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Peas Pulao – Matar Pulao Recipe

October 4, 2022

This classic Matar pulao recipe is as OG as any rice dish gets in South Asia. Simple whole spices for aroma, and peas for its name, you can whip this dish up in less than 30 mins! All beginner cooks welcome!

It boasts to be the safety net of every brown mother, who runs out of ideas of what to cook in the middle of the week. But it also works for potlucks and get togethers when paired with heavier curries.

My favorite Matar pulao combo is with Chicken Handi or the Chicken Shashlik

What is Matar pulao?

Matar means “peas” in Urdu or Hindi. Pilaf/Pulao/Pilav is essentially a generic rice dish, where the rice is cooked in any type of broth or stock. The broth is flavored by adding whole spices, vegetables and sometimes protein (like meat, fish, chicken). Some of you might have even heard of the popular Spanish dish called Paella, which is yet another variation of the pulao. This matar pulao is a simple version of the pulao, and is usually paired with a curry. More exotic pulaos like Malai Boti Pulao act as stand-alone dishes. They are an extraordinarily commonly made dish in every North Indian and Pakistani household.

How is pulao different than biryani?

This is probably the most debated topic amongst food lovers who’ve been confused when watching youtube videos with the wrong labels or went into a restaurant which served them Pulao when they ordered Biryani. The confusion between the two is common and it made sense to address it over here. Here’s how to spot the difference.

PULAO	Biryani
One pot dish, where rice is cooked in the flavored broth	A layered rice dish where rice is cooked seperately and the curry seperately and simply assembled together while steaming.
Appears as homogenous evenly colored rice grains	Appears as a mixture of some spicy rice, some plain, some white, and some colored.
Made with simple whole spices	Made with heavier powdered spices and with heavy curry base.
Easier to make	Requires a few additional steps

Bonus points for Matar Pulao

ONE POT RECIPE : Unlike biryanis, you can make a pulav in one pot, like this one.
WORKS ALONE: Usually simple pulaos are paired with heavier curries, but pea pulao can be had on its own with just yogurt and salad on the side
SIMPLE AND QUICK: I have a seperate category on the blog for under 30 min meals and my friend, this one falls into it.
The ingredients are pantry staples, and even if you are short on some whole spices, you will still be able to make it perfectly.
This is by far the universally kid approved recipe.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Rice – Like most of my recipes, I recommend using long grain Basmati rice for pulaos as well. Short grain Basmati rice works perfectly too. You should be able to find Basmati rice in Asian grocery stores.
Whole spices – You will need cloves, black and green cardamoms, black peppercorns, bayleaves, cinnamon stick, star anise. These will infuse flavor into your broth. You might not have all of these at home at all times, and it is perfectly fine to skip them if you don’t have any. Just simple black peppercorns will work too.
Oil – I’ve made pulaos using ghee (clarified butter), oil and they both work perfectly. For best results, I always recommend ghee because of the added aroma. But any neutral oil would work too. If you are avoiding vegetable oil for health reasons, you can use aromaless coconut oil or aromaless olive oil as well!
Peas – Fresh or frozen peas, both can be used to make this recipe. You don’t need to thaw frozen peas incase you are using them. You can also use any other vegetable that you enjoy, like carrots or beans.
Ginger Garlic Paste – This is another household staple in South Asian cuisine. You can also chop an inch of ginger and 3 cloves of garlic instead if you are out of ginger garlic paste
Onion – Sliced onion adds the depth of flavor that all good pulaos have. Use any type of onion available to you. Red, white, or any really. You can use pre-fried onions that are now readily available in Asian stores. I also like to sprinkle some fried onions on top of the pulao as garnish, but is something completely optional.

PROTIP:
After soaking rice in water for 20 mins, rinse and wash 2 more times. This helps in removing excess starch and reduces your pulao’s tendency to be clumpy.

Instructions

The method to make this pulao is fairly straightforward but I’ve put in a pictorial for all you visual learners out there.

Preparing the broth

1 and 2 – Saute and Temper

Add oil in a large thick bottom pot and heat it for a minute at medium heat. Then go ahead and add all your whole spices and onions. Allow the onions to caramelize and turn golden brown. This also gives your spices enough time to infuse flavor into the oil.

2 picture collage. Image 1 shows raw onions and whole spices in oil. Image 2 shows caramelized onions in oil in a pot

3 and 4 – Cooking peas

Add your peas, and garlic ginger paste to your onions. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until the peas have released all their water and change their color slightly.

2 picture collage. Step 3 shows garlic ginger paste and peas added to pot. Step 4 shows cooked peas in the pot

Cooking the rice

5 – Add soaked Rice
6 – Adding Salt and Water

steps 5 and 6. Adding rice and water to pot. Distal part of index finger shown.

Add rice, salt and water to your pot. The water level should be an inch above the rice. This is by far the best method to have the perfect rice:water ratio, regardless of the width of the pot you use. To check the water level, you can do 1 of two things.

You can do a finger test. To do this, turn off the heat before adding rice to the pot. Then add your rice, water and salt. Dip your index finger in the water and your finger should touch the rice, while the water touches your first joint. You can turn on the heat after checking the water level.
If you are hesitant to dip your finger, then use the back of your laddle. Mark the back of your laddle at 1 inch mark with tape or permanent marker. Then dip to touch the rice, and pour enough water that the water level touches the 1 inch mark

Use a spoon and taste your broth for seasoning. It should taste just right. Neither unseasoned nor overly seasoned.

7 and 8 – Boiling rice

After the water level check and salt taste test, cover the pot and boil the rice at high heat for about 4 to 5 mins or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

steps 7 and 8. Water added to rice and covered with a lid

9 and 10 – STEAM RICE

Reduce the heat to low and use a flat spoon or a large slotted spoon to toss the rice around gently and cover. Let the rice steam for another 5 mins at lowest heat.

FLUFF: Turn off flame and use a fork to fluff your rice and it is ready to be served.

steps 9 and 10. Water level reduced as rice fluffs and finally ready to be served

PROTIPS and Recipe notes

To avoid accidentally biting into whole spices while eating, you can tie them in a cheesecloth or a tea infuser ball before adding them to the pot.
Use a thick base pot for any one pot rice dish you make. If your pot doesn’t have a heavy or thick base, considering adding a flat griddle or tava below your pot during the last steaming step. This helps with evenly distributing heat during steaming and also prevents your rice from burning or browning from the bottom.
Don’t skip the fluffing step, otherwise you will have a clumpy rice block as your rice cools down.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do if my rice is undercooked even after the time marks mentioned?

Undercooked rice is not something to worry about and is easily fixable with this hack. Simply add 1/4th cup of a water and milk mixture into your rice while steaming and let it steam for another 5 mins. And not only will your rice be cooked in that time, but it will also be EVENLY cooked.

What other rice can I use other than Basmati?

I’m definitely a hardcore Basmati activist! But if you want, you can try using regular white grain rice. I would personally not suggest using jasmine rice or brown wild rice simply because they don’t turn out like a traditional pulao does.

Can I add more flavor or ingredients to my pulao?

Pulaos are like blank canvases. They will take up whatever flavor you enhance it with. For this pea pulao, I’ve kept the broth simple and only infused it with whole spices. You can also make these changes for a different flavor profile:

Replace water with bone broth or vegetable stock. Or use a chicken bouillon cube instead to achieve the same effect.
Add dried fruits to the whole spices while frying them. Such as cashews, almonds or raisins.
If you are someone who tries to sneak in some extra fibre here and there, add your favorite seeds to the whole spices while frying. It can be pumpkin seeds or flax seeds or any other that you prefer.

How can I reheat refrigerated pulao

Unlike biryanis, pulao rice is cooked in its own water. So you don’t throw away the starch completely. Because of the starch content, pulao rice generally clump a little as they cool down. So when you take out your rice from the fridge, don’t attempt to break the clumps by hand. Simply put it in the plate you want to reheat it in and add a splash of water. Heat it for about 30 secs, take it out and then break the clumps if any. Reheat again for as long as you want to.

How long can the Pea pulao be refrigerated for?

