Copperkettle style fries!

I dont know about you, but when I was growing up, one of my family's favourite restaurant was Copperkettle commonly refered to as CK..

Now im sure there were alot of nice things on their menu, but what i LOVED the most.. and remember to date were their chunky, extra crispy, oh-so-crunchy fries..

All these years ive been trying to make those fries at home.... trying all sorts of coatings from rice flour to besan to God knows what.. and i had failed miserably ..... until today!

AHA

You will love me for this... especially those of you who are fond of the crunch in the fries...

I do warn you, its a bit of a hard work compared to the regular fries we eat but trust me, its totally worth it!

So here goes....

What you need?

4-5 large potatoes cut in fries
12 tbsp flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt (leveled)
oil for frying

What to do?

cut potatoes into fries

cut potatoes into fries and half boil them 

 mix all the dry ingredients in one large bowl

 now divide this dry batter into two equal parts in two separate bowls. add some cold water to one of the bowls to make a thick consistency batter. 

Dip your fries one by one first in the batter and then in the dry flour mixture.

Deep fry until golden!

No-bake cheesecake!

i LOVEEEEEEEEE cheesecake. The creamy texture, the sweet and tangy taste and the slight hint of crumb at the base... its just YUM.

Unfortunately, im not too fond of the store bought ones that taste just average and cost an arm and a leg..

So needless to say when i stumbled upon this particular recipe handed down to me by my brother Aqm, I was ecstatic.

Aqm.. the brother with the secret recipe..

As with almost every recipe I come across, a few improvisations and it wasnt long before this cheesecake became a superhit with family , friends and ME

Sadly, i dont have step to step pictures of the cake with me but i promise to insert them later whenever i make it again..

So heres the simplest, most amazing tasting, no-bake cheesecake you will ever taste...

Ingredients

1 pack digestive biscuits
5 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups cream
1 cup softened cream cheese
1.5 cups sweetened condensed milk
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp heaped gelatin
8 tbsp warm water

What to do?

In a 9 inch round flat pan (preferably with a loose, removable bottom) , crush the digestive biscuits finely and mix with the butter. press it flat against the base of the pan to make your cheesecake crust.

Freeze for an hour.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, cream cheese and condensed milk.

In a cup, mix the gelatin and  the lemon juice to the warm water.

Add this to the cream&cheese mixture.

Mix well.

Pour this mixture on top of the base of the cheesecake and freeze for 2-3 hrs.

Serve with any topping you like ! (works wonders with strawberry, blueberry, cherry, nutella or plain!! )

Let me know how it goes....

Stay beautiful xxx

Purple smoky eyes!

Boredom does sometimes lead to the most amazing discoveries...

Like the one I made a couple of hours ago...

Purple smoky eyes actually look QUITEEE nice.

Heres the final look...

see you later

Stay beautiful xx

The perfect beef patty!

I hate the fact that no matter how hard we try, our homemade burgers just dont turn out as great as the ones we get at a burger joint.

i mean i hate-d it. Not anymore

After alotttt of experimenting, i can proudly say that ive stumbled upon the juiciest beef burger patty there is- and that too homemade.

The patty turns out really great but you have to be careful not to overcook it or it'll run a tad bit dry.. but then again, as with a steak.. depends how you like your meat.

so here goes..

 

mix well in a bowl, 1 kg mince beef, 1 large finely chopped onion, half cup finely chopped coriander, 2 tablespoons heaped finely chopped parsley, 1 tbsp minced garlic, half tbsp ginger paste, 2tbsp leveled grounded blackpepper, 1 tbsp leveled salt, 1 tbsp mustard paste,1 tbsp red chilli flakes, 2 tbsp soya sauce, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 large egg and one cup freshly made breadcrumbs.

after thoroughly mixing , make patties according to your preference and freeze for atleast 2 hrs before grilling.

Grill the patties as per your liking. takes approx 15 mins.

Now make your perfect beef burger with your choice of additions. (I normally use mayo, mustard, cheese, onion rings, iceberg and bbq sauce)

Green peppers stuffed with chicken and creamy cheese

I feel like gobbling up a baby right now. Not just any baby.

This one in particular.

Isnt he the cutest thing ever? how my sister managed to produce a yummy thing like him , i am yet to figure.

Speaking of yummy things, i tried these stuffed green peppers the other day and they turned absolutely divine.

Divine to a chilli lover like me, ofcourse.

Ooh but the feeling of biting into a crispy pepper filled with melted cheese and chicken is oh.my.god

My folks had a couple of these as a sideline to their maincourse but this was dinner for me. half a dozen down in my tummy. Ah, its the goodlife!

