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Traditional Gajar ka halwa (Carrot Halwa)

Gajar ka halwa or Carrot pudding is the thick, luxurious, nutty, and indulgent dessert we all wait for in winter in India/Pakistan. We get these beautifully reddish, sweet winter carrots, that we cook with milk, sugar, and fats to create this iconic halwa. My halwa recipe is the traditional method, which I’ve hacked to make it simpler for today’s busy life!

Gajar ka Halwa and Fried Fish are two almost compulsory things we brown people make in winter.

Technically, South Asian desserts, like halwas are a little time consuming to make. But it turns out, this halwa is one of the easier ones of the lot. If you are looking for easy South Asian desserts, you might want to check out this delicious Shahi Tukda (bread pudding) recipe too.

What is Gajar ka halwa?

“Gajar ka halwa” or Carrot halwa is a traditional Indian/Pakistani dessert, made with carrots, milk, fats, and sugar. Even though there are quite a lot of quick-fix recipes out there that claim “it’s just as good”, but I’ve tried them and I tell you no they are not even close.

Having said that, I learned a new trick for halwas, where you don’t have to stir a lot during cooking(check step by step below)!

Ingredients for Halwa

ingredients for gajar ka halwa
  • Carrots – The star of the show is the deep red South Asian carrots. But don’t despair. We’ve tried this recipe with regular carrots as well and it works!
  • Ghee – Ghee or clarified butter is the fat that the carrots will cook in. You can use unsalted butter instead of ghee.
  • Sugar – You can adjust the sweetness even after the halwa is ready.
  • Green Cardamom – This imparts aroma to the halwa.
  • Milk solids/khoya –
    • The other magic ingredient in this halwa is called the Khoya or Khoa. Khoa is evaporated milk solids created by heating the milk in an open sauce pan.
    • It is used in various Indian/Pakistani desserts. It adds texture and flavor to the halwa. You can even make Khoya at home (click here to know how) or, just simply buy it at an Indian/Pakistani dessert shop.
    • If you can’t get your hands on khoya, I would recommend using full fat milk powder or some soft unflavored cottage cheese.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

Traditional Method to make halwa

Making this halwa back in the day was a complete upper body workout. The chef would manually grate the carrots (sometimes 3 4 kgs in one sitting) and then stand right next to the pot stirring constantly and cooking down the milk for as long as it takes.

But thanks to technology and hack culture, we are going to make it the same way with 25% amount of the effort. Let’s go!

STEP 1: Peel the carrots and wash them.

STEP 2: Put the carrots in a food processor.

NOTE: The traditional gajar ka halwa uses grated carrots. You can use the grated attachment in the food processor for that texture. I prefer the chopped up version.

STEP 3: Chop the carrots fine.

STEP 4: In a large thick bottomed pot, add milk

STEP 5: Add green cardamoms. Allow the milk to come to a boiling point at medium to high heat.

STEP 6: Add the chopped carrots to the milk.

STEP 7: Let them cook at medium to low heat for 30 to 40 minutes and stir occasionally once or twice.

STEP 8: The milk will be reduced to at least 25% of its original quantity.

STEP 9: Add sugar.

STEP 10: Add ghee.

Now comes the part of “bhunayi”. Bhunayi is the process of stirring the halwa constantly from this point forward until its ready. It takes 30 minutes at the very least.

HACK: Here’s the hack. Keep a gridle or a ‘tava’ below your halwa pot. This avoids any burning. Now relax and only keep an eye on the halwa. Now you don’t have to worry about stirring constantly. You can stir once every 5 to 6 minutes.

STEP 11: Stir the Halwa occasionally and let it cook until all the milk is completely evaporated. Stirring the halwa is called “bhunai”. Make sure you scrap the bottom of the pot every time you stir.

STEP 12: When halwa is cooked, you will see ghee separating on the edges of the pot.

STEP 13: Add khoya (milk solids) and gently mix.

STEP 14: Sprinkle chopped nuts.

Expert Tips

  • Obviously the best tip is to add a girdle (tawa) or an insulating pan below your pot, like we do for pulaos (aka dum pe pakana). This neat little trick will prevent your milk from ever burning, plus you will not have to stir your halwa as often.
  • This is a very forgiving halwa, even after you have completely cooked the halwa and feel like you need more sugar, you can always go back and add more.
  • I personally let the halwa cook an extra 5 minutes even when the ghee has separated, it just makes the texture so much more perfect!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the gajar halwa last?

You can refrigerate the halwa once cooled, for upto 3 weeks. These halwas have long shelf lives. You can even freeze them for upto 3 months.

What can I use instead of Khoya?

Use full fat milk powder or soft unflavored cottage cheese or goat cheese.

Can I make the halwa in a non-stick pot?

Generally, non-stick pots are being avoided based on recent health studies, but please do your own research. Halwas just generally don’t cook well on non-stick pans. I’d recommend a stainless steel pot.

More desserts to try

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!

carrot halwa served in various plates.

Gajar Ka Halwa

A popular traditional South Asian dessert made from carrots and milk, mostly consumed during winters.
4.49 from 35 votes
Print Pin
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: South Asian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 20 servings
Calories: 292kcal
Author: Wajiha

Equipment

1 food processor

Ingredients

  • 1 kg carrots peeled and washed
  • 2 liters milk
  • 2 cups sugar or to taste
  • 1 cup ghee
  • 4 to 5 whole green cardamom
  • 250 gm khoa (evaporated milk solids) optional (see notes)
  • 1 cup chopped pistachio or nuts for garnish

Instructions

  • Peel the carrots and wash them.
  • Use a food processor to chop the carrots fine. For a more traditional halwa use the grate attachment to give you grated carrots.
  • In a large thick-bottomed pot, add milk and green cardamoms. Allow the milk to come to a boiling point.
  • Add the chopped carrots to the milk. Let them cook at medium to low heat for 30 to 40 mins and stir occasionally.
  • Once all the milk is reduced to atleast 25% or even less, add sugar and ghee.
  • Stir the the Halwa occasionally and let it cook until all the milk is completely evaporated. Stirring the halwa is called "bhunai". Make sure you scrap the bottom of the pot everytime you stir.
  • When you see a little ghee being seperated at the bottom of the pot, turn of the heat and sprinkle some KHoya or Evaporated milk solids on the halwa.
  • Garnish with chopped pistachios and serve

Notes

  1. Keep a girdle (tawa) or an insulating pad below the pot to avoid stirring the halwa constantly.
  2. Khoya substitutes:
    You can find khoya at any South Asian sweet store. Or you could use milk powder instead. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 292kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 6gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 125mgPotassium: 412mgFiber: 1gSugar: 33gVitamin A: 8548IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 182mgIron: 0.3mg
Can’t wait to see your remakes! Tag meon IG with your pictures @butteroverbae

Spicy Fish Fry Recipe

This spicy fish fry recipe is one of those winter comfort foods and weekend meals in a Pakistani or Indian household. It’s easy to prep, quick to make, and delicious to eat with chutney or lentil rice (dal chawal).

spicy fried fish served on a plate with lemon slices.

