Misbah ul-Haq's 99 and Who wants Shahid Afridi's Shami Kebabs?

And a very good afternoon to you!  What a thrilling day on the cricket pitch.  The hunky Misbah ul-Haq belted out a spectacular 99 runs in Pakistan's first innings against New Zealand and I enjoyed each one of them.  Great stuff from the captain!  And props must go out to Taufiq, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, and little Adnan Akmal!  Do you know he almost got a world record for most catches by a wicket-keeper in an innings?  He only had one more to go!  So right on Adnan...you're quickly becoming one of my favourites!  In an interview way back in December, Shoaib Akhtar was saying how he enjoys New Zealand because the food is good; that is great news because good food makes for good cricket!  One can see that my lovely lads are well fed because they're playing sooooo well!  I love my team!  I love my lovely lads! 

Now speaking of good food, I promised you a few days ago that I'd show you Shahid Afridi's Shami Kebabs.


Steady yourselves for this one!

I'm late, but I keep my promises.  Sorry for the tardiness, but once you get a look at this, you'll agree that everyone will want Shahid Afridi's Shami Kebabs.  Now go get your cutting board and a pot and let's go to town.

Shahid Afridi's Shami Kebabs for Limited Overs Cricket

First things first;  I'm going to admit that I use the Shan spices for this one.  I'm writing their recipe on the blog today because Shami Kebab spice mixes are very hard to find, especially in Canada.   If you can't find the shami kebab prepared spices, then follow my directions below.

Ingredients:
1 kg ground (minced) beef or chicken
1 cup chana daal (split chickpeas), uncooked
3 chopped onions
4 cm piece of ginger, crushed to a paste
5-7 cloves of garlic, crushed to a paste
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon chili powder (lal mirch)
1 teaspoon paprika (optional for colour)
2 whisked eggs
salt
some oil for cooking
In place of the Shan spice mix use:
                          1 teaspoon coriander seed
                          1 teaspoon cuminseeds
                          5 black peppercorns
                          5 green cardamom pods
                          5 cloves
                          some fenugreek seeds
                          dry roast these spices in a pan, then grind them into a powder.

1.  In a large pot, mix the ground beef or chicken with the chickpeas, garlic, onions, ginger, bay leaf, lal mirch, paprika and salt along with  your freshly ground spice mix.
Add 6 glasses of water, cover and cook on low heat about 45 minutes.

2. When everything is tender, about 2 cups of liquid should remain in the pot.  Grind the meat mixture into a coarse paste.  Once the paste has cooled down, add the eggs and knead the mixture well.    You want the paste to be wet and soft, not dry and hard.  Use an extra egg if necessary.

3.  Shape the mixture into around 30 round, flat kebabs, about a centimetre thick.

4.  Heat up some oil in a pan, and deep fry the kebabs until they're golden brown on each side.  Serve with roti, fresh pita bread or with fresh tandoori naan from the tandoori bakery, and freshly prepared mint chutney.  See here if you forget how to make it:

http://kikiscookinforcricket.blogspot.com/2011/01/captain-and-shafiq-mint-chutney-and.html
On a quick side note:  after the meat has been cooked, ground into a paste and cooled, you may also add some finely chopped coriander, green chiles and finely chopped mint and onion along with the whisked eggs.  It will add another dimension of deliciousness to the kebabs.   That's a tip that's printed on the box...great advice!

Right, so thanks again to the Shan people for putting that recipe out there for the public; and if you can't find it, no worries, the above recipe is the exact same thing, you'll only have to make a few extra steps to roast and grind your spices.  It'll turn out just as delicious.

And there you have it...Shami kebabs, just as delicious as Shahid Afridi's wrong'un!  Have a fabulous day, and keep on cheering for my lovely lads...they're just fabulous out there!

Happy Cricket!  Happy Kebab!

Queenslanders, Promotions, and a Note about Packaged Spices

Morning!  As you have probably heard, there's been a lot of flooding in Australia, mostly in Queensland.  The flood waters are receding, but there's been so much damage.  Today on my way to the MCG I'll stop in and make a donation for the relief effort.   Maybe you should as well if you can.  Australians are good people.  Queenslanders are good people.  Let's give them a hand.

