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Easy no-bake Blueberry Cheesecake

December 4, 2019

Sometimes, all you need are classics. This no bake blueberry Cheesecake is a classic that will never go outta style and will probably only evolve more over time.

Let’s face it, if we could, we would ALWAYs reach for the baked cheesecake but when the chips are down and you have a quick craving to fix or a quick dessert to fix up, you KNOW you are looking at no bake options. (or Shahi tukdey if you are feeling desi)

The perfect cheesecake, with a nice and light tangy filling paired with a rich buttery crumb base is sometimes all the therapy you need! What I love about this recipe is that it mimics the real deal perfectly. And since it has gelatin, you know it’ll set no matter how ever you mess it up.

A QUICK PICTORIAL OF THE NO BAKE CHEESE CAKE

Preparing the Biscuit base

I don’t know about you, but I loveeeee my cheesecake bases to be thick! Although of course I can’t expect all of you to share my guilty pleasures. So I’ve used a standard quantity of biscuits in the recipe (ugh boring)

Anywhoo….so for the biscuits, I know ideally it should be graham crackers but I find them very rarely here in the supermarkets. So my next best go to biscuits are the digestive ones, they are low on butter and sugar so they work really well with the whole dessert.

Go ahead and chuck in the biscuits in the food processor and make them into a fine powder. Add melted butter, and brown sugar and turn the processor around once more.

Adding melted butter to biscuit crumbs for cheesecake base

For any no bake dessert, ideally, a spring-form pan is best! I greased my spring-form pan with a cooking spray. Make sure to also spray some of this generously on all the sides as well.

roasting spray used to spray alll over the springform

buttery biscuit crumbs in a black pan tossed

After greasing the pan, dump all the biscuit mix in the pan. And using a glass base to pack the biscuit in the pan has been the best hack discovery of 2019!

Disclaimer: Whatever method you use to pack the biscuit crumbs in the base, make sure you are not packing it too hard and only applying pressure moderately. Packing the base too tightly can cause your crust to become very hard when it sets and will be difficult to cut.

Making the filling for the cheese cake

So here’s the deal, the biggest problem with no bake cheesecakes are that they lack that tangy flavor that their baked counterparts have. To fix this, adding a little sour-cream has been a GAME changer from me.

cream cheese and sour cream with castor sugar in a green bowl ready to be whisked

I add in a little sour cream, cream cheese, castor sugar and vanilla essence all in one bowl and whisk them all together for 2 mins. Then I set this aside.

In another bowl I whip up my double cream to give me soft peaks. Now since this dessert uses gelatin, you can get away with slightly runnier cream as well. You dessert will still set.

adding whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture

Once your cream is whipped and stiff, add it to the cream cheese mixture and lightly fold it in.

On the side you need to bloom the gelatin. This is simply done by adding a little bit of luke warm water in gelatin powder and letting it sit for 5 mins.

Add the bloomed gelatin to the cream mix, all the while constantly stirring with a whisk from the other hand.

Now quickly pour all the mixture into your spring-form pan and keep in the fridge to refrigerate. 10 hrs of refrigeration time is minimum for the gelatin to set completely, and ideally letting is set in the fridge overnight is even better

nobake blueberry cheesecake ready to be put in the fridge

After you’ve left the cheesecake to chill overnight, take it out and top it off with any topping you like. I went with a blueberry topping/filling from Americana, hence this was called a Blueberry cheesecake.

Tips to get the perfect sides of the no bake cheesecake:

Greasing the sides of the pan (that you’ve done already)
Let the cheesecake sit on the counter for 10 mins after removing from the fridge and then run a hot towel around all the sides of the pan. This will melt the outer layer of the cheesecake and detach it from the pan and will make removal that much easier.
Alternatively, you can also use a parchment paper all around the width of the pan to ensure smooth edges.

