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…
These chicken spread sandwiches are a great option for lunch boxes, be it a school lunch box or for the office. Just spread it on bread, add sliced vegetables and cut into halves or triangles. Whatever you prefer! The first time I tried a chicken spread sandwich was from my friend’s lunch box – she had bought sandwiches to school and made me try them. That very day I asked my mother to get me a bottle for home, 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…
Onion pakora, pyaz pakora or onion fritters are a Pakistani / Indian appetizer made with sliced onion and coriander coated with a spicy chickpea flour batter and deep-fried till crispy. What are pakoras? Pakora or pakoda are the Pakistani version of a fritter, but made with besan (chickpea flour in English). It’s a snack that is synonymous with the rainy season, and the moment it rains, what everyone wants is crispy crunchy vegetable pakoras with chai. It is also an…
Chana chaat is the Desi version of a salad. The base is chickpeas or chana with onions, tomatoes, green chilies and coriander as the supporting characters finished off with chaat masala and lemon juice for that necessary spice and khataaz! How to make chana chaat? Start off with boiling chickpeas or what is known as chana or sufaid chole in Hindi / Urdu. In fact, another name for chana chaat is chole ki chaat. You can also use canned chickpeas.…
Similar to potato fritters, aloo pakora or aloo pakoda (in Hindi) are a traditional Pakistani / Indian appetizer of sliced potatoes that are coated with a spicy chickpea flour batter and deep-fried till golden brown. What are pakoras? Pakoras are the Pakistani version of a fritter, but made with besan (chickpea flour in English). The traditional ones are the potato pakoras (aloo kay pakoray) and onion pakoras (piyaaz kay pakoray), but chicken pakoras (boti kay pakoray), spinach pakoras (palak kay…