Stuffed Green chillies 

What you need:

12 german chillies, de-seeded

What to do?

Marinate 2 thin chicken breast with 1 tsp lemon juice, half tsp paprika, 1 tbsp soya sauce and 1 tsp grounded fresh garlic. Refrigerate for an hour. 

Mix well  3 tbsp mayonnaise, 2 tbsp milk and 3 tbsp softened cream cheese

 Grill the marinated chicken until cooked

 let it cool and dice it up nice and fine

 Add the diced chicken to the cream cheese mixture. Add one tsp lemon juice. mix well.

 Fill the chillies with this mixture. Freeze the filled chillies for 30 mins .

In a bowl mix 1 egg, 4 tbsp flour, 3 tbsp rice flour, a pinch of salt n pepper and some cold milk to make a batter (thick consistency). Dip the chillies in this batter and then coat with bread crumbs. Freeze for 2 hrs (or upto a week)

Golden fry when you feel like having them !

Steaks with creamy peppercorn & mushroom sauce

Oh boy, its been raining cats and dogs for the past 3 hours .. not that I mind the rain, not at all.. but its all thunder plus lightning plus the middle of the night and everyone at home is sleeping blissfully while Im up like a night owl.

Right now...

Anyhow, now to the more pleasant part of the day..

So.. I was craving some great tasting meat today , plus i needed to cook something that was a SURE shot hit with everyone.. so i could share the recipe here..

and what could be better than a nice wholesome steak?

so I set to work with some chicken fillets i had lying around in the freezer and turned them into something that looked like this...

I personally love all kinds of steak and I wouldve loved to make this in beef, but oh well... I was too lazy to make a trip to the supermarket..

What i love about this recipe is that its really simple... and yet tastes so darn good. I have to remember to make twice as many fillets next time as I did today though...

Ingredients:

4 boneless fillets (your choice of meat- adjust cooking time accordingly)

For marination

3 cloves garlic minced

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1  tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp vinegar
a pinch grounded red chillies

For the sauce

2 tbsp butter

1 large onion sliced

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp heaped blackpepper grounded

1 tbsp chicken seasoning 

3 tbsp thinly sliced mushrooms

1 tbsp cornflour

3 tbsp cream

What do to?

Marinate chicken and cling wrap it. put it in the fridge and forget about it for 2 hrs

Heat a grill pan, add some oil and shallow fry your fillets until meat is cooked

Take another pan, add the butter and cook the onions until translucent (donot overcook).

 Dissolve the chicken seasoning in half a cup water and add to the onions. Simmer on low heat for 5 mins.

Add mushrooms and rest of the seasoning. cook for 5 more mins on medium heat. Add cornflour mixed in a little water and bring to boil. 

 Add the cream and mix well

Dedicated to the 'super' in all women!

Hi everyone!

Its close to 2 am in my part of the world , and Im cuddled up in a blanket writing my first post ever on my blog. Hey- i cant help it, I just function better post midnight. (Hah)

So, why should you be even reading something jotted down by someone, somewhere ?

I dont really have an answer to that.

No, really. I dont.

So before i tell you what im going to be posting about in times to come, let me tell you about me.. (trust me, its not all that boring)

A pixelated form of me!

Im a 25 year old woman (girl, really) from Pakistan (its time for some of you to cringe) ..who loves clothes, makeup, jewellery, cooking, baking, reading, dreaming, being pampered, watching movies, travelling and a wholeeeeeeee list of other adjectives i can squeeze in here.

In short, im just another one of you.

Ive always believed that us women are givers, we find joy in sharing and making our surroundings happier, more colorful and well, fun.

Having said that, I will be posting on and off about all the amazingggg food that i keep experimenting with.. from spicy pakistani and indian food to delicately flavored lebanese and turkish delicacies to tasteful chinese recipes to quick to make bites to to-die-for desserts. (omg, i think i need to go whip something up in the kitchen)
                       
 teaser: what i made today! chicken & mushroom lasagne, fried fish & chips, homemade tartar sauce, banana&walnut crumble

Ill be writing about makeup and looks that we can pull off to enhance our natural beauty. (I strongly believe EVERY woman is beautiful, and makeup is just the cherry on top and NOT the cake)

                                          

makeup by done by me on a friend

Along the way, ill be talking about Pakistan, its culture and its people. (The real stuff that you dont get to see on TV or the news).

And anything random that I fancy. ( it IS afterall my blog) hah!

So, see you. Till next time..

Stay beautiful xx