Alternates, fixes and Remixes

Substitute sour cream – You can use lemon juice instead
Cream cheese – Since this dessert uses gelatin for setting, you can use any cream cheese you can get your hands on. The cream cheese spread, or the block one both can be used.
If you feel like your dessert hasn’t set, let it sit in the fridge for a few more hours (although this is highly unlikely)

If you have any questions regarding gelatin, here’s an awesome post I found covering all the basics of using gelatin

More No-bake Desserts on the blog

Nauratan Chicken Recipe- Pakistani Chicken curry with vegetables and potatoes

November 27, 2019

Always the one to pat myself on the back, before anyone else does, but for this Nauratan Chicken recipe, you’ll want to pat me too 😀 (I said that on the expense of sounding like a total narc but it was totallyyyyy worth it)

Nauratan means colorful in Urdu, and I planned to name this dish, just that, owing to the colors that pop through the dish. From the spicy red gravy made from yogurt, tomato and roasted spices, to the greens and yellows from charred capsicum and potatoes, with the subtle white from chopped onions, and a peekaboo from browned chicken, it definitely is “colorful”.

It’s the perfecttttt amalgamation of veggies and chicken with the spice level that brown moms would be proud of! and OHHH so yum! The masala in this dish is towards the saucy side rather than thin gravy types. Let’s say similar to chicken karhayi in consistency.

Why you HAVE to try making Nauratan Chicken today!

It’s budget friendly because a 1/2 kg chicken can serve 4 to 5 people easily
Awesome dish to add as a side/ or as a dish with less gravy for elaborate menus.
Works well with alll carb sides, And i mean parathas, rotis, naans, breads, rice, pulaos and even spicy rices like Tahiris etc
Did I mention its ready in roughly around 30 mins ?
Also super easy! and has room for soooo many variations (see end of post for ideas)
p.s I’ve also had this with quinoa and couscous as a side, and lets just say….WOW!

The 3 main steps to make Nauratan chicken.

Making the spice mix
Making the chicken gravy
Preparing the vegetables.

Making the spice mix

whole spices including cumin seeds, coriander seeds and red chilies in a black pan

The spice mix is pretty simple to make. It has cumin seeds, coriander seeds and whole red chilies, similar to a Dahi bara masala but with a different ratio. You are simply going to roast all of these at medium flame until the coriander seeds turn to a nice golden brown color and your kitchen smells like a real chef is at work. Once you get to that stage, turn of the flame and run it through a chopper to get nice coarse spice mix. (semi-grounded)

coarsely grounded spice mix for nauratan chicken

That completes our stage 1 of launch preparations!

Making the chicken gravy

This part is going to start off as any other Pakistani or Indian curry does. With oil, chopped onions and whole cumin seeds.

finely chopped onion with cumin seeds in oil

Once you take your onions for a tan and turn them golden brown, go ahead and add the boneless chicken, ginger garlic paste, salt and the spice mix you prepared.

boneless chicken cubes tossed in brown onions and oil

Give it a nice toss and turn at medium high flame just until the chicken turns white. Next, drop in a generous quantity of tomato paste and yogurt. You can also use fresh tomatoes instead of tomato paste.

Tip: Always beat the yogurt before adding them to curries to avoid lumpy gravy.

yogurt and tomato paste added to sauteed boneless chicken

Add about 1/2 cup of water and cover your chicken and let it simmer at medium low flame for about 10 mins.

Chicken gravy ready for nauratan chicken

It will look something like this after 10 mins with a generous amount of curry in the pan as well. Turn off the flame and move on to the next step.

Preparing the veggies

Cut potatoes in medium sized cubes (similar to the size of your chicken cubes). Par boil these in salt water for about 5 to 6 mins (they should be 80% cooked)

Strain them and proceed to the second last stage of this misson.

parboiled potatoes in hot water ready to be drained

These are all the veggies that go into this dish. But by all means feel free to be creative, and try other combinations that your imagination inspires.

chopped capscium, onions and potatoes ready to go into chicken gravy

Toss in the capsicum, potatoes and onions in a frying pan with about 2 tbsp of oil and saute them at high heat until you get a nice caramelized color going on.

raw cube cut onions, potatoes and capsicum in a black frying pan.

