One Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta

More than half of my life I have been pronouncing some serious food stuff the wrong way.

Like Jalalpenos or Jamalpenos (which are basically pronounced as Halapenios) I have been saying Fajita as Fajita instead of Faheeta.

Thanks to Hollywood I corrected a lot of my pronunciations because of movies, TV shows and stand-up comedies.

BUT English is not our first language yet we on social media make hell a lot of fun if anyone misspells a word or use wrong grammar or punctuation. ITNE KOI TUM LOG LORD MOUNTBATTEN KE BACHAY NAHI REHTAY

Today's recipe regardless of the pronunciation is very easy to make and not that bad in taste. Fajita is a way of cooking which belongs to the Mexican community. Infuse it with a pasta and you can get a whole different level of flavor. One Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta is what i am going to show you all today. Everything in this recipe happens in ONE pot.

INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoons oil

500 grams of chicken breast, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon red chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

5 cups of milk

1 pound penne pasta


1 cup chili cheese, shredded

First we heat up some oil in a pan.

Then we add the chicken and fry it. The chicken will release some water, let it dry and do not worry or you might end up having a nervous breakdown.

Let the water from the chicken dry and the chicken change it's color.


Take the chicken out of the pan.

Add the red, yellow, green bell peppers and onions to the pan. Fry until the onion gets translucent.

Add the cooked sliced chicken now.

Season the pan with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin powder and garlic powder. Mix it well.

Add milk to the pan and turn the heat to medium low.

Add the penne pasta.

Let it cook for 8-10 minutes. Sometimes it will take 2 minutes more than that so keep stirring the pasta once or twice every minute to prevent it from sticking to the pan.

Take a fork and check your pasta as if it is done or needs more. If your milk has dried up then add a little water and let it simmer until the pasta is done. SEE everything has a solution.

Add the shredded cheese now and mix it well. One Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta is ready to serve now.

Sprinkle some fresh chopped coriander on it and enjoy.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Burger

When someone asks me "Where to find the best burgers of Pakistan?" my answer is always Islamabad.

You will find top quality burgers in that city and the you also can find some of them in the DHA and Gulberg sectors of Lahore.

I'm just joking and if anyone's offended well good for them. The best burgers of Pakistan are made by me in my kitchen and I'm joking again.

Moving on with today's recipe which is Chicken Cordon Bleu. Wanted to make this from a while. Was a bit scared as it is a tad bit complicated but I think I did justice to it.

Ingredients:

500 grams minced chicken breast (will make 2 patties)

half cup all purpose flour

1 cup buttermilk

Chicken/turkey deli slices (1 per patty)

Cheese slices (2 per burger)

Salt (1 teaspoon for the patty and 1/2 teaspoon for the flour)

Black pepper (1 teaspoon for the patty and 1/2 teaspoon for the flour)

Paprika 1/2 teaspoon for the patty

Burger buns

Lettuce

Mustard

Canola oil for deep frying

Season the minced chicken with salt, pepper and paprika.

Making the patty for the Cordon Bleu is a bit complicated but I will show you. Just follow the pictures below and I will explain as well.

1. Form a patty hollow from the center.
2. Place a folded half cheese slice in the center of the patty.
3. Place the chicken/turkey deli slice on the cheese slice.
4. Cover the deli slice with the remaining half cheese slice.
5. Fold the sides of the patty to cover the hollow space and cover the filling.

I have 1 kg minced chicken so I made four patties.

Place the patties in the fridge for 15 minutes. My hand looks creepy.

After 15 minutes, cover your frying pan for half inch in canola oil. Start warming it up on medium low heat.

Season the flour with salt and pepper.

Place the buttermilk, the patties and the flour together.

Here is how the breading will be done for this patty.

1. Dip the patty in the buttermilk.
2. Take out the patty and put it on the flour plate.
3. Cover it properly with flour. Shake off the excess flour.
4. Add the patty to the frying pan.

Cook the patties til golden brown on both of the sides.

Take them out on a paper toweled plate.

Cover the patties with cheese slices while they are hold so the cheese melts perfectly on them.

Set up your burger by applying mustard on the bottom, placing some lettuce over it, place the patty covered with a cheese slice and that's it.

This burger is like a dream within a dream because it is filled with cheese, deli and more cheese.

GIVE IT UP FOR CHICKEN CORDON BLEU BURGER.

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.