Cooking With Shazia

Home cooking can be approachable & enjoyable

RECIPES

EASY CHICKEN CURRY

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Friends, weeknights don’t get any easier than this easy delicious chicken curry. You also don’t have to use a box mix of spices either. I am sharing my go-to chicken curry recipe that is always on our menu. I have two kids, so I know how schedules can get hectic especially during the week. But that does not mean your quick dinner has to boring. Chicken curry is great for meal prepping because it always tastes even better the next days and the chicken stays moist in the sauce.

This style of chicken curry is from Pakistan and Northern India. So there is no coconut milk/cream or yogurt. The delicious thick gravy is made from onions and fresh tomatoes. This dish is also called chicken karahi, which is a word for cooking pot that is similar to a wok.  There are many variations of this dish depending on the region. Each family will have their own way of making this dish.

Like I have mentioned before South Asian dishes have so much flavor from the aromatics that are used in most dishes. The base is often started with onions, fresh garlic, ginger and tomatoes.

RECIPE NOTES

Usually I would use bone in chicken but today I used chicken thighs. I have also made this dish with chicken breast and tenders. It really just depends on what I have on hand. I also used 3 small tomatoes and purred them. You don’t have to puree the tomatoes if you don’t care to see tomato skin in the curry. You could also do 2 large tomatoes. Always remember if you add more of onions and tomatoes to  make a thick gravy. You always have to make sure you have enough oil for the mixture to cook in. Sometimes that is a common mistake made not enough oil. The technique for South Asian cooking is for onions/tomatoes/spices to really saute in the oil.

As always you can omit the green chili and the chili powder if you don’t want any heat in the curry. There is still so much flavor with the other ingredients/spices. I always add less chili powder and usually omit the fresh chili pepper because of the kids. Spices are very basic and are readily available. I always like to use a neutral oil for South Asian cooking. Today I used light olive oil which is good for high cooking temperatures. You could also use Avacado oil, canola oil, ghee.

We always enjoy this curry with chapatis, rice or naan.

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RICE and SPINACH PILAF

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Hi friends! I am excited to share a simple recipe that has been a favorite of my kids. Ever since the kids were little and I started to introduce South Asian food to them, I wanted to keep it simple. It seemed like it was easier to make one pot dishes.  My kids definitely enjoy rice, but it can get boring to make plain rice. Rice is one of those ingredients you can do so much with in any cuisine. This is still my go-to recipe as the kids have gotten older. Sometimes I add broccoli, chickpeas, mix frozen vegetables as different variations. I shouldn’t say it’s just the kids favorite, everyone enjoys it a lot.

PILAF

Pilaf is just a fancy word for flavorful rice. It’s rice that has been cooked with aromatics of different combinations of ingredients/spics. Once you have the base down such as sautéing onions, garlic in oil/butter try different types of spices. You can use powdered spices or whole spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, etc.

 

RICE

Basmati rice is most commonly used in South Asian cooking. There are many different varieties of basmati rice. It is a long-grained rice, that is very fragrant, tends to cook quickly. This rice also tends to stay fluffy and separate after cooking. Now it can depend on the variety of the basmati rice and cook time will vary. Basmati rice is traditionally grown in the Indian subcontinent.

I make this rice dish often. Kids will have a bowl as a main dish with some cucumbers on the side. It can also be enjoyed as a side dish to any meat or vegetable curry.

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BAKED SALMON

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It may seem a little intimidating to bake an entire fillet of salmon. I don’t think you can actually go wrong with making fish. It cooks/bakes very fast, so it does make an easy meal to put together. I like baking the whole fillet because you can have it with different meals. My kids love baked fish with rice with a lot of lemon. My husband is usually always on a diet so he enjoys it with brown rice. So it’s very nice to make some main meal components with some sides. This way you won’t feel like you are eating the same thing after meal prepping, it will give you some options.

Salmon turns a beautiful opaque color as it cooks. It also will flake easily when it’s done baking. You don’t want to bake it longer or else it will loose moisture and will be tough. You can definitely use smaller fillets as well. I just happen to pick up this large one.