Speaking of good Queenslanders, today let's focus on Mitchell Johnson.  On December 23, 2010, I got to meet all of the members of the Australia squad and all of the England players as well.  Mitchell Johnson was so gracious; when I asked him if I could take a photo, he took off his sunglasses and gave me one of the most sparkling, charming smiles EVER!  There was even a twinkle in his eye!  So good-natured! The guy is like a movie star...good looking on TV and good-looking in real life too! He even chatted for a bit with my sister and her boyfriend.  Such a nice guy!  Now I've already published and copyrighted my photos with SportPulse, but if you want to see the pics why don't you check them out on Facebook at this link:

http://www.facebook.com/SportPulse?v=photos&ref=ts#!/album.php?aid=22250&id=113457612054409

You'll also see my pics of day 2 of the 4th test at the MCG there. 

Now I'm also going to promote SportPulse.net, the sports website I write for.  You'll find my silly stuff there, but you'll also find hard-hitting sports stories by the well-known writers Faisal Caesar, Aziz Ul-Qadir, Kristopher Hinz, Karam Khan and Marcos Saints among others!  Here's the link:

http://sportpulse.net/

And finally, the cooking lesson for today.  Yesterday we had a look at Gulzilla Chapli Kebabs, where we had to roast and grind our own spices.  I may have mentioned this before; there is a shortcut to roasting and grinding spices.  This is the ONLY shortcut I will ever advocate, so listen well. 

Shan and National are two packaged spice mix brands from Pakistan.  These packages ONLY contain the spices necessary to make a dish; they are usually free from preservatives and chemicals.  I have found their mixes to be well balanced and are a good alternative to roasting and grinding your own masala.  So if you have time and the equipment, roast and grind your spices yourself; if  you don't, pick up a Shan or National mix appropriate for the dish you are making.  National makes an excellent chapli kebab spice mix!

Shan mixes are heavy on the lal mirch (red chili powder) so be careful if you're a first time cook.  National mixes tend to be on the milder side.  If you live in Canada, you'll find these at Superstore in the East Indian section.  If you're in Australia, you can usually find them at the Indian/Pakistani/Sri Lankan grocers.

And a last note; you've probably noticed that I don't use garam masala powder.  The stuff you get in the shops tastes really bitter to me because they use too much of the black cardamom pods in their mix.  It's better to use whole spices in the recipes until you've developed your seasoning reflexes, then learn how to make your own garam masala powder if you must have it!

Right!  Sorry today's lesson was just a lecture, but it was a necessary evil.  Tomorrow we're going to look at Shahid Afridi's Shami Kebabs, so try to stay calm until then!

Happy Cricket!  Happy Spice Packages!

GULZILLAAAAAAAAAAA!!! CHAPLI KEBAAAAAAABS!!!!!

Good morning everyone!  The floodwaters in Australia look like they are receding!   YES!  I'm going to the Australia/England T20 at the MCG tomorrow.  YES!  There's another Pakistan/New Zealand test coming up on Saturday.  YES! 
And here's Gulzilla; as you can see, not only is he hungry for wickets, he's plain old hungry.  So I'm going to show you how to make chapli kebabs!  Double YES!!!

Chapli Kebabs for the Taking of Wickets and the Calming of Hunger

These kebabs are flat and round, sort of like a flat north american style hamburger patty.  But after eating these, you may never want a hamburger again!  Go Pakistan!  Go Chapli Kebabs!

Ingredients
1/2 kg ground beef
1 onion, very finely chopped
5-7 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped or crushed to a paste
3 cm piece of ginger, crushed to a paste
1 teaspoon cornstarch or flour (optional, not necessary, will make the kebabs less likely to fall apart when frying)
1 egg
1 teaspoon red chili powder/lal mirch (adjust to your own taste)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 small stick cinammon
5 cloves
5 black peppercorns
5 green cardamom pods
1 star anise
Chopped green chilies
about 10 leaves fresh mint, very finely chopped
fresh coriander leaves, very finely chopped

1 tomato, very thinly sliced
salt
oil for cooking

First of all, we need to roast and grind our whole spices.  Heat up a pan, don't add any oil, and dry fry the cumin, coriander seeds, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, green cardamom pods and star anise.  Once they're fragrant, set them aside until cool, and then crush them into a rough powder using a mortar and pestle or grind them in a spice grinder.

