These cheesy chicken fajita stuffed buns and chicken Alfredo spaghetti rolls are the answer to your iftar prayers

Food has long played a vital role in our festivities and these recipes are sure to give your menus just the right hue.

As the entire Muslim community welcomes Ramazan this summer, the temperatures have risen in the kitchens. From the preparations for elaborate iftar tables to late nights in a frenzy of sehri arrangements, we all are on the lookout for new and exciting dishes to adorn our tables. 

We thereby bring you two such delectable recipes that are easy to make yet irresistibly delicious.

What can be more satisfying than fresh home-baked buns stuffed with a tantalising chicken fajita filling? This recipe for stuffed buns is so simple that you cannot go wrong with it. Shape them as per your liking and bake and serve with your favourite dips and sauces.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

Flour – 2 ½ cups

Sugar – 2 tbsp

Yeast – 1 sachet or 2 ¼ tsp

Salt – 1 tsp

Milk powder – 3 tbsp

Egg – 1

Oil – ½ cup

Warm milk – ½ cup

For the stuffing:

Oil – 2 tbsp

Onion – 1 (minced)

Garlic – 1 tbsp (minced)

Capsicum – 1 (finely chopped)

Chicken – ½ cup (boiled and shredded)

Jalapeño –  ¼ cup (chopped)

Olives – ¼ cup (chopped)

Milk – 3 tbsp

Chicken stock powder – ½ tsp

Ground black pepper – ½ tsp

Red chilli powder – ½ tsp

Red chilli flakes – ½ tsp

Oregano leaves – ½ tsp (dried)

Salt – ½ tsp

Ketchup – ¼ cup

Cheddar cheese – ½ cup (grated)

For the wash:

Egg – 1 (beaten)

Black seeds or black sesame seeds – 2 tbsp

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, yeast, salt and milk powder. Add in an egg, oil and warm milk. Knead it all into a soft, smooth dough. If required, add a few more splashes of warm milk.


2. Place the dough in a greased bowl and apply oil on the dough. Cover it with a damp towel and keep in a warm corner of your kitchen to rise for one hour or till the dough has doubled in size.


3. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté onions, garlic, capsicum and chicken. Add in chopped olives and jalapeño. Once it is heated and soft, add in the spices – black pepper, red chilli powder, red chilli flakes, chicken stock powder, chicken powder, salt, oregano and milk. Next, stir in ketchup.


4. Once the dough has risen, take a small portion of the dough and flatten it on your palm. Place a spoonful of the stuffing in the centre, top it off with a little cheddar cheese, pull the edges together to seal and roll the dough into a smooth ball. Place the dough ball with the seam side down on a greased baking tray.


5. Likewise, shape all the buns with stuffing and place on the baking tray an inch apart from each other. Now brush the top of all buns with the beaten egg and sprinkle black seeds on top.


6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.

Chicken Alfredo spaghetti rolls

Our chicken Alfredo spaghetti rolls are a rich creamy twist to your mundane chicken filled rolls. Making use of the regular spring roll wrappers, we decided to seal in some of the creamy goodness with our favourite Alfredo pasta. Deep fried to a crunchy golden finish, these rolls are sure to win you compliments.

Ingredients:

Butter – 5o grams

Garlic – 1 tsp (chopped)

Chicken – 1 cup (boiled and shredded)

Cream – 1 cup (full fat)

Black pepper – ½ tsp

Oregano – ½ tsp

Chicken stock – 1 tsp (powder)

Salt to taste

Cream cheese – ¼ cup

Milk – 1 cup

Parmesan cheese – ½ cup (grated)

Spaghetti – 1 cup (boiled)

Spring roll wrappers – 12

Oil to deep fry

To seal rolls:

Water – ½ cup

Flour – 2 tbsp

Method

1. In a pan, heat the butter and sauté the garlic. Add in the cooked chicken and sear it in butter. Add in cream, black pepper, salt, chicken stock powder, oregano, cream cheese and milk. Stir all of them very well.


2. Finally, add in the boiled spaghetti and parmesan. If the filling gets too thick, add in some cream.


3. In a small bowl, stir together the flour and water to make a thick paste.


4. Spread out the roll wrappers and brush the edges with flour paste. Place the filling along the long side of the wrapper. Tuck in the short ends, start rolling over from one long end and press seal the rolls at the other end.


5. Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the rolls.


6. Serve hot with ketchup or your favourite dip/sauce.

Ramazan is the month of festivities and abundance. It is about sharing the love and magic we create in our iftaris and sehris with our loved ones. Food in our region has long played a vital role in our festivities and these recipes are sure to give your menus just the right hue required.