 6 medium-sized pieces for this recipe and remove the skin if you wish; the skin just gives support for the breading and gives the fried chicken a crispier cover]
• 3 cups water with 1½ tsp salt (a.k.a. Brine)
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup cornstarch
• ½ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp MSG (a.k.a. Chinese Salt and Ajino Moto)
• ½ tsp paprika
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (I have used Laban to achieve similar results)
• Oil or Ghee for deep frying [TIP: Ghee works better]

Method

1. Soak the chicken for about 8-10 hours in brine (ideally) and put it in the refrigerator. I have made the chicken after soaking it in brine for just half-an-hour and it gets good results too.
   
2. In a bowl, add all-purpose flour, cornstarch, oregano, MSG, paprika, black and white pepper, and salt; mix in all the ingredients so that the ‘dry batter’ is nice and consistent.
3. Take out the chicken from the brine and dry each piece using a towel.
4. Dip a piece of chicken into the buttermilk (or Laban) ensuring all its sides are properly covered, take out the piece and let all the residue drip back into the bowl.
5. Dip this piece immediately into the dry batter, making sure to coat all sides evenly; give the chicken a slight shake to remove the excess batter before setting it aside on a platter.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 till all the pieces have been coated.
7. Let all the pieces air-dry for about 5-10 minutes so that the coating is hard and dry; this will ensure that the oil doesn’t splatter once you put the pieces in for frying.
8. In a deep pan, add oil or ghee and heat it; the oil has to be just the right temperature and to ensure that, add a piece of bread into the oil and it should be brown in about 50 seconds. If you have a candy thermometer, the temperature has to be around 180° to 190° centigrade.
9. Carefully start putting in the chicken pieces one at a time, skin side down (as it takes slightly longer to cook); make sure not to over-crowd the pan and leave some room for the pieces to breathe (or not – all pun intended).
10. Flip the pieces half-way through the cooking process so that the other side gets some cruch and color too.
11. Fry the chicken for about 7 to 10 minutes, till it has a crisp golden brown cover.
12. Take all the pieces out on a paper towel to drain the excess grease.
13. Serve immediately with a side of French fries, chili-garlic sauce and mayonnaise (that’s the way, ahan, ahan, I like it, ahan, ahan!!).

Please do try this recipe out and let me know how it was; I’d really appreciate your honest feedback. Also, I intend to keep trying to find ‘THE PERFECT FRIED CHICKEN RECIPE’ and once I do, I will definitely share it with you; till then, you’ll have to settle for this recipe.

Cheers!

 

Karachi Makes Way For Gourmet ‘Fatburger’!

Fatburger recently started advertising on billboards all across Karachi. The billboards, featuring a mouthwatering Triple Fatburger, are pretty hard to miss, and being the burger-junkie that I am, I dragged my wife and kids to Dolmen Mall, Clifton for a bite last Sunday. Unfortunately for me though, the burger joint had yet to open for public. Disappointed and disheartened, I went home and ordered some pizza instead. They say that when you want something really badly, the whole universe conspires in helping you achieve it. The very next day, I received an exclusive invite for a pre-inaugural bloggers’ meetup at Fatburger, courtesy Food Connection Pakistan.

So at precisely 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 3, 2013, I parked my car in the Dolmen Mall basement and made my way to the second floor. Turns out, the whole area where the restaurant was supposed to be was cordoned off. I asked one of the mall guards for directions and he told me to take a barely-visible side-entrance.

The Ambiance (9 out of 10)

As soon as you step in, you are embraced by this lively space reminiscent of an all-American diner. The place has a very casual atmosphere that is both welcoming and homely, someplace you can either hang out with friends or with family and have as much fun as you can possibly handle. The lighting is primarily done using strategically placed spotlights and is just right without being too overpowering. Should you choose, you can sit at one of the tables spread out across the restaurant, at one of the cozy sofas under the gigantic Fatburger logo, or at the sit-down counter where all the cooking, shouting and shaking (strictly within the confines of an electric blender) is done right in front of your eyes. Fatburger employees are a chatty bunch so if you’re feeling a little adventurous, the sit-down counter is THE place for you.

