Chicken Kathi Rolls

So tonight's dinner was something we haven't had in a very long time: chicken kathi rolls. So I thought, considering this seems to be a new foodie craze in the making, I'd share my recipe with you so you can enjoy your own home made kathi rolls!

Kathi rolls do need some forward planning. Unfortunately, it can't be whipped up in a hurry. Well, it probably can be, but it's just not the same. And before I get into the recipe, I have a confession. I'm not very good at mixing masalas, so I have used a shop bought masala for this. I'm sorry about this! I know! I can hear the judgement penetrating your screens! It's so loud! But it's one thing I just can't seem to get right. I'll go hide in the corner in shame once I've shared my recipe with you. So as might be obvious, there are two main parts to the rolls: the filling and the wraps. Here's how I make both!

Kathi rolls

Tandoori Chicken
400g diced chicken
3tbsp thick yoghurt
1tsp garlic paste (I use smoked garlic, but any paste will do)
1tsp ginger paste
4tsp tandoori chicken masala
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh coriander

 In a bowl, add the yoghurt, ginger paste, garlic paste, lemon juice and tandoori chicken masala. Whisk until smooth. Give it a taste. This is the time to check seasoning. Once you're happy, add the chopped coriander and the chicken pieces. Mix it all together and set aside for at least half an hour, but two hours would be better.

 When you're ready to cook it, drizzle oil on a foil covered baking tray. Spread chicken on top, and drizzle a touch more oil on top. Put this into a pre-heated oven at 200 c for about 25 minutes, but use your discretion as it really depends on the size of the chicken.

You can do this with any meat of your choice, but just change the cooking times. I made this with paneer for my mum as she's a vegetarian. It works just as well. Look how beautiful they both look! The paneer took about 20 minutes to cook.

When they come out, they should look slightly brown, but generally golden and delicious all over! Yum!

 Kathi Wraps
1cup strong white flour
2tbsp course semolina
1/2tsp salt and another pinch
About 375ml cold water
3 eggs
Pinch of pepper
1tbsp semi skimmed milk

In a bowl, combine the flour, semolina and salt. The semolina helps add a slight crunch to the wraps. Combine with the water until it makes a smooth batter, about the consistency of pancake batter.

That's a good looking batter! Make sure it's nice and smooth. There is nothing worse than flour lumps.

 In a hot non-stick pan, add one ladle-full of batter at a time and cook it until lightly brown on one side like the one below. Keep the second side a little blonde as we'll cook it further a little later on. Set them aside, separated by silicon paper.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper and a tablespoon of milk. The milk just helps make the eggs fluffier. In the same pan - it helps with the size - add a ladle-full of the fluffy whisked eggs. Don't touch it for a minute. Once all the egg is almost - almost - set. Now take one of the cooked pancakes and flip the lightly browned side onto the half cooked omelette. The slightly raw egg helps the pancake stick to the egg. Once stuck together, flip the egg-wrap over and let the other side brown. This is what you should end up with.

Extras

1 red onion, sliced

Lemon juice

Chunky chat masala

Chunky chat masala is one of my favourite masalas. It's a mix of dried mango powder, salt, black pepper, asafoetida, cumin, dried ginger, coriander, cumin, black pepper and chilli powder. It's beautiful on apples and bananas or on something like this. It just gives an extra kick!

Anyway, it's time to put this kathi roll together! And it's really simple because you've already done all the hard work. Lay the egg-wrap on your plate, egg side up. Put some sliced onion in the centre of the wrap, topped with the chicken or paneer. Sprinkle over some chunky chat masala and a few drops of lemon juice. Or half the box and the bottle, if you're anything like me! Roll up and enjoy!

 The best part about this meal? Aside from the olive oil, there is no added fats, oil, or butter! So it's a pretty healthy meal! And well worth all the effort, trust me.

Bonus points if you can team this meal up with one of these bad boys. Yum!

You can also make Indian seekh kebabs to go in these wraps, and I will bring you the recipe the next time I make them. 

For now, I shall go hang my head in shame for reasons I mentioned above. Until next time, folks!

Introducing Caspar - Happy 11th Birthday!

Back in 2003, my sisters and I had finally worn down my mum and convinced her it was time to get a dog. So in October (or was it November?) of that year, we went around looking at dogs in a local pet shop and we stumbled across two black labrador pups; a brother and sister. The sister was cute. She looked adorable, sitting on the floor in the little room they had to be kept in because they'd just been vaccinated and so had to avoid contact with people. But the brother? He jumped up, front paws on the gate in front of them, his powerful black tail wagging like crazy, his gorgeous brown eyes staring at the four of us stood there, staring back at him. And we knew. He was coming home with us! We had to wait a few days, until the isolation period was up, and it felt like forever! And now, 11 years on, he's the most important man in my life. And now, excuse me while I indulge in some shameless showing off! I'm going to skip craft for now because I really want you to meet Caspar. So here's Caspar!

 Look at those big, beautiful eyes! That nose! Those floppy ears! Even that mole!

So what can I tell you about Caspar? Well, in a nutshell, he really likes naps...

and he really likes cuddly toys...

but most of all, he really loves food!

