RECIPE: Simply Pizza !

Last night, was pizza night for us. As foodies, we love to experiment with new flavours, tastes and combinations of textures. We want to keep it simple, yet it has to be tasteful and satisfying. Here is what i thought, a 6 ingredient pizza. Technically its a 6 topping, because the dough i got from the market, and used the toppings & baked it to perfection.

INGREDIENTS

• Pizza base, Medium. 8″-10″
• Black Olives, sliced. 7-8
• Onion 1/2 thinly sliced
• CHATKHAAR Piri Piri Sauce ( buy at http://www.chatkhaar.com)
• Cheese as per required cheesiness 😛 Cheddar 60% & Mozzarella 40%
• Chicken, Boneless pieces of breasts, cut small into cubes preferably. about 20-25 pieces.

METHOD

1. Marinate the chicken in the CHATKHAAR Piri Piri Sauce. for about 2 hour, Stir fry in Olive Oil

2. Take the Pizza base, Spread Chatkhaar Piri Piri Sauce same like we spread the pizza sauce, only in this case we are using CHATKHAAR.

3. Put chicken, Onions, Cheese, and Olives on the base. Put in the same order as described here.

4. Oven bake for about 20-25 mins.

“TADAaaa!!”

The simplest of all pizzas, with creamy cheese, crisp onions, crusty bread and flavours of portugal from the CHATKHAAR Portuguese Piri Piri Sauce. What else do we need ?

Try this at home with other sauces like i did with CHATKHAAR green chilli chutney. It turned out great. Take your pictures, share with me. Experiment with green olives, with Pizza, the flavors and textures you can play with are unlimited.

Buon Appetito

RECIPE: Roast Lemon Chicken, complimented with Veggies & bathed in Au Jus

Well then, Ramadan is coming up and one of our ramadan resolutions is going on a healthy diet and reducing weight. My todays recipe is about chicken, balanced with a few simple ingredients and hardly any oil added. Also a Mint lime that i call “Le-Mint” the compliments the food and leaves us refreshed for the next hour.

INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN MARINADE

• 50 ml Lime Juice
• 1 Table spoon Honey
• 2 teaspoon finely chopped thyme, or you can also use dry thyme available in super markets
• 2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary or you can also use dry rosemary available in super markets.
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 Lime, large, sliced.

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade and rest for 5 hours. For the sliced lemon, put between the skin and the meat. Preferably thighs and breast.

INGREDIENTS FOR ROASTING PAN

• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 3 Medium size garlic cloves.
• Chicken Stock 1 cups
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter. 1 melted to rub on the pan before roasting. 1 cold to put small portions in the skin of the chicken.

Brush the roasting pan with butter, add chicken and the rest of the ingredients in the pan. Cover the pan with foil, and oven bake for about 30 mins. Every Oven has different setting. so you have to keep a good check on the chicken.

Take out the chicken and pan fry for glazing and get that brown beautiful colour on the skin.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE ” JUS ”

• Chicken bones ( neck, wings, leg )
• Onion 1/4 chopped.
• Garlic 2 cloves chopped
• Cloves 3
• Coriander Fresh Handful
• Chicken stock 1 Cup 200ml
• 1 Pinch Fennel
• Dry thyme and rosemary 1 teaspoon
• Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon
• Vinegar 1 teaspoon
• Lime juice 2 teaspoons
• Butter 30gms
• Pinch of cornflour

Cook all the above ingredients on low heat for 2 hours and reduce to thick gravy which we call the Jus.

Steam fresh veggies, roast potatoes and top with seasalt.

Ingredients for ” Le’Mint ”

Make one Jug full of SUNDIP Lemon Squash. Add fresh chopped mint. and Chill for long time.

I froze the mint in ice cubes for a better refreshing effect.

Set your platter, take pictures and share them with me.

Bon Appétit

Buffalo Chicken MeatBalls! Ka-Chinng!