Most of my lovely Instafam said they find daal chawal as their ultimate comfort food, with some heavy voting for Keema Macaroni and the rest for Chicken Karhai. I guess it’s our childhood that defines what comfort means to us, right?

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Ingredients

Here are a couple of pointers and notes about the ingredients.

ingredients labelled for the fish fry.
  • Fish – The South Asian spices work best with Kingfish or Mackerel, which are commonly found in Pakistan or India. Here in the Middle East, I have found 2 new favourites that work just as well, Hamour and Sherry. You can use any white fleshed, firm fish like Mahi-Mahi, Snapper, or Bass. This particular fish cut used in South Asian recipes is known as a “steak cut.
  • Spices – Turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala powder, and cumin powder. You can use allspice powder in place of garam masala powder.
  • Lemon – And lots of it! They add flavor to the fish but also help with the fishy smell.
  • Rice flour – This adds in bringing crispiness to the fish. You can substitute cornflour or cornstarch in place of it
  • Garlic Ginger Paste
  • Oil – Any neutral oil for frying works.

Notes on Fish Cleaning.

If you are new to fish, I totally understand if you are intimidated by them. I get the seafood clerk at the market to cut my fish for me, but it still needs cleaning after I bring it home. If you’ve never cleaned or cooked with fish before, here’s a quick fish cutting, cleaning tutorial to help you. You can also go with frozen fish to become more comfortable with handling fresh fish.

Instructions

I’ve put together all the steps in a simple pictorial for you to see how easy this is to make.

Adding spices to fish steaks.

Step 1: Add spices, garlic ginger paste to the fish steaks.

fish steaks marinated in spices.

Step 2: Marinate the fish evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

adding rice flour to marinated fish steaks.

Step 3: Bring out the fish and sprinkle rice flour all over it and mix well.

fish frying in oil in a black pan.

Step 4: Fry the fish at medium heat on both sides until golden brown.

Tada! It’s ready! Serve the fish fry hot and slightly crispy! We usually pair it with daal chawal (rice and lentils) and a big bowl of kachumber salad on the side. Or you can have it with a green mint chutney and more lemons!

spicy fried fish served on a plate with lemon slices.

Expert Tips

  • The fish is bound to have a smell of its own. Always treat your fish with lemon juice before the spices to get rid of the smell. Add the lemon juice to your fish and let it sit for a few minutes and then add the other ingredients.
  • Always use a steel or glass bowl when marinating or storing fish in the fridge. The plastic tupperware is harder to wash to get rid of the fish smell.
  • Always bring the fish out of the fridge for at least 10 to 15 minutes before frying. This makes it easy to fry the fish evenly with less oil splatter.
  • Save the skins of the lemons after you’ve squeezed the juice out of them. After handling the fish, rub the lemon skins all over the front and back of your hands. You will be stink-free and lemony fresh!
  • Light a candle in the kitchen when you start frying the fish; the candle absorbs the smell and prevents any lingering aroma.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I marinate the fish overnight?

Yes! You can marinate the fish. Just refrigerate it in an airtight container.

Can I freeze marinated fish?

Yes you can. If you’ve just gotten the fresh fish from the market, you can marinate it and freeze. But if you are defrosting frozen fish, I would not recommend freezing it again with marination because refreezing alters the protein structure and nutritional value.

Can I make this recipe with finger fish?

Absolutely! You can use this recipe for finger fish or fish fillets too.

Can I bake or airfry this fish?

To bake this spicy fish, preheat the oven to 430°F or 220°C. Line a pan with parchment paper and grease well. Bake for 10 minutes and then flip over and bake for another 10 minutes. You can use the broiler at the end for 2 minutes for color.

More Recipes on the Blog

Here are more seafood and chicken recipes that I’ve perfected for you:

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!

spicy fried fish served on a plate with lemon slices.

Crispy Spicy Fish Fry

Spice level: Medium to High | A sub-continental spice marinated fish recipe which is fried and eaten with rice, commonly eaten in India/Pakistan/Bangladesh.
4.72 from 14 votes
Print Pin
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: South Asian
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 14 pieces
Calories: 230kcal
Author: Wajiha

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ kg Fish pieces Kingfish/Sherry/Hamour are our favourites for this recipe
  • 2 tsp salt or to taste
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin seed powder zeera powder
  • 2 tsp red chili powder lal mirch
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder Haldi
  • 1 tsp All spice powder pisa wa garam masala
  • 2 tsp garlic ginger paste
  • 7 to 8 tbsp Lemon Juice or juice of 4 to 5 lemons’
  • 2 tablespoon Rice flour see notes
  • Oil for frying

Instructions

  • Wash the fish thoroughly and make sure there are no scale left on the the skin of the fish.
  • Add lemon juice to your fish and let it sit for 5 mins to 10 minutes.
  • Add all the remaining spices along with garlic ginger paste and coat all the fish pieces well.
  • Cover the marinated fish and let it sit for 30 minutes in the fridge.
  • When you are ready to fry, sprinkle the rice flour on the fish pieces and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
  • Shallow fry the fish at medium heat, flipping halfway through, until they turn golden brown. Takes 6 to 8 minutes.
  • Serve hot with rice or chutney.

Notes

  • You can marinate the fish overnight if needed.
  • Rice flour makes the fish crispy. You can use cornflour instead as a substitute. 
  • Pink fish, like Salmon, is rarely used for this recipe. I recommend White fish. 
  • To bake this spicy fish, preheat the oven at 430°F or 220 C. Line a pan with parchment paper and grease well. Bake for 10 minutes and then flip over and bake for another 10 minutes. You can use the broiler at the end for 2 minutes for color

Nutrition

Serving: 1pieceCalories: 230kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 16gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 357mgPotassium: 445mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 128IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 0.4mg
Can’t wait to see your remakes! Tag meon IG with your pictures @butteroverbae

Sweet And Sour Grilled Vegetable Skewers

These sweet and sour vegetable skewers have all the makings of the perfect 30-minute grill-on recipe. It’s made in a delicious spice rub, brushed with a sweet-sour glaze, that gives you the ultimate summer feels, even when you make it indoors! oh, and they look soooo pretty for brunches and dinners.

glazing the grilled vegetable skewers

It’s pretty hard to make my family eat healthy. With the exception of Tangy Lentil Oats, and now these Skewers, I have to improvise every frikkin time I want them to eat better. But skewers, my family loves! Like my chicken shashlik skewers are a top family favorite for low-carb nights. Things we do for love I swear.