Store the pulao in a nice airtight container in your fridge after it cools down. It would last and stay fresh for 4 to 5 days easily.

Can I freeze leftover pulao?

Absolutely! one of the best things about cooking pulaos as how incredibly easy they are to freeze and defrost. I always make a little extra than we need so that I can freeze 2 portions for later. Use a ziplock bag or an airtight container to freeze the pulao. Whenever you need to eat it, simply allow to thaw on the counter and then microwave like you normally would. If you are in a bit of a rush than add 4 to 5 tablespoons of water in the rice and microwave for 2 to 3 mins. It’ll be good as new! You can freeze leftover pulao for upto 40 to 50 days without causing any freezer burns.

Serving Suggestions

pea pulao served with chicken curry, tahini sauce, fresh salad and crisps on the side.

Matar pulao can be eaten as a Main or eaten alongside a nice curry or kebab. Here are some options we love:

Chicken curry – Chicken ka saalan shorba
Chicken handi
Prawn masala
Raita and chicken cheddar kebab
Handi kebab
Chicken Tikka and mint chutney

Tomato Chutney – Hyderabadi style

February 28, 2022

This vegan Hyderabadi Tomato Chutney aka “Tamatar ka khatta” is the PERFECT addition to any lonely rice dish you make, like Pulavs or steamed rice with lentils or honestly just any fried snack you can think of, South Asian or otherwise.

Hyderabadi Tomato Chutney

Tomatoes like potatoes are frikkin VERSATILE! There are so many different types of sauces, dips and chutneys it can create! This particular Tomato chutney is known as “Tamatar ka khatta” in Urdu/Hindi, which literally translates to “tang of tomato”. It comes from the Hyderabadi cuisine made by cooking tomatoes in oil and spices. It is closely related to tomato ka kut, which is another Hyderabadi tomato curry recipe, served with eggs on top. Hyderbadis are known for their love of tangy food. Case in point would be the Hyderabadi khatti dal. True Hyderabadis would tell you that they always have a batch of this tomato chutney in their fridge or freezer, and I must say I like that sort of ahead-thinking when it comes to food!

What is this tomato chutney paired with?

This tangy “tamatar ki chutney” is popularly eaten with rice dishes that are non-spicy on their own like Pulav rice and steamed rice. Rarely also eaten with roti, parathas and kebabs. Here are a couple of things this chutney is normally eaten with:

meal showing rice, beef kebabs, raw sliced onions, salad and tomato chutney on the side — Tomato chutney on the side of rice, salad and kebab.

Pulav rice, like the Malai boti pulao
Steamed rice and lentils
Zeera pulav, kebab and salad (as shown in picture)
Served as a condiment for dinners and get togethers.
Used as a dipping sauces for spicy chicken samosas or chicken nuggets

Ingredients

Tomatoes – Fresh ripe tomatoes are ideal for this recipe. But, don’t worry, you can also use canned tomatoes.
Powdered Spices – Salt, red chili flakes, Turmeric, Red chili powder
Whole Spices – Nigella seeds (Kalonji), cumin seeds (Zeera), mustard seeds (Rye), whole red chilies (Saabit laal mirch), curry leaves. You may not have all the ingredients in your pantry, and thats fine, you can skip them if you don’t have them all but I would highly recommend not skipping the curry leaves.
Spice base – You need garlic and onions to get the “base” started. You can skip the onions if you don’t like them for xyz reasons.
Oil – Any regular cooking oil, ghee or butter would do.

How to make the chutney

This is a very straightforward and quick recipe. Here’s a quick pictorial to guide you through the steps.

Start by processing the tomatoes. Keep in mind to not add any water when you do this step. All the water you see in the 2nd part of the image is just the water leaching out from the finely chopped / processed tomatoes.

2 photo collage; First one showing raw tomatoes in a food processor, 2nd image shows finely chopped tomatoes from a top view

2. I simply fried the whole spices with onion and garlic until they turned golden. (NOT Brown, just golden ok!) ITs best to do this at medium to low heat so that you can control the color of garlic and onion easily.

2 picture collage; Image 1 shows whole spices and chopped ingredients frying in oil within a black pan, Image 2 shows onions and garlic turning golden brown in the same pot

3. Next step is to add the powdered spices.

PROTIP: Always add powdered spices BEFORE adding tomatoes. This allows the raw spices to be tempered in oil and be activated.

2 picture collage; Image 1 shows powdered spices added to fried onions in a black pot, Image 2 shows tempered spices along with whole spices in a black pan

4. Chuck in all your tomatoes, mix everything and cover it up. It should take 10 to 15 mins for all the water from the tomatoes to evaporate and the oil to seperate on the sides.

2 picture collage; Image 1 shows raw finely chopped tomato in a black pan, Image 2 shows semi cooked tomatoes in spices in a black pot

5. Once you see oil seperating on the side, add water and cook at high flame to bring the chutney together. You will see oil seperation once more and that is your cue to turn off the flame. Allow the chutney to cool down before serving.

A cooked and ready tomato chutney close up shown with oil seperated on the sides.

This chutney is generally served at room temperature so you don’t need to reheat it if you’ve made it earlier in the day. If you are having it on the next day, simply bring it out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter for about 10 – 15 mins. No need to reheat it.

Frequently asked Questions

How long can the chutney last?

Your chutney can last for over a month easy in the fridge! Just make sure to keep it in a glass / ceramic airtight container in the fridge.

PROTIP: Never store your cooked chutneys in plastic tupperware. It WILL stain your plastic yellow or even corrode it from the inside if its cheap plastic.

Can I freeze the chutney?

Absolutely! If you plan on using it later and not right away, you can easily freeze the chutney after it cools down. Freeze in a ziplock bag and simply reheat in the microwave whenever you are ready to consume.

Can I reduce the level of spices in the chutney?

This chutney is not overly spicy to begin with (atleast not to my “brown” palate). But if you are someone who can’t eat spicy food in general, then I’d say switch the red chili powder to paprika and you should be fine. Some people in my family also add a teaspoon of jaggery aka “gud” in their chutneys.

Does Tomato chutney go with NON-South Asian food?

If you are fan of fusion and experiment than absolutely! We love it as a dip with nuggets and Arabic grill platters. And because of the flavors, I can tell you it will go well with Mexican food too!

tamatar ki chutney ready in a bowl with spoon on the side

More recipes like this

Khatti dal (tangy red lentils)
Gajar ka achaar – Pickled carrots
Imli ki chutney – Sweet tamarind chutney
Green Mint chutney

Gulab Jamun with milk powder

December 6, 2021

I promise you, once you try this quick, super-soft Gulab Jamun recipe made with milk powder, you are NEVER going back to any other version! There is a step-by-step tutorial for you, ALONG with troubleshoot for EACH step! Thanks to my IG fam, I’ve also put up an FAQs segment to clear out confusions that come up for first time Gulab Jamun makers, OR for those who have attempted before and didn’t get the perfect results. I’ve made this recipe as NON-technical and as fool-proof as a recipe can possibly be. With this recipe, you will nail this Classic Indian/Pakistani dessert EVERY single time!

Content of this post

What are Gulab Jamuns
Notes on ingredients
Step by Step method + Tips
Frequently asked questions and troubleshooting
More Sweets/desserts like this
Recipe Card

What are gulab jamuns?

For those readers, who are new to Pakistani / Indian food, here’s a little something about Gulab Jamuns. They are a super popular Pakistani/Indian dessert, made for special occasions and festivities. “Gulab” means “Rose” and “Jamun” are the Black plum or Java plum, or a South Asian berry. So the name came into being, because Gulab Jamun are small plum sized round balls, fried and then dipped in rose flavored sugar syrup. These type of Pakistani/Indian desserts are called “Mithai”.

Traditionally, Gulab Jamuns were made with milk solids, which we brown folks know as “khoya”, made by simmering milk at low for hours until only the milk solids remain. Some would buy ready-to-use khoya from the market and make the jamuns. But, since the availability of khoya is restricted in most places outside of India/Pakistan, there came another quick method to make it. This quicker method uses milk powder instead of milk solids to make the balls. The milk powder Gulab Jamun recipe is super easy, and with the tips mentioned, even a beginner cook can ace them!