Lightly charred onions, bell peppers and potatoes on black frying pan.

Toss these caramelized gorgeousss beauties into your chicken gravy and heat for about 2 to 3 mins.

vegetables added to chicken gravy to prepare nauratan chicken

Top with crushed black pepper and garam masala powder. You my friend have THE most versatile dish in your hand right now.

Nauratan chicken ready and sprinkled with coarse spices

Serve it warm with pretty much any carb side you can think. You can also smoke it from some extra kick.

Nauratan chicken curry with rice and roti

Alternates, Fixes and remixes

Tomato paste – If you don’t want to use tomato use, use tomato puree of fresh tomatoes (1/2 cup puree = 1 tbsp tomato paste)

This recipe is definitely on the spicier side, if it is too hot for you, here are 2 things you can do:
1. Reduce the number of whole red chilies from the start.
2. If you feel its too spicy AFTER completing the dish, just add 1/2 a cup of yogurt and don’t cook it for more than 2 3 mins. You’ll be set

I’ve made this recipe atleast 3 dozen times with sooooo many variations. I’ve made it with boneless beef chunks, mutton and minced meat as well (the coarsely ground type not the finely ground type)
– If you plan to make this dish with beef or mutton, you’ll have to cook the meat and mutton for longer with water (for about atleast 30 to mins) before you can start adding veggies. And also double the quantity of tomato paste used in the recipe.

Smoke it up! Ok so on several occasions I’ve smoked the completed dish with a bit of coal and OH MY GAWD! phenomenal! I haven’t added coal to the main recipe because it tastes pretty darn good without the coal itself! But I’d definitely recommend you to try it with the smoke too! The spices just respond really well to the smoke.

What to do with left overs?

This left over curry goess realllyyy well in a sub! with a little mayo, salad leaves and Dijon mustard!
Use it as a filling for your tortilla wraps!

If you try this recipe! Let me know what you think! you can also tag me with your recreations on my Instagram account @butteroverbae

More Chicken recipes

Do you have any questions? I’m happy to help! And of course, If you try this recipe, I’d loveeeee to see it or simply hear about it! Hit me up in the comment section below and I’ll get back to asap! Happy Cooking!

Gajar ka achar – Spicy Pickled Carrots Recipe

November 19, 2019

You know how ketchup is pretty much a permanent on grocery lists? So are achar in brown homes!!! And this 20 min Gajar ka achar (spicy pickled carrots) has become a must in my house during winters.

Achar (or Pakistani/Indian pickles) are a spicier version of a regular pickle (basically like most Indian foods). It’s a spicy condiment that we loveeeeee pairing with rice and lentils or a good vegetable flatbread (paratha)! yums! And this Gajar ka achar is soo soo good!

My nani (grandma) used to make the long fermented version which takes a couple of days to make. And I mean I don’t check up on the plants in my house that often, how am I supposed to remember checking up on this? Entered a 20 min version. You will need a stove top, a glass jar, carrots and spices. That’s it! let’s begin!

A QUICK PICTORIAL GUIDE TO MAKING PICKLED CARROTS OR GAJAR KA ACHAR

So Pakistani/Indian pickles are mostly made using mustard oil. It enhances the flavor of all the spices and works really well as a preservative.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Mustard oil is very bitter in taste if used directly. So to reduce the bitterness, we preheat the oil before use. We heat it in the pan for 3 to 4 mins and leave it to cool down. Then this oil becomes ready to use.

Since mustard oil requires preheating, I usually start with this step and then move on to cutting my carrots.

This achar is usually made in winters when really nice red sweet carrots are in season back in Pakistan. (Also why you will see me posting a lot of gajar ka halwa in winters on instagram).

I fortunately had access to these Pakistani carrots which taste amazingggggg! Regardless, I’ve made this recipe with regular carrots as well and it turns out just as great.