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I loveeeee that this recipe works with literally any hard veggie I like. I use it on days when I kinda wanna do a fridge clean-up. #iykyk

Ingredients and Substitutes

You probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry right now. Here’s what you need:

ingredients.
  • Vegetables – Feel free to use any vegetable you like. This is the perfect time to utilize that produce in your pantry you’ve been ignoring. I went with potatoes, bell peppers, onions, and carrots. I’ve also tried the recipe with sweet potato, zucchini, eggplant, cabbage, and tomatoes.
  • Dry spices – You need paprika, black pepper, salt and garlic powder. Add a pinch of white pepper powder to add that extra kick.
  • Sauces – You need a couple of pantry staples to make the sweet and tangy sauce. Oyster sauce, ketchup, vinegar, honey, and sesame oil.
    • Skip sesame oil if you don’t have it.
    • Oyster sauce substitute: equal part combo of soy sauce and bbq sauce.
  • Garnish – Sesame seeds add such a great crunch, texture, and flavor to the skewers. To make it extra nutritious, top it off with flax seeds or pumpkin seeds.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

Instructions

I’ve put together all the steps in a simple pictorial for you to see how easy this is to make.

mixing ingredients for the sauce.

STEP 1: Prepare the glaze/sauce by mixing all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.

sliced vegetables on chopping board.

STEP 2: Chop all your vegetables into 1/2-inch squares.

potato peeled and cut in 1/2 inch cubes,

STEP 3: Peel and cut potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. Put it in a pot along with salt and vinegar.

boiling potatoes in a pot.

STEP 4: Parboil potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes or until the knife can cut through a piece.

PRO TIP: Boil your potatoes with salt and vinegar. The vinegar will help your potatoes to remain firm even if you overboil them by mistake. 

all chopped vegetables in a bowl.

STEP 5: Toss all the vegetables and potatoes in a bowl.

vegetables seasoned with spices.

STEP 6: Season it with spices.

seasoned vegetables thread onto skewers.

STEP 7: Thread the vegetables onto wooden or metal skewers.

place vegetable kebabs on a lined baking tray.

STEP 8: Place the skewers on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and grease well. Grease the top of the skewers with oil and bake in a preheated oven at 220 C or 425 F for 7 minutes. Flip the skewers, glaze with sweet sauce, and bake for another 5 minutes.

making the skewers on a grill pan.

STEP 9: You can also grill these on an outdoor grill or a stove top at medium-high heat. Grill for 5 to 6 minutes on each side and glaze with oil while it’s cooking. Towards the end of the cooking, glaze with the sauce right there on the pan.

glaze the grilled/baked vegetable skewers

STEP 10: Once your skewers are baked/grilled, glaze with leftover sauce and sprinkle sesame seeds as garnish.

vegetable skewers served.

EXPERT TIP:

  • If you are using wooden skewers like me, soak them in water for 20 minutes before using, this prevents the sticks from burning while on an open flame.
  • Glazing the skewers with the sauce while its ON the grill/pan creates a very nice deep flavor. Some of the glaze gets cooked and sticks onto the kebabs and when you glaze it later oh la la la ! This step isn’t a must but definitely something to try.
  • If you are afraid some of the vegetables you have chosen aren’t going to cook properly in 15 mins, you can boil them for a bit with the potatoes to be sure.
  • Adding sesame seed as a garnish adds a great layer of texture and taste. You can also opt for other seeds like flax, or pumpkin.

Pairing Suggestions

I absolutely love serving these as is, when I serve them as an appetizer. If you want to make these for brunch or high tea, you can use little toothpicks instead to make them look super cute!

These kebabs go so well a side with this Chicken Malai Boti Pulao. I’ve made them as a starter during my Indo-Chinese theme dinners, and it’s always gone within minutes. When my man embarks on his “I-don’t-eat-junk-anymore” phase, I make these veggie skewers and serve them with my hot and sour soup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I marinate the veggies overnight?

Yes absolutely. You can even thread the veggies and keep the assembled skewers in the fridge overnight or for a couple of hours before you grill.

Can I make this recipe with chicken or fish?

Ok, I’ve tried chicken and it works! All you have to do is increase grilling time and baking time by 5 to 6 minutes.

How long can grilled kebabs last?

If you have leftovers after grilling, don’t worry! Keep in an airtight container in the fridge and microwave for 40 secs anytime you want to have them. They can stay in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

What can I do with leftovers?

Honestly, I just reheat them and consume. But my friend said she adds chopped lettuce and some mayo and makes a cold potato salad out of it. Apparently it’s yum!

More vegetarian recipes you’ll enjoy

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!

sweet and sour vegetable kebabs.

Sweet Sour Vegetable Skewers

A nice and easy, healthy appetizer, made by marinating vegetables in spices and glazing them later on a grill pan.
4.70 from 10 votes
Print Pin
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Fusion Food
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 24 sticks
Calories: 35kcal
Author: Wajiha

Equipment

18 bamboo or metal kebab sticks

Ingredients

FOR SKEWERS

  • 3 medium bell peppers cut in squares
  • 2 large potato peeled and cut in 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 large carrot peeled and sliced
  • 2 large onion cut in 1/2 inch squares
  • 1 teaspoon salt while parboiling
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • Oil or butter for grilling

Seasoning

  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder zeera
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

FOR SAUCE

  • 2 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoon vinegar
  • 3 tabkespoon ketchup or tomato paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
  • 3 tablespoon sesame oil

Instructions

Sauce

  • Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and form a uniform mixure. Set aside

Skewers

  • Parboil the cut up potatoes for 2-3 minutes in 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp vinegar.
  • Drain the water from potatoes and allow them to cool down.
  • Toss all the cut up vegetables in a bowl along with potatoes.
  • Add seasoning to the vegetables and mix well.
  • Thread the vegetables on to sticks or skewers in any order you like.

Cooking the vegetable kebabs

  • Grilling/pan frying.
    For stove top, use a grill pan and heat it at medium high heat. Add a little oil to grease the pan and add the skewers one by one. While on the pan, glaze the skewers with the sweet sour sauce and oil. Flip over the skewers after 4 minutes. Now glaze this side with the sauce as well and finish cooking after another 3 minutes.
  • Baking/Air frying
    Preheat the oven at 220℃ or 425 ℉. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and grease with oil. Place the skewers on top and spray cooking oil on top. Baking for 7 minutes, then bring out the tray and flip the skewers over. Glaze with sweet sauce and bake for another 5 minutes.
  • Once baked/grilled, use the left over sauce and drizzle it generously all over the skewers. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve hot.

Notes

  • If you are using wooden skewers like me, soak them in water for 20 minutes before using, this prevents the sticks from burning while on an open flame.
  • Feel free to use any vegetable you like. This is the perfect time to utilize that produce in your pantry you’ve been ignoring. I went with potatoes, bell peppers, onions, and carrots. I’ve also tried the recipe with sweet potato, zucchini, eggplant, cabbage, and tomatoes.
  • You can marinate the vegetables and thread them overnight to grill the next day. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1stickCalories: 35kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 0.4gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 271mgPotassium: 67mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 969IUVitamin C: 20mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 0.2mg
Can’t wait to see your remakes! Tag meon IG with your pictures @butteroverbae

If you still need a healthy fix, click here to browse through the healthy recipes on the blog.

