Hot Sauce/Peri Sauce

Ingredients:

Onion, small 1

Big, whole dried red chilies (talhar mirch/Kashmiri mirch) 4

Vinegar 1/2 cup

Oil 1/2 cup

Garlic 1 tsp

Fenugreek seeds, crushed 1 tbsp

Coriander, crushed 1 tbsp

Red chili, crushed 2 tbsp

Lemon juice, 3 tbsp

Method:

Soak chilies over night- then blend all the ingredients together till smooth. 

Tribeca Cafe & Bistro

I'm a huge fan of Tacos and would have them any where bring offered, however in Karachi, there are hardly any eateries offering Tacos as close to their original taste. Had been followimg @tribecapk for some time on Instagram and I just had to give this place a try! Ended up here with a friend who has just moved from Islamabad. We ordered nachos, soft shell grilled chicken tacos, and Vietnamese chicken wings. 
It's considered a tapas bar, located right next to Sobremesa and Amiamo Gelato. The eatery was spacious, well lit, and friendly. I had my kids along and the staff were very welcoming. No fuss. The waiters didn't hover around on our heads, giving us space and time to decide what to order! Best part? There was no music playing in the background! Its a plus point for me as I like to enjoy other people's company and talk to them rather than shouting on the top of my lungs because of the deafening music!
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Starting with the nachos, they were warm and crisp and not tbe typical pack of doritoes most eateries serve in the name of nachos. Found them a little pricey, but good since every thing on this plate was super fresh!
Moving on to the wings, THESE WERE THE BEST WINGS I'VE HAD. I loved the slightly charred taste, pleasing to the eyes as well as the tastebuds. These were just so good! Loved the dip served with it. Next, the tacos! Luuuuuuuurved them as well!! All the ingredients so fresh, beautifully put together! However I wished there was more meat in the tacos. But lovely, clean flavors. We definitely need more places like these. All the ingredients were absolutely fresh, the sour cream was homemade and so were all the other dressings and sauces.
I would recommend you all to give this place a try!
Total damage (food+drinks) rs.3000

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

It's a tough job making people like veggies, and even harder to make them eat it! So what to do? How does one incorporate vegetables in their daily kitchen menu? What does one do to make their family 'like' eating vegetables? One solution to this! #CubeThatVeggie. Yes! Use Knorr chicken cubes, in different veggie recipes to get that oomph, that flavor everyone's been looking for! I will be sharing a series of veggie recipes for you all to try out using Knorr chicken cubes! I will be posting one recipe each day for an entire week! My recipes will be diverse, and belonging to different cuisines: Pakistani, Continental, Chinese and many more! So gear up, something exciting is coming up and stay tuned to The Crazy Chef!

# 4 Creamy Mushroom Pasta

(Click here to view more photos)

Ingredients:

Mushrooms, sliced, 200gm
Olives 2 tbsp
Butter 1 tbsp
Salt, as needed
Pepper 1/4 tsp
White pepper 1/4 tsp
Red chili flakes 1/2 tsp
Oregano 1/4 tsp
Mixed herbs 1/4 tsp
Knorr chicken cube, 1, dissolved in 2 tsp water
Cream 200-250gm
Penne Pasta, boiled, 300-400gm

Method:

Heat butter in a pan and saute mushrooms and olives for two minutes. Now add salt, red chili flakes, oregano, mixed herbs, pepper, and white pepper. Mix well. Now add the cream, make sure the flame is low, mix well then add knorr chicken cube and let it simmer till you obtain the desired consistency. Add water or milk if the sauce is too thick. Mix in the boiled pasta and serve warm with garlic bread!

*You can also add sliced chicken with the mushrooms.

Mix Sabzi (Mix Vegetable Curry)

It's a tough job making people like veggies, and even harder to make them eat it! So what to do? How does one incorporate vegetables in their daily kitchen menu? What does one do to make their family 'like' eating vegetables? One solution to this! #CubeThatVeggie. Yes! Use Knorr chicken cubes, in different veggie recipes to get that oomph, that flavor everyone's been looking for! I will be sharing a series of veggie recipes for you all to try out using Knorr chicken cubes! I will be posting one recipe each day for an entire week! My recipes will be diverse, and belonging to different cuisines: Pakistani, Continental, Chinese and many more! So gear up, something exciting is coming up and stay tuned to The Crazy Chef!