A little tip here. I cut the carrots up into a thin slender french fry cut. But I also removed the central yellowish portion of the carrot. This part of the carrot is usually tasteless. You can keep this if you like. I usually just use the discard portion for my salads.

whole spices and seeds and chopped garlic in oil, frying in a wok.

Let’s start cooking the Achar. In the wok/pan which has the Mustard oil, add your curry leaves, cumin seeds, black and yellow mustard seeds, fennel seeds and chopped garlic along with whole red chilies. I know it sounds like a lot of ingredients, but you probably already have a lot of them in your pantry. We are going to fry this till the garlic gets to a nice golden color.

Once we reach the nice golden color, we are going to chuck in all our carrots and powdered spices like salt, turmeric and red chili powder and flakes.

Can you imagine this was that easy? Go ahead and stir around those carrots in the wok with the spices. Cook it for a good 5 mins, for the spices to coat the carrots and the carrots to soften up.

Then add green chilies and cook for another 5 mins.

gajar ka achar - pickled carrots ready to serve

After 10 mins, we will turn of the flame and squeeze some lemon juice all over our carrots and cover them up.

The lemon acts as a preservative for the pickle and also adds that characteristic tart flavor that pickles have.

Once the carrots have cooled down, I am going to transfer them into an airtight glass jar and keep it in the fridge.

Serve with lentils and rice, or aloo ka paratha, yumm!!

How long does the achar last for?

It can last indefinitely in the fridge but to give you a date, it can last for up to 3 months in the fridge. I am not very confident of leaving this outside as the oil quantity for this achar is quite low compared to regular achars.

Substitutes

You can use regular oil instead of mustard oil
You can use 2 tbsp tamarind pulp instead of lemon but you will have to add it with the carrots so that it cooks as well

RECIPE FOR GAJAR KA ACHAR – PICKLED CARROTS RECIPE

Lab e Shireen – Creamy Fruit Custard

November 14, 2019

Not one to fall for most desi desserts, but this Lab e Shireen just gets me. If this is the first, you are hearing of this, let me fill you in. Lab e Shireen is a Pakistani creamy fruit custard, which has fruits, jelly cubes, cream and colorful vermicelli, all balanced in a sweet custard base. To put it simply its the Pakistani version of a trifle! (except that we mix everything together like savages ok?)

I laaaaavve how light and refreshing this dessert feels. Just like a good ol’ bowl of chilled Rasmalai. I mean, I am equally crazy for the more indulgent desi desserts like, gajar ka halwa, or shahi tukrey, but some days, you just need a nice airy light creamy dessert. oh and its also budget friendly! so win win!

The recipe is pretttttty straight forward, all the elements are prepared separately and then dumped in together to create something delicious! Let me walk you through this.

A quick step by step to make Lab e Shireen

Components of the dessert:

A custard base
Jelly
Colored Vermicelli
Cream
Cut up fruits.

All the components are prepared and kept in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours and then taken out to assemble.

Making the Custard Base

Custard base in a saucepan for lab e shireen

So with the custard for this dessert, you want to have like a nice smooth consistency and not a firmly set custard because this dessert has a more creamy consistency than a set one.

So I prepared the custard normally like I do, following the instructions on the packet. The only change I make is that I add all the sugar for the dessert in the custard itself.

It then goes in the fridge 2 hours. After I took it out, I used a hand blender to blend it out. This did make the custard a little thin but that’s OK, that’s what we want.

Prep the Jelly

Orange and cherry flavored jelly set in 2 rectangular plastic containers

This was also prepared according to the instructions on the packet. For one pack of jelly, most packets read 1 cup of water. But I’d suggest 3/4 cup of water. This way your jelly won’t be very soft and will sit well in your dessert without leaching any water out.

TIP: Use a large container to set jelly rather than a smaller one. The larger container will give you nice smaller thinner cubes.

Vermicelli

For the vermicelli I used the colored ones, but you can use the normal brown vermicelli as well. Just boil it in plain water since our custard has taken care of all the sweetness. Boil it for atleast 10 mins. Strain the water and dump the boiled vermicelli noodles into cold milk. Keep this in the fridge to cool down as well.

