Meaty recipes this Bakra Eid
Fancy some meaty pasanday or masala kebabs?.
How can one resist the meaty goodness that Eid lays out on the family dining table? When cooking a grand family feast, choose the leanest cuts and give preference to goat meat, which is a healthy alternative to beef because of its low calorie, fat and cholesterol content. Read on for some home recipes that that will be sure winners at family gatherings.
Beef Fajitas
Ingredients:
• One kilo steak
• One and a half tablespoons vegetable oil
• Two or three onions
• Two capsicums
• Two and a half tablespoons lemon juice
• Three teaspoon crushed cumin
• One teaspoon oregano
• One teaspoon basil
• Four garlic cloves
• One teaspoon chili powder
• Add some salt and pepper to taste
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Seven flour tortillas
Directions:
Slice steak into thin strips and put in a bowl. Add oil, lime juice, chili powder, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and basil and let the strips marinate for 45 to 60 minutes.
Grab a frying pan and add a tablespoon of oil. Cook the beef strips till golden brown on both sides. Take them out and set aside.
In the same pan, fry up some onions and capsicums till they are slightly caramelised. Add beef strips and fry for two minutes.
Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil and place in oven at 350°F for five to 10 minutes.
Add beef mixture in the centre of each tortilla and add shredded mozzarella cheese on top (optional). Bon appetite!
Meaty Pasanday
Ingredients:
• One kilo mutton (goat meat) shank cross-cut
• Half kilo yoghurt
• Two teaspoons coriander powder
• Quarter teaspoon ground spices (garam masala)
• Two teaspoons red chili powder
• One teaspoon ginger and garlic paste
• Three quarter cup of oil
• Three medium-sized onions
• Two glasses of water
• Salt to taste
Directions:
Heat the oil in a pan. Thinly slice the onions and fry them till they are golden brown. Leave the oil in the pan for later use.
Place the golden brown onions along with yoghurt, coriander powder, ground spices, red chili powder and half a glass of water in a blender and blend for around 30 seconds. Leave the paste to rest.
Put ginger and garlic paste in the remaining oil and heat it for 10 seconds on a low flame.
Make fine slits in the meat. Add the meat to the pan and fry for 10 minutes.
Add the resting paste to the meat and cook it for 30 minutes.
Put two glasses of water in the pan and cook for about 60 minutes or till the meat tenderises.
Garnish with coriander leaves, green chilies and finely sliced ginger.
Serve with pita bread or boiled rice.
Dam Masala Kebabs
Ingredients:
For kebabs
• Half kilo minced mutton
• Two onions finely chopped
• Half bunch of coriander finely chopped
• Three to four green chilies finely chopped
• One teaspoon crushed chilies
• One teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
• One teaspoon white cumin
• Half teaspoon baking soda
• One teaspoon raw papaya paste
• Salt to taste
• Red chili powder to taste
• Three eggs
• Three teaspoon cornflour
• Three teaspoon maida
Directions:
Thoroughly mix all the ingredients together for the kebab except for eggs, cornflour and maida and leave it in a bowl for three hours at room temperature
Whisk together the eggs, cornflour and maida
After three hours, fold the egg and flour mixture into the minced meat mix and form into seekh kebabs using your palms
Heat oil in a pan. Fry the kebabs on low to medium heat to cook evenly
Now in another pan heat half cup of oil and fry the onions for the masala. Add all the ingredients and keep stirring until the oil separates
Add the fried kebabs and stir for about a minute so that they are covered in the spice mixture
Put a lid on tightly and leave it to simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes
Garnish it with some fresh coriander leaves, garam masala and finely sliced green chilies. Serve it with naan.
Enjoy a fingerlickin’ meaty Eid with your family!
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2013.