Gulab Jamuns are up there with Rice Kheer (rice pudding) and Shahi Tukras (bread pudding) as classic South Asian desserts that literally no one says no to!

Notes on ingredients you need

To make the gulab jamuns, you simply need to prepare 2 things: the fried milk balls and the sweet sugar syrup aka Sheera to dunk the balls in.

Milk dough balls

The right consistency of the milk dough balls is the key to perfect gulab jamuns. IF you have a smooth, soft dough mixture, rest assured, you will have a smooth soft perfect Gulab Jamun.

For milk dough balls you will need:

Milk Powder – You need full fat milk powder for this recipe. Whichever brand you decide to use, just make sure its NOT skimmed milk powder. For North America, you can find milk powder in any Indian/Pakistani grocery store or even mainstream stores like Wallmart etc. Use new milk powder, not more than 6 months old.
Thick Yogurt – This is my special ingredient that takes your gulab jamun to the next level. Greek yogurt is best. Thick part of your regular yogurt works too. Incase your yogurt is watery, just use a small tea strainer and strain your yogurt for 5 mins to get rid of any extra liquid it packs.
Semolina – Also known as Suji or Rava. Make sure to use the granulated kind and not the powder. The normal Suji would simply be labelled as Semolina. The powder would specifically mention Semolina Powder, which you want to avoid.
White flour – All purpose flour and regular white flour, both will work.
Egg – Use cold egg right outta the fridge. Unfortunately, you cannot substitute egg in this recipe
Ghee – This is clarified butter. You need room temperature ghee for this recipe. Room temperature ghee would look different in different regions or house temperatures. It may appear solid, semi solid or liquid to you. Don’t worry about the “state”in which your ghee is. As long as its your room temperature, you are good to go.
Baking Powder – Use fresh baking powder, preferrably not more than 6 months old.
Cardamom powder – This is an optional addition to the dough. IF you feel you are very sensitive to smell, you can add a pinch of cardamom powder to the dough
Neutral Oil or ghee for frying – You can use any neutral oil to fry the milk balls. You can also use ghee or a combination of both.

Sweet Sugar Syrup

We need a nice thin sugar syrup for this recipe. You will need

Sugar – Regular white sugar is used in this recipe
Green cardamom – This adds flavor and aroma to the milk balls, while covering up the egg smell
Rose water – This is another aromatic used in this recipe. You can skip it if you don’t have any
Food color – I use a pinch of yellow food color to tint the syrup. You can use saffron too

How to make Gulab Jamuns with milk powder

Learn to make gulab jamuns in 4 easy steps. I’ve made a long detailed style Stories on Instagram talking and troubleshooting Gulab Jamun. You can click here to see the video HIGHLIGHTS

Step 1 – Making the dough balls

Start by adding all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them together with a spoon.

EXPERT TIP:
To ensure a smooth and lump free dry mix, use a sieve to sift the dry ingredients into the bowl before mixing it

Make a small well in the center of the bowl and add the wet ingredients.
And now we knead. The dough is going to be super sticky so I like to do the “kneading” with a spatula or the back of a spoon, but you can use your hands to do this, if you like.

EXPERT TIP:
After more than 2 dozen trials, I concluded, that for the perfect gulab jamun, we need to use ghee (clarified butter) at room temperature and cold yogurt and cold egg, while making the dough

Your milk dough would look something like image 3, sticky and wet. If your dough looks dry and crumbly at this stage, add 1 extra teaspoon of thick yogurt and mix to get to this consistency.
Once you reach this stage, cover the dough and refrigerate for 10 mins to let it rest.

RESTING the milk dough

Resting the dough in the fridge, helps to firm up the dough and makes it easier to shape into balls. DO NOT put in the freezer thinking it will speed up this process.

After taking the dough out of the fridge, take out 1 heaped teaspoon dough and roll it out in a ball with the palm of your hands
If your dough is still super sticky, then grease your hands with ghee to roll out the balls.
I usually get 15 to 17 balls rolled out with this dough. And I make 2 small ones for testing.
Roll out all the balls and place them on a plate, ready to be fried.

NOTE:
Gulab Jamuns expand once in oil and than once more when dipped in the sugar syrup. So, keep that in mind while rolling out the balls, to avoid making them too big.

Step 2 – Making the sugar syrup aka sheera

The sugar syrup or “sheera” is usually thick and has some specific consistency demands in most gulab jamun recipes. I’ve made this syrup recipe the simplest way possible, where you don’t have to worry about any of that.

PROTIP:
To save time, you can get your sugar syrup started while your milk dough rests in the fridge.

Simply add all the ingredients for the syrup in a wide sauce pan or pot and cook at medium heat until you see all the sugar dissolve.
Once your sugar dissolves, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and let the syrup simmer uncovered.
Your syrup needs to be thin and watery. IF somehow you left the flame at high, and your syrup has reduced too much, add some extra water to thin it out again.

NOTE: Select a wide pot/pan to make the syrup, because your gulab jamuns are going to be added to this pot, and you want ample room to allow the gulab jamuns to expand and cook.

Step 3 – Frying the dough balls

To fry the dough balls, you need another wide pot with enough oil for deep frying. You need the oil to be between 80 to 100 C. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, thats fine. Here’s a test you can do to check if your oil is ready.

OIL TEMPERATURE TEST

Dip a small test ball in the oil. It should take a few seconds, expand and then rise up slowly with no scorch marks from where it hit the pan.
If the oil is too hot, your ball will expand and rise up quickly but will also get a scorch mark from the pan where it touched it.
If the oil is too cold, the ball will take too long to rise up.
When in doubt, always go towards the colder side of the oil rather than hot. Cold oil will only take longer but not harm your milk balls. Hot oil will cook the outside of your gulab jamuns faster while the inside remains raw.

One by one, add all the balls in the oil and use a wooden spoon to create a sort of whirpool effect in the oil to allow them to rotate around.
Don’t touch the milk balls directly and simply swirl the oil until they stop expanding.
Once the gulab jamuns have reached their maximum size, use the wooden spoon and constantly move them around for even browning. This takes somewhere between 3 to 5 mins.

Once they get to nice golden brown color, or the color that you like, use a skimmer to remove the gulab jamuns onto a plate or directly add to the syrup pot

Step 4 – Cooking dough balls in syrup

Directly add the gulab jamuns into the syrup to avoid an extra plate to clean up.
Now you can increase the heat to high for the syrup and cover the pot with a lid.
Allow the gulab jamuns to cook in the syrup for 5 mins at high flame. During this stage, they will expand some more and soak up all the liquid.

After that, reduce the flame to low and cook for another 10 mins covered. This ensures that all the sweet syrup has penetrated the gulab jamuns completely and there is no raw centre.

Turn off the heat and let the gulab jamuns rest in the syrup for a while. They are extremely soft right now. Allow them to stabilize a little bit before cutting into them.

The perfect gulab jamun has a smooth evenly browned outer layer with a soft and juicy centre that hold its shape.

Serve the Gulab jamuns warm or cold, garnished with sliced almonds and pistachios, some dried rose buds for extra flare.

Expert tips in a nutshell

Use wide pan for both frying and making the syrup.
Your oil should be atleast 1 inch deep in the pot
Minor cracks or mild uneven browning is not something to be worried about, these flaws auto-correct themselves once they hit the sugar syrup.
Gulab jamuns expand twice, once in oil, once in syrup, keep that in mind while make the dough balls
The gulab jamuns need to be added while they are hot in the sugar syrup, don’t wait too long between frying and adding the jamuns to the syrup.
Always use fresh baking powder and milk powder when making gulab jamuns

FAQS & Troubleshooting

Can you smell the eggy-ness?

Not at all. The rose water, green cardamom and ghee all act as aromatics and you cannot smell the egg even a little bit. But, if you think, you have a sensitive sense of smell, you can add a pinch of green cardamom powder to the milk dough.

Can I use the left over oil/ghee later?

Absolutely. The brilliant thing about gulab jamun dough is that it doesn’t leave any residue in the oil it is fried in. So you can absolutely use it later for all sweet and savory recipes. I usually end up using it to make regular every day food.