In a big bowl, mix together all of the ingredients along with the ground spices except the sliced tomato and the oil.  Let it sit for about 30 minutes or more so that everything relaxes and gets tasty.

Wet your hands with a bit of water, and take out a golf-ball sized chunk of the meat mix.  Flatten it out like a really flat hamburger patty, and gently press in a tomato slice on the top.

Heat some oil in a pan on medium heat. Cook the chapli kebab for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown.  Be careful not to burn them!

Serve immediately, with mint chutney and roti, homemade pita bread or fresh naan from a tandoor bakery. 

In Canada, there are these delicious flat hamburger buns you can get at the Superstore:  they are excellent toasted and spread with home-made mint chutney and filled with chapli kebabs.  We call this Balochi Burgers, named after the province of Balochistan in the south of Pakistan.  Call them what you want, they are MAZAY DAR!!!

Right, so with some of these treats in your belly you'll be satisfied, happy and taking wickets like good old Gulzilla in the picture above.  Have a good one, and cheer extra hard for Pakistan on Saturday!  Woooohoooooooooooooooooo!

Happy Cricket, and Happy Chapli Kebab!

Mohammed Amir

Good day to you.  Today's the last day in "the" ICC hearing to determine Mohammed Amir, Mohammed Asif and Salman Butt's guilt or innocence in the spot-fixing scandal which erupted in September, 2010.

The three men are accused of deliberately bowling 3 no-balls in a spot-betting shenanigan at Lord's in England.  If found guilty, this could mean the end of all three men's careers.

But take the word "men" with a grain of salt:  Mohammed Amir, the incredibly talented pace bowler, is only 19.  He's just a kid.  If he's found guilty, I hope he is not given a life ban; he had his entire career ahead of him.  And we all make stupid mistakes when we're teenagers.  To keep things in perspective, he allegedly bowled a no-ball on purpose so that illegal book-makers could make a profit.  Yes it's corrupt, and if guilty he should be punished, perhaps severely, but COME ON.  Not a life ban.  It's not like he robbed a bank or punched your Mum.

So no cooking for today.  I'm anxious to hear the outcome of this hearing.  Hopefully we'll see the Kid back in cricket soon.

Kiki

Pakistan's Short Test, A Tale of Two Akmals and the Yoghurt of Rebellion

Congratulations Pakistan!  My favourite team totally blew those New Zealand fish right out of the water yesterday!  With my lovely lads' fabulous bowling and batting (that's YOU, Abdur Rehman), those kiwis didn't stand a chance.  And I'm getting grumpy with the people who say that New Zealand lost because New Zealand played poorly.  Phooey on youey!  Pakistan won because Pakistan played superbly and would have beaten any other team in the world because my lovely lads are the best team of all time.  OF ALL TIME!!!

So due to their insanely good playing, Pakistan wiped out the NZ batting line-up in less than one session and the match only lasted three days! Absolute insanity!  Pandemonium!  Crazy!!!

I want to give a shout out to all the Pakistan players today.  What teamwork, you all deserved to be Man of the Match and I'm thrilled to bits for you!  Most of all, however, I owe Adnan Akmal an apology.  So for the first part of my story of Two Akmals, I'll say this:  Sorry Adnan.  It was mean to say you were a mediocre player before and I take it back!  You've really shown you're a good test match player and we're all looking forward to seeing you play for years to come.  Great catches, great batting and great team spirit!  From now on, you'll be referred to as Triple A:  Awesome Adnan Akmal.  Good on ya!

For the second part of my story, it looks like Kamran Akmal will be on the World Cup squad.  He's been cleared by the ICC and the PCB for the WC.  Good on him I guess.  His recent performances on the squad have been less than spectacular, but here's hoping he finds his form and smashes away all the opposition.  Let's go Akmal brothers!