The Reception (10 out of 10)

Jake and Tarek with the boys

The first person I met there was Wasif, the Director at BIL Foods Limited (local franchisee for the Fatburger chain). I started talking to him but mid-way through our chat, I was whisked away by Tarek (Director of Marketing for Fatburger, Middle East and North Africa – MENA) to meet Jake (Director of Operations for Fatburger, MENA). Turns out, Jake was holding an informal Q&A for all attendees and I was asked to join the circle. Asiya (General Manager HR, Marketing and Corporate Affairs) joined us at the table too.

Jake started off with a brief history of Fatburger (see Wikipedia page for further information) and a few fun facts about the restaurant. Since I had a few burning questions for Jake, I started firing away:

Yousuf: There are many burger joints in Karachi. What is it that sets you apart? 

Jake: Well for starters, we use freshly ground beef and the burger patty is hand-made, not manufactured in some processing plant. You should make a note of the unevenness of the patty when you order your burger; that’s because its made by hand. Moreover, we only use lean meat from 30-month old steers grown specifically for their meat. All the meat that we use in our restaurant here is high-quality USDA choice beef imported from USA and is 100% halal. The meat is flash-frozen and sent over to Pakistan to preserve its nutritional value. So in short, it’s a healthier version of your average burger where you get all the taste but little on the waist. Besides, everything is made for you fresh, right in front of your eyes, because we don’t have anything to hide from our customers.

Let me make one thing clear: we are NOT a fast-food restaurant. For most joints, the staff’s relationship with the customer ends once they take your money and hand you a receipt; for Fatburger, it’s where the relationship begins. There is a wait-time for processing each order and we like to utilize that to have conversations with our customers, making sure they are having the best time of their life. Customer service is our number one priority.

Yousuf: So have you customized your menu specifically for Pakistan?

Jake: As part of the Fatburger philosophy, we stick with what works best. Currently, we have the original Fatburgers, Jalapeno Fatburger (also in Chiken), a Western BBQ Fatburger, a Turkeyburger and Veggieburger (this option is still unheard of in Pakistan). You can customize these items using our condiments and add-ons. As part of our sides, we have Chili dogs, Fatwings, Fat fries, Skinny fries, Chicken nuggets and strips, Homemade Onion rings, Chicken salad, and Chili fries. You can choose to go with a drink with free refills or a real Ice Cream Milkshake to wash it all down.

When we launch in a new country, we start off with our core menu and after evaluating customer feedback and local trends, we add on other items. LTOs (Limited Time Offers) are also introduced from time to time.

Yousuf: I’ve eating a lot of burgers abroad but when I try the same burger in Pakistan, it tastes different, and I don’t mean that in a good way, plus the portion sizes are smaller. What are you doing to ensure this doesn’t happen with Fatburger?

Jake: We, at Fatburger, don’t like to cut corners. What you get anywhere else in the world is what you get here. We have a tried and tested recipe which works every time so we don’t try messing around with it. Tarek and I are here from the Fatburger corporate office in the Middle East because we like to keep a close relationship with our franchisees. Continuous quality monitoring and coordination ensures that the quality of our products doesn’t deteriorate.

Yousuf: What do you recommend I should try today?

Jake: You should definitely go for a Western BBQ Burger with an egg (if you’re feeling adventurous) with a side of onion rings and a milkshake. Our onion rings are actually handmade from fresh Spanish onions, not from frozen ones.

The Service (10 out of 10)

A Numbers Game

While I was waiting in line to place my order, I couldn’t help but notice the smiles on everyone’s faces behind the counter and in the open kitchen; working didn’t seem like a chore and the employees were really enjoying themselves. I was up next.

“Hello Sir. Welcome to Farburger. How are you doing?”, the lady behind the counter said.

“I’m doing good, and you?”, I inquired.

“Fine, thank you sir. What would you like to order today?”

I decided to ditch Jake’s advice and went for the unadulterated Fatburger. “Hmm. I’ll have a Fatburger without tomatoes, and some chili cheese fries.”

“Would you like a drink with your order?”

“Sure. I’ll have a milk shake. What flavors do you have?”

“We have vanilla, strawberry, chocolate and Oreo.”

“I’ll have a chocolate shake.”

“Anything else, sir?”

“No that’ll be all. Thank you.”