Why do my gulab jamuns disintegrate when they hit the frying pan?

That will happen if you use skimmed, low fat milk powder or powdered tea creamers. Always use full fat milk powder for any Gulab Jamun recipe that you try. Please check labels carefully before using milk powder for gulab jamuns. Almari, Mawa, Nido (full fat) are good brands to use.

Why did my gulab jamuns remain raw in the centre?

The balls remain raw in the centre when the sugar syrup or sheera doesn’t penetrate it completely. This happens if you didn’t cook your gulab jamuns long enough in the syrup or the syrup was too thick for the gulab jamuns to absorb it properly.

Why are the there cracks on my gulab jamun

Minor cracks in the gulab jamuns aren’t a problem. They stabilize once they cook in the sheera. But yes major cracks happen if your dough was too dry. With this recipe, you shouldn’t have that problem. But if you feel your doughis dry and crumbly, you can add a teaspoon of yogurt and bring it back together. Only add more yogurt if you feel you dough is super dry. Another thing you can do is pass the dry ingredients through a sieve to ensure your mix has no lumps.

My dough breaks is crumbly and not sticky like yours

Add a teaspoon of yogurt and mix to bring it back together.

My gulab jamuns deflate after hitting the sugar syrup

Gulab Jamuns deflate for 2 reasons, if they have too much moisture or if the milk powder, baking powder is expired. Moisture should not be a problem with this recipe. Your baking powder and milk powder shouldn’t be more than 6 months old.

Can I apply the tips on this post for another recipes?

The dough tips are specific for the dough, however the tips on frying method you can apply on any other recipe. Remember to always ask the recipe writer of that specific recipe you are following to help you out.

My dough is still sticky after I take it out of the fridge.

That can sometimes happen if your yogurt had a lot of water or simply because of minor seasonal fluctuations. Don’t worry thats totally normal. Simply grease your hands to shape the dough if you are unable to do so with ungreased hands. If you are still unable to shape them, then sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of all purpose flour and mix the dough to make it less sticky.

Can we make bigger or smaller gulab jamuns than shown here?

Yes, you can. You can make smaller ones ranging from 20 to 25 or 10 large ones.

Can I half or double this recipe?

Yes absolutely! Use grams when you are going to half the recipe.

side view of a plate holding gulab jamuns

More like this

Instant rasmalai with milk powder
Gajar ka halwa (carrot pudding)
Sooji ka halwa (semolina pudding)
Shahi tukda (bread pudding)

Cheddar Chicken Kabab

November 27, 2021

This simple, flavorful Cheddar Chicken kababs are the perfect appetizers slash tortilla wrap material. This recipe includes tips on how to make juicy tender kababs, without letting the cheese burn off while cooking, including pan frying, baking and air frying instructions.

What are Cheese Chicken Kababs?

a broken piece of cheese chicken kabab shown held by hand.

“Kabab”, which is spelled in many difference ways ( kebap, kabob, kebob, or kebab) simply means piece of meat or vegetable thread onto a skewer and grilled. It is a traditional style of cooking in the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, and South Asia. In South Asia, kababs also refers to patty style appetizers, like spinach and potato cakes.

The chicken cheddar kebab is a fusion variation of its traditional counter part : The chicken seekh kabab. They are made with mince and shaped into long kababs on skewers. Usually made on an open grill, you can get the perfect results at home on a stove top.

Traditionally, when “cheese” is used in Indian and Pakistani food, it is usually Paneer i.e Cottage cheese. Whenever European style cheeses are used in Desi cooking, it automatically becomes a style of fusion food. Although, most mainstream Indian Pakistani food now, use European style cheese in a lot of recipes.

I was going through my recipes and realised I haven’t made any traditional skewer style kababs for the blog, which is ironic because we make SOME form of kebabs almost every week! So here it is, in all its glory and simplicity the chicken cheddar kababs.

Ingredients you need to make the kebabs

Here are the 12 ingredients you will need to make Chicken cheddar kebab, plus some notes on ingredient selection.

labelled ingredients shown indivisually needed for making chicken kababs

Ground Chicken – I’ve used chicken mince from my local store but you can make your own by adding boneless chicken into a food processor, which is better in any case. For using other types of meat, read the FAQS below
Coriander and Mint leaves – Substitute mint leaves with more coriander if you don’t have any or the other way round. If you are one of those who don’t like coriander, substitute with parsley.
Red and Green chilies – The red and green chilies I’ve used for this recipe are called “Indian Chilies” or “karhayi”chilies in Pakistan. Theyare mild as compared to Serrano or Bird’s eye chilies. I’d recommend using Jalapenos if you can’t find these. You can also use Red bell peppers instead. Ofcourse, if you can’t find any, skip the red chili altogether and add more green instead.
Onions and garlic – I’ve used red onion for this recipe, but use any that you have at hand. To keep the moisture minimum, I’ve used chopped garlic instead of paste. You can use garlic powder too if you want too.
Powdered Spices and Seasoning
- Paprika – You can substitute with Kashmiri lal mirch if you want
- Blackpepper – Bring out the perfect balance of spices in this recipe.
- Garam masala powder – This bring out the earthy flavor of the recipe. Use Allspice powder instead or skip it entirely
- Salt – Adequate amount of salt is important to bring out the flavor in your recipe. Remember, when seasoning kababs, you are also seasoning all the additives, like eggs and herbs etc. which is why don’t be stingy with that salt.
Cheese – For this recipe, you need non-stringy cheese with a mild flavor of its own. I’m using mild English Cheddar because that’s what my family likes. Feel free to use any according to your taste. Sharp Cheddar, Emmental and Monetery Jack are all excellent options! (See more about cheese selection in the FAQS section)
Egg – The egg helps in adding a little binding and tenderness to the kebabs.
Breadcrumbs – All good kababs need “fillers”. These are ingredients that give body to the kebab while avoiding shrinkage, that happens when you grill any kind of mince meat. Homemade or store brought, both breadcrumbs work!
Oil – You only need oil for panfrying, air frying and coating your hands while shaping the kababs.

How to make and shape Cheese Kababs

Click Here to watch steps in a Reel I made for these kebabs

STEP 1 – Make the kabab mixture/dough

To do so, you simply chuck all your herbs and onion into a food processor and process until its nice and finely chopped.

2 picture collage to show steps of cooking - 1. herbs and onions added in a food processor. 2. herb mixture finely chopped up.

Then you need to squeeze out all the water from the mixture. I wear gloves while doing this, because my skin is senstitive to garlic. You can also use a nutmilk bag or a cheese cloth to do this.

2 picture collage to show steps of cooking - 1. gloved hand squeezing out liquid from chopped herbs 2. squeezed herb mixture shown

Add the herb mixture and all the other ingredients in a bowl and knead them by hand. A stand mixer with a paddle attachment would also do the job.

2 picture collage to show steps of cooking - 1. ingredients for kabab mixture added to a bowl 2. ingredients for kabab mixture kneaded together

I add cheese last so that it gets less time while being kneaded. This avoid cheese to soften up from the heat of our hands.

2 picture collage to show steps of cooking - 1. adding cheese to kabab mixture. 2. cheese incorporated in the raw kabab mixture

STEP 2 – Shaping the Kebabs

To divide the mixture into equal portions, use a tablespoon or an icecream scooper. Scoop out small portions on to a plate.

2 picture collage to show steps of cooking - 1. tablespoon scooping out a portion of kabab mixture onto a plate 2. multiple portions of kababs ready

PROTIP
I find the easiest way to shape these kababs are when they are cold. So after portioning, I stick the plate in the freezer for about 15 mins before shaping. This makes the mixture firm and easy to handle

To shape the kababs, grease the palm of your hands with oil so that the mixture doesn’t stick. Shape them into thick cigars by squeezing and rolling them in your palms.

2 picture collage to show steps of cooking - 1. greased hand. 2. hand shaping portion of the kabab mixture into a cigar

Then you insert a skewer on one end of the kabab.

