One of my absolute favourite Desi desserts has to be chana daal halwa or chanay ki daal ka halwa – a traditional Pakistani and Indian dessert that is made from chana daal, a type of lentil that is known as split bengal gram. What I find truly unique is how with the addition of a few ingredients – sugar, cream and ghee (aka clarified butter) and lots of stirring (let’s not forget the stirring!) a normally savoury ingredient is turned…
Packed with chicken, capsicum, carrots and cabbage these chicken and vegetable spring rolls are crispy, crunchy and absolutely delicious! Serve hot with ketchup or sweet chili sauce. Today I am sharing a recipe for Chinese style chicken and vegetable spring rolls – an oriental snack that is super popular in Pakistan. It’s a snack that you will not only find in Chinese restaurants but also at local Pakistani restaurants, cafes and even roadside vendors. It’s a snack you can find…
So what exactly are box patties? Chicken box patties are a popular Pakistani snack, especially during Ramadan where they are served at Iftar time. Made with samosa sheets or spring roll wrappers they are filled with chicken, cheese and vegetables and fried till golden brown. Follow my step by step photos below to make perfect box patties. They are called box patties because their shape resembles a square box which is made by overlapping two samosa wrapper sheets. The filling…
Chana dal samosas are a popular Pakistani & Indian vegetarian / vegan snack. Perfect for tea time with green chutney or raita on the side. Growing up in Pakistan with parents who were doctors meant that I rarely got to eat snacks from outside. No thailay wali kulfi’s, no bun kebabs, not even Mr. Burger and definitely no gola ganda’s! What I was allowed to have were samosas from the Nimco outlet (the original outlet in Bohri Bazaar, Saddar), but…
Shami kebab are beef patties made with boneless beef, chana daal (split bengal gram), onion, spices and herbs. This recipe makes a large batch so eat some right now, and freeze the rest for later. There was a time when shami kebabs were reserved for special occasions – when guests are over or it was a fancy dinner at home. Those were the days when the meat for the shami kebab was painstakingly ground by hand with a sil batta.…
Keema samosa is a popular Pakistani snack with a filling of keema enclosed in a flour based pastry and deep fried. Enjoy it hot with mint chutney on the side. Samosa making is an art learnt by trial and error and a line of broken samosa pattis along the way. Every year in Ramadan samosa making was a ritual with my mother. I remember how I struggled when she started teaching me. As much as I tried, I could never…
Sheer khurma is a popular Eid dessert in Pakistan as well as other Muslim countries. It is made with vermicelli cooked in milk with dates, dry fruits and cardamom adding flavour and aroma to the dish. As far as I can remember, sheer khurma has been one of my favourite Eid traditions. My mother would make it in the morning, and when the men would come back from Eid prayers, we would have breakfast and then garma garam sheer khurma.…