# 3 Mixed Vegetable Curry

Ingredients:

Knorr chicken cubes, 2

Cauliflower florets, 1 cup

Peas, 1 cup

Carrots, cubed, 1 cup

Potatoes, cubed, 1 cup

Capsicum, cubed, 1 cup

Broad beans (sem ki phalli) / cluster beans (gawar ki phalli), 1 cup, top & tail trimmed

Salt, 1 1/2 tsp or to taste

Red chili powder, 2 tsp

Turmeric powder, 1 tsp

Ginger-garlic, crushed, 1 tbsp

Tomatoes, diced, 1 cup

Water, as required

Oil, 1/2 cup

Method:

Heat oil in a pot, add tomatoes, ginger-garlic and fry till the oil separates from tomatoes. Now add the Knorr chicken cubes, salt, red chili powder and turmeric powder. Mix well, and keep stirring for the next two minutes. Now add in all the vegetables and water, about 2 cups and mix really well. Cover and simmer till the potatoes are just done. You can add and subtract water according to your preference. I personally like my mixed vegetables on a drier side so I add enough water to just cook the vegetables. Have with steamed rice or fresh, hot, garlic naan!

Your choice of vegetables for this doesn't need to be limited to the above mentioned vegetables. You can always add in your favorite vegetables! You can even make mixed vegetables by adding aubergines, or gourds, or zucchini. The options are unlimited! Experiment as per your taste!

Vegetable Chowmein

It's a tough job making people like veggies, and even harder to make them eat it! So what to do? How does one incorporate vegetables in their daily kitchen menu? What does one do to make their family 'like' eating vegetables? One solution to this! #CubeThatVeggie. Yes! Use Knorr chicken cubes, in different veggie recipes to get that oomph, that flavor everyone's been looking for! I will be sharing a series of veggie recipes for you all to try out using Knorr chicken cubes! I will be posting one recipe each day for an entire week! My recipes will be diverse, and belonging to different cuisines: Pakistani, Continental, Chinese and many more! So gear up, something exciting is coming up and stay tuned to The Crazy Chef!

# 2 Vegetable Chowmein

This dish is SO easy to make! The only hard part about it is hand cutting the vegetables (which you can always do with a machine too!) Its literally easy peasy and delicious! 

Ingredients:

Spaghetti / Egg noodles 500gm

Carrots, julienne, 1 cup

Capsicum, julienne, 1 cup

Green onions, julienne, 1/2 cup

Ginger-garlic, crushed, 1 1/2 tbsp

Cabbage, paysanne (slim, flat, square cut), 1 cup

Knorr chicken cubes, 2

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, 2 tsp, levelled

Sesame seed oil 2 tbsp

Canola/vegetable Oil, 3 tbsp

Method:

In a large pot add water and let it boil. Add 2 tsp salt, and once it starts boiling fiercely, add in the spaghetti and cook till al dente, just firm. Strain, add sesame seed oil, mix and keep aside. 

Heat canola oil in a large wok. Add ginger garlic and stir fry on high heat for a minute. Add Knorr chicken cubes, 1 tsp water, salt, and pepper. Mix till the Knorr chicken cubes dissolves. Now add all the vegetables except the green onion. Mix and cook on high heat for two minutes. I like my vegetables crisper and not over cooked, this way they maintain their color as well. Now add the boiled spaghetti and mix well. Cook for another two minutes, add green onions, mix and serve! 

Aloo Baigan (Potato-Aubergine Curry)

It's a tough job making people like veggies, and even harder to make them eat it! So what to do? How does one incorporate vegetables in their daily kitchen menu? What does one do to make their family 'like' eating vegetables? One solution to this! #CubeThatVeggie. Yes! Use Knorr chicken cubes, in different veggie recipes to get that oomph, that flavor everyone's been looking for! I will be sharing a series of veggie recipes for you all to try out using Knorr chicken cubes! I will be posting one recipe each day for an entire week! My recipes will be diverse, and belonging to different cuisines: Pakistani, Continental, Chinese and many more! So gear up, something exciting is coming up and stay tuned to The Crazy Chef!