Chicken Malai Boti Pulao Recipe

Chicken Malai Boti is a very popular barbeque/grilled variety of chicken, eaten commonly among us Indian/Pakistani folks. ‘Boti’ meaning boneless chicken cubes. And ‘Malai’ is an Urdu term which is basically home-made fresh cream. I just make it with store brought fresh cream ( I mean, who has time to make Malai first! amirite?  Although click here if you want to know how to make fresh cream at home)

Even though the resulting chicken is almost white in color, this Chicken Malai Boti is packed with flavour and a melt-in-a-mouth kind of a texture. It is one of those standard crowd pleaser recipes! 

But I took it one step further and combined the silkiness of the Malai chicken with Pulao Rice! And I have to say, it took me a few tries, but I finally have a new addition to the number of dwindling rice dishes in my house.

Honestly, the Malai chicken itself is….oh-so-good! So why did I have to go ahead and make a fusion food. Well, here’s why:

A. I was bored from the usual Indian/Pakistani rice recipes that I make on Dinners

B. I saw potential in Malai Chicken, and went for it! 

C. Creating fusion food is love ok? 

Also, I have to warn you before hand, the rice might LOOK all innocent dressed in white and seem very docile, but I can assure you, I’ve made sure they will be a spicy little treat! Enough blabbering! Let’s dive right into it!

chicken malai boti pulao recipe
 

INGREDIENTS AND TIPS FOR MALAI BOTI

ingredients chicken malai boti pulao recipe

Okay, so the recipe card at the bottom will list all the spices in the picture. I just kept it here for your visualization.

2 things of importance here.

First off, the raw papaya paste in the orange cup above is optional. It will only be needed if:

1. You don’t have time for overnight marination. In that case, you can add 1 tsp of raw papaya paste in the chicken for 20 minutes and then make it.

2. You are using desi chicken or organic chicken, which tends to take a very long time to cook. Here you should add this papaya paste to tenderize the meat. 

chicken malai boti pulao recipe ingredients

Second off, I forgot to put lemon in the ingredients picture, so don’t be confused if you see lemons in the recipe card ok?

So we are going to just throw all the ingredients in a blender (except yogurt and papaya) and make a fine smooth paste where the green chilies have completely disintegrated. 

PRO TIP: Don’t blend the yogurt with the other ingredients. Blending the yogurt in the blender will make the mixture runny and thin. Whisking the yogurt separately gives us a nice creamy marination.
chicken malai boti pulao recipe
chicken malai boti pulao recipe

So We are simply going to whisk the yogurt in a bowl so that its smooth and then add the blended cream mixture in it. Whisk till you get a consistent creamy mixture. There, you are ready with your “MALAI” mixture all set to go in the chicken cubes (Boti)

   

chicken malai boti pulao recipe
chicken malai boti pulao recipe

GOING HALFSIES

Pour half of the prepared marination in the chicken as we are going to reserve the other half for our rice. I personally like to keep my chicken for overnight marination but 2 to 3 hours is enough too. Malai Boti is usually made on a barbecue grill so it has a smoky flavor. So once your done with the marination, you can smoke the chicken right away at this point or while you grill it. (click here to see how)

When its time to grill your chicken, just take the chicken pieces and add them to skewer if you like, or grill them directly. I grill them at medium to high flame until I get a nice color for my liking. Ideally, the chicken should be grilled in a little cooking butter or ghee for flavor, but you can chose oil as well.

chicken malai boti pulao recipe
Chicken malai boti pulao

Grill your chicken and set it aside. Let’s move on to our rice

HOW TO PREPARE THE PULAO RICE

Next, its rice time. The rice that I use are Basmati Rice and my rice quality require 20 mins of soaking in water before cooking. You can soak your rice according to the brand that you use. 

Ingredients for chicken malai boti pulao rice

The reason I love pulao so much is because of how aromatic this rice is. This particular Chicken Malai boti Pulao has the beautiful colors from the red and green chilies. You can skip the red chilies if you dont have them, thats fine. The whole spices used in the pulao rice are the same as any other pulao, except for the addition of the star anise (baadiyan ka phool). 

We are going to start making the pulao like regular pulaos. 

chicken malai boti pulao

Start off by throwing All the whole spices, cumin seeds and onion into the pot along with ghee or oil. Personally I prefer cooking butter or ghee for this recipe as it adds a very authentic flavor to the rice. We are gonna turn the onions a nice golden brown color and then remove half of it for garnishing later. Turn off the flame to avoid burning the onions.

PROTIP: Some people (including me) like to cook the onions with garlic ginger paste and water for a bit after they turn brown. Avoid doing that for this recipe, as it might give the rice a more brownish color. We want to aim for a more offwhite to white pulao color here.
chicken malai boti pulao recipe

Next, we add the rice to the pot, and go back to the Malai mixture that we reserved for our pulao.

We are going to add 5-6 more green chilies in the mixture and blend it. This will give our pulao that really nice spicy heat and even though it will look very innocent, it will be packed with heat. Of course, if you like your food on the milder side, you can skip this step

Now, we are going to add the revised cream mixture to the pulao.

chicken malai boti pulao recipe

Next up are some whole green and red chilies which quite frankly look OH-so-pretty! When you add water to the rice, just make sure that it is slightly above the rice level, about less than 1/2 an inch. This would also be a good time to check the salt level in your rice. And then we cook our rice!

chicken malai boti pulao recipe

Once your rice are done, plate your rice with your chicken skewers on top. And lastly, don’t forget to garnish your dish with the fried onions and a few more chilies

You can also remove the chicken from the skewers if that’s how you prefer it

Oh and also, this pulao recipe pairs super well with Mint Chutneys, Raitas and Tomato Salsas!

Chicken Malai Boti Pulao

Word of Advice

While you wait for your rice to cook at low flame, you can start grilling your chicken then, saves time and by the time your rice are ready, so will your chicken and you can serve them piping hot.

Paring and Serving
You can serve the chicken sticks as it is or remove it and serve it as chicken chunks in your pulao. It pairs really well with Green Mint Chutney and these sweet and sour veggie sticks go great as a side for this dish. And ofcourse, how can we forget, the hearty bowl of kachumber salad, that pairs well with every desi rice dish there is.

 

CHICKEN MALAI BOTI PULAO RECIPE

HOW TO SMOKE CHICKEN IN A BOWL

1. Put a piece of charcoal directly on the stove and heat in until it turns red hot.

2. Place an aluminium cupcake case (or aluminum foil shaped to form a bowl) in the chicken bowl.

3. Pick the red hot charcoal with tongs and place in on the aluminum cup. Drizzle 1 tbsp oil on top of the charcoal and cover the bowl with a lid. 

