Monthly Archives: May 2015

2

Peri Peri Tilapia Fish with a Gazebo style sauce 

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Salams my fellow cooks…how’s everyone?  Just two weeks to go folks…I’m so excited…Ramadhan ❤️ Even though it was half term holidays for school its been a bit of crazy week for me…last of the Ramadhan Preps, Work and to top it all off my phone was playing up big time…the weekend also seems to have just flown by as well…anyways all sorted now alhumdulillah.  On the weekends my family and myself to be honest usually just want to eat things like roast or grilled chicken, fry ups etc …they will not eat curries, rotlis (roti-for the non gujis 😝) etc.  I don’t make fish dishes often although fish is something we need to bring into our diet.  This is a fried fish recipe in which I use Tilapia fillets but you can use any fish u prefer.  Some people find Tilapia to have a very strong ‘fishy’ taste but I like it and the fact its fillets it’s quicker and easier to cook.  Let me know if you try the recipe…or if you try it any other way at all.

INGREDIENTS:

Marinade

5 Tilapia Fillets (frozen pack)

1 Tspn Garlic

1 Tspn Crushed Chillies

Half Tspn red chilli powder

1 Tspn Salt 

1 Tspn coarse black pepper

2 Tbsp Malt Vinegar

2 Eggs (lightly whisked)

5 tbsp Peri Peri Chicken Fry Mix (or alternatively you can use 4 tbsp Plain flour and 1 tbsp cornflour) 

Sauce:

Quarter cup oil

2 large onions ( cut into 4 pieces lengthways and layers separated)

1 and half tspn crushed garlic 

1 Tspn red chilli powder

1 Tspn Crushed Chillies 

1 Tspn Sugar

1 Tbsp Malt vinegar 

2-3 cups Tomato Ketchup

METHOD:

Marinating

Place the Fish in a bowl and add the all the Marinade ingredients and mix well.  Cling film the bowl and leave for minimum of one hour in fridge.  

Sauce

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the sliced onions.  Cook until the onions are slightly golden brown.  Stir every so often so that the onions brown evenly.

Once onions have browned add the tomato ketchup, garlic, chilli powder, crushed chilled, sugar and vinegar and stir. Bring to the boil and then allow to simmer on low heat until the sauce has thickened. Turn off until ready to serve.

Deep fry the marinated Tilapia on medium to high heat until golden brown and fish is nicely cooked. Drain well on kitchen towel.

When ready to serve you can Serve the sauce on the side or can drizzle or dollop on top of the fish.  

Serve with Southern Fried chips.

Enjoy ☺️

  Defrost the Tilapia Fillets and wash and drain thoroughly 

  Add the Marinade seasoning 

  Add the eggs and the flour and mix well until well coated.  Leave in Fridge for a minimum of 1 hour

 This is the Peri Peri Chicken Fry Mix I use  

Deep fry until golden brown and drain on kitchen towel

 Slice the onions in 4 lengthways and separate the layers 

  Fry the onions in oil until lightly golden

 Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and cook until sauce has thickened 

 Sauce can be served separated or poured over the fish and chips…Mmmm this is all mine!! 

27

Bread Rolls

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A few weeks before Ramadhan us Mums, wives, sisters (I’m sure some of you brothers too 😝) start to fill up our freezers with savouries ready to be baked or fried. Some people start a couple of months before Ramadhan but I tend to start just a few weeks before. My family needs fried or baked savouries at Iftaar.  We tend to break our fast with dates and Zam Zam and have a few snacks, pray our salah and then enjoy our main meal, Alhumdulillah.

This recipe is for bread rolls, to be honest I’ve only started making these a few years ago, the recipe was given to me by a close friend…there’s only one thing I’ve changed and that is that I don’t dip in egg and breadcrumbs although this is optional if you do want to try it out. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 and half pound Chicken Fillets (large cubes)

2 tbsp butter

2 tins sweetcorn (drained)

2 Tubs 300g Philadelphia cream cheese

Half bunch coriander 

1 tbsp ground green chillies

1 and half tsp salt (or more to taste)

2 tspn coarse black pepper 

1 and half tspn ginger and garlic (blended)

1 and half tsp cumin powder

Egg and breadcrumbs (optional) 

4 packets white bread (I used Hovis medium)

Paste made with plain flour and water (to seal edges)

METHOD:

Clean and wash the chicken fillets and cut in to large cubes.  In a large pot melt the butter and add the chicken fillets with the salt and pepper and cook on medium heat until all of the water burns off.  Keep stirring every so often. While chicken is cooking in a food processor chop the coriander with 1 tin of sweetcorn. 