“Dine in or take-away?”

“Dine in, please.”

And then something really extra-ordinary happened. This lady taking my order proceeded with ‘The Call-out’, an authentic way of shouting out an order to the kitchen. I made a video of another transaction for your viewing pleasure.

“Thank you. Kindly take your receipt and this number. Your order will be ready within 10 to 12 minutes.”

“Thanks.”

As I made way to my table, all the employees there smiled at me, made small-talk and thanked me for coming to Fatburger.

The Food (8.5 out of 10)

The Original Fatburger

While I was waiting for my order, one of my friends who had already received his order offered me an onion ring. That was undoubtedly the most unpretentious onion ring I had ever had, and I mean that in a good way. Perfectly cooked with a balanced seasoning, it was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I had little time to admire the down-to-earthiness of the onion ring as a waiter came up to my table and put my meal in front of me, well within the promised 10 minutes.

The chili fries looked irresistible but could have used a little more cheese. They tasted pretty good too. The chili was a perfect combination of sweet and spicy, not over-the-top but just-a-hint-o-spice. Even though my Pakistani palette craved more heat, I found the chili-fries combo pretty satisfying.

I lovingly unwrapped the burger and took my first bite. It was very good, better than most burgers I’ve had over the years. The patty was moist and nicely seasoned, not too hard not too soft. The second bite tasted even better as I got a hit of pickle with that one. Needless to say, I was enjoying myself immensely. Just then, a waiter came up to me and asked me if everything was to my liking. He also brought me some tomato ketchup and my hand-scooped Chocolate milkshake.

As I was focused on finishing my burger, I barely noticed Jake coming down to my table. I offered him a seat and gave him a few tips on what foods to try when in Karachi. While we were chatting away, I took a closer look at my milkshake. Topped with a generous serving of whipped cream, it looked really tempting. I wrapped my hand around the glass, stirred the straw to mix in the cream and took a sip. It was perhaps the best milkshake I had ever had; PERIOD. It was thick and luscious and phenomenal, everything that you’d ever want in a milkshake. I finished the burger and with a heavy heart and a full stomach, took a long loving sip, only to hear the slurp that signified the end of my relationship with the milkshake.

The Pricing (8 out of 10)

Even though the menu pricing is on the high side of things, the quality and the overall experience significantly compensates for it. Since these are not your average everyday ordinary burgers, you should keep in mind the nutritional advantage you get at Fatburger before really focusing out on the prices. Plus, there are a lot of options and a lot of variations that you can mix-and-match to your liking.

The Menu – part 1

The Menu – part 2

The Verdict

For me, a dining experience is not just about the food, it’s about the place itself, the people running it and the hospitality they extend to you. Fatuburger officially opens its first restaurant in Pakistan today at Dolmen Mall, Karachi and I suggest ardent burger-lovers should definitely give it a try.

Now, some words of wisdom for the team at Fatburger and BIL Foods:

• Don’t let your quality deteriorate; if you maintain your standards, you grow your customer-base.
• Never compromise on customer service; a customer always loves polite and civil interactions, and a line delivered mechanically without emotion just doesn’t cut it.
• Smiles never hurt anyone.
• The customer may not be always right, but his/her feedback should be an important part of your ongoing improvement process.
• Keep rocking those shakes the way you are and you’ll remain the talk of the town for a long time to come.
• Extend the same level of courtesy and politeness (that you reserved for us) to all your future customers, and you’ll never have a deserted restaurant.
• The collaboration between the franchise and the franchisee is key; never let anything tarnish this relationship.

Fatburger brilliantly succeeds in making a meal, traditionally considered to be fatty, healthy. I salute the entire team for their blatant disregard of the norms set by the burger industry giants and thank them for giving us something original, unpretentious and nutritious. Their burgers are succulent, non-greasy, and light on the waist, without compromising on the taste. I have to say that I was honored to be one of their first few customers and I intend to remain one for a long time. All the best with today’s opening.