4. After 4 to 6 minutes, your chicken will be smoked. 

5. This process can be done after the chicken is cooked as well. 

TRY OUT SOME OTHER RICE DISHES ON THE BLOG
chicken malai boti pulao recipe

MALAI BOTI PULAO

A modern twist on the Indian/Pakistani regular pulao. It is Made with chicken and rice using a creamy mixture of spices and chilies. Spice level: Medium to High
5 from 9 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: South Asian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 560kcal
Author: Wajiha

Ingredients

Chicken Marination

  • 500 gm boneless chicken cut in medium sized cubes
  • 125 ml cream
  • 6 small serrano green chilies
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder zeera powder
  • 1/2 tsp coriander powder dhaniya powder
  • 1/2 tsp all spice powder garam masala powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper powder pisi wi kali mirch
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper powder safaid mirch
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3/4 cup cup yogurt
  • 1 tsp garlic ginger paste
  • 1 small piece Coal for smoke
  • Ghee/cooking butter or oil for grilling

RICE

  • 2 cup Basmati rice
  • 4 cloves laung
  • 4 green cardamom choti elaichi
  • 2 black cardamom bari elaichi
  • 10 black peppers kali mirch
  • 1 piece cinnamon stick dar cheeni
  • 2 star anise baadiyan ke phool
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds zeera
  • 2 medium onions sliced
  • 1 tsp garlic ginger paste
  • 1/2 cup ghee or cooking butter or oil if you prefer
  • 4 whole green chilies
  • 4 whole red chilies
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Instructions

MALAI BOTI

  • In a blender, add green chilies, cream, all the spices, garlic ginger paste, lemon juice and salt. Blend until the green chilies are completely blended.
  • In a bowl, whisk yogurt until smooth and add the chili cream. Your marination is ready
  • Marinate the chicken with 1/2 of the marination sauce and reserve half for rice.
  • You can smoke the chicken with coal at this point if you want.
  • Refrigerate the chicken and let it marinate for at least 2-3 hrs or overnight.
  • Put the chicken cubes on skewers.
  • Add 1 tbsp of cooking butter or ghee in a pan and grill the skewers from all sides at medium flame to high flame.
  • Cover the cooked chicken and set aside.

PULAO RICE

  • Wash and Soak the rice for 20 minutes in water, or until needed.
  • In a pot or cooker, add ghee/oil.
  • Add all the whole spices, zeera and onions and let the onions turn golden brown at medium flame.
  • Turn off the flame and remove half of the onions from the pot and set aside.
  • Add the rice, garlic ginger paste, salt, whole red and green chilies.
  • Now add 3 to 4 green chilies to the Malai mixture that was left over from the chicken and blend it.
  • Add this malai mixture to the rice.
  • Add enough water to the rice so that the water level is just slightly (1/2 inch) above the rice in the pot.
  • Cover the lid and and cook at medium to high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until all the water evaporates.
  • Once all the water evaporates but the rice is still soggy, cover the lid again and reduce the flame to low. Keep a girdle or an insulating pad below the rice and cook for another 4 to 5 mins or until the rice is done.

Notes

  1. Garnish the rice with green chilies and fried onions. Serve with mint chutney and/or yogurt dip.
  2. All measurements of the green chilies is made by using green chilies with a high-spice level. If the green chilies you are using are not that hot, consider adding more to your recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 560kcalCarbohydrates: 91gProtein: 37gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 23gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 179mgSodium: 2154mgPotassium: 819mgFiber: 6gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 561IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 156mgIron: 3mg
Can’t wait to see your remakes! Tag meon IG with your pictures @butteroverbae

EASY MINT CHUTNEY RECIPE & HOW TO PRESERVE IT

Its fresh, its healthy, definitely low-cal, spicy and a brown man’s best friend! The green mint chutney is the South Asian equivalent of ketchup! Its a classic traditional Indian/Pakistani sauce that we desis tend to pair with everything savory we can get our hands on.

We loveeeeee pairing mint chutneys with samosas, chaat and pakoras and yummy pulaos. You could also try it with this chicken and veggie kebabs. Or if you were feeling adventurous, bring a little heat with this chutney to the Mac n cheese balls I made earlier this year. We even mix this chutney with yoghurt to get the iconic “green raita” that is an absolute MUST to have with Biryanis or paratha rolls.

As easy as it is to make this chutney, the only problem that people usually face with mint chutney, is its color change after a while. See the mint chutney tends to get oxidize and turn brownish in color. Although, it doesn’t mean that the chutney has spoilt or anything, but it doesn’t look that appealing as it does with its vibrant green color.

So today I thought I’d do a little tricks and tips post for this pet favourite dip, and obviously give you my own recipe of this minty goodness.

6 green chilies 1 bunch mint leaves plucked from stem and washed 1 bunch coriander leaves washed 6 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp vinegar Juice of 2 lemons 1/4 cup water

 

6 TIPS & WAYS TO MAKE YOUR MINT CHUTNEY LAST LONGER

Usual chutneys last for a week without losing their color, but if you take the following precautions, you can make your chutney last for 3 weeks without any color or durability issues!

USING INGREDIENTS AS PRESERVATIVES

Oil and vinegar are the main components that I like to add to my chutney to increase its shelf life. Olive oil is an excellent anti-oxidizing agent, so it prevents the color change of the chutney and prevent the ingredients from getting oxidized. The vinegar has an acidic quality which reduces the pH of the chutney and prevents bacteria from growing.

A NO BRAINER – FRESH LEAVES easy spicy indian mint chutney recipe

Although this goes without saying, but make sure the mint leaves and coriander leaves you are adding are fresh. Sometimes we don’t notice the few rotten leaves among a pile of fresh ones. Not only do they reduce the durability of our sauce but may also make our chutney taste bitter. Also, remember to wash your mint and coriander leaves with ice cold water to preserve their freshness.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SOUR ELEMENT

There are couple of different ways to add the sourness to the mint chutney:

  1. Tamarind sauce
  2. Lemon Juice
  3. Vinegar

Although conventionally, tamarind sauce was the source of sourness in mint chutneys, it almost immediately turns the mint chutney brown. Lemon and vinegar on the other hand are both acidic and preservatives of sorts. So ideally a combination of both lemon and vinegar is best for that long lasting greenness of the chutney.

6 green chilies 1 bunch mint leaves plucked from stem and washed 1 bunch coriander leaves washed 6 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp vinegar Juice of 2 lemons 1/4 cup water

HOLD ON THE WATER

Keep the use of water to a minimum. No matter what recipe you follow, try to aim for a thicker chutney than a watery one. You can always dilute your chutney later while serving. The less water you use, the better it is for your chutney. Your chutney already has a bit of salt in it, which means it will turn slightly watery while refrigerated. Adding too much water while grinding the chutney makes it very diluted.

GLASS JARS OVER PLASTIC

Now glass jars don’t necessarily do anything active for your chutney, but they have shown to prevent odors from the fridge to seeping into food. And also, there is a chance your plastic container might get stained green if it isn’t of high quality.

FREEZER IS YOUR FRIEND

If you are going to make a big batch of mint chutney and you think it’s going to be a while when you will go through the whole batch, its always better to freeze half of it right away rather than refrigerate your chutney. I personally always divide my chutney batches into two and store half of it in the freezer and the other half in the fridge for use in the near future. If you are using the following mint chutney recipe, then you will get around 1 and 1/2 cup of chutney which usually isn’t that much to be frozen.