Lets start with his eating habits, since they are so important to him. He's on a special diet because he's allergic to pork and beef, but medicated or hypoallergenic foods are too harsh for his sensitive stomach. So his meals are chicken and rice, which he devours, especially with a bit of oat bran on top. Well, he needs the extra fibre! And for his snacks? Fruit and veg! Yes, that's right. Caspar loves most raw fruit and veg. Carrots are his favourites, but he loves cauliflower, apples, tomatoes, cabbage, berries, peas, sweetcorn, everything as long as they aren't limp leaves or chantenay carrots. And like most labradors, he WILL act like a starved pup the second anyone has food near him.

That right there is the look he gives you when he wakes up from a nap because he can smell your food. Who'd think he was 11 years old, eh? No one, that's who! Even the vets find it hard to believe he's 11. I give all the credit to a very privileged life full of raw fruit and veg! And on that note, I shall leave you with the following photo because I need to get some sleep so I can make his special birthday treat before I head to work!

Fritters and rostis

A few days ago, my mum made different pakoras for dinner. She made potato pakoras, onion ones, aubergine, cauliflower and green chilli pakoras. Her pakoras are lovely and crispy and golden brown and just little pieces of comforting heaven. Anyway, while she was making these, I started thinking about sweetcorn fritters. And I've been thinking about them since then, so today, I finally had some! 

Before I move onto that, though, I want to share with you my great love of all things garlic. Short version, I love the stuff. It goes in almost everything. I've already used two types of garlic today, and dinner is yet to come. I just really don't like peeling the stuff. It makes my fingers burn. So imagine my surprise when I came across this wicker basket of joy. 

 Single bulb garlic. So much more garlicky fun with reduced peeling hassle. I had to have it! It has now joined my garlic collection. I used this in the rosti, but had to use something a little different in the fritters. The fritters were given this beauty. Slow roasted garlic. Yum!

Now, moving onto the actual cooking part of things. As I said before, I really, really wanted sweetcorn fritters. I know sweetcorn fritters and potato rostis are really simple, but it's what I fancied today. I'll give you something more challenging next time. There are more than a few recipes for this stuff out there, but here's how I made them. 


Sweetcorn Fritters

3 tbsp plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp slow roasted garlic paste
Water to make a paste
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp paprika 
200g sweetcorn (defrosted or drained. Your choice!)

I made a paste using the flour, baking powder, paprika, salt and water. Just keep whisking until it's smooth. It needs to be thick enough to coat the sweetcorn nicely, but don't make it too thick or you run the risk of it being gloopy. Add the sweetcorn and your mixture is ready! Simple, eh?

Look at how lovely and bubbly the mixture is already! Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan and, over a medium flame, drop the mixture in little piles, about a tablespoon for each fritter. Now leave them alone for a few minutes. I hate doing this. I like to keep poking and prodding and stirring, but don't! leave them until they start setting around the edges. 

Look at how bubbly they get! Now it's time to turn them over. The top is still really runny, so carefully slide the spatula under them and flip them over. Flatten them down now. Go on, squash them. They won't cook through properly if they are too thick. 

Take them out when they are lovely and golden on both sides, and don't feel squidgy in the middle. I should have taken a photo of them at this point, but I didn't because I'm a fool.

Potato rosti

1 large potato

1 small onion

1 clove garlic (or half a clove if you have the huge single bulb garlic goodness)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp plain flour

Now, everyone has their own way of doing the potatoes. Most recipes call for grated potatoes, but I like their to be a bit more bite to my rostis, so I like to chop them into things that resemble matchsticks but are no where near uniform enough to be called that. Plus I like to torture myself. This takes forever. But I have a beautiful knife I love to use (ceramic knife. It slices through everything like it's butter!) so it makes it almost fun, for the first half of the potato. But I digress. So prepare the potato the way you like it. Squeeze out all the moisture you can from the potatoes. Squeeze them between paper towels, roll them in cloth or use a potato ricer like one recipe suggested. I like mine a little soft in the middle, so I don't squeeze them as hard. Thinly slice the onion, and cut the garlic as finely as you can. Mix them into the potato along with the flour, salt and pepper. 

Spoon the mixture into a hot frying pan with a drizzle of oil. Again, about a tablespoon each. I don't pack them in too tight at this point. As with the fritters, leave them for a few minutes. When the potato at the bottom looks crispy, flip them over and squash them out. Savour the sizzle. Take them out when they are nice and brown on both sides. 

Serve with sweet chilli sauce because sweetcorn fritters deserve the love. The rostis don't really need any sauce. I love them on their own. 

Yum. 

Hello world *waves*

Hello people! I don't know how you've stumbled across this blog but welcome! My name is Mahima and I'd like to welcome you into what is likely to end up being a mix of my attempts at creating beautiful things - both food and non food - and me gushing over my dog.

With food, I love most things and try recreating anything I can find the ingredients for. If I can't find the ingredients, though, I just throw together whatever I have. Don't go expecting beautiful masterpieces. No, no. I'm more of a comforting, home food type of girl, and presentation isn't really my thing! But I'll try, just for you!

As for my dog, he is an 11 year old black Labrador, and I can happily spend all day staring at him.

More on all that later. Right now, my stomach is rumbling and I need lunch. If it turns out well, I shall be sharing one food adventure later today, so until then, take care!