#1 Aloo Baigan

Ingredients:

Aubergines (preferably round ones), 2 cups, cubed
Potatoes, 2 cups, cubed
Knorr chicken cubes, 2
Tomatoes, 1 cup, diced
Salt 1 tsp (or to taste)
Red chili powder, 2 tsp, leveled (or to taste)
Turmeric powder, 2 tsp, leveled
Oil 1/2 cup
Green chilies, whole, slit into two, 4
Ginger, crushed, 1 tbsp
Garlic, crushed, 1 tsp (optional)
Water, 1 cup

Method:

Heat oil in a pot. Add ginger, garlic and tomatoes. Stir fry for a good 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat. Now add the cubed aubergines, potatoes, salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, Knorr chicken cubes and 1 a cup of water. Increase the heat and let the water come to a fierce boil, then lower the flame again and cover, and cook till the potatoes are just done; about 9-12 minutes. Then right at the end, add the green chilies, mix and serve!

You can also make this dish in a pressure cooker to save time. After frying the tomatoes and ginger-garlic, I add everything and close the lid of the cooker and cook for 5-7 minutes, or till the first whistle starts to blow. Take it off the heat, open and mix in the green chilies and serve!


*I personally don't like my vegetables overcooked, so the aubergines or the potatoes aren't very mushy, if you'd like to cook them more, you can definitely go ahead with your preference!

Hyderabadi Biryani

I've been trying so hard to perfect my Biryani and finally, after years of trying I finally made biryani which was liked by everyone! Not one person complained. Success!
This is a no fuss, easy recipe! For my convenience, I used commercially available biryani masala, but you can use your own homemade masala if you prefer.

Ingredients:

Chicken, 1 kg, cut in 8-10 pieces

Tomatoes, 2, roughly diced

Onion, 1 thinly sliced

Coriander, fresh, 1/2 bunch, chopped

Green chilies, small, 5-6, stalks removed

Rice, 4 cups, half boiled

Potatoes, 4 medium sized, cut in halves

Yogurt, 1 cup

Ginger-garlic paste, 2 tbsp

Biryani masala, 2 packets

Oil, 1/2 cup

Method:

Mix yogurt, tomatoes, potatoes, biryani masala in the chicken and let it marinate for half hour. Till that time, thinly slice the onions and fry them, in half cup oil till golden brown. Reserve the onions and oil for later use.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, boil the rice till half done, for about 3-4 minutes. Drain once done and keep aside. 

In another pot, add oil and fry the chicken and potatoes for about 5 minutes. In the same pot, start with the layering. Add the rice, 1 cup water, yellow food coloring, coriander, green chilies and fried onions. Also drizzle the leftover oil from the onions on the rice. Now tightly close the lid of the pot, by either covering with two layers of newspaper or simply sealing it with kneaded dough. Put the flame on the lowest, place the pot on a 'tawa', give the biryani 'dum', (steam) for at least 45 minutes. 

So so easy and no fuss, no labor in browning the onions and tomatoes and cooking the chicken! 

Serve hot with raita! 

*Use room temperature chicken.

*Do NOT open the lid in the 45 minutes. 

Peri Bites

Ingredients:

Green chillies 20
Bread crumbs

For Chicken:

Mayonnaise 4 tbsp
Cream cheese
Crushed pepper
Vinegar 1 tbsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Garlic paste 1/2 tsp
Peri Peri Sauce 1 tbsp
Lemon juice 1 tbsp
Soy sauce 1 tbsp

For Batter:

Flour, as needed
Breadcrumbs, as needed
Egg 1

Method:

For chicken, mix all the ingredients except mayonnaise and cream cheese and refrigerate. Let it marinate for at least half hour. Then fry and keep aside. Mix in mayonnaise and cream cheese once cool. Then slit green chilies and fill with the cooked chicken. Stuff a little mozzarella cheese then dip in flour, egg then bread crumbs, repeat with all the chilies. Chill for one hour and deep fry till golden.

Peri bites can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. You can make these before ramadan starts! 

A Place Where You Can Eat Your Sorrows Away!