NOTE:
I am using a makeshift skewer aka straw for this step. You can use the regular metal ones or wooden sticks too. I shape the kebab around the straw some more and pull it out. IF you are
using a wooden or metal skewer, you can also leave the kababs on it and grill it as is.

2 picture collage to show steps of cooking 1. single kabab skewed onto a straw. 2. kabab removed from straw after shaping and shown with a hole in the centre, held in hand

Shape all the kebabs, pull out from the straw and prepare to pan fry.

raw cigar shaped kababs on a black plate.

STEP 3 – Cooking the kebabs

I panfry these kebabs at medium heat for 3 to 4 mins, tossing and flipping for even browning.

NOTE:
Avoid overcooking the kebabs as it will lead to dry hard kebabs and burnt cheese.
Chicken mince cooks very fast, don’t worry about it being raw.

chicken kababs pan frying with oil in a pan.

Best Cooking Method for Chicken Kababs

In order of the best results:

On an outdoor charcoal grill – This is usually how restaurants make skewer kababs.
On the stove – Pan-frying or grilling is the best indoor way of making these, in my opinion
In an Air-Fryer – Less oil than pan frying, but similar results taste and texture wise.
In the Oven – Easiest to do, but definitely not as tender as the pan-fried ones

close up of the final look of chicken cheese kabab

FAQS

Can I make this recipe with any other meat?

Sure! You can make this recipe with beef, lamb or mutton. You will need to add 1 inch chunk of ginger in your herb mix. And your grilling / pan frying time would increase to 6 – 7 mins. DO NOT skip the skewers for beef kebabs, as it can shrink a lot without it. I would say this, beef kababs require a special set of instructions and tips that would go beyond the scope of this post but hopefully I should write one soon on just Beef cheese kababs.

Why does my cheese melt and burn in the pan?

When I posted this recipe on Instagram, most of you have had this issue with other cheese kababs recipes you’ve tried. This is something you can’t avoid completely. There will be some oozing whenever there is cheese incorporated in kabab and when the kabab has no coating. But we can minimize it by a LOT

Using Pre-Shredded Cheese

Pre-shredded cheese packs you get in stores are actually better for this recipe! Those packs use corn flour to coat the cheese strands and this helps in stabilizing your cheese while frying and not ooze out and burn

IF you are shredding cheese yourself at home, coat them with 1/2 tsp of cornflour and freeze before using for the kababs for BEST results! You can apply this tip for any recipe kabab recipe that uses shredded cheese in the mixture.
Avoiding Over-browning or Overcooking
Most of the time, if you are pan frying the kababs longer than needed, the cheese WILL melt and ooze out regardless of how good they were coated with cornflour. Make sure you are not cooking them longer than instructed.

Can I make the kababs without egg?

Some of my readers avoid consuming egg so I’ve tried the recipe for you all without eggs too. You can skip the egg and add an extra half onion instead for similar results.

Can I freeze Chicken Kebabs? And for how long?

Yes! Absolutely! To freeze the kababs, pan fry them for 2 mins or until they change color. Let the kababs cool, transfer them into ziplock bags and freeze for upto 2 months. Freezing the kababs raw is not such a good idea, because they leach out moisture that way and you end up with dry kebabs when you fry them eventually.

Can I shape the kababs without the skewers?

The hole provides an airvent. When you grill the kebabs, they shrink towards the pan, which makes the hole bigger but overall preserves the shape of your kebabs. You can still shape the kebabs without a skewer but you might see minor reduction in size of the kebab once cooked.

Why does my kebab become sticky and hard to handle?

One answer – Moisture. If your mixture is holding a lot of moisture, it will become difficult to handle and shape. Here are a few things that help

Ground the chicken yourself from a breast or thigh fillet instead of buying mince.
Squeeze out water from the herb mixture to reduce overall water content
Freeze the kebabs for a few minutes before shaping.
Last resort is to add more bread crumbs to increase binding.

Serving Suggestions

cheese chcken kebabs in a serving platter with yogurt, fried chilies and sliced onions on the side

These kababs are a meal on their own honestly! I love the fact that they are so uni-cuisine. The flavors are so neutral that they go well with everything! Here are a couple of my favorite pairing

A simple kebab platter with Mint Chutney, and sliced onions on the side
Serve with boiled rice and lentils for lunch.
Serve with masala dal and roti or flat bread.
And My personal favorite! for kebab wraps with more cheddar, onions and lettuce and a tortilla to go with
You can also always go simple with a side salad.

More kababs like this

Chicken vegetable Oats kabab
Handi Kabab
Asian chicken meatballs
Potato and spinach cutlets

Mutton Chaap Fry – Spicy Goat Ribs

November 12, 2021

This spicy tender Mutton Chaap (goat chops) recipe is the perfect appetizer slash Main to whip up today. Its super quick to make, and you don’t need any real cooking expertise to nail this recipe! Its fool proof! Just marinate, steam and grill! Its really THAT simple!

What is mutton chaap or Mutton chops?

“Chaap” is simply the Urdu/Hindi word for chops. A “chop” is called so, because it is a single piece of bone-in meat CHOPPED from a larger piece. Any part of the goat or sheep can be made in to a bone in meat chop; neck, leck, shoulders, ribs.

close up of 2 pieces of raw mutton chops

Mutton Chop – Bone in meat from Older sheep And Goat
Lamb chop – Bone in meat from Younger sheep.
Beef chop – Bone in meat from a cow

Most common chop taken from a goat is from the ribs. For this recipe I’m using goat chops, but you can use the same recipe to make lamb chops or beef chops.

Although, Hugh Jackman in his Wolverine look is still first to show up when you google “Mutton chops”, and I mean that really IS something I don’t mind looking at, at all (forever Hugh fangirling)

In my house, Mutton chaaps and palak raita are literally the combo that neverrrr gets old!

side close up view of grilled mutton chaap

What to serve Mutton chops with?

Ok, just so you know, I love food that can pretend to be 2 things at once! So naturally, I’m goign to sell you on this Mutton Chaap fry recipe because it works as an appetizer or a Main and it literally workss with all kinds of Cuisines. Here are some of my all time favorite serving suggestions:

When served as as starter, pair with green chutney, onion slices and lemon on the side
For mains, eat With khatti dal (tangy red lentils), steamed rice, and a side of fresh salad
For dinner, pair with Chapati or flatbread, dry moong masoor dal and pickled onions.
Incase of a small lavish spread, serve it with aloo tarkari (potato curry) and parathas (fried flat bread) , sliced onions and lemon.
For a simple lunch pairing, have chaap with rice pilav, an Asian crunch salad, and yogurt
I sometimes simply bake potatoes, and other vegetables with and bring out these chaap from the freezer for those lazy Tuesdays.

Ingredients

You only need a handful of ingredients to whip these cuties up. And hey, its fine if you are missing something here or there, I’ve got you covered, with substitutes.

Meat chops – I am using goat ribs for this recipe. You can use lamb or beef too. Infact, any bone in meat cut can be used for this recipe.
Yogurt – The yogurt adds a balance to all the spices in this recipe. Both, low fat and full fat yogurt can be used.
Garlic ginger paste – Another staple for any South Asian cooking is the garlic ginger paste. If you don’t have any at hand, you can use 1/2 an inch piece of ginger and 3 cloves of garlic and dice them finely to use.
Salt and Spices – This recipe uses staple Indian/Pakistani spices like red chili powder, black pepper powder and garam masala powder. The garam masala powder is easily available in all Asian stores now, but you can also use allspice powder if you have that. You can also use Paprika if you don’t have regular red chili powder.
Oil – Any neutral cooking oil that you use is absolutely fine!
Vinegar – The vinegar helps with any residual smell with the meat and adds a subtle layer of acidity to the recipe. You can also use lemon juice instead.

NOTE:
If you taste the raw marinade (which I think we all do), it should taste strongly tart and spicy.
It won’t stay long on the meat so it needs to have a little zing in it.

How to make Mutton Chaap Fry

This recipe is so straight forward, my baby cousin made it, and he doesn’t even know what a spatula is! I’m going to put in a pictorial just for you visual folks out there. There are only 3 simple steps involved:

Marination
Steaming
Grilling/Pan frying

PICTURE 1 & 2 – MARINATING
Simply toss all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to create a smooth marinade.