Jolly Good Fellows

 

A Stomach-Friendly Approach to Eid-al-Adha

Eid-al-Adha, one of the two festivals celebrated by all Muslims globally, marks the remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham – peace be upon him) commitment to sacrifice his own son Ismaeel (peace be upon him) to please Allah. Allah, impressed by this gesture of utmost devotion and unwavering loyalty, made it immortal by incorporating it as part of Hajj, an annual pilgrimage that brings millions of Muslims to Makkah, Saudi Arabia. It gives me chills just to think what we would be sacrificing had Allah not replaced Ismaeel with a sheep/ram.

Sacrifices aside, the thing we all look forward to most is the food and the endless BBQs that are sure to follow. However, after a few meat-eating days, one (or shall I say ‘the stomach’?) finally deserves a refreshing break from all the heaviness. Its often difficult to find the right balance between light and delicious; fortunately, there are a few middle-eastern staples that fit the bill. I decided to take an Arabian approach to this post as an homage to the roots of this festival.

As usual, I added a Pakistani twist to both recipes, so instead of a traditional Shawarma and Shish Tawook, I present to you the Roast Beef Shawarma with Hummus and Shish Malai Boti with Vegetables.

Roast Beef Shawarma with Hummus

Ingredients:

• For Roast Beef
  • 1/2 kg beef (single lean cut)
  • 3 tbsp ginger paste
  • 2 tbsp green chili paste
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp red chilies (ground)
  • 4-5 cups water
• For Hummus with Tahini
  • 1 cup garbanzo beans (canned works best but you can also boil at home)
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • 3 tbsp yogurt
  • salt to taste
  • olives for garnish
  • paprika or cayenne pepper for garnish
• For Shawarma
  • 6-8 pita bread
  • 1 onion (thinly sliced)
  • 2 cups iceberg lettuce (thinly sliced)
  • 1 cup picked jalapenos, cucumbers, gherkins, beetroots and carrots (thinly sliced)
  • 1 cup tomatoes (cubed)
  • 1 cup cabbage (thinly sliced)

Method:

1. Take a pan and add all the ingredients for the roast beef into it; cook on low flame till all the meat is tender and all the water has dried out.
2. Wrap the meat in a foil and put it in the oven for 3-5 minutes on medium temperature. This step is optional.
3. Take it out of the oven and let it cool. Cut into thin slices and set aside.
4. Put garbanzo beans, sesame seeds, olive oil, garlic, yogurt and salt into a jug and blend till everything is a smooth paste; set it aside in a bowl.
5. Cut pita bread into half and spread a tablespoon of hummus on the inside.
6. Add two to three slices of roast beef to it.
7. Top it off with onions, iceberg lettuce, cabbage, pickled vegetables and tomatoes.
8. Serve with a side of hummus (garnish with paprika/cayenne and olives) and pickled vegetables.

Note: You can easily pickle vegetables at home. Just dice the veggies you wish to pickle and mix them in vinegar, some salt and sugar. Heat this mix in a pan for 5-7 minutes to get instant results.

Shish Malai Boti with Vegetables

Ingredients:

• For Malai Boti
  • 2 chicken breasts (cut into 1 inch cubes)
  • 2 tsp ginger & garlic paste
  • 1/2 tsp white cumin seeds (roasted and powdered)
  • 1/2 tsp coriander seeds (roasted and powdered)
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 3 tbsp cream (one that rises to the surface after boiling & cooling whole full-fat milk)
  • 3 tbsp fresh cream (a.k.a. heavy cream)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp green chili paste
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • 3 tbsp yogurt
  • salt to taste
• For Shish
  • 15-20 bamboo skewers
  • 2 tomatoes (cut into eighths)
  • 2 onions (cut into eighths)
  • 2 capsicums (cut into eighths)
• Optional Ingredients
  • 1 small piece of hot coal
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for malai boti and marinate the chicken for 1 hour.
2. Put the marinated chicken in a pan and cook on medium flame till it is tender.
3. If you like adding a smokey flavor to the chicken, (a) take a small steel bowl and put it in the center of the pan, (b) place the hot coal into it, (c) drizzle the olive oil on the coal, (d) cover the pan immediately, (e) let it stay for 2-3 minutes.
4. Once the chicken has cooled significantly, put the individual cubes onto bamboo skewers interleaved with pieces of tomato, onion and capsicum.
5. To give the skewers a slight char, place them directly over a flame; be careful not to set the bamboo skewers on fire.
6. Serve with a side of tamarind chutney or mint raita.