Assembling Lab e Shireen

Once all your components are damn right chilled, take out a big mixing bowl. Add in all the elements one by one. Add in the blended custard, then the vermicelli and milk. Mix them together with a whisk. Add in cream and fold it right in.

lab e shireen or fruit cream custard with colored vermicelli

Add in Jelly and mix
Add in your preferred fruits and mix

I used bananas and apple as my fruit because I think they go universally well with all kinds of fruit desserts.

Once everything is mixed, dish it out in your serving glasses or a big serving dish, however you want to serve it. And top it off with some sliced almonds or cream.

It stays perfectly well in the fridge for up to 4 days

top view of 3 bowls of lab e shireen also know as pakistani Creamy fruit custard

ALTERNATES, FIXES AND REMIXES – FOR THE PERFECT LAB E SHIREEN

Substitutes.

You can use almond milk instead of regular milk if you are avoiding dairy or are lactose intolerant and skip cream.

Remixes

Try using a strawberry base custard instead of the regular vanilla one, that would taste yummm!!
You can also use some other fruits that you like or canned fruits would taste great too!
While soaking your vermicelli in milk, add 3 tbsp of chia seeds as well! It would go soooo well with all the other ingredients!

FIXES – What to do if one of these things happen?

Final mix NOT sweet enough – Add some condense milk in the end
Final mix too sweet for you – Add some more fresh unsweetened cream
Final mix too thick for you – Add in some milk to thin it out
Final mix too thin for you – Add in some heavy whip cream
Custard too firmly set in the fridge – Put it in a blender and blend it out

If you don’t plan on consuming it right away, or if you are making it for a party, assemble everything together EXCEPT the fruit. And add the fruit on the day of your event. This way you can even make this dessert 2 to 3 days in advance.

Lab e Shireen – Creamy Fruit Custard

lab e shireen in a bowl also known as creamy fruit custard

Lab e Shireen – Pakistani fruit custard

A Pakistani dessert which is a creamy blend of jelly, sweet vermicelli, fruits and custard

4.69 from 16 votes

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Course: Desserts

Cuisine: South Asian

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 15

Chilling time: 2

Total Time: 2 35

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 340kcal

Author: Wajiha

Ingredients

▢ 2 packets of different flavored jelly
▢ 4 cups milk
▢ 4 tbsp custard powder
▢ 1/2 cup raw colored vermicelli
▢ 1 1/2 cup sugar
▢ 2-3 drops vanilla essence
▢ 2 cups of any chopped fruits of your choice apples/bananas or canned fruits
▢ 1 1/4 cup thick cream 300 ml

Instructions

CUSTARD

Mix custard powder in 1/4 cup of milk to form a paste and make sure there are no lumps
In a sauce pan, add sugar, vanilla essence and 2 cups of milk, and the custard powder paste. Simmer at medium to low flame and whisk continuously. When the custard starts to thicken, keep whisking until it becomes nice and thick. Turn off the flame and allow the custard to cool down. Stir from time to time to avoid a top layer from forming on top of the custard.
When the custard comes to room temperature, put it in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours
OTHER COMPONENTS
Follow the instructions on the packet of the jellies to make jelly and set both the jellies in the fridge.
Boil colored vermicelli in water for about 10 mins. Strain the vermicelli and dip it in a bowl of 2 cups of milk. Keep in fridge as well.
When all three components have been in the fridge for at least 2 hours, start assembling.
Assembling.1. Whisk the custard with hand whisk to make it smooth.
2. Add in smooth cream and fold it into the custard.
3. Add in the milk and colored vermicelli and use a whisk to make a smooth mix.
4. Cut the jellies in small cubes and add to the mix.
5. Add the fruits to the mix.
6. Take out the serving dish, and chill for another hour
7. Garnish with sliced almonds and serve cold.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 340kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 4gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 61mgSodium: 62mgPotassium: 207mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 36gVitamin A: 608IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 156mgIron: 0.2mg

Can’t wait to see your remakes! Tag meon IG with your pictures @butteroverbae

Chicken Tikka Nachos

November 9, 2019

This recipe for Chicken Tikka nachos was more of an experiment gone right rather than something that I started with full intention. These nachos are a spicy fusion snack made with all the Pakistani/Indian spices, a yogurt sauce, a mint sauce, some chopped up veggies, served with Mexican tortilla chips.