I hope you found the tips helpful. Do you have some other tips up your sleeve? I’d love to know more! Leave a comment below and let me know. And in the meantime, why don’t we move on to our Mint Chutney Recipe

easy spicy indian mint chutney recipe

 

EASY MINT CHUTNEY RECIPE

easy spicy indian mint chutney recipe

Mint Chutney

This is a spicy indian/pakistani sauce, made with mint and coriander that is paired with fried food and to lots of traditional southasian food.
4.59 from 31 votes
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Course: Dips & Condiments
Cuisine: Asian
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 1 bowl
Calories: 200kcal
Author: Wajiha

Ingredients

  • 6 green chilies
  • 1 bunch mint leaves plucked from steam and washed
  • 1 bunch bunch coriander leaves washed washed
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • 3 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup water

Instructions

  • Blend everything together in the blender by adding water slowly.
  • You can taste the chutney and decide if you want to make minor adjustments.
  • Store in an airtight jar and keep refrigerated.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowlCalories: 200kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 0.5gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gSodium: 1150mgPotassium: 111mgFiber: 10gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 712IUVitamin C: 53mgCalcium: 21mgIron: 1mg
Can't wait to see your remakes! Tag meon IG with your pictures @butteroverbae
 

EASY MINT CHUTNEY RECIPE – Back to the tips

Dam ka Keema Recipe (slow cooker ground beef) – Fry masala

Dam ka keema, is a spicy, silky smooth ground beef Main course, which we usually pair with chapatis and parathas in Pakistan. It is a pet favorite on wedding events, parties and on Eids. Being a total sucker for desi food, naturally, over the years, I’ve had several different versions of this very popular Pakistani dish. And honestly I love most of the versions that I have tried so far. But I am posting this version first because of 2 very basic reasons:

  1. This fried masala version is the easiest of the lot
  2. This is also fool proof so even if you are a beginner, you are gonna nail this recipe!

It is paired with flatbreads like chapati and roti and fried breads like parathas. Some of us love pairing this with a vegetarian side kick like the Moong Masoor Dal

As much as I LOVEEEE this recipe and want to take credit for it, my inner voice is telling me to tell you my sources. This version of dam ka keema is actually one of my Aunt’s recipes (Khala). And god bless I have 7 of them! So like any other cooking maniac, I chase them down for recipes when they feed me with their deliciousness. 

DAM KA KEEMA RECIPE - SLOW COOKER GROUND BEEF

WALKING YOU THROUGH THE IDEA OF THIS DISH

There are 100 different ways and masalas to make Dam ka keema. Other versions make use of roasting the masalas, or use raw masalas or just go with a packet masala as well. Plus the ingredients also differ with each recipe, and so does the color of the resulting dish.

This particular recipe makes use of frying the masala and grinding them for marination.

I personally love Dam ka Keema with parathas and green chutney, sliced onions and aloo ki tarkari (potato curry) as I am sure do all Pakistanis around me. (*wipes of drool from chin*). Let me walk you through the steps a little bit so you know what to expect while making this delicious Pakistani favorite food.

EASY INGREDIENTS = EASY STEPS

dam ka keema recipe - slow cooker ground beef
dam ka keema recipe - slow cooker ground beef

We start off with frying our masalas (like I’ve babbled about it at the top). So the onions are sliced into half and sliced fine like we do in Biryanis. And then you fry the onions, red chilies and garlic altogether in a generous amount of oil.

PRO-TIP: Sometimes, adding all the masalas together may cause the red chilies to burn. To avoid this, add the onions first and let them turn transparent. Then add the garlic and red chilies. This way all your ingredients will fry evenly. 

And that’s that! You grind the fried masala and add it to your ground beef. I usually grind the yogurt along with the fry ingredients, but just to show you all the elements of the dish, I added a little yogurt on top of the ground beef. And you can also see raw papaya paste and cumin seed powder as well.

dam ka keema recipe - slow cooker ground beef

Marinate the heck out of the beef.

So your ground beef is all dressed up and ready to party! It usually requires 8 to 12 hours of marination. But personally, I feel the longer the better for this particular dish. I leave it for almost a day and you can even leave it for 2 days and then cook it. This is why I love Dam ka Keema for dinner parties so much! All the prep is done before hand and I just have to leave in on the stove the day of the dinner.

PRO-TIP: Keep the use of salt to a basic minimum because the beef is going to clump together after it shrinks during cooking. You can always season it later if you feel the salt is less.

SLOW COOKING YOUR BEEF

And now let the stove take over!  We are just gonna transfer our beef to the cooking pot and let it cook at low flame. Ideally, keep something below the pot for insulation, like a griddle (tawa) or an insulating disk if you have any. This is to prevent the meat from sticking to the pot at the bottom.

Your beef will release lots of water so make sure you use a pot that only fills up to 3/4th of its capacity or less with the meat. Once the water dries up, your beef is going to start binding together and when you can see a hint of oil at the base of your pot, you know your beef is done.

I personally loveeeeee to smoke my Dam ka Keema at the end. So when the dish is ready, I leave it at low flame for another 5 to 10 minutes and add a piece of charcoal to smoke it out. You can even smoke your dish when you marinate it. Its totally your call.

For cooks and newbies who find baking easier, you can even bake this dish instead of cooking it in a pot. More instructions on the recipe card!

Dam ka keema recipe slow cooker beef

THE LEFT OVER OIL

Once your done with the frying, you are going to have left over oil in the pot. You will only add 1/4th cup of this oil in your marination. So what should you do with the remaining oil? Honestly, this oil is So packed with flavor that I usually use it for making omelettes and chicken to add a little extra punch of flavour to them.. If you are making something which has a simple marination or is bland generally, use this oil for frying them or grilling them to give it that extra heat and flavour. If not, you can also just simply use for regular cooking too.

CRIME AGAINST DAM KA KEEMA

Alright, so I know a lot of Dam ka Keema recipes available on the internet have basin (gram flour or chickpea flour) as an ingredient as well but PLEASE! I Mean I beg you please don’t add gram flour to your Dam ka Keemas. Restaurants use gram flour in their recipes because that way their Keema doesn’t reduce in quantity a lot and they get a bang for their buck. It’s similar to adding cotton to your Niharis. (As in ITS A CRIME!) It totally ruins the actual taste of the dish. Its more like a hack for Dam ka keema but this hack is a total fail! Don’t go for it and stick to the original taste of the beef. Or if you are curious you can go ahead and try with and without the gram flour and you’ll know what I mean.

Hope you try this out and if you love it, say a lil prayer for me and my Khala :D. If there is anything that wasn’t clear or if you have any questions regarding this recipe, feel free to comment below and let me know how can I be of help!

OH and I found a few other dam ka keema recipes that DON’T USE gram flour so you might want to give them a try sometime too.

Other Beef Recipes

Here are more delicious keema and beef recipes on the blog:

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!

