![Tandoori Chicken Salad]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Dec 23, 2017 | Halal-Certified Products, Salads, South Asian
Is it just me or are there cookies everywhere, right now? Not to mention cakes, chocolates, candy canes and the like. Even if one doesn’t celebrate Christmas, it’s still part of the social scene and family gatherings that just can’t seem to be avoided- and who refuses good chocolates, anyway? I’m not complaining, but I do need to have a plan for healthy recipes that help to compensate for all those sweets- and get me back on track quickly.
That’s where I turned to the beloved salad, and the Saffron Road products you hear me talk about so much. I often talk about their Crunchy Chickpeas, their halal broths, and conveniently made gluten-free dinners, but I want to remind you about their ready-made chicken products like the Tandoori Seasoned Chicken Nuggets. I’ve used these before on pizza and that was a hit. Now, this salad is another big hit at home, too. The recipe is super simple, too.
Most of the ingredients for this recipe are actually for the dressing: Olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate vinegar…
…and spices: dried parsley, ginger, cumin, parsley, black pepper and fresh or dried garlic.
Plus the salad greens and red cabbage for color.
Some red onions and scallions, too, if desired. 
The final recipe took less than 10 minutes to pull together, if the lettuce leaves and cabbage as well as onion and scallions were prepped ahead of time. The chicken can either be microwaved or baked in the oven, which takes a little longer. I love the light but evident South Asian seasoning because it’s a taste I don’t always make at home, but when I’m craving to have it quickly (and not just in a rice dish) it’s such a welcome flavor. Surprising to some, it really works on a salad like this, too.
Enjoy, get healthy and eat lots of vegetables. This is just one way to do that and I hope you’ll try it.
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![Cucumber Yogurt Sauce]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Feb 18, 2015 | Condiments & Sauces, Indian, South Asian, Turkish
I have no idea why I’ve been craving yogurt sauces lately. It’s not even the yogurt I’ve been craving, it’s more so the fresh herbs I love to put in it- maybe it’s a lack of Vitamin C around here lately, I mean we. are. freezing.
This is a recipe I’ve made many times before but this time, I’ve amped up the fresh dill because it looked so beautiful and smelled so amazing when I picked it up from the grocery store that visions of yogurt sauce over kebabs- and everything else I planned on eating during my run of cabin fever – would be ever so enhanced by its deliciousness.
I also love this yogurt sauce because it’s thick- and to me it’s a sign that it’s made really well. There is nothing that disappoints me more than watery yogurt sauce found indiscriminately at various events like weddings. I get so excited to eat exotic-to-me foods that are hot and spicy and I need that yogurt sauce to tone it down. Besides, for me a meal without some sort of dairy is kind of unnerving, and dairy water just doesn’t cut it. I know, #itsnotthatbigadealreally
Okay, so here’s what you need- beautiful fresh dill (I used about 1/4 of a fresh bunch as dried dill just does not make up for the fresh, in my opinion); one large cucumber, skins removed and cut in half; one large garlic clover (or more if you like it really garlicky)…
Two cups of fresh, whole milk yogurt (I prefer country or Greek style since it’s nice and rich and not watery), plus salt and pepper which you can add to taste.
First you need to scrape out the seeds of the cucumber otherwise the mixture will become watery and maybe even a little bitter. Just save that for compost or add it to a smoothie for breakfast time, it’s all good. One more thing- don’t do what I did in this picture below, which is to cut the cucumber before peeling it- I got a little too excited and should have peeled it beforehand because afterwards it was a little more time-consuming and weird to do, but definitely doable.
Now dry the cucumber really well- we didn’t remove all those seeds for no reason now. I like to use these towels (aka: linens)– they’re super efficient and it’s an eco-friendly way of keeping things dry in your kitchen.
Then chop it up really well, but not too small. Diced, that’s what I want to say…but I don’t always do it so perfectly.
Now for the dill. I don’t use all the stems of the dill, but a good and hefty portion of those leaves. I like a lot, you can use as little or as much as you like and prefer.
Chop it up well. You really don’t want to eat large chunks of this stuff.
Put it all in a bowl large enough for about 4 cups of ingredients total.
Add the salt, pepper and garlic. You can chop it (the garlic) up yourself finely (i.e. mince it), or use something like my handy dandy vintage garlic press. I mean this one is vintage but the concept is old and new, as they’re sold in all kinds of sorts around the country. I just love using the word “vintage” and using vintage things…
You have to cut the garlic in half if it’s a large clove, then use the metal flap to close it in and press. I love that it comes out in these nice and small pieces. I do not like to wash it afterwards.
Now pour the yogurt over the ingredients.
And the second cup of yogurt makes it even better, in my opinion.
You can add as little or as much yogurt as you like.
Mix and serve up however you like. It is so, so, so delicious over meat like kebobs made of lamb, beef or chicken, but I’ve been eating it up at breakfast with eggs and scooping it up with pita bread. It’s also so good over rice, of course, and I would think that vegetarians of the world would appreciate having this extra good creaminess atop rice and beans…but that’s just my Latina side talking!