Eid is all about sharing with people less fortunate than us. So if you are sacrificing something, a goat, a cow or a camel, please ensure that those around you don’t go hungry on this auspicious occasion.

A very happy Eid Moo-Baa-Rak to everyone!

Cheers,
Yousuf

 

A Tale Of Two Pastas

With two kids constantly demanding your attention, it gets increasingly difficult to get into the kitchen to create something new. Yesterday was a rare occurrence and as soon as the opportunity presented itself (my one-month old son sleeping blissfully while my naughty 20-month old daughter busy playing with her grandmother), my wife and I ran straight to the kitchen. After a brief discussion, we decided to do something that would require very little time and effort, something like a simple Penne pasta, which we had NEVER attempted before. Since we had no recipe, we just wanted to go with our flavor profiles, i,e, our guts.

As with all couples, we had two different ideas; my wife wanted a red pasta with a basic tomato-oregano sauce while I craved for something (richer, creamier, cheesier) Fettuccine-Alfredo-esque. It all came down to the colors; white v/s red. I won her over by promising to increase the cheese content in the pasta so we started off with something that would, hopefully, taste like fettuccine. Half way through, my wife suggested we add the ingredients for the tomato-oregano sauce to the mix (win-win). What came out was surprisingly delicious, and mixing in some mushrooms and black olives just took the entire dish to a whole new level; to put it plainly, it was something worth sharing with the world. So without further ado, here’s a Penne for your thoughts:

Ingredients

• 2 cups penne pasta
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup mushrooms (sliced)
• ¼ cup black olives
• 2 to 3 tbsp grated cheddar cheese
• 2 to 3 tbsp grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp cream cheese
• 5 tbsp pizza sauce [great substitute for ready-made tomato sauce]
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp oregano
• salt to taste [be careful as it is already a bit on the salty side]

Method

1. Boil pasta and set aside in a bowl.
2. Put a saucepan on medium heat and add the olive oil to it.
3. Once hot, add the flour to the saucepan and stir for 30 seconds.
4. Add 1 cup milk to the pan and keep stirring till there are no lumps and the sauce starts to thicken.
5. Add the mushrooms, the cheeses (mozzarella, cheddar, cream), the olives, garlic powder, oregano, pizza sauce and salt to the pan and cook for two minutes.
6. If the sauce feels too thick (thicker than condensed milk), add up to ½ cup milk and mix well.
7. Once the sauce is ready, add the boiled Penne pasta to the pan and fold it in carefully, so as not to break the pasta (something I forgot to take care of).
8. Cook for a couple of minutes, making sure that all the pasta is completely coated with the sauce.
9. Garnish with a pinch of oregano and some olives.

This unconventional pasta recipe serves THREE people, is ready in less than TEN minutes and needs to be served immediately as the sauce starts to coagulate due to the high cheese content. Try it out and do let me know how you liked it; tweaks and suggestions to make the recipe better are more than welcome.

Cheers,
Yousuf

p.s. This pasta is as Italian as I get.

p.p.s. Apologies for the bad photo quality; the battery on my camera ran out and I had to rely on the phone camera instead.

 

Spicin’ It Up This Eid

Eid-ul-Fitr, the first of two annual Muslim festivals, is a time to appreciate, share (with those less fortunate) and be thankful for what Allah has bestowed upon us. It marks the beginning of the month of Shawwal, the tenth month in the Muslim calendar, with Ramadan (the month of fasting) as its immediate predecessor. The months in the Muslim calendar are based on the appearance of the new moon, so the lunar month can either be 29 or 30 days and is mostly unpredictable until the eve of the 29th day. It’s this suspense, this element of surprise that makes this Eid extra special for me.

‘Mubarak ho. Chand ho Ggya. Ammi kal Eid hai. Yayyyyy!’

English: Congratulations. The moon has been sighted. Mom, it’s Eid tomorrow. Yayyyyy!