2 picture collage - Pic 1 shows unmixed marinade in a white bowl. Pic 2 shows marinade mixed smoothly

PICTURE 3 & 4
Add your meat chops and coat them well in the marinade. Now the meat needs to rest on the counter for about 30 mins before you can cook them. It doesn’t need overnight marination, but you can do so if you like. 30 mins is just long enough for the meat and yogurt to come down to room temperature before we begin cooking.

2 picture collage - #1 shows raw mutton chops sitting on top of marinade. #2 shows mutton chops marinated

LAZY HACK:
You can also simply marinate it directly in the pot you are going to cook it in. You’ll have 1 less bowl to wash!

PICTURE 5 & 6 (STEAMING)
The next step is to slow cook the mutton chops at low flame. Transfer the marinated chops in a pot and add water. Let the chops simmer at low flame for 30 to 40 mins. You can also do this in an Instant Pot if you have one. On low heat, this kind of cut takes roughly about 30 to 40 mins. After 30 mins, do a water check to make sure it hasn’t all dried up. Add more if your meat is still not done. Insert a fork in the meat to check if it tender, and turn of flame once it is done.

2 picture collage - #1 shows raw marinated mutton chops in a black pot with water. #2 shows cooking mutton chops in black pot

At this stage, you can decide if you want to pan fry the chops right away or eat it later. You can also freeze them at this stage once they cool down.

PICTURE 7 & 8 – PAN FRYING
Heat up a grill pan, a tava (flat pan) or a frying pan with some oil in it. Simply place your chops on the pan and grill at medium heat on both sides till you get some color on them. And thats it! Viola! Its ready to serve

2 picture collage - #1 has a black pan with some oil in it. #2 has mutton chops grilling on a black pan

Protip:

These chops are juicy and tender but like all grilled meat, they tend to dry out if let out in the open for too long. Once grilled, try to keep them covered if serving is some time ahead.

Grilled and steamed mutton chops ready on a white plate with lemon slices on the side and a bowl with yogurt.

Can I make it in advance?

For events and gatherings, you can always marinate and steam the chops in advance! Steam it a day or even 2 days earlier and just pan fry them on the day of the event.

Can I freeze pre-fried Mutton Chaap?

Yes! Infact that is the best stage to freeze. Once you have cooked the mutton chaaps until tender, allow them to cool down and then put them in a ziplock bag and pop it in the freezer. When you are ready to eat them, you can thaw them on the counter and pan fry them. Steamed/Cooked chops can stay in the fridge for upto 60 days.

Can I reheat grilled Mutton Chaap in the oven?

Absolutely! My favorite tip is to spray them with water when I reheat them in the microwave for about 60 secs at high. This way the meat doesn’t toughen up as it heats up.

More recipes like this

Handi Kebab recipe
Khara masala keema – Whole Spice Ground Beef
Mutton White Biryani
Dam keema – Slow Cooked Ground beef

Pakistani Mutton Chaap fry

A Pakistani steamed and grilled spicy Mutton chaap recipe made with simple spices and goat chops.

4.89 from 17 votes

Print Pin

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: International, South Asian

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 50

Servings: 10 pieces

Calories: 188kcal

Author: Wajiha

Ingredients

▢ 500 gm Mutton chops about 9 to 10 pieces
▢ 1/2 cup yogurt
▢ 1/2 tablespoon black pepper powder
▢ 1/2 tablespoon garam masala powder see notes*
▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
▢ 1 teaspoon table salt or to taste
▢ 2 tablespoon white vinegar
▢ 1 tablespoon garlic ginger paste
▢ 2 tablespoon oil + extra for pan frying/grilling

Instructions

Make marinade by combining all the spices, yogurt, vinegar, garlic ginger paste and oil. Beat with a fork till you get a smooth consistency
Toss in the mutton chops in the marinade and coat all the chops well. Set aside on the counter for 30 mins, until chops and yogurt come down to room temperature.
Transfer the marinated chops into a pot with 1 cup water and put the lid on. Let it cook at low heat for 30 to 40 mins.
After 30 minutes, check if the meat is tender. If the meat is tender, cook with lid of to evaporate all the liquid in the pan.
IF, after 40 mins, your chops are still not tender, add more water and let it simmer for 10 more minutes.
Lightly grease a grill pan with oil or butter. Grill or panfry the mutton chops on both sides at high flame until you get a nice charred golden brown color on each side.
Serve warm with lemon slices and a yogurt dip at the side.

Notes

* If you don’t have garam masala powder, you can use allspice powder, or baharat spice mix too

You can also use lamb or beef chops for this recipe.
You can freeze the cooked mutton chops after they are slow cooked. Simply thaw whenever you want to have them, and then pan fry.
To reheat panfried chops, keep a small cup of water in the microwave along with the chops to avoid the meat from drying out

Nutrition

Serving: 1pieceCalories: 188kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 13gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 286mgSugar: 1g

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

Spicy Chicken and Pepper Stir fry

October 29, 2021

Once you try this Indian/Pakistani style 15 min Chicken bell pepper Stir fry, it will become a regular in your weekly rotation! This recipe packs a nice kick of heat with spices, balanced with a mild sweetness coming through the peppers and onions. IT is soooo perfect to eat on its own or pair it with roti or rice.

I love how stir fries work beautifully for anyone who meal preps – I cant, for the life in me. But, if you are someone who stays on top of your meal-prep game, this ones for you. Its also super versatile! Which means, you can remix it any which way! Swap out the chicken or the veggies….(more on that later) You get the picture, let’s dive right in.

top down view of chicken and vegetables stir fried in a pan, with spice and rice showing from the side.

Is Pakistani Chicken Bell Pepper Stir fry a fusion recipe?

Traditionally, Pakistani/Indian food doesn’t exactly have “stir fries”. Our simple quick chicken/beef dishes are usually named after the utensil used for the cooking rather than METHOD of cooking. For eg. “chicken karhayi” where “karhayi” is a type of wok. So for that reason, and because of the special “chat masala”used in this recipe, it would be called a Fusion style recipe for all intent and purposes. If you are someone who is just starting to cook for yourself, or living away from family, this is the right starting recipe for you.

What pairs well with this pepper chicken stir fry

The best thing about stir fries are the endless pairing possibilities. You can eat it as is if you are in the mood for a low-carb dinner or pair it with some more filling options.

a gray plate holding portions of yellow rice, plain yogurt and spicy chicken stir fry

Here are a couple of ideas you can serve/have this fusion style Stir fry:

Go Low Carb – Eat as is! IF you are watching your carb intake, just skip adding anything at all and dig right in with a fork!
Quiona or Couscous – Both of these are types of carbs that you can pair your chicken with, if you are avoiding rice for any dietary reason.
Rice – Add Plain or spicy Basmati or brown rice to make it a heartier meal.
Noodles or pasta – Another great pairing! Simply toss some noodles in Chili oil and add the stir fry on top! Perfection!
Tortillas/Roti and flat breads
Side salad – Add more fibre with a leafy salad or a heartier option like the Asian Cashew Salad
Potatoes – Regular and sweet potatoes are another cult favorite addition to make stir fries a meal. You can go baked, mashed, wedges, or fries! The fusion batata harra recipe I wrote, is MADE to be paired with this Chicken stir fry btw!
Dips – Plain yogurt, Labneh, peri peri sauce, guacamole or sour cream. All great options!

My personal favorite combo is the spicy basmati rice, plain yogurt and
a crunch salad on the side. Such a hearty meal and legit feels so fancy that I’ve ended up putting it together for parties too!

