Cacio e Pepe

Today I am going to make (which I have already made but I would still make it sound like I am doing this right now) Cacio e Pepe which was really hard to pronounce but I saw a video on youtube and I was good to go after listening to it 3 or 4 times.

Cacio e Pepe is the Italian mac and cheese. It is very different from the American one and has literally 5 ingredients.

Taste wise it is a bit plan so you might have to add a teaspoon of salt to bring out more flavor. We Pakistani people are very salty so let's begin with this.

INGREDIENTS:

half packet bucatini or spaghetti

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup grated Adam's chilli pepper cheese

1 cup boiled pasta water

First we will cook the bucatini for 2 minutes less time than mentioned on the packet.

Reserve one cup of boiled pasta water.

Now we melt the butter in pan and add black pepper and salt to it.

Add the pasta water, pepper cheese and Parmesan.Turn the heat to low and mix it well until the sauce is a bit thick.

Now add the bucatini and stir it. Add more black pepper if you feel like but not too much.

Mix it well and it is ready to be eaten.

If you are not a vegetarian please have a piece of meat with it because this recipe is strictly for the vegetarians or the people who enjoy pasta/spaghetti.

The very cheesy and peppery Cacio e Pepe.

Lemony Chicken Kebabs Tomato Coriander Salad

HEALTHY CHICKEN RECIPE - EPISODE FOUR

LEMONY CHICKEN KEBABS TOMATO CORIANDER SALAD

Today's recipe is just as amazing as the last three entries in the "HEALTHY CHICKEN" series and it has only 6 ingredients. YES YOU HEARD IT RIGHT, not one more not one less but only 6 ingredients (or 6 major ingredients). Lemony Chicken Kebabs Tomato Coriander Salad is chicken grilled in a blend of lemon juice mixed with olive oil and seasoning. Accompanied by a salad that I thought would taste good but with the same ingredients used in marinating the chicken it taste amazing.

INGREDIENTS:

500 grams chicken boneless cut in 1.5 inch cubes

2 tablespoons of minced garlic (1.5 for chicken marination and .5 for salad)

2 tablespoons of dried oregano (1.5 for chicken marination and .5 for salad)

4 lemon's juice (3 for chicken marination and 1 for salad)

2.5 teaspoons salt (2 for chicken marination and .5 for salad)

2.5 teaspoons of crushed black pepper (2 for chicken marination and .5 for salad)

4 tablespoons of olive oil (3 for chicken marination and 1 for salad)

2 cup of coriander leaves

4 medium tomatoes chopped

Marinate the chicken cubes in salt, pepper, minced garlic, oregano, lemon juice and olive oil. 

Mix properly, with your hands and don't be afraid the chicken is dead and it doesn't bite.

Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Meanwhile the chicken is being marinated we prepare our salad.

Chop the tomatoes and put it in a bowl.

Put the coriander leaves in the same bowl.

Now add salt, pepper, minced garlic, oregano, lemon juice and olive oil.

Mix it properly with a fork or a spoon.

There you go the salad is ready.

Time to grill the chicken.

Take out the grill pan and preheat it on low heat.

Brush some olive oil on it properly.

Put 4-5 chicken cubes on each bamboo skewer.

Turn the heat up to medium and start grilling.

4-6 minutes on each side until its all done.

To plate this kebab dish you need to make a bed of salad in a plate like this and serve the skewers on top.

500 grams of chicken will make up to 8 skewers.

I know you all love kebabs and I know you all are going to love this recipe as well. Make some noise for Lemony Chicken Kebabs Tomato Coriander Salad. Take care of your health please.

Patakha Chicken

Nathiagali is probably on of the most famous tourist spots of Pakistan (AND NO THIS RECIPE WON'T START WITH JOKES AND SARCASM)

Nathiagali is so cool it even has it's own website nathiagali.com 

One of the most famous things to eat while you're going through Nathiagali is Patakha Chicken.

Patakha Chicken is a fried roast marinated in salt, garlic juice and lots of crushed red chili flakes.

Only seeing this chicken gives you all those spicy feelings but relax it is not that spicy but it's very unique in flavor. Each bite gives you a silent explosion of spice perfectly blended with a hint of garlic and salty flavor.

With that said here is a serene picture from Nathiagali. Take a good look at it and calm yourself down because it is only going to get hotter from here.