You can enjoy this with a side of white/brown rice and roasted veggies. Salmon also works great in tacos and in salads.

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EASY KOFTA ALOO CURRY (MEATBALL/POTATO CURRY)

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Hello friends

I am so excited to bring you one of my family favorites. This dish is called Kofta Aloo, kofta means meatballs and aloo means potato. This is a Pakistani/North Indian style meatball curry. Moist meatballs and potatoes are cooked in a thick smooth curry sauce with some basic spices.

I grew up eating delicious home made Pakistani food by my mom. Since I have learned from her I have the same approach to cooking. I like to show that cooking can be easy and with simple ingredients you can make delicious meals. If you are new to cooking in general or are excited to learn south Asian food, I recommend starting with simple recipes. This is definitely a great recipe to start off with and will quickly become your favorite.

There are different variations of this dish. I think everyone will make it a little different. But they all have two parts, ingredients for the meatballs and the gravy curry sauce. I always say more than the recipe focus on the techniques of cooking. Because when you know techniques and why certain things are done with a particular type of cuisine or ingredient you can apply that to any recipe. You can leave out the potatoes and add peas or make it plain. This can also be paired with hardboiled eggs.

RECIPE NOTES

*I used 85% lean ground beef. Some amount of fat will bring flavor to meatballs and keep them moist. You can also use ground chicken or ground turkey if you don’t use ground beef. I always let my ground beef come to room temp. before I cook it. Room temp. beef will mix well with other ingredients and when cooked won’t get shocked and toughen up.

*I have said to puree the tomatoes/onions/garlic/ginger for the gravy. To make a nice thick gravy for this dish you need a good amount of onions and tomatoes. But if you just roughly chop these ingredients the gravy will be chunky and not smooth especially if you don’t give it enough time to cook. I have finely chopped the onions/garlic/ginger for the meatballs before but usually  for this dish you want the meatballs to be not chunky but smooth. I have also finely chopped onions for the gravy to before. Whenever I use more than 2 tomatoes I usually always puree them. But I want to show you this is a great way to give any curry gravy a smooth texture.

*South Asian food does not always have to be very spicy. I always say you can leave out the chili powder. Because the other spices/ingredients give so much flavor. You can always add some fresh green/red chilies as well for freshness or even cayenne pepper. My kids don’t like food very spicy and don’t like to bite into chilies so that’s usually why I omit it but they make a great garnish as well.

*For south Asian food I always prefer to use a neutral oil. If I use olive oil it’s the light one not the olive oil used for marinades. Avacado, canola, rapeseed, light olive oil and ghee are great options. Another important tip to remember for south Asian food is that mostly the base of dishes are always started off with onions, tomatoes and spices. So if you don’t have enough oil these ingredients will not be able to sauté well and won’t build the intended flavor for the dish. So you can always add a little bit more oil.

*This curry is great served with rice, naan, chapati/roti, brown rice, pita bread. Side of salad would be nice.  If you make it a little spicy you can always serve a side of whipped regular yogurt that has salt/pepper.

5.0 from 1 reviews
EASY KOFTA ALOO CURRY (MEATBALL/POTATO CURRY)
 
