top of page

DAHI KEBABS



    When you think of kebabs your mind is mostly associating it with meats and you would hardly think of their vegetarian cousins.


    Dahi kebabs are the most delicious vegetarian kebabs which are soft, creamy, and delicate in flavor that simply melt in your mouth. The prime ingredient of this kebab is yogurt...Yes, you heard it right it’s made with yogurt.

    Basically the yogurt is hung in muslin cloth to remove the whey, and the cream left is called hung yogurt, which is used for making these kebabs. Crumbled paneer and bread crumbs are added along with some condiments to enhance the flavors of this delicate kebab, shaped in discs and deep fried.


    I like serving these kebabs with tamarind chutney and the green chilli coriander chutney which was made with freshly plucked green chillies growing in my garden.


    It’s a typical North Indian starter perfect to serve in dinner parties as an appetizer. Plan ahead if you want to serve this dish, as it takes time to prepare the hung yogurt.


    And don’t forget to read the cook’s notes for some alternatives!


    YIELDS: 16-18 pieces

    PREP TIME: 30 minutes

    COOKING TIME: 15 minutes

    PASSIVE TIME: 8 hours or overnight



    INGREDIENTS


    • 350g hung yogurt (made from 1kg yogurt)

    • 6-8 slices white bread, fresh

    • 175g fresh paneer, finely grated

    • 2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped

    • 1.5” piece ginger, finely chopped

    • 3-4 green chillies, finely chopped

    • 1 tsp jeera (cumin) powder

    • Salt to taste

    • Oil for frying



    METHOD


    1. To make hung yogurt, in a deep bowl, place a sieve, spread muslin cloth on top and drop 1 kilo yogurt into it. Knot the muslin cloth loosely and keep it in the refrigerator overnight. Squeeze out any more excess whey and remove ready hung yogurt in a separate bowl.

    2. Remove crust from bread slices and save it for later. Blitz the slices in food processor and make fine bread crumbs.

    3. In a bowl of hung yogurt, add 1 cup (50g) bread crumbs, grated paneer, ginger, green chillies, coriander, cumin powder and salt, mix them well together. With the help of two spoons make 16 dollops.

    4. Blitz the reserved bread crusts in a blender and mix it with remaining breadcrumbs. Drop a dollop into crumbs, roll it gently with your fingers to coat well from all sides. Shape it into flat round discs (about 1.5cm thick). Repeat with the rest of the mix. Refrigerate the prepared discs for 30 minutes or until ready to be fried.

    5. Heat oil in a deep pan, drop 3 to 4 kebabs at a time and fry on medium high heat until its golden brown. Remove on absorbent paper and serve with tamarind and coriander chutney.



    COOK'S NOTES:


    • You can also prepare the hung yogurt in muslin cloth (cheese cloth) tied to the sink tap and letting the water drain in your sink.

    • I have added bread crumbs based on the consistency of the hung yogurt, but if you hung it too long and yogurt has become too dry, add less quantity of bread crumbs and paneer. On the contrary, if the yogurt is still bit soft, add more bread crumbs and paneer and adjust the seasoning.

    • Deep fry only at medium high temperature of oil, because on slow heat these will break.

    • Do not fry all kebabs at once as the temperature of oil will drop and your kebabs will break.

    • Kebabs can also be shallow fried or air fried.

    • Do not keep tossing the kebabs in oil as they are delicate and can easily break.

    • If you are in a hurry, you can also use labneh instead of hung yogurt to prepare the kebabs. Labneh is a typical middle eastern condiment which is like a cream cheese made with hung yogurt cream. It is used to eat with lavash, khubz or pita breads or as a spread on any bread with olive oil, za’taar etc.


    PIMIENTO THYME TWISTED BREAD




      Hey there! Baby pimiento and thyme bread made in a jiffy...sometimes you don’t plan ahead to make something that interesting and delicious.


      This is the creation from the leftover dough of naan bread atta (dough) which was made to serve along with butter chicken for my son’s birthday...a lot was leftover after making the naans. I had ingredients like jarred pimientos and thyme at hand in my pantry and fridge and quickly thought of converting this leftover dough to this scrumptious bread.


      When I cut the bread, the wiggly pattern was very exotic looking, and the bread impressed my friends and family when I served it with guacamole and dill and pepper dip....it was a big hit!!



      YIELDS: two 14" loaves

      PREP TIME: 30 minutes

      BAKING TIME: 40 minutes

      PASSIVE TIME: 2 hours



      INGREDIENTS


      For bread dough:

      • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

      • 1 1/4 tsp instant yeast

      • 1/2 cup milk, full fat & room temperature

      • 1 tsp sugar

      • 1 tsp salt

      • 2 tbsp sunflower oil

      • 3/4 cup warm water

      For stuffing:

      • 1 clove garlic, crushed

      • 250g pimientos, jarred

      • 2 tbsp tomato paste

      • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

      • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

      • Pinch of salt



      METHOD

      1. In a small bowl, mix warm water, yeast and sugar. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes until some bubbles form on top. Add oil and mix.

