Fed up with reading about the best food joints for Ramzaan? Read this and try these dishes for Iftaar

I was browsing through my Facebook news feed and my wall was flooded with different blogs about the best food joints in Bangalore for Iftaar. While it was informative but the volume of posts made me confused. Even though I am a great fan of dum biryani, every blog had one thing in common. That was biryani. I might be wrong but I got the feeling even bloggers are copying and as a result, there is saturation of information and the end result is the readers are confused and exhausted with same food items.

Also, most of the posts were more around the food joints. Ok good. Let's say after reading your blog I happened to visit that food joint, but then what? I am completely clueless about what to eat or try. With all due respect to my fellow bloggers, I am writing this blog to inform you about the WHAT and not the WHERE. So brace yourself to get your hands dirty by trying to prepare some awesome dishes. I am also writing the recipes for them.

So here I go:

#1.Haleem Ke Kebab

An evening snack with mint and coriander chutney, Haleem ke Kebab is one of my favourite dishes. An easy to cook dish with very simple recipe, you can impress your friends with your culinary skills

Ingredients:

• ½ cup cracked wheat

• ½ cup Urad Dal

• ½ cup Moong Dal

• 1 cup roasted channa dal

• 1 kg Lamb meat (preferably loin)

• Garlic and ginger (chopped)

• Ghee or Refined Oil

• 1 TBSP coriander, cumin, and ground chilli powder

• 1 TBSP ground turmeric

• Coriander and mint leaves for garnishing

1. Soak cracked wheat, Urad dal and moong dal overnight in water. In a pan, add the mixture of dals that were soaked overnight and lamb with 1.5-litre water.

2. Boil the mixture for 2 hours or till the lamb is tender. Remove the lamb meat in a separate container and remove the bones from the lamb when it is cool.

3. Paste the roasted channa dal and set it aside.

4. In a frying pan add 3-4 TBSP ghee and add the spices for 2-3 minutes. Add the dal mixture and the lamb. Reduce the heat and cook for 10-12 minutes.

5. Blend the lamb and dal mixture and add the roasted channa dal. Once you have the paste of lamb and the dal mixture, use your hands to make haleem balls or patty and pan fry them.

6. Use the coriander leaves for decoration. You can also prepare mint and coriander chutney to be served with kebabs.

#2.Murg Pav Bhaji

This recipe is my own twist to the popular veggie Pav Bhaji that is relished by many in Mumbai and even in other parts of the country. As a child, I never liked green veggies. So my parents found a novel way to feed me green veggies. With time I thought of my own recipe to change my taste buds.

Ingredients:

• Pav

• Capsicums, Potatoes, Aubergine, Raw Papaya

• Minced Chicken

• Mayonnaise and Chopped Onions

• Butter

• Pav Bhaji Masala

• coriander, cumin, and ground chilli powder

• Coriander Leaves and Lemons for garnishing

1. Put all the veggies in a cooker and steam it for 15-20 minutes. In another cooker steam the minced chicken for 20 minutes until you can see oil on the water surface.

2. In a pan, pour 2 TBSP refined oil and put the masala mix and fry for 1-2 minutes. Then put the minced chicken that is boiled in the pan and cook for 10-12 minutes. Keep the chicken aside.

3. Pour butter into a cooking pot and transfer the boiled veggies and pour a little water. Mash all the veggies so that the whole mixture is indistinguishable. Now sprinkle the pav bhaji masala and the mixed masala. Cook the whole thing by continuously mashing it.

4. Put the minced chicken in the pot and mix the whole thing for 4-5 minutes. Keep pouring a little quantity of water so that the whole mixture does not burn on sticks on the surface of the pot.

5. Put the coriander leaves on top and mix it gently. Also, put 1 TBSP of butter on top.

6. Fry the Pav in the frying pan with butter.

7. Serve the Murg Bhaji with Pav, mayonnaise, lemon and chopped onion.

#3.Chocolate Phirni

Phirni is a traditional Indian dish that is savoured after a good hearty meal as a dessert. Indians have a special affinity for sweet dishes after food. The same is true for Iftaar parties as well. If you are inviting your friends for Iftaar, don’t forget to include this dessert.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup ground basmati rice

• Chocolate Powder

• ½ Cup Sugar (Powdered)

• Roasted Almonds and Raisins

• Cream

• Butter

• Wheat

• Corn Flour

• 1 cup Milk

1. In a cup mix the powdered sugar, chocolate and corn flour. Pour the mixture in the cream and stir vigorously for 5-10 minutes. Keep the mixture aside.

2. In a separate container, heat the butter for 2 minutes until it liquidates. Put 1 TBSP flour on the butter and cook it. Ensure that lumps are not formed.

3. Then pour the milk over the mixture and add the ground basmati rice. Cook the mixture for 7-10 minutes and pour the cream and chocolate mixture.

4. Cook for 10-12 minutes by stirring the whole mixture gently.

5. Pour the whole mixture into a container and add roasted almonds and raisins.

6. Cool the mixture for 6-7 hours before serving.

I hope you will try these recipes this Ramzaan. If you are a food joint owner, then definitely try these dishes for the guests. I am sure they will definitely like it.