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Make this authentic meatball curry. Moist meatballs and potatoes that are cooked in a thick smooth curry sauce.
Author:
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Pakistani/Indian
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • MEATBALLS
  • 1lb. ground beef 85% lean
  • sm. onion roughly chopped
  • 4 med. garlic cloves, peeled
  • ½" piece of ginger
  • sm. bunch cilantro, washed
  • 1½ tsp. coriander powder
  • 1½ tsp. cumin powder
  • 1 tsp. garam masala
  • ½ tsp. chili powder
  • ¼ tsp. tumeric powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • GRAVY SAUCE INGREDIENTS
  • 1 lg. onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 med. tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 4-5 med. garlic cloves, peeled
  • ½ inch ginger, peeled
  • few pieces of cinnamon sticks
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 2 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp. cumin powder
  • 2 tsp. coriander powder
  • 1½ tsp. garam masala powder
  • ½ tsp. chili powder
  • ¼ tsp. tumeric powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½-3/4 cup cooking oil of choice (see recipe notes)
  • 1 lg. potato or 2 regular size potatoes, cubed
  • extra water 1½ cups
  • cilantro for garnish
Instructions
  1. MAKE MEATBALLS
  2. Add ground beef to med. mixing bowl.
  3. In food processor finely blend onion, garlic, ginger & cilantro.
  4. Add powder spices & onion mixture to ground beef. Mix well. Don't compress meat between hands, gently mix.
  5. Lightly wet hands and shape into meat balls. I usually yield 14-17 meatballs. set aside.
  6. GRAVY/SAUCE INSTRUCTIONS
  7. In food processor blend onion/garlic/ginger, set aside.
  8. Blend tomatoes in food processor as well, set aside.
  9. In heavy bottomed pan. On med-high heat add oil to pan.
  10. Add onion mixture, cinnamon/cloves/bay leaf and cumin seeds. Saute till light golden. water will evaporate.
  11. Add tomatoes/powder spices. Cook till water as evaporated. Oil will rise to top. This ensures that you powder spices have cooked. This can take up to 10min.
  12. Add meatballs, don't overlap. Let cook for 5min. Turn heat to med.
  13. Add potatoes and water. You can add a little bit more or less water depending on how thick or thin you want the gravy.
  14. Cook for 10-15min more minutes. Towards end of cooking time turn heat to med-low. Some oil should rise to top. You can check potatoes for doneness.
  15. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro

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EASY CHICKEN TANDOORI

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Hi friends! Chicken tandoori is one popular dish that we think of ordering when we are at any South Asian restaurant.  This dish is made by marinating the chicken in yogurt and spices than roasting in a clay oven or grilled.  Any part of the chicken can be used.  The whole chicken can be roasted, thighs, legs, breast, etc.  The sister dish to tandoori chicken is chicken tikka.  The spice blend with yogurt is the same just boneless pieces of chicken are used.  All types of chicken tandoori and chicken tikka recipes begin with a yogurt, citrus, spice blends.  So, this recipe can also be called chicken tikka, there is no big difference.  Yogurt is an important ingredient in this marinade.  It adds flavor, moisture and really helps tenderize the meat especially if you let it marinade for long. The yogurt also forms a soft layer of flavor around the meat.  I did something a little different with this dish which adds so much more flavor.  Usually spices, ginger, garlic and yogurt are mixed and added to chicken.  But I decided to sauté the ginger, garlic and spices than added them to the yogurt.  This brings out a different level of aroma and flavor.  When spices are added to heated oil the flavors are released much more efficiently in the dish.  Now to talk about that bright orange/reddish color of chicken tandoori that we all see.  Some of that color will come from paprika, chili powder, turmeric and food coloring.  It will depend on the brand of chili powder you have.  Different brands of chili powder will give off a different variation of red.  The red powder food color that I have used in the recipe is from an international grocery store.  I have not found this type of food color at an American grocery store.  But the food color is optional it will not add any flavor. So don’t feel like you need to go out and find the food color. The paprika, chili powder will give you some nice color.  You can certainly grill the chicken, but I am cooking on stovetop.  This dish is a great meal prep option since it’s best if marinated overnight. It’s usually served with rice, naan or roti. To help with the heat a mint/yogurt chutney can be served with it. I hope you try this recipe and let me know how it came out.

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MINT CHUTNEY

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There are so many variations of chutneys. This is a very basic, easy and delicious mint chutney that will go great with any South Asian meal you prep.  This can be whipped up in no time in a small blender.

MINT CHUTNEY
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Chutney, sauce
Cuisine: Indian/Pakistani
Serves: 1 cup
Ingredients
  • 1 bunch mint leaves, washed ( 1½ cup packed)
  • ½ small onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 small tomato, roughly chopped
  • 1 med garlic clove
  • 1 lime
  • ¼-1/2 tsp. salt (adjust)
  • ¼ tsp. chili powder (optional)
  • water as needed
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to small blender. Add little bit of water just to get the blender going. You can omit the chili powder if you don't want it hot. You can also add fresh green chilies as well. Adjust the lime juice to your preference. I used the juice of 1 whole lime.