What’s your favorite way to have yogurt sauce?
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![Beef Samosa Puff Pastries]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Jul 1, 2014 | Appetizers & Snacks, Entertaining, Iftar, Indian, Ramadan, South Asian, Summer
If you’ve never tasted keema, or that wonderfully spiced Indian-style ground beef, you’re totally missing out on some great flavor. Surely every family makes it a little different- even I have a few different versions, but for samosas I like to recreate a certain flavor.
The first time I ever had it was at a suhoor in which I was a guest at a Muslim family’s home- it was my first experience staying overnight where I got to experience how suhoor was eaten in a Pakistani family and it was a fascinating one.
They served finely ground beef with freshly-made chappatis and carrot halwa, which is sweet. I will never forget all those flavors- it’s not anything I would have ever thought of eating, but I was hooked on the aroma, the taste and how satisfied I felt, making me strong and ready to face a day of fasting in Ramadan.
This time around since I’m making samosas (similar to latin-style empanadas), I use some pretty standard spices and ingredients that are kind of a must in samosas, although peas and potatoes aren’t exactly two of them- I like them and may even make them only with potatoes next time. You could leave them out of this recipe, if you like. I’m also baking these, not frying them.
Spices: garam masala (mixture of black peppercorns, black cardamom seeds, mustard seeds), cumin powder, turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder, sea salt.
Fresh ingredients: garlic/ginger paste, freshly cut jalapeño/green chili, freshly chopped cilantro, yellow or white onion, diced yukon gold potatoes, frozen peas.
We also need a great quality dhabiha halal ground beef. In this recipe, I use Midamar Halal’s USDA organic beef.
*Sidenote: One tip I’ve learned in terms of how to get the beef to be really, really fine if you don’t have a grinder, is to use a potato masher when cooking. You can do that if you don’t use potatoes in this recipe, otherwise, you’ll mash the potatoes, too.
I make the garam masala fresh, but you can also find it in most Indian stores already packaged up. I did not have mace so it’s not a part of my mixture, but you can definitely add it.
I use a coffee grinder to make it and clean it out in between grinding spices and coffee with a piece of fresh bread- works wonders!
It looks like this when it’s all ground up:
Then mix it up with all of the other spices so that they’re nicely combined and easy to add to the meat while it’s cooking. It’s good to have this ready ahead of time so they’re all incorporated at the same time.
It’s so pretty when mixed together, and smells amazing- smells like samosas-in-the-making to me!
To make the keema (ground beef), heat the oil gently. You can use olive or vegetable oil. If you’re making the samosas with potatoes, salt the oil at this time- it will help the potatoes to not stick to a non-stick pan.
Once the oil is nicely heated (but not burning), add the diced potatoes. Good idea to have this done way ahead of time, as you don’t want this heating up to much before you add the potatoes.
Let those cook for some time, about 4-5 minutes, using a spatula to move the potatoes around and help them use the salt to not stick to the pan.
Next, add the onion and cook until transparent then add the meat and all the spices.
The frozen peas are added last to prevent them from getting mushy.
After the meat has cooked for about 15 more minutes (and you’re continuously crushing up any bits of meat, since it should be finely ground), add the peas.
Now is the fun part! After the meat has cooled, you’ll be making the puff pastries and prepping them for baking. You need one package of puff pastry, two if you want to use up all the meat. One package makes about 12 pastries. Most will need to be cut into six pieces (two sheets come in a standard package), as seen below.
Since the meat is cooled, add about 2 tablespoons to each piece.
Fold each one over and crimp three edges with a fork (not the folded-over part).
Use an egg wash (one egg with 1-2 tablespoons whole milk), whisked.
Two people doing it goes a lot faster.
Now brush the tops generously.
This will help them to look golden when they’re baked- you want that!
On a parchment-lined baking sheet, place six, a few inches a part, to give them room to grow.
Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes.
I only use the top shelf in my oven. When I used the bottom, they didn’t puff well and went flat, so be sure to do the same.
The hardest part is waiting for them to cool off before trying them- if you open them too early, they’ll also flop. Just let them cool a few minutes and enjoy!
What’s your favorite way to enjoy a samosa? Baked, fried, with potatoes or without, with peas or without? Any special spices you must include? As always, I’d love to hear from you!
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![Slow Cooker Haleem]()
by Yvonne Maffei | Jul 31, 2012 | Dinner, Iftar, Lamb, Pakistani, Ramadan, Recipes, Red Meat Dishes, Slow Cook, South Asian
I’ve been told for years that haleem, the puréed meat and grains dish with South Asian flavors, is a favorite Iftar dish for so many Muslims observing the Ramadan fast. Though not a common way of eating meat American-style, (cooked down for hours and combined with grains all puréed together) if you pre-judge it and dismiss it, you may never really experience the potentially satisfying eating experience it offers. It’s also quite nourishing.
My version of mildy-spiced haleem (more…)