Once chicken is cooked and water has completely burned off, turn off cooker and let it Cool slightly and by hand shred the chicken. Once shredded turn on cooker again to medium heat and add the green chillies, the chopped coriander/sweetcorn mix, ginger/garlic and cumin powder. Let this all cook together making sure it’s not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once any moisture has disappeared, turn off cooker and while still warm add the Philadelphia and the other tin of sweetcorn (drained) and mix all well until everything is nicely combined and creamy. Taste for salt and add if necessary.  Let the mixture cool completely before filling. 

I will also show you in pictures how to fill the bread rolls.  Any questions please feel free to ask. 

 Cook the chicken in butter and add the salt and pepper

  Once cooked and slightly cool shred with your hands

  In the meantime chop the coriander and sweetcorn in a food processor 
  Add the coriander/sweetcorn mix and the other spices and mix well
  Cook again on medium heat until all moisture has evaporated
  Once you turn off the cooker add the Philadelphia cream cheese and the other tin of sweetcorn and mix all together until well combined and now it’s ready to be filled

Now the pictures will show you how to fill the bread rolls 

  Cut off all crusts of the bread, I take 3 at a time and then heat in the microwave for 10 seconds 
  Take one bread and roll it completely flat making sure the edges are completely rolled flat
  Put a couple of teaspoons of the creamy chicken mixture into the middle of the bread slice and generously apply the flour paste on the edges of the bread (not on the bottom edge)

  Fold over the bottom half of the bread one third of the way so it covers the mix
  Fold over the top half to overlap and seal the edges properly ensuring no gaps 
  All prepped and ready to be frozen or deep fried 

  Obviously I had to sample a few 😜

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The beautiful Month of Ramadhan…

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Salams all…I pray that all my sisters and brothers are well..The beautiful month of Ramadhan is not far away now…Ramadhan is the month I crave and need.  This month, I feel for myself is a spiritual cleanse..and I’m sure others feel the same.  As humans we become so weak spiritually and we need that boost back. It’s a time to reflect too and I feel it also brings the family closer to each other.

I live in a predominantly Muslim area and the sense of community spirit feels so much more alive in Ramadhan.  Everyone is doing the same…everyone is fasting, everyone praying together, everyone turning towards Allah SWT and repenting.  Although Fasting is the main part of Ramadhan it is also a means of getting closer to Allah SWT.

In the UK the fasts will be longer, but Allah SWT gives sabr (patience) to his servants.  It’s just a month out of twelve months that we need to make a few sacrifices and our reward will be very great Insha’allah.

We all need to try and make the most of this blessed month as only Allah SWT knows if we will get to see it again.

I pray you all have a beautiful Ramadhan and also humbly request you all to remember this servant of Allah and also my family in your precious Duas during this blessed month and you all are in mine Insha’allah.

  

4

Pizza Samosas (Filling) 

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Salams all hope you’re all well..I wasn’t planning on making this one a blog post…but have had a few requests for it…I’ve just started my Ramadhan preps today and thought to start off with something easy to get into the swing of it..the fact that these are 2 favourites combined and that there’s no cooking involved will appeal to a lot of people…these actually do taste like pizza as it has all of everyone’s fave pizza toppings…you can omit or add any other ingredients if you like…I found that spring onions made the mix a bit soggy so don’t add that anymore…also there’s no specific measurements..add more or less of whatever ingredient you like the most.

Enjoy 🍕🍕🍕

INGREDIENTS:
3 coloured peppers 1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow (cubed small)

1 jar Sundried tomatoes (chopped)

Olives (chopped)

Polony (cubed)

1 tin Sweetcorn (drained) 

Grated Mozzarella and cheddar cheese (as required)

Black pepper/salt/oregano

Cheese & onion crisps (optional)

Spring onions (optional)

METHOD:

In a large bowl mix all the above. Season well. Fill samosa pastry as usual.

  All ingredients in a bowl before seasoning and adding the cheeses 
  Pizza Samosa filling after adding seasoning and cheddar and mozzarella cheese