Mac n Cheese (Texas Chili)

Mac n Cheese and Jacket Potato

Crab Cigars

Three Chicketeers

Fried Mac n Cheese Balls

Mac n Cheese (Popcorn Chicken)

Glazed Apple Donut

Grilled Cheese

This restaurant in Karachi, just 8 days old, is THE place where you get a chance to chow away your sorrows! You may not call it a fancy, fine-dining place, but a small, cute cosy space offering you comfort food. Food which we really don't want to judge, food oozing with cheese and cream and caramel. And it's first of it's kind in Karachi, located on Khy-e-Nishat. I haven't seen any eatery focusing on such a concept. We went there on the 8th day since opening. It was a Sunday and we had to wait like 15 minutes to get a table! Loved the interior, the ambiance; modern yet minimal. Simple, clean, refreshing interior, slightly low on lighting (because my photos didn't get enough light, and turned out okayish also because I was without my equipment). We ordered different versions of Jacket Potatoes, Mac n Cheese, Crab Cigars, and the Three Chicketeers.
You are spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting your toppings for Jacket Potatoes! A lot to choose from. It's a four-step process: choosing your meat (philly steak, fajita, etc), then your base sauce (cheese or herb), then about 12-13 toppings, and finally the boss sauce (Wasabi Mayo, Thousand Island, Balsamic, Honey Mustard etc). Mac n Cheese had flavors too! Classic, Turkey Bacon, Texas Chilli and Popcorn Chicken. We tried Popcorn Chicken and Texas Chilli. Three Chicketeers is basically a trio of fried boneless chicken pieces with different sauces; buffalo, tarragon and chili jam. Ended our meal with trying out both their desserts, Grilled Cheese and Glazed Apple Donut.
Jacket Potato was love at first bite! Hot, fluffy, cheesy and all the delicious things you can imagine! Loved scraping the potato skin off our sizzler! I ordered the Texac Chilli Mac n Cheese on their recommendation, and my two-year old licked it clean (he's a picky eater so if he eats something it's automatically approved and marked as delicious), even though I personally like a thick crisp layer of breadcrumbs, the Mac n Cheese at Babamoo did not have enough crispiness on the top! I was slightly disappointed with the consistency of temperatures as well. One of the mac n cheese on our table was hot and fresh, and one of them was slightly cold. The Crab Cigars and Fried Mac n Cheese Balls were the highlight of the dinner! A new idea, and tasted absolutely amazing! From the three Chicketeers, my favorite was the Tarragon one.
Moving on to desserts, Glazed Apple Donut was finger-licking good. However their caramel sauce could've been slightly runnier and glossier, Grilled Cheese with Vanilla Sauce - liked the idea, but couldn't really comprehend the taste, hence the Apple Donut becoming the favorite!
Would I go back? YES definitely! The helpings were generous and pocket-friendly. We had a chat with the owners, and they told us that they are working on expanding the menu, taking things ahead one step at a time. Here's to wishing Babamoo good luck, and consistency in their quality of food.

Ambiance: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Value for money: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Service: 🌟🌟🌟
Food:
Jacket Potatoes: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Mac n Cheese: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Glazed Apple Donut: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Grilled Cheese: 🌟🌟🌟

Crispy Fried Okra

Here's me presenting a SUPER easy and delicious vegan recipe (my mother in law's invention!), made with just 5 ingredients! Yes, the Crazy Chef's been MIA for a while, (motherhood duties!) but promising this time to be more active than before, Inshaallah! I absolutely LOVE this recipe of bhindi or Okra, best eaten with daal chawal or just a spoon and some raita!  Do try it out and send me your photos on my instagram or facebook page to be featured!

(serves 3)

Ingredients:

Okra/Bhindi 1/2 kg (thinly sliced)

Salt 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1 tsp 

Red chili powder 1 tsp

Oil 4-6 tbsp

Method:

Wash the okra before slicing thinly. Make sure you've dried it properly before cutting. Now add salt, turmeric and red chili powder and mix really well. Heat a large open frying pan (preferably non-stick or heavy iron). Add oil and let it heat up. Now add the okra and fry it on highest heat till it changes color and becomes crispy, about 6-10 minutes. Do not stir the okra a lot, otherwise it will lose it's shape. Let it brown nicely from all sides. Stir every 40 seconds or so. Once done, serve with daal chawal and raita!