Halal Cuban Sandwich

Not every day is your day. Not every day is my day but me and you both can try our best to make it our day.

Right before I started this blog (all thanks to Syed Shumail's suggestion) I watched a movie that really inspired me to make everything I cook more presentable. That movie was Chef and it had two recipes that caught my eye. Pasta Aglio e Olio which I have made previously and the Cuban Sandwich which I could not make due to pork meat and Cuban bread.

Many times people (most recently Myla Babar did) have asked me to try and make it's halal version but I just did not bother to be honest but the idea of a Halal Cuban Sandwich has been itching me since quite some time now.

So, I sat down one day watched a couple of recipes and thought HEY! I could replace the pork with beef and add chicken or turkey deli slices like Mortadella Slices to assemble a Halal Cuban Sandwich.

Finally planned everything, started using my vivid imagination and formed everything in my head.

Now the Cuban Sandwich has 3 steps.

Marinating the beef.

Cooking the beef.

Assembling the sandwich, which is a task in itself. I thought it was easy but when I was done with it I could not believe that I did it without breaking the whole thing.

The result as follows

But before all of this started, even before I marinated the beef I bought cucumbers, vinegar. Added these both things in a jar with a little bit of salt and sugar to make pickles for the Cuban Sandwich.

Now, let me tell you how to make this beautiful and scrumptious treat.

Ingredients for Beef Marinade:

3  pound boneless beef (shoulder or thigh preferably)

6 large garlic cloves

1 cup fresh orange juice

3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoon dried oregano (if you have fresh oregano then its even better)

2 teaspoon cumin powder

3-4 tablespoon oil

3 tablespoon red grapes vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Add the garlic, cumin powder, oregano, oil, salt and pepper in a blender. Blend it till everything is chopped finely.

Mix the orange juice, lemon juice and red grapes vinegar together.

Now put the beef in a container and make slits in it using a knife.

Apply the oily garlic mixture to it properly.

Add the juices.

Close the container and let it marinate overnight in the fridge.

I had the cucumbers pickled on Monday and by today which is Thursday they are all done. I've sliced them to fit into the sandwiches.

Time to cook the beef.

Put the beef in a non stick pan, with all the marinade and the juices. Add a cup of water and cover it.

Turn the heat on low.

Cook it for 3 hours minimum. I cooked it for about 3 hours 15 minutes. Keep a check on it and if you think it needs more liquid then please add another cup or half of water.

Now the beef is cooked, it will be a little dark and charred no need to worry it's not burnt.

Slice it up just like in the pictures below.

Now we come towards sandwich assembly.

Cuban bread is even hard to find in some areas of the US so any long bread would do.

I got Garlic Bread from Jalal Sons and Sub Sandwich Bread from Bread and Beyond.

Ingredients for Sandwich Assembly:

Classic yellow mustard

Butter or margarine

Pickled cucumber

K & N's Chicken Mortadella Slices

Cheese slices

Slice the bread up and apply butter on it.

Heat for a while and add a layer of mustard to the sandwich base.

Now steps wise:

1. Add a layer of the sliced beef.

2. Add a layer of mortadella slices.

3. Add a layer of cheese.

4. Add a layer of pickles

5. Put mustard on the other side of the bread and assemble your sandwich. (see the pictures below)

This does not end here. The Cuban Sandwich has a special sandwich make which we unfortunately do not have here but HEY! we can make that press in the Desi way.

You just need 2 things. A non stick tawa and a non-stick frying pan.

THIS PART IS DIFFICULT AND YOU NEED TO DO THIS VERY POLITELY.

Turn your stove on low heat and place the tawa.

Put the Cuban Sandwich on the tawa and press it with the base of the non stick pan for 30-50 seconds.

Then flip your sandwich very carefully and press the other side with the base of the frying pan again for a 30-50 seconds.

The Halal Cuban Sandwich is ready.

I WAS SO HAPPY I MADE A FREAKING VIDEO IN THIS MOMENT OF FAKE ACCOMPLISHMENT

Just slice the sandwich in half and your Halal Cuban Sandwich is ready to serve.

Ladies and gentlemen, the much awaited and requested Halal Cuban Sandwich.

Chicken Boneless Achari Handi

Achaar is one of my favorite things to eat with Daal Chawal, Pratha and a couple of other desi dishes. Women love it for obvious reasons. Men love it for their reasons but who else loves it? My Iranian friend who was in Pakistan for a good 2 years for his job.

According to my Iranian friend Pakistani food gave him the diarrhea for starters because Iranian food is very mild but then his stomach got accustom to the food and he loved it.

So, upon his request I decided to make Chicken Boneless Achari Handi.

This recipe is also dedicated to Nageen Naqvi as she told me to "MAKE IT JALDI"

Ingredients:-

For Chicken Marinade:-

500 grams boneless chicken cut in cubes

1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 red chili powder

1 tablespoon oil from achaar bottle

Other Ingredients:-

4 tablespoon oil

2 onions finely chopped

4 tomatoes finely chopped

1 tablespoon tomato puree/paste

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

2-3 green chilies slit

2 tablespoon yogurt

1 teaspoon salt or up to your taste

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon fennel(saunf) seed

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek(methidana) seed

1/2 teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon kalonji seeds

10 curry leaves chopped

1 lemon juice or you can use more to make it more tangy

1 heaped tablespoon of pickle/achaar

Marinade the chicken cubes in salt, pickle oil, turmeric powder, chili powder and ginger garlic paste. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to over night.

Mix the coriander, fennel and fenugreek seeds, roast them in a dry pan for a minute or two until they are aromatic, then crush them to a rough powder.

Put some oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken on high heat. Keep that in mind that this is just to seal the chicken as it will be further cooked in the gravy. So, do not over cook it right now. Take it out from the pan and keep it aside.

Put some more oil in the same pan and add the mustard seeds on medium heat. When they start making a popping sound or spluttering add the chopped curry leaves and fry them for 30 seconds.

Now add the chopped onions and cook them till they are golden. Add the ginger garlic paste when they are golden and fry for 2 to 3 more minutes.

Now add chopped tomatoes, tomato puree/paste, all the roasted and crushed seeds, salt and red chili powder. Cook till the tomatoes are thick and they release oil from the sides. Then add the yogurt and give it a good mix to combine.

Now lower the heat, add the chicken cubes, slit green chilies and kalonji seeds. Give them a good stir. Cover with lid and simmer it for a good 15 minutes until the chicken is tender and the gravy is cooked.

Now add in the lemon juice and a spoon full of achaar which will take the taste of this dish to a whole new different level.

Stir and taste, adjust the seasoning if needed. Turn of the heat and let the dish rest for 15 minutes so all the flavor is infused in the chicken. Ladies and gentlemen I give you after a lot of hard work and wait Chicken Boneless Achari.