DAM KA KEEMA RECIPE SLOW COOKER GROUND BEEF

Dum ka Keema (Fried Masala)

The most silky smooth and bursting with flavour kind of dam keema I have ever tried.
4.94 from 16 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: South Asian
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 459kcal
Author: Wajiha

Ingredients

  • 1 kg ground beef or keema
  • 6 medium onions sliced in biryani cut
  • 4 whole garlic
  • 50 pieces or 3/4th cup of round red chilies saabit lal mirch
  • 4 tbsp raw papaya paste kaccha papeeta paste
  • 2 cups yogurt
  • 1 – 2 cup oil for frying
  • 2 tsp roasted and grind cumin seeds bhuna wa zeera
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste

Instructions

  • In a large sauce pan or pateeli, pour in a generous amount of oil and fry the onions.
  • When the onions turn transparent, add red chilies and garlic cloves and fry all of them until they turn golden brown.
  • Remove the onions, garlic and chilies from the oil and let them cool down
  • In a grinder or a blender, blend the fried ingredients along with yogurt and raw papaya paste.
  • Add the mixture to the ground beef.
  • Add roasted cumin seeds, salts, and 1/4th cup of the oil used in frying the masala.
  • Once the meat has been marinated, keep it overnight in the fridge.
  • Add the meat in a pot and allow to cook at medium flame. Ideally keep an insulation pan or a griddle below the pot. This is called as "dum dena" or cooking with insulation.
  • Your meat will take somewhere around 40 to 60 minutes to release water and cook entirely.
  • Once you see the water drying up and your keema (meat) binding together, add a piece of charcoal to your keema to give it the smoky flavor it needs.
  • After 5 to 10 minutes of smoking the keema, turn off the flame
  • Serve with lemons and onions garnish. It goes well with rotis, parathas and potato curry on the side

Notes

ALTERNATIVE COOKING METHOD

You can also bake this dish
Take out the marinated meat and smoke it with coal before hand.
Dish out the meat in an oven proof dish (making sure you fill only half the depth of the dish)
Bake at 180°c for about 40 mins and keep checking. Once you see a dark brown layer forming on the top of the dish, and water dried up, you can take it out and serve the dish as it is.

SMOKING THE DISH

Place a piece of bread or aluminum foil on your bread in your meat.
Take a piece of charcoal and put it directly on top of a flame for 3 minutes or until it turns glowing red.
Add the charcoal on the foil or bread and drizzle 1 tbsp of oil on the coal. It will start releasing smoke immediately. Quickly cover the meat and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. And you have officially smoked your dish!

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 459kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 25gFat: 82gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 16gMonounsaturated Fat: 46gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 92mgSodium: 415mgPotassium: 641mgFiber: 2gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 138IUVitamin C: 20mgCalcium: 146mgIron: 3mg
Can’t wait to see your remakes! Tag meon IG with your pictures @butteroverbae

Best Chicken Tikka sandwich recipe for your Next High tea

Guys! You HAVE to try this very easy recipe the next time you want a snack or are hosting an evening tea. I made these chicken tikka sandwiches with some left over chicken tikka I made last night for dinner. Best left over utilization ever! This tikka sandwich recipe utilizes basic home ingredients and gives you an awesome appetizer! The only thing I didn’t like was the coriander garnish so I’m just going to skip that from the recipe. I love making these for brunches along with my Zebra Marble Cake. 

I haven’t attached the recipe of the chicken tikka in this recipe as I just used the left overs. But if you are making everything from scratch, here is a good recipe for chicken marination. Or you could be more adventurous and just use any chicken left overs that you have at hand.

Best Chicken Tikka sandwich recipe for your Next High tea

PROTIP

No matter what sandwich you decide to make, make sure to always keep them covered after assembling. The bread WILL dry out if left open.

I have served this sandwich hot, cold and at room temperature and I can safely say that it tastes good no matter how you chose to serve it.

Personally, I love them for breakfasts too! If I skip cutting them and just simply slather all the toppings on it (I mean who has time to fix a fancy breakfast)

OTHER TOPPINGS FOR THE TIKKA SANDWICH

Some other toppings that go really well with this sandwich are onions, tomatoes and surprisingly jalapenos. Lets dig right into the recipe!

OTHER AWESOME HIGH TEA IDEAS

More Chicken Recipes on the Blog.

Best Chicken Tikka sandwich recipe for your Next High tea

Chicken Tikka Club Sandwich

The best combo of desi flavors and Western Idea
4.80 from 5 votes
Print Pin
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Fusion Food
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 12 minutes
Servings: 3 sandwiches
Calories: 114kcal
Author: Wajiha

Ingredients

Mint Sauce

  • Mint chutney
  • Mayo
  • fresh cream or feta or greek yogurt
  • salt
  • black pepper

Spicy Cocktail Sauce

  • Ketchup
  • Mayo
  • Sriracha sauce

Chicken Tikka

  • boneless chicken breast or thigh
  • tikka spice mix
  • garlic ginger paste
  • lemon
  • oil

Layers

  • bread
  • Sliced Cheese of choice
  • Brown Fried onions
  • Pickled Onions
  • Romaine Lettuce leaves
  • Thinly Sliced tomatoes
  • Thinly sliced cucumbers
  • Butter

Instructions

Preparation

  • Whisk together all ingredients for mint sauce in a bowl and set aside.
  • Whisk together all ingredients for cocktail saucei n a bowl and set aside.
  • Cut the breast pieces of the chicken into thinner pieces like open as a butterfly. Use a hammer to pound the chicken fillet to even thinner cross section. Marinate it spice mix, lemon and garlic ginger paste. Keep aside for 20 minutes and then grill on a pan with oil at high heat for 5 minutes turning on boths sides. Set aside. You can also use left over chicken
  • In a sieve or colander, put in all your raw sliced vegetables and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of oil. Toss everything to makesure its covered. Let it sweat to allow the water from the veggies to drain.

Assembly

  • Toast the bread with or without butter as dark or as light as you like.
  • Layer first toast with cocktail sauce, chicken tikka pieces, cheese slice, pickled onions and crumble some fried onions.
  • Add some more cocktail sauce and add the second bread slice on top.
  • Layer this second toast with mint sauce, all the vegetables and some mint sauce in the end to act as glue.
  • Close the sandwich with a third toast and cut into halves and serve.

Notes

  • Put the sauces in sandwich bags and cut a corner of the bag to use as a piping bag to pour the sauces. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1squareCalories: 114kcalCarbohydrates: 12.6gProtein: 3.9gFat: 6.5gSaturated Fat: 2.8gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 90mgFiber: 1.6gSugar: 5.3g
Can’t wait to see your remakes! Tag meon IG with your pictures @butteroverbae

Chicken Vegetable Kebabs

You will make these juicy chicken and vegetable kababs every week once you try it! They are low-carb, packed with flavor, and nutrient dense! On top of that, they come together fairly quickly and are freezer friendly. Bring on the grill!

chicken and vegetable kebabs on a plate with sliced onions and chili.

So me and my husband have phases where we go from total health nuts to absolute Junk food addicts. Lately, we’ve found a balance where we try to have at least one nutritional meal a day (minus holidays ofcourse). These kebabs or kabobs are my go to for most of those meals.