It was a lazy Sunday as usual. It had been a while i mixed up ingredients for a quick snack.Searched up the internet for a tasty Chicken meatball recipe. Found a few fascinating ones but particularly one which i thought i could give it a touch of my own.

I had an entire bottle of Frank’s RedHot ready to be used up, I just had to make these epic buffalo chicken meatballs. I am die hard buffalo fan and these meatballs blew my mind especially when complimented with Chatkhaar Arabian Garlic Sauce ( Buy now at http://www.chatkhaar.com)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 3/4 cup Panko*
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Pink Himalayan Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup buffalo sauce
• 1/4 cup CHATKHAAR Arabian Garlic Sauce.
• *Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in high end super markets like Naheed, ebco & Farids etc.

METHOD

In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, Panko, egg, garlic and onion powder and green onions; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the meat into meat balls of your preferred size. I would recommend about 1 inch or 1 1/4 inch. Place meatballs in a pan for slow cooking. Add buffalo sauce and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours.

Place into a beautiful piece of cutlery. Toss fresh coriander, and Arabian Garlic Sauce. Take your pictures share with me 🙂

bon appétit

Sakura. but not for sushi this time.

Many a times, we have heard about Sakura and how great the food is, how wonderful the ambiance is, and how expensive your check will be. Well its true. Its all true, but have we ever thought, every good thing has a price and my visit tonight, i feel everything above is justified.

I have often observed people discuss sushi and Sakura together. Sakura, the very well set Japanese cuisine restaurant located inside the Pearl Continental hotel Karachi offers great food, good ambiance and excellent service. Booked a table for 3, me, wife and our son (4 years). Our reservation was for 8PM and we arrived around 830. We were given a good table next to a window with a beautiful view of the city of lights. Chic purple interior, neat clean tables, well set, chairs with arm rests i think i just wanted to be seated quickly.

We have been regular visitors of Sakura for almost 8 years now but this time our order was different. We wanted to avoid sushi and thought why not try something different today.

Our order Crispy California rolls, Prawn Tempura, Beef Teriyaki, Garlic rice and Prawn Teppanyaki.

We were instantly served with warm green tea.

Excited to wait for our order, i noticed the restaurant was not too crowded and provided a great enviornment for a peaceful dinner. Minutes later the California rolls arrived. Topped with teriyaki sauce, crispy batter, these soft rice rolls are heaven. An ideal combination for your palate in every bite. All the textures in one place. The crispy batter, combined with the sauce and the soft rice it really felt great. Top it up with the chilli sauce and wasabi paste and there you go. I can have it all night and still feel light on the digestion. After every roll, clear your palate with the pink baby ginger pickles in vinegar and a bit of sweetness and take the other bite of another roll. Just Delectable !

The prawn tempura is an all time favorite. It comes with a special soy sauce, not too salty and balanced on the flavor over all. Crispy batter outside, soft prawn inside, cooked to perfection every bite of this treat was just exquisitely excellent.

The beef Teriyaki oh how much i love this and to top my expectations, it was perfectly cooked. The right amount of sauce, and the right portions of beef, cut marinated and cooked in teriyaki sauce. Mouthwatering and very well complemented with the garlic rice we had ordered. I, however did not like the plating too much. It had a slice of tomato and a cucumber, with that cheap shredded cauliflower topped with mayonnaise.

I was not very impressed with the Prawn Teppanyaki. Just lacked flavour. Its Wok fried with vegetables, and it was too oily for me. skimmed the prawns out of it. This was the best i could manage.

The total bill was Rs.8000 which i believe was not bad for 2 and half people. For an experience like this i would pay this price anytime.

Conclusion, yet another night at Sakura that just gave us many reasons to come back. They know how to treat you well, the service is excellent. They wont come to you every 4th bite and ask how your food is. They would not buzz near your table to see all the time if you are done with your food, yet some how, they would clear the table and your mess without you knowing that they were watching. I loved the privacy you get when you know that people around you are just minding their own business in their soft spoken languages.