It’s one of those fusion recipes, that just sticks with you once you make it. Just like Pakistani style batata harra, you guys are going to love this!

I am talking a blast of flavor happening right in your mouth. Without further ado, here’s the recipe

Putting together Loaded Chicken Tikka Nachos

When we talk about toppings, you know we are basically talking about dumping stuff on top of tortilla chips right?. Here’s a picture showing all the things you are going to be throwing in the mix. And since this is soooooo straight forward, I’ll just quickly use pictures to walk you through the process.

components breakdown needed to make chicken tikka nachos

There’s some cilantro in the picture, which I just use for garnish. The tortilla chips I used were low sodium low cal baked ones. And honestly they were almost insignificant because all that flavor coming from the toppings. So, you can totally opt for the tasteless “healthier tortilla chips” for this recipe. (Ya i find them tasteless ok? sue me :P)

Chicken tikka mix

For the tikka mix, I used boneless chicken and cut it up into small chunks. Then I prepared my tikka marinade and reserved 1 tsp of mixture to add into the gravy later. I marinated the chicken for about 15 mins. Cooked the chicken on a pan along with some tomato paste, the reserved marinade mix and some cream. Viola! the chicken tikka mix was ready. The whole thing took me hardly 20 mins. And thiss was, The longest part of the whole recipe.

Veggie Mix

finely chopped onions, tomatoes and orange bell pepper in a blue bowl with a spoon in it

While the chicken waited, I prepared the veggie mix. Its a simple onion, tomato and bell peper finely chopped and seasoned with lemon, salt and pepper. (think Tikka pizza toppings). Done? ok set aside.

Mint sauce

For the mint sauce, I used mint leaves, some green chilies, lemon, garlic, salt, some avocado and water. Chucked everything in a blender and made a smooth rich creamy sauce.

This sauce is a creamier version of the Mint Chutney that is usually served with Chicken tikka. The only new addition is the avocado.

Disclaimer: This sauce is very spicy ( I mean, for brown folks too ok?) so go light on this sauce if you can’t handle spicy food very well.

Why the avocado?
– It gives the sauce some body and creamy consistency, so prevents it from become watery.
– It adds a healthy kick my friends!

Yogurt sauce

Moving on to yogurt sauce. Very basic. Very mild. Also very yum. This sauce just had yogurt, cream and a little seasoning. This sauce is the mild cool topping so it would work with everyone’s palate (by everyone I mean spicy and non spicy peeepss)

And that’s that! Then I started dumping all of this on top of a plate of plain tortilla chips…and MY friend….the rest……is history 😀 I did, veggies, chicken, sauces, and veggies again and cilantro. That’s the sequence I went with

Alternates, fixes and Remixes

Substitutes

Avocado – If you don’t have avocado on hand, just use 1 tbsp of cream instead and add that to the mint sauce.

Less spicy – There is no denying these nachos are packed with heat! if you can’t handle spicy food, make the following changes to reduce the spice level of this dish:
– Use paprika instead of red chili powder and 1 tsp instead of 2
– Use 1 green chili instead of 3
– Use less green sauce on the overall dish.

Box masala – If you don’t feel like making your own spice mix, then go ahead and use any Chicken tikka masala mix from Shan, National etc.

More Fun Recipes you’d like

Dahi bara masala and Kaccha Masala

October 31, 2019

The beauty of Indian and Pakistani food are the aromatic spices that are tempered in oil to create an intense flavor that you still remember lonngg after finishing your food. Different spice blends are now easily available in the market which is great for us! But sometimes we still like to get down and make it our own way.