Eagerly awaited by adults and children alike, this Eid is also dubbed as the ‘Meethi Eid‘ (or ‘Sweet Eid’) as it is a sunnah (i.e. practice) of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to start your Eid day by eating something sweet, like dates. For me, Eid is waking up to enticing aromas wafting from the kitchen, my mom deep-frying her amazing samosas and puris (deep-fried flat bread) to be served with the Sheer-Khurma (a milk-based sweet dish). That is pretty much all the sweet I can take on Eid day and I just hate being forced to eat desserts when I venture out to meet friends and family; savaiyaan (vermicelli), cakes, cookies, kheer (rice pudding), candies and mithai (sweet meats) are just some of the infamous items on this long list.

What I crave though is something spicy, something savory, that is fulfilling without being too overpowering. As a result, we make sure that the mehmaans (guests) who come to visit the Bawany household aren’t bombarded with sweets; instead, we serve them a platter of mouth-watering treats (appetizers, if you may) that are a refreshing change from all the ‘sweet madness’ in the air. Here are two cheesy recipes that will spice things up a bit and will leave your guests wanting more.

Cheese Balls

These mouthwatering treats are fun to look at and taste amazing. Don’t let the potato-ish texture of these balls fool you as these are perfectly round bread balls with a cheesy chicken filling that just melts in your mouth. Let me dive straight into the recipe without getting too much drool on my keyboard. This recipe makes about 30 to 35 cheese balls.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast (make 1-inch cubes)
• 1 cup water
• 4-5 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp green chilies (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• ½ tsp ajino-moto (a.k.a. MSG or Chinese salt)
• Salt to taste
• ¼ cup mozzarella cheese (grated)
• ¼ cup cheddar cheese (grated)
• 30-35 slices of large-sized bread
• 2 eggs
• 1½ cups bread crumbs
• Oil for frying

Method

1. Take a pan, add water, chicken, black pepper, chilies, ginger paste, garlic paste, ajino-moto and salt, and put it on medium heat till the chicken is well-done and all the water dries out.
2. Once the chicken mixture has cooled down, shred it with your hands.
3. Add in both the mozzarella cheese and the cheddar cheese to the chicken and mix well.
4. Take a slice of bread and place about a teaspoon of the chicken filling in the center.
5. Apply a little water on all the edges of the bread slice and fold all four corners of the bread towards the center.
6. Form the filled bread into a ball while applying pressure on it with both hands.
7. Take a bowl and beat the eggs in it.
8. Dip the cheese ball into the egg for about 3 seconds and roll it into the bread crumbs.
9. Once all the balls are made, deep-fry in oil on low-medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the outside is nice and golden.
10. Serve immediately with a side of ketchup, green chutney or nacho cheese sauce.

Smoked Rolls

Smoked rolls are the result of one of my wife’s culinary experiments so I can’t really take credit for this. The recipe itself is deceptively simple, but yields a wonderfully crispy cheese-based concoction with a rich smoky flavor; once you pop, you can’t stop (sorry Pringles). The quantities below will yield about 60-70 rolls.

Ingredients

• I chicken breast (make 1-inch cubes)
• 4-5 tbsp chicken tikka masala (I know its a cop-out but I had no time to deconstruct this)
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• ½ cup yogurt
• 1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
• 60-70 samosa pastry sheets (filo pastry works too)
• ½ cup water
• 2-3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• Oil for frying

Method

1. Take a pan, add chicken, chicken tikka masala, yogurt, and garlic paste, put it on low-medium heat till the chicken is well-done and all the water from the yogurt dries out.
2. Once the chicken has cooled down, mince it and add in the grated cheddar cheese.
3. In a separate pan, take water and all-purpose flour, and mix it evenly on a slow flame until it turns into a thick smooth paste; add more flour if necessary.
4. Take one rectangular samosa pastry sheet and lay it down vertically in front of you.
5. Take about a half teaspoon of the chicken filling and spread it in a thin line across the top edge (see image below).
6. Roll down the pastry sheet firmly all the way to the end and firmly seal the other edge using the flour paste.
7. Once all the rolls are made, deep-fry in oil on low-medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes or until the outside is crisp and golden.
8. Serve immediately with a side of ketchup, green chutney or nacho cheese sauce.

As I mentioned earlier, Eid-ul-Fitr is all about sharing with those who cannot afford even the basic necessities of life. Please remember them when you wear new clothes or give your alms, and don’t forget to pray for me once your platters are licked clean.

Eid Mubarak to everyone!