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MEATBALLS WITH PEPPERS

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Hi friends! I am all about easy night dinners because weeknights can be so hectic with kids.  Even thou busy it’s nice to enjoy a homecooked meal.  This meatball recipe is my pretty much go to, especially in curries.  But to make it quick I decided not to use a lot of tomatoes to make a curry sauce because that can just take a little bit longer.  One question I get asked often is how do I keep the meatballs soft/moist.  There are a few things I recommend for that. First, the ground beef I use has some amount of fat in it. Fat equals moist and flavorful. secondly, I like the meat to sit out for a bit till it comes to room temperature.  Cooking cold meat can make it tough.  Lastly, when mixing ingredients in ground beef gently fold in the ingredients rather then compressing the meat, maybe even use a fork to mix.  Than there are some other options like using bread that has been soaked in milk. That works pretty well also.  This recipe is a great meal prep option. You can enjoy it with naan, pita bread or rice. Enjoy!

MEATBALLS WITH PEPPERS
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Pakistani/indian
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients
  • MEATBALLS:
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 5-6 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp. ground coriander
  • 2 tsp. cumin powder
  • 1 tsp. garam masala
  • ½ tsp. chili powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
  • few tbsp. oil
  • MEATBALL INSTRUCTIONS
  • 1. Heat oil in small pan. Add onions, garlic, cumin seeds. Sauté till translucent/little golden brown. Set aside and cool.
  • 2. In medium bowl mix ground beef, onion/garlic mixture, spices & cilantro. Mix well and form 16-17 meatballs. Set aside.
  • FOR SAUCE:
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 small tomato, finely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
  • 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp. coriander powder
  • 1 tsp. cumin powder
  • ½ tsp. garam masala
  • ¼ tsp. chili powder
  • ½ tsp. cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2-3 tbsp. oil
  • SAUCE INSTRUCTIONS:
  • 1. Heat oil in medium pan. Add onions and meatballs. Let onions get translucent and light brown & let meatballs get a good sear on all sides.
  • 2. Add garlic and cumin seeds to pan, saute for about 10 seconds.
  • 3. Add tomatoes and spices. Mix well. Let meatballs cook for about 20-25 minutes on med-low.
  • 4. Add bell peppers at the end just heat thru. I like to have a crunch on the veggies. If you like the peppers cooked down a little more, just add them with the tomatoes or as the meatballs are getting done. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

SHAMI KEBABS

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Many South Asian menus are incomplete unless you have some variety of kebabs. Kebabs are made from various cooked meats.  There are so many varieties of kebabs people enjoy.  They can be prepared with chicken, lamb, beef, turkey or seafood.  This particular variety of kebabs are called Shami kebabs.  It is a minced meat patty that just melts in your mouth.  Usually it’s made with split yellow lentils that have to be soaked and need some time to cook with the meat.  But recently I have been making these with canned chickpeas.  Now by all means I am not calling this recipe authentic.  This is just my version of these kebabs.  By using the canned chickpeas this recipe comes together much faster.  The cooked ground meat mixture gets processed thru a food processor/meat grinder to give it a very smooth texture.  So kids love these kebabs because of the texture, it’s not a chewy consistency like a burger.  These also freeze very well and makes a great protein option for meal prepping.

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EASY EGG CURRY

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Hi Friends! I have another easy South Asian recipe for you today, a delicious curry made with hard boiled eggs.  I would say this is a meal for the days I am being lazy and don’t want to cook anything elaborate but still want to have something homemade. If you have eggs on hand and a few spices this meal will come together in no time, I promise.  This also makes a great vegetarian curry or when you don’t feel like having a meat curry.  My kids really enjoy it with rice, naan, roti or any flatbread.  See recipe notes for any details for the actual recipe.  I hope you try it and let me know how it was. Enjoy!

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COCONUT MACAROONS

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Hi friends! I hope everyone is doing good.  Today I am sharing a very simple, sweet and chewy few ingredient treat.  This has been one of my favorite treats.  It’s hard to find moist chewy coconut macaroons from the grocery stores.  I think you guys will enjoy making this easy dessert. Enjoy!

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