The recipe for this only comprises of a few things and the chutney aka sauce in English with it is amazing. Almost made me forget how pathetic my day was yesterday.

Ingredients For Patakha Chicken:

1 whole chicken

1 garlic bulb(or garlic energy saver I know I am so lame)

1 and a half teaspoon of salt

8 tablespoons of crushed red chili flakes (don't worry these chili flakes will be mixed in the oil once you start frying the chicken and give a very rare spicy blend to the chicken)

Ingredients For Chutney:

250 grams yogurt

1 tablespoon roasted cumin

1 teaspoon red chili pepper

salt as per taste

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 green chilies

2 tablespoon of crushed mint leaves

First of all we need to marinate the chicken and for that we need to take the garlic juice out.

Taking the juice out of the garlic is a task itself.

First you have to wash the garlic bulb properly with water.

Then you need to crush it from your knife and place it in 2-3 tablespoons of water for 5-10 minutes.

Then you have to place the garlic between your palms and press it as hard as you can.

Around 2-3 tablespoons of juice should extract the garlic.

If this method is too damn hard for you, you can take a tablespoon of garlic paste and add 2 tablespoons of water in it.

Now we mix the garlic juice in the crushed red chilies and the salt.

You need to make deep cuts in the chicken just like you guys make deep cuts in each other's life and hurt the hell out of each others.

Apply the red chili marinade properly to both sides of the chicken.

Leave the chicken in the fridge for 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile the chicken marinates we shall prepare the chutney.

Grind roasted cumin, green chilies and mint leaves finely.

Add it to the yogurt and mix properly.

You have yourselves one of the best chutney you and your family or friends are going to taste in your entire lives.

Now fill up your frying pan with half an inch of oil and heat it up on medium high heat.

When you think the oil is heated up, throw a couple of red chili flakes and if they turn brown quickly your oil is heated.

Lower the heat to medium or medium low.

Now fry the chicken. The back side first for 10-12 minutes.

Turn around the chicken and cook it for another 10 minutes.

Patakha Chicken is ready to serve.

As you can see above how the chilies come off the chicken as it fries so please stop complaining about the spice level. It is not THAT spicy.

Thank God these gora people do not know what the hell Patakha means or else the voilent kind of us would be justified by this recipe.

Ladies and gentlemen I know if you have ever had it in Nathiagali you are loving this recipe or maybe not. Who cares??? Patakha Chicken it is.

Dynamite Shrimps

I love shrimps from as long as I can remember which makes it the only thing I love the most after family.

Months ago ER QUEEN from twitter told me to make PF Chang style Dynamite Shrimps and share the recipe but I had never taste it so I was a bit hesitant.

In my short visit to US I never had the chance to visit PF Chang so I decided to attempt this myself.

True to it's name. Dynamite Shrimps is a burst of different flavors and is definitely a must have or make.

Ingredients For Fried Shrimps:

500 grams large shrimps peeled and devained

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper

4 tablespoon bread crumbs

Ingredients For Sauce:

7 tablespoons mayonnaise

5 tablespoons ketchup

3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

4 tablespoons sriracha sauce (if not available then any other hot sauce)

4 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

First of all I needed to get rid of that shrimp tail so I did that.

Now we mix the all purpose flour with salt, black pepper, red pepper and bread crumbs.

Next we break the two eggs and whisk them and prepare the breading station by placing the egg batter and flour mixture side by side.

Dip the shrimp in the egg batter and then coat it with the flour. Repeat this process once more to complete the shrimp coating.

Now we move towards frying it.

So we will warm up some oil in a non stick pan on medium low heat.

Fry the shrimps in it till golden brown from both sides around 3-4  minutes.

Take the shrimps out separately.

They look so nice and chunky or they don't?

Now we prepare the sauce.

In a bowl add mayonnaise, salt, black pepper, red pepper, ketchup, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce and sriracha sauce. Whisk it till everything in the bowl is properly mixed.

This is your dynamite sauce.

Now you just take out a nice cocktail glass.

Dip the shrimp in the dynamite sauce and add it to the glass.

Top it off with finely chopped green onions and Dynamite Shrimp is ready to serve.

Ladies and gentlemen, I can't say something new every time but prepare your eyes for Dynamite Shrimps.