Ingredients and Substitutes

Most of the ingredients used in the recipe are pretty straight forward and you most probably already have in your pantry. But, worry not, I STILL have given some alternatives for things you may not have. Keep reading

labelled ingredients for spicy chicken stir fry shown in seperate bowls

Chat masala – Probably the only ingredient that you might not have, is this spice blend called Chat masala commonly used in many South Asian recipes. Chat masala is tangy and spicy and its ok if you don’t have any at hand. You can skip it altogether and just sprinkle some paprika and lemon juice at the end once the recipe is finished.
Tomato paste – You can use ketchup too as an alternative. If you are into spicy food, and feel adventurous, you can also use Spicy schezwan sauce
Bellpeppers – Technically, I’d have to say you can’t skip these because they are literally what the dish is named after. But hey this is a super versatile dish! do what you want! you can easily use any other vegetable you like to replace peppers or do a half and half scenario.
Onions – Red onions add a mild sweetness to balance out all the flavors. Use any onions you have at hand. This is one ingredient I won’t recommend skipping, unless you have a dietary restriction.
Vinegar – This adds a mild sour element and helps get rid of any smell the chicken might carry. You can use any vinegar you like, or use lemon juice.
Cilantro – Coriander or cilantro is the herb of choice for this recipe. But if you are one of those who can’t stand cilantro ( I know a few), use parsley instead, its all good

How to make Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

It took me a total of 10 mins to make this recipe from start to finish. But I still labelled it as 15 min recipe to be safe. Here’s a quick pictorial to show you the simple steps you needs to do cook the chicken.

boneless chicken marinated in spices in a bowl — Marinate chicken

2 picture collage, image 1 with slit green chilies in oil and image 2 with raw marinated chicken in oil in pan — Marinate chicken

Some notes to keeps in mind while stir frying the chicken

Use a wide pan or skillet to avoid overcrowding of the chicken or veggies. You can even use a wok or a grillpan.
Like all good stir fries, this one is also made on medium high flame and cooks super fast! So make sure you have everything ready before you fire up your pan.
When you add the vegetables in the stir fry, the spices automatically coat them and you don’t need to pre-season the vegetables.
If you are afraid the recipe may be spicy for you, skip the chili flakes, you can always add it at the end if you feel the need.

FAQS

Can I use a different protein?

Since this is a quick stir fry, if you want to change your protein, it needs to be something that cooks just as quickly. Boneless fish or flank cut beef strips can both be used. You can also uses bone-in chicken but that may require addition of water and steam cooking for about 10 mins before adding vegetables.

Can I make this recipe less spicy?

Absolutely! You can reduce the spice level by skipping the green chilies and red chili flakes if you think this would be too much for you! You can always sprinkle red chili flakes towards the end, after you’ve done a taste test.

Can I make this in the oven?

OH absolutely! If you aren’t in the mood to cook on the stove, simply marinate all the ingredients together and pop it in the oven for a sheet pan style dinner. For best results allow atleast 1 hr marination, to overnight. Preheat oven at 200°C (390°F) and line a large baking tray with parchment paper, spraying with cooking oil. Place your marinated chicken and vegetables on top and spray with a little oil. You only need to bake for about 20 mins, with one halftime chicken toss. You can also broil for a min towards the end of the baking to give the charred finish.

Can I make this recipe vegetarian?

Like I said, super versatile! Swap the chicken out and use pre-boiled cauliflower florets insteads, OR if you like Paneer (Indian cottage cheese), you can use that too.

Can I grill them in an open flame?

I’ve used the same recipe to thread the chicken and vegetables onto skewer and make it on open grills during BBQ season. Turns out perfect every time!

How long can it last in the fridge?

Any raw marinated chicken can easily last in the fridge for 2 days before grilling it up. Once cooked, it can last for another 2 to 3 days, in a covered container.

a close up shot of chicken pepper stir fry in a pan

Other recipes you might like

10 min chili garlic noodles
Dragon Chicken
Sweet and Sour chicken
More fusion style food

Spicy Chicken Chilli Garlic Noodles

October 21, 2021

These delicious spicy Chilli Garlic noodles only use 3 core ingredients : Peppers, Garlic and noodles, and most importantly, needs 10 mins to cook!
Everything else is only to create balance and give your noodles that slippery slick noodle heavenesss (if thats even a word?)

Chicken Chili Garlic Noodles

One of our favorite stir fry noodle recipes this year has been this! I always end up making chili garlic noodles when all I have are some chicken and bellpeppers in the fridge. Another version of this recipe uses chili oil and garlic. This version comes under the broad banner of “Indo Chinese” which is fusion style Chinese food originating from Chinese immigrants in South Asia. Indo-Chinese food is comparitively spicier and uses some combination of Indian and Chinese spices and cooking techniques.

The core flavor for Chili Garlic Noodles is just chili and Garlic. Simple right? and who has ever gone wrong with these two! Since it’s supposedly just chili and garlic, the veggie used is also JUST bellpeppers because they are technically a chili. You can ofcourse break the rules and add whatever vegetables you like. Noodles don’t judge. But I always end up making saucy one pot noodles when I have a ton of veggies to use up.

Chili garlic noodles with chicken mushrooms on a black plate

Ingredients and Substitutes

What noodles to use?

All stir fry noodle recipes, like Chow mein, require some rigorous wok-tossing action. So its best to use noodles that are thick and long so that they can withstand the pan-action. I personally end up using any spaghetti or standard Chinese noodle pack lying around in the house. This is a non-judgement recipe really, noodlewise. Here are a couple of options that you can use for this recipe.

Lo-mein Noodles – These are the yellow noodles usually labelled as Egg noodles on packets.
Italian noodles – All spaghetti or Linguinis are welcome! They work perfectly for all stir fries.
Udon Noodles – These Japanese noodles are thick and have a neutral taste.
Soba noodles – They are made with buckwheat flavor, so they do have a mild earthy flavor to them, but overall they hold well in stir fry recipes.

What Chillies To use?

Chilies are one of the core 3 ingredients in this gorgeous stir fry. I’ve used a combination of chilies for this recipe.

Serrrano green chilies – These are small but super hot! Remove seeds if you can’t handle heat.
Fresno red chilies – These are like Jalapenos but Red. So they have heat but less than their small thai red chili counterparts. You can use regular jalapenos if you can’t find Fresnos.
Red, green, yellow bellpeppers – They serve as the “vegetable” for the stir fry.

You can easily skip any of these if you don’t have them at hand. If you want to try this recipe without turning it too spicy, remove the seeds from the serrano and Fresno red chilies before slicing them.

Chilli Garlic Noodle Sauce

The magic of these Noodles happens with the Chilli and Garlic. The sauce here provides balance and some slippery slick texture to the stirfry.

Honey – You can also use brown sugar if you want.
Ketchup – You can use tomato paste also.
Dark Soy Sauce – Dark Soy sauce adds so much umami flavor in the noodles in just a small quantity. I’d highly recommend getting the dark kind, even if you opt for the Low-Sodium variety.
Red Vinegar – Use regular vinegar if you don’t have red one at hand
Hoisin Sauce – IF this is something you don’t have lying in your pantry, you can use barbecue sauce and hot sauce as a subsitute. Healthline has some amazing alternatives to Hoisin, click here to read about it.
Noodle Water – Save some of the water when you boil your noodles. This adds to the nice slippery texture that makes the noodles irresistible!

labelled ingredients shown for the noodles

Other Ingredients

Garlic – Ofcourse the other star of the dish is garlic, and lots of it! Finely chopped garlic add the perfect acidity and flavor to the noodles. I would not recommend using paste or powder for this recipe
Spring onion – I’ve used the white part of the spring onion aka scallions. But you can use any onions you have at hand
Oil – Sesame oil brings out the perfect Indo-Chinese flavor in these noodles.
Mushrooms – I’ve used Shitake Mushrooms. You can use any that you like or skip it altogether if you aren’t a fan
Chicken – Regular boneless chicken would do, both thigh and breast pieces work just fine.

Do I need a WOK to make these?

No way! I’m still look for a decent wok! And till I find one, a large skillet works perfectly for all stir fry recipes for me. Just make sure you skillet is broad and allow enough room for you to toss your noodles effortlessly. You don’t want to crowd the noodles.

How to make Chili Garlic Noodles

This recipe literally comes together in 10 mins tops! Make sure you have everything ready before you heat up that Wok/Skillet!