I loveeeee recipes that freeze. These kebabs work beautifully when frozen, just like my chicken cheddar kababs or the delicious Asian Meatballs. You save time and meal prep at the same time.

Bonus: These kabobs or kababs are super versatile. Go in with whatever veggies you like and pair it with literally anything you want! (more ideas laters)

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Ingredients

Here are a couple of pointers and notes about the ingredients.

chicken and vegetable kebab ingredients laid on the counter.
  • Ground chicken – There is no restriction as to what part of the chicken you need for this recipe. You can buy boneless chicken and process it at home or buy pre-ground chicken. Everything works.
  • Spices and Seasoning – The spices are a little heavy in this recipe simply to season all the bland veggies and oats. There is black and white pepper, cumin, crush red chili, garlic, and ginger.
  • Vegetables – Here’s the fun part. This recipe has no prerequisite of which veggies you need. Use this as an opportunity to clean your fridge. I went with carrots, onion, bellpepper, and coriander (as the herb)
  • Binding – These kabobs have a higher moisture content which makes managing them a little tricky. Adding eggs and bread crumbs helps with that and gives a nice subtle flavor.
  • Oats – I love adding oats to this recipe for the added nutrition boost. They don’t alter the taste but you’ll require a little more salt. Its optional either ways.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

Method

You literally have to just mix all the ingredients and let it rest for 5 to 10 mins! That’s all there is to preparing these kebabs! Here’s a pictorial I made for you.

vegetables in a food processor.

Step 1: Put all the assorted vegetables and herbs in a food processor.

processed vegetables in the food processor.

Step 2: Process the vegetables until finely chopped.

chicken mince, egg, spices, and vegetables in a bowl, unmixed.

Step 3: In a bowl add the vegetables, chicken mince, egg, spices, oats and bread crumbs.

chicken kebab mixture ready in the bowl.

Step 4: Mix everything thoroughly to make a uniform kabab mixture. Allow it to rest for 5 to 10 minutes on the counter.

a spoon dropping heaps of kebab portions on a plate.

Step 5: Use a tablespoon to portion out kababs onto a plate.

rough kebab portions ready on a plate.

Step 6: Grease your hands with oil and flatten the kabobs in the palms of your hand and press into patties.

flattened kabobs on a grill pan.

Step 7: Directly put the patties onto a hot grill pan greased with oil.

grilled and charred kebab ready.

Step 8: Grill for 3 minutes on each side until you get golden brown edges.

chicken and vegetable kebabs served on a platter with onions and chili.

Expert Tips

  • Always do a taste test before grilling up all the kebabs. Make a small bite sized kebab and grill it. Adjust seasoning and spices accordingly.
  • Tomatoes tend to become mushy in a chopper, hence avoid putting them in. Instead, opt for chopping them by a knife. 
  • Resting the kababs for 5 to 10 minutes gives the bread crumbs enough time to absorb moisture. Do not skip this step! You can leave it for longer in the fridge if you aren’t planning to make the kababs right away.

Pairing Suggestions

  • Make burgers out of them!
  • Pair it with good ‘ol Daal chawal (lentil and rice)
  • Make wraps or rolls out of it with sauce of your liking.
  • Serve with pulao rice and yogurt.
  • Have it with a side salad to keep it low-carb.

Frequently Asked Question

I shared this recipe back in ’23 for the first time on IG and tiktok. Here are a couple of questions some of you had.

How do I freeze these kababs?

Some of my friends freeze these kebabs raw and it works just fine. But I prefer half cooked kebabs for the freezer. Grill the kebabs like you normally would but only for a minute on each side before the kebab starts to get its characteristic golden brown edges. This half-cook method will seal the juices in the patties. This way, the kebabs end up retaining their shape, moisture and taste much better than their raw counterparts. Allow them to cool down, pop them in a ziplock bag and freeze. Whenever you want to eat them, thaw them in the microwave for 30 seconds and grill as usual.half cooked chicken kabobs stacked on a plate.

Can I add any other vegetables to this

Absolutely! Add any vegetable of your choice. If you’d like to add tomatoes, chop them by hand rather than the chopper to prevent them from getting mushy.

Do they work as a burger patty?

OMG soooo much! I make these kebabs slightly smaller and make mini sliders with them. Cheese, a good burger sauce and cheese, such a great burger!

Can I make this recipe without the vegetables?

Ok I was surprised to see this question but yes, in theory you can make it without the vegetables, however the spice ratio will be off. Reduce the spices by half if you wish to skip the vegetables.

More Low-Carb Nutritious 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!

chicken and vegetable kebabs on a plate with sliced onions and chili.

Chicken Vegetable Kebabs

These are low-carb kebabs, made with chicken, aromatic Pakistani spices, oats and vegetables. Nutrient dense and packed with flavor. Grill on a pan or freeze in a bag.
4.93 from 13 votes
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 24 kebabs
Calories: 60kcal
Author: Wajiha

Equipment

1 chopper

Ingredients

  • 400 gm chicken mince
  • 2 tbsp rolled oats
  • 2 tbsp bread crumbs
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds or zeera
  • 2 tsp crushed red chilli
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 1 whole bell pepper chopped
  • 1 big onion chopped
  • 1 medium carrot chopped
  • 1 handful coriander leaves
  • 1 or 2 stalks green onions
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 1 large egg
  • Oil for frying

Instructions

  • Start by adding carrot, bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger in a chopper and chop coarsely.
  • In a bowl, add minced chicken, oats, chopped vegetables, spices, seasonings, egg and bread crumbs.
  • Mix all the ingredients and cover it. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes.
  • Drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto plate or a tray to make patty portions.
  • Heat up the grill pan at medium heat with oil in it.
  • Grease the palms of your hands with oil and use it to flatten the kabab portions into flat patties.
  • Drop the kebab patties in the grill pan. Grill for 3 minutes and flip. Grill until golden and remove.
  • Serve hot with chutney or sliders on the side.

Notes

  • Always do a taste test before grilling up all the kebabs. Make a small bite sized kebab and grill it. Adjust seasoning and spices accordinly.
  • Tomatoes tend to become mushy in a chopper, hence avoid putting them in. Instead, opt for chopping them by a knife. 
  • Resting the kababs for 5 to 10 minutes gived the bread crumbs enough time to absorb moisture. Do not skip this step! You can leave it for longer in the fridge if you aren’t planning to make the kababs right away.
  • To freeze the kababs, grill the kebabs like you normally would, but only for a minute on each side before the kebab starts to get its characteristic golden brown edges. This half-cooked method will seal the juices in the patties. Allow them to cool down, pop them in a ziplock bag, and freeze. Whenever you want to eat them, simply thaw them in the microwave for 30 seconds and grill as usual.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingsCalories: 60kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 3gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 116mgPotassium: 99mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 65IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 0.3mg
Can’t wait to see your remakes! Tag meon IG with your pictures @butteroverbae