Dahi bara / dahi vada / dahi bhalla are a popular Indian Pakistani snack made of fried lentils dipped in yogurt. The dahi bara masala mix is popularly used to top off this particular recipe for a long time, but it has since then been used for many different purposes. So I am going to show you how you can easily make this spice mix at home in about 15 mins. Bonus: Another spice mix with the same ingredients.

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but I promiseee it won’t take you more than 15 mins and the payout is going to be amazing!

We are going to use the same three spices to create 2 types of spice mixes, one is the roasted one which is the Dahi bara masala and the other one is Kaccha masala.

Where can Kaccha masala be used?

Kachcha masala is used in lots of Pakistani style cooking areas. Since it is a raw masala, it is never used for garnish or directly, it is always used in the earlier stages of cooking.
It is a part of chapli kebab masala
It can be used for marinating chicken and beef etc.
Can also be used for marinating veggies before roasting. e.g. roasted potatoes and carrots
Try adding this to your chicken karhayi next time and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Where can you use Dahi bara masala (Dahi bhalla/Dahi vada)?

Obviously on top of dahi bareys to begin with
Use it as a substitute for Chaat Masala
Its also very commonly used on mix chickpea chaats
I sprinkle it on top of my Spicy potatoes
You can add it to your raitas as well (yogurt sauce)
You can sprinkle it on any time of roasted chicken or beef to make it extra spicy

What do you need to make Dahi bara masala and Kachcha Masala

So both the masalas have the exact same ingredients and the exact same ratios as well. The only difference is that Kachcha masala is raw and Dahi bara masala is roasted, that’s literally about it!

coriander seeds for dahi bara masala — Coriander Seeds

cumin seeds for dahi bara masala — Coriander Seeds

Cumin seeds, Coriander seeds and whole red chilies is all you need to make these spice mixes.

Kacchha masala or raw spice mix in a glass jar — **Kachcha masala spice mix**

For the kaccha masala you grind everything together in a food processor and put it in a jar. It’s going to be slightly lighter in color than the dahi bara masala.

Remember, this is raw spice so it can only be used in places where cooking is still left. for e.g curries and marinades etc.

Dahi Bara Masala

Toss the same ingredients in a pan. At low flame roast these spices for 8 to 10 mins, stirring occasionally. When the color of the coriander seeds starts to turn brown, turn off the heat and allow the spices to cool down. Once cooled, grind it in a food processor! And you have your dahi bara masala! told you! 10 mins

Disclaimer: Just don’t rub your eyes after handling the spices, before washing your hands thoroughly. Don’t ask!

Dahi bara masala in a glass jar — **Dahi bara masala**

Store in a Jar and use wherever you like. Since this is a cooked version of the spice mix, you can use it as is, for on-top seasonings, sprinkling on your omelette etc.

How to store your masalas for longer shelf life

Both these spices can last indefinitely if kept in the right conditions.

Keep in room temperature away from direct sunlight or extreme heat (like not right next to the stove)
Use a glass jar to preserve your spices. Glass is inert and will not react with your spices, keeping them tasting fresh.
Use a jar with an airtight lid to prevent any moisture seeping into the spice mixes (moisture can lead to fungus etc)
If you are not going to use your spice mix regularly, put it in a zip lock bag and dump it in the freezer.
Assign a spoon for the spice mix which can stay inside the spice jar or use a dry spoon every time you use the spice.
These facts apply to practically every spice that you have at home.

More Condiments on the blog

Quick Home-made Pickled Onions

dahi bara masala and kaccha masala spice mix shown in 2 glass jars

Dahi bara masala & Kaccha Masala

Two popular Indian/Pakistani spice mixes made from red chilies, cumin and coriander seeds.

5 from 6 votes

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Course: Dips & Condiments

Cuisine: South Asian

Prep Time: 2

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 12

Servings: 2 cups

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Wajiha