      2. In a large bowl, sieve flour and salt. Gradually add milk and yeast water to the flour, poring small quantities at a time and make a soft dough. Alternatively use the stand mixer fitted with hook attachment to make the dough.

      3. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes until smooth in texture. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a plastic wrap or damp kitchen towel. Set aside for 30 minutes to an hour or until the dough is double in size.

      4. Meanwhile, make the pimiento and thyme filling. Drop all the ingredients for stuffing in an electric blender, blitz to a paste.

      5. Punch the dough to knock out the air. Bring it together to make it soft and pliable.

      6. Drop the dough on a floured surface and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Take one piece and roll it into 8 x 12 inch rectangle, spread 1/4 of the filling on top, leaving 1 inch border around the edges. From the larger side of the dough, start making accordion folds, about 1.5 inch thick. Repeat the same steps with another piece of dough.

      7. Keeping the stuffing side up, join and press together the two short ends of the two accordion pleated doughs, twist them around each other forming a spiral. Join and press the other two short ends together.

      8. Repeat the steps 6 and 7 with the other 2 pieces of dough.

      9. Now, carefully transfer the shaped loaves on the lightly floured lint-free cloth or baker’s couche to rest. Push the cloth up around each loaf to create folds that will help the dough hold its shape. Alternatively use baguette pans to rest the loaves and form the shape.

      10. Now, cover the pieces of prepared loaves with oiled plastic wrap and let it rest for 45 minutes to an hour.

      11. Preheat the oven to 220° C and bake them for 35 - 40 minutes, until golden brown from outside.


      COOK'S NOTES:

      • The bread should feel dry and light on the outside and when you tap them they should make a hollow sound.

      • Store the bread wrapped in a bio-degradable bag and keep it outside for 2 days.

      • Slice the bread into 1/2 inch rounds and it’s a perfect base for bruschetta.

      • Serve the sliced bread as a dipper with your favourite party dip. I served mine with guacamole and dill and gherkin dip. Or serve it with hot bowl of soup.



      CRANBERRY PISTACHIO SHORTBREAD COOKIES



        These super easy to make shortbread cookies are a burst of flavour and colour. A perfect contrast of green and red colour from cranberries and pistachios gives you the festive vibe and are also very inviting to munch with a cuppa.


        These light and buttery shortbreads give the right balance of sweetness and crunch from the fruit and nut used in the cookies. I try to keep a batch ready at the back of my freezer handy to make them for a lunch box snack at times.


        You can also add some dark chocolate chips to add to the crunch and sweetness.


        Make it during festive times and it can be a perfect little gift treat for Christmas, wrapped up in a bag and tagged with fancy ribbon.

        YIELDS: 25-30 cookies

        PREP TIME: 20 minutes

        BAKING TIME: 12-15 minutes

        PASSIVE TIME: 1 hour



        INGREDIENTS

        • 3 cups all purpose flour

        • 1 cup caster sugar

        • 1 1/4cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes

        • 1/2 tsp salt

        • 1/2 tsp almond extract

        • 1 tsp vanilla extract

        • 2 tsp baking powder

        • 1 egg, room temperature

        • 1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

        • 1/2 cup unsalted shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped



        METHOD

        1. In a stand mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy and pale in colour. Add the extracts and egg, and blend for 2 minutes until the egg is well combined.

        2. In a large bowl, sift flour, salt and baking powder. Add cranberries and pistachios to dry mix.

        3. Drop 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter mix and blend for 2 minutes until combined.

        4. Add the remaining dry flour mix in two batches to the butter mixture and blend until it is well combined.

        5. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Knead lightly to make it smooth. Divide the dough in 2 batches. Shape one batch of the dough into a thick log, about 2 inch thick in diameter. Place the log on large sheet of cling film and wrap it tightly. Twist and knot the sides of the plastic wrap to secure from the ends. Freeze it for 1 hour.

        6. Repeat step 5 for the other batch.

        7. Preheat oven to 160°C fan-forced. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

        8. Remove the cookie dough out from the freezer, unwrap the cling film and cut the log into 1/4 inch thick discs. Place them on cookie sheet 1.5 inch apart and bake for 12-15 minutes until slightly golden brown around the edges.

        9. Transfer on to the cooling rack and cool completely before storing in an airtight jar.



        COOK'S NOTES:

        • These logs can be prepared days ahead and stored in freezer.

        • The wrapped dough logs will stay in freezer for up to 2-3 months. Discard the plastic and cut and bake as per the recipe.

        • If preserving the cookie dough in freezer for later use, make sure these logs are wrapped tightly in the plastic wraps to avoid freeze burning.

        • Baked cookies store well up to a week in an airtight jar.

        • Don't over bake the cookies else your shortbreads will be slightly hard.



        bottom of page