Here’s a simple step by step pictorial to show you how easy it is to put this recipe together.

chopped chilies, garlic and spring onions in a black pan — **1. Frying garlic, chili and onion**

chilies, garlic, spring onions frying in a black skillet — **1. Frying garlic, chili and onion**

parboiled noodles added to black skillet

Some notes to make the perfect Chili Garlic noodles

A couple of things to note when stirfrying the recipe

Keep everything ready before you begin cooking. Everything happens fast with a stir fry and you’d be running to stir and look for ingredients if you don’t have them by your side before you begin.
Par-boil your noodles according to the instructions on your packet. If you are in doubt, its better to underboil, than overboil. You can always add more water while stir frying if you think you want to but there is no going back for overcooked noodles.
Make sure you allow your garlic and chili to turn slightly golden before you add chicken. Uncooked chilies will be that much hotter and your oil won’t absorb enough garlic and chili flavor to transfer to the chicken and noodles.
Always cook at high heat! The beauty of every good stir fry is that they are cooked at high and made very quick! So once you get started, make sure you are cooking at high heat, we don’t want soggy vegetables or overcooked noodles.
Removes seeds from the chilies if you’d like to enjoy the chili flavor without too much heat.
I didn’t use any toppings for the noodles, but you can garnish with sesame seeds.
If you are feeling adventurous, go ahead and make this recipe using Chili oil rather than sesame oil to add another layer of heat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make it vegetarian?

Absolutely! Go ahead and swap the chicken for more mushrooms or maybe Tofu if you like or skip it altogether.

Can I make this recipe Low-carb?

If you have gone through my recipes, you know I’m not a big fan of low Carb. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do right? To make this recipe low carb, swap the noodles for zoodles or zuchini noodles using a spiralizer. And make the recipe as it is.

How to make these noodles guilt-free and more nutritious?

Add low sodium soy sauce.
Use whole wheat or durum wheat noodles
Use organic chicken
Add more vegetables

Craving more Chinese? Here are some other recipes on the blog

Crispy Beijing Beef
Dynamite Prawns
Saucy Schezuan Chicken
Other Chinese and Indo-Chinese recipes

Easy Beef Handi Kabab

July 14, 2021

This is a recipe for the best MELT in your Mouth beef kababs that are NOT made on skewers, but instead in a pot! Made in a North Indian or Pakistani style, this is a no fuss, easy to follow recipe, tested to made fool proof!

What are handi kabab?

So handi kababs are basically the gravy version of their BBQ counter part known as “Bihari boti” or “Bihari kababs”, popular in Pakistan and North India. Obviously the name itself is a giveaway as to the origins of the dish, i.e. Bihar. The marinade, beef cut and spices are very similar to what is used in Bihari kebabs, with one plot twist. These kababs are made in a pot rather than a skewer and have a little gravy or “masala” in it to make it resemble a dry curry.

Also bonus: You can make these without firing up a grill or spending time threading the kebabs onto a skewer. ANDDD a beginner level cook will be able to pull this off with EASE! ‘nuf said, lets dive right in!

beef handi kababs in a oval cast iron platter with lemon and onion slices on top of it

Notes on Ingredients

This recipe uses common ingredients used regularly in Indian/Pakistani cooking

Spices and table salt – There aren’t fancy spices involved and shouldn’t be hard to find in any spice isle.
Garlic ginger paste – You can make your own by using a food processor or buy ready to use garlic ginger paste.
Raw Papaya paste – Raw papaya paste is a strong natural meat tenderizer (more deets below)
Yogurt – This recipe heavily relies on yogurt to provide a mild tart flavor that these kebabs have
Oil – I’ve used regular cooking oil, you can use ghee or butter too.
Fried onions – Fried onions add mild sweetness to the flavor and add bulk to the dry “curry” that is going to be created. You can use pre-fried brown onions available in Indian stores or fry them yourself. Here’s a guide to fry onions perfectly.
Beef Cut – If you have access to an Indian/Pakistani meat store, you can easily ask for undercut beef cut in small cubes or boneless beef. You can also get a steak and cut it up. So topside, sirloin steak, eye fillet or tenderloin should work just fine.
Coal – I use a piece of small charcoal to give this dish a smoky flavor that it deserves! You can also use 1/2 tsp of liquid smoke available in bottles which are a “smoke essence”

Raw Papaya Paste

Raw papaya paste is a strong natural meat tenderizer which gives meat its melt in mouth texture synonymous with Bihari boti and Bihari kebabs. You can buy raw papaya paste in jars available in Asian stores or Indian/Pakistani store, Or make your own.

To make your own papaya paste, simply wash raw papaya and cut it into small pieces. Only remove the seeds from the core and leave the skin intact. Put it in a blender with some water to get paste! And that’s it

Raw Papaya Substitutes

You can use meat tenderizer about 2 tsp only. Remember meat tenderize has a taste of its own and overdoing it can give your kababs a funky taste
Another natural meat tenderizer is kiwi. You can use kiwi paste to get the same effect as raw papaya. Just add an additional tablespoon of vinegar to counter the sweetness of kiwi
Pineapple paste made from fresh pineapple contains an enzyme which is also a strong meat tenderizer. It’s half as strong as papaya paste. But pineapple has a strong sweet taste of its own so I won’t suggest using a lot of pineapple paste. Just increase marination time to 2 days with pineapple paste rather than using a lot of quantity.

How to make Beef Handi Kabab

You will see that the preparation time for this recipe is hardly 15 to 20 mins and the bulk of it is just passive cooking time.

You simply need to marinate beef in all your spices and keep it in the fridge overnight. That is literally all the prep you need to do for these kebabs! Marinate!

NOTE: Take out beef 1 hr before you are ready to cook to allow it to come down to room temperature.

all beef marination ingredients added in a bowl

Transfer your marinated beef into a heavy bottom pot. These kebabs are slow cooked. Simply let them simmer at low flame to allow all the water from yogurt to be released and eventually dry up. You know your dish is ready when you see oil separating on the side.

Smoking the kebabs

I give coal smoke to the beef to give it that authentic BBQ feel. You can give the smoke at 2 possible stages.

#1 – You can smoke it after your overnight marination, while your kebabs are still raw.
#2 – You can smoke it after your kebabs are ready and after you’ve turned off the flame.

Heat a piece of coal on the stove and use a tong to transfer it into your kebabs. Place it on top of a aluminum cupcake liner, aluminum foil or a piece of bread. And drizzle some oil over it. Cover your pot immediately and let it sit in smoke for 10 mins. Viola!

For liquid smoke, simply add it towards the end of your cooking. Be careful! Its extremely strong so use a very small quantity like 1/4 tsp at first to see if you want more.

beef handi kabab served in a cast iron platter with onion and lemon slices as garnish on top

Serving the Handi kababs

The garnish for dish is lemon slices and sliced onions. These kababs are best eaten with parathas, green chutney on the side. If you are feeling fancy, you can also add a complimentary potato fry (aloo bhujia) on the side. They also taste ammmmmazing with dal chawal (steamed rice and lentils)

FAQS

What do you serve Handi kabab with?

These kebabs are traditionally served with sliced raw onions and lemon on top. They are eaten with parathas, rotis, flatbreads and raita or chutney on the side. They are also eaten with lentils and steamed rice (dal chawal)

Which pot should I use to make the handi kebab?

You can use any heavy bottom pan or a Dutch oven for this recipe. If you don’t have both, just use a heat insulator below your regular pot. A heat insulator can be a “tava”, a flat pan or a griddle.

Can I make this recipe with chicken or mutton?

Absolutely! For mutton, you will follow the same steps as mentioned in the recipe. For chicken, reduce the quantity of papaya by half and only marinate 1 to 2 hrs before cooking, not overnight.

Can I freeze the marinated kababs?

You can freeze the kababs only if you haven’t added papaya. Once papaya is added, its best to cook kababs, before freezing.

How long can the kababs be frozen for?

If your freezer temperature doesn’t fluctuate much, your kababs can easily stay frozen for upto 3 months

What can I do with left over kababs?

Oh so many things! You can make desi style paratha rolls with kebabs, onions and chutney. You can shred it and use in sandwiches.

Similar Recipes that you’ll love

Chicken Handi
Dam ka Keema
Khara masala keema

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