Thank you Sakura. See you Soon !

RECIPE: HONEY LIME SHRIMP WITH SRIRACHA & CHATKHAAR

All you need is 15 minutes & simple ingredients. Voilà !!! its ready.

HONEY LIME SHRIMP WITH SRIRACHA & CHATKHAAR

This Honey Lime Shrimp with Sriracha is succulent, tender, and mouthwatering! Add Chatkhaar Piri Piri Sauce for a touch of African birds eye chilli !

I’m swimming with the current. Seafood lovers, dive on in. And if you’re not that into shrimp, perhaps this tantalizing dish will turn the tide for you or someone you know.  It’s a real thing. Spring and sunshine and warm breezes sing out for shrimp. Its getting warmer by the day, and some days its just too hot. Maybe it’s the whole ocean-crustacean vibe.

If you are a slave to lime, honey and shrimp, here is your 50 shades of grey. Your guilty pleasure.

I also tried to kick it up with combo of SRIRACHA & CHATKHAAR Piri Piri Sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 TB olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• juice of 1 large lime
• 1½ tsp cornstarch
• 4 TB pure honey
• zest of 1 large lime
• 1-3 tsp Sriracha, depending on how spicy you want it ( available at good super stores)
• 1 tsp CHATKHAAR Piri Piri Sauce ( buy now at http://www.chatkhaar.com)
• ½ tsp SUNDiP Pink Himalayan salt (preffered) (buy now at http://www.naurusonline.com)
• 1 lb jumbo or large raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large nonstick pan, stir together oil and garlic over medium heat for 1 minute. Combine lime juice with cornstarch in a small bowl and mix to dissolve cornstarch. Add this to the pan. Add all remaining ingredients to the pan and continue to stir together just until shrimp turns opaque, about 1½ minutes. Do not over cook.
2. Garnish, take pictures and share with friends.
3. Serve warm shrimp with sauce over rice.

Note: This Recipe was inspired from an online recipe i saw for the same. I tried to change it a bit by adding CHATKHAAR Piri Piri Sauce and it turned out great.

Recipe: Wasabi Prawns & Dynamite Prawns

Recently, i had been gifted with 2 bags of wasabi powder from a Korean friend. 2 weeks, they had just been lying in the kitchen, waiting to be opened and buzz me in the nose giving an intense high.

Eventually, i ended my lazy sunday with Wasabi Prawns and Dynamite Prawns Dinner.

Two Recipes, very similar ingredients yet very distinct flavours.

What you need :

For Dynamite Prawns :

12 King Size Prawns (shelled ) 2 egg whites 1 cup corn flour

Oil for deep drying

3 Table Spoons Chatkhaar Piri Piri Sauce

 Buy Online at http://www.chatkhaar.com

3 tablespoon of Mayonnaise

2 tablespoon of Un Sweetened, Condensed Milk

1 teaspoon Wasabi Paste (you can add more if you prefer a stronger kick)

how to make it ?

1. Coat prawns with egg white and cornflour evenly.

2. Deep fry prawns until crispy. Drain on paper towel.

3. Mix the  Mix the Piri Piri Sauce, mayonnaise, condensed milk and wasabi Paste in a small bowl.

4. Add the mixture into the wok to warm up

5. Toss the deep fried prawns with Dynamite mixture until evenly coated

——————————————————————————————————————–

What you need :

For Wasabi Prawns :

12 King Size Prawns (shelled ) 2 egg white

1 cup corn flour

Oil for deep drying

2 Table Spoons Wasabi Powder

3 tablespoon of Mayonnaise

2 tablespoon of Un Sweetened, Condensed Milk

1/2 teaspoon of Lemon Juice

how to make it ?

1. Coat prawns with egg white and cornflour evenly.

2. Deep fry prawns until crispy. Drain on paper towel.

3. Mix the  Mix the Wasabi Powder, mayonnaise, Condensed Milk & Lemon Juice  in a small bowl.

4. Add the mixture into the wok to warm up

5. Toss the deep fried prawns with Wasabi mixture until evenly coated

Where to get Wasabi Powder/ Paste from ? Try any A class Super Store but i doubt they would be offering authentic stuff.

Contact me if you cant find it. Maybe i can arrange for you for a price.

when in lahore….

Last week, i was traveling within Pakistan, towards the northern areas and somewhat Punjab. I had posted a small blog about my Karahi experience in Abbottabad which was superb. you can find it here.

Day trip, Rawalpindi to Abbottabad, Desi Chicken Karahi & return !

My trip concluded in lahore, where i got the chance to have a Chinese lunch and Bashir-Dar-Almahi

i will start with the Chinese. My selection was HSIN KUANG. Its located near MM Alam street, Off Main boulevard road. I think the are is called gulberg. It is a pretty decent place, and i have been going here for almost 20 years now.

 

The food, the service, the interior. Nothing has changed. The music unlike many Chinese restaurants in Karachi that play, George Michael, Madonna, Celine Dion or Kenny G tunes, this one was all Chinese music.

Ordered the beef chilli dry, yes i know its my signature order. The special fried rice, chicken and mushroom noodle soup & chicken Manchurian.

 

Beef chilli dry was average. but i was glad, it had pure beef. not like corn flour coated beef. This was somewhat thick & thins of beef slices mixed with seedless green chillies. Wok fried to perfection.

The rice, well i did not like it so much as i was really looking forward to that noodle soup. And Oh, i loved it. not so spicy, it was chicken broth and lots of water, chicken thigh pieces, mushrooms, fresh veggies and noodles. It felt so traditional to eat. I ate the whole bowl, and when you are in Lahore, it is a must try. It was simple, yet so fresh and tasteful. Just like they have it in China. I can say this because i spend almost 30 days a year in China.

My second experience was a Desi one. Rahu Fish. and where else but to get it from. Bashir-Dar-Almahi. Located in the footsteps of Gaddafi Stadium. Hot friday afternoon, and we thought, well why not fish.

Absolutely wonderful, fresh & well balanced on the spices. A lot of oil there, but it was well worth it. The fish muscles and tissues, just separating themselves from each other tempting you to never stop. not too expensive either as you can see in the Price List.

Tawa Fry, is simple marination and sort of a Stir Fry. While the other is coated in gram flour (Besun) and then Deep Fried.

I was experimenting with the slow-motion video making from my phone and here i can share a few of them from the trip and food. I also managed to make a slow mo video of a thunder in the clouds while i was in lahore.

check out my vimeo channel for that.

https://vimeo.com/user14283111

White Biryani – A Review

I have been trying hard to find some partners for co branding my product with restaurants and eateries. I contacted a few forums, talked here and there and finally was introduced to the owner of White Biryani. He was willing to hear what i had to say and offer with open heart and mind. We set a time for lunch, for today, Saturday 21st March.

The place is located in Rahat commercial Area, Lane 2. Im not very familiar with the routes of DHA, but this was not hard to find. Got on Kh-Ittehad, saw a board that said Kh-rahat, and here i was in rahat commercial area looking for WB. It wasnt on the main road. but the commercial area is small, it was not hard to find either.

Seating was not much comfortable. Wooden sort of benches, and im a heavy fat guy, who dont like to sit on non-flat wood. I think this can be improved with the interior. Its not well decorated, well that does not matter much once the food is in front of you 🙂

Having our brief introductions, lunch was served and of course it was the very much talked about WHITE BIRYANI for me. The curiosity ended and i was exposed to a beautiful plate of rice. Every piece, separated from each other. Long grain, Basmati rice, a decent size of chicken piece, a few potatoes and lots of spices. And by spices i do not mean the hotness. i mean the spices. The plum, the lemon, the pepper everything. I could smell the typical biryani, only this one looked so different and attractive. Clean, there was not much going on in the plate but there was so much going on in my mouth, nose, eyes and of course, my tummy growling for food. I had asked for a single serving. The biryani was well armored with the weapons of mass flavors. Plum, Green Masala, white masala everything in perfection.

Nice clean plate, shining cutlery i was happy to finish this in 10 mins. i wanted more but i had to be at another place and i could not afford to be over dosed and burp my way through the next meeting.

I cannot compare this to any commercial biryani place. The closest to this biryani, i would say is the memoni biryani i tried once in a wedding. But even that was too spicy. This one had a balance. The flavor grew with every bite.

I will be trying more of this, and a few more items from the menu some other day. Will be going back for sure to over eat this beautiful, wonderful, tasteful biryani.

Check out their menu, try it. They have home delivery too. A few readers would think this is an over priced Biryani Wala, well on the contrary, this is not a typical biryani wala. The owner was well educated, and he knew exactly what he is giving to his customers and what he charging for it. I have exchanged a few ideas with him about my brands and hopefully we will come up with something new and exciting in the near future.

Nu-Deli : This Time Sundried Tomatoes Only

My recent post on the recipe of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, alot of readers asked me if i could arrange for them, only the sun dried tomatoes and that they would like to give the recipe a try themselves.

 DURING DEHYDRATION

 DURING DEHYDRATION

Today, i was greeted in the morning with the news that the batch i had kept up for dehydrating is ready to be packed and shipped, hence the good news for all sun dried tomato lovers. Its ready. Sun Dried Tomatoes. The texture is a bit leathery and you can just chew. The whole process took over 10 days and yet I have only managed 9 Jars of 200gms each.

Do you want to try ? why not place an order.

Please send me an email on irshek@gmail.com and book your order. Price for Each Jars is Rs.500.. Pick up only. One Jar per person. First come First serve 🙂

Once opened, the jars must be kept refrigerated and consumed within 10-14 days.

When is the next batch ? maybe i will have some jars ready in about 10 days.

You can follow my blog for updates on whats happening with Nu-Deli, Pakistan’s 1st designer brand in the food category.

ta !

Golden Dragon – A Review

Saturday nights are usually lazy for me and tonight was no different. After the days work, and conquering traffic reached home around 8. Family wanted to go out and i wanted to stay in and order a home delivery. We all agreed on Chinese and the options were limitless. Ended up ordering Golden Dragon from the website http://www.eatoye.pk

The ordering was easy, 3 easy steps and i was all done. The time given to me for delivery was 90mins and the order arrived on time.

I was not too impressed with the packaging. Very ordinary, thermocol boxes with rubber bands, food packed into plastic bags. So ordinary.

Ordered

Beef with garlic and chillies, tasting as good as i had crispy beef at TAO some time back. Generous serving. The beef however was i think slightly coated with corn flour to give it a chewy texture and mouth feel. All flavors were balanced and i was happy with my selection of the main dish. The good part was i did not feel the MSG over powering the taste and it felt good.

Egg fried rice were regular. Nothing special about them. However i was not happy with the size of the rice. It was very small. The positive was the rice made the vegetables were quite visible and the over all look of the plate was nice. Tasted quite good and will order again.

Corn soup had too much pepper in it. But i was glad it was not one of those MSG filled ones. This one had a better and different taste. It had a lot of egg and chicken and was medium thick, but i could not find a lot of corn there. Well, almost scarce on the corn there.

Prawn in green coconut curry-Thai was a NO for me. It lacked the original Thai flavor. It had too much oil and the coconut curry was not as tasty as i expected. Shrimps, Mushroom, baby corn slices. I don’t think these guys know how the green Thai curry is made.

Over all i had a good time considering the food was enough for 4 people and in just Rs.1700 this was a bargain. It is a must try but stick to Chinese. Don’t go for Thai unless you hear improvement in that area in their kitchen.

A few more shots.