And finally, as I said yesterday, I'm tired of high prices and giving all my money to the man.  Rebel, why don't you, just a little bit and join me in some rebellious yoghurt-making.  That'll show those corporate bigwigs!  Who needs your mass-produced stuff when I can make my own at home? Join my rebellion and let's make some yoghurt!

The Yoghurt of Rebellion
Ingredients
1 litre full fat milk (you can use skim if you like)
Do not use milk from a tetrabrik; it will not turn into yoghurt due to the ultrapasteurization process
2 tablespoons yoghurt (to use as a starter)

1.  Line a bowl with the starter yoghurt and set aside to come to room temperature.
2.  Bring milk to a boil, turn off the heat and let it cool.
3.  When the milk is cool, put it in the fridge.
4.  Skim off the layer of cream which will have formed on top of the milk.  Do not discard this; this cream is delicious and is fabulous in its own right.
5.  Lightly warm the skimmed milk, but don't boil it.
6.  Pour the milk into the lined bowl; the warmed milk will make the bacterial culture of the room-temperature grow and change the milk into yoghurt over time.
7.  Cover the bowl, and set it aside for 4 or 6 hours.  Do not move the bowl!
8.  Check after 4 or 6 hours to see if the yoghurt has set.  Once set, put the yoghurt away in the fridge to stop the bacterial growth.

So according to my brother-in-law, who's an excellent cook and makes yoghurt quite often, you should use an earthenware pot for best results.  Also, after the yoghurt has set, he recommends that you remove the watery liquid (the whey) and that will thicken up the yoghurt.

Now it's time for me to continue with my day.  Pakistan, congrats, you deserved that victory for all your hard work!  Akmals, make me happy by continuing to play well and constantly improving.  And to all of you kitchen culinary artists, have a happy rebellion!  Break free from the chains of high prices!

Happy Cricket, Happy Eating!

The Captain and Shafiq, Mint Chutney and Outrage

And a big, Australian-sized g'day to you!  I'm happy and everyone in Pakistan is happy today because of Misbah ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq's performance against New Zealand yesterday!  These two are giving the Kiwis nightmares for cryin' out loud because their batting partnership is that good!   Misbah ul-Haq has scored over 50 runs in 4 consecutive test matches and he's just getting better and better.  Beauty!  Continue that tradition today, Captain!

And I cannot say enough about Asad Shafiq!  Talk about good things in small packages!  I suspect that he may be the smallest man in international cricket, but who cares when he scores great big runs?  He has been so consistent and so spectacular with his batting that every man will want to be him and every woman will want to marry him!  Right on Asad!  You're dynomite!  Keep on sockin' it to the Kiwis!  Team Shafiq!

All right, now the cooking part.  My fabulous husband gave me a surprise gift yesterday, and I'd like to share it with you:  he gave me a lovely, shiny brand new BARBEQUE!!!!  So that means in the next few days, once my internet connection is back to normal, I'll be showing you how to make all kinds of KEBABS!  And it's going to be great!  Chicken tikkas, seekh kebabs, chapli kebabs, and that's just the start!  However, for today, I'm going to show you how to make mint chutney, a spicy minty yoghurt sauce which traditionally goes with kebabs or samosas.  Right!  Get out your knives, let's get cookin.

Misbah ul-Haq's Marvelous Mint Chutney

1 cup of yoghurt (you can use full fat or low fat yoghurt)
1small bunch of coriander, very finely chopped
1 green chili (or more, according to taste) very finely chopped
several sprigs of mint, very finely chopped
salt to taste

Stir everything together and let it sit for about an hour.  The juices will leak out of the coriander and mint, turning the sauce green.

Serve with samosas, and here's the link if you've forgotten:

http://kikiscookinforcricket.blogspot.com/2010/10/food-for-t20-matches-vegetable-samosas.html

or serve with kebabs or serve as a dip with chips or plain pita bread.


PS: There's something else I would like to mention:  it's very frustrating to pay high prices for things at the supermarket. It's outrageous...28 dollars for 1 kg of ginger! A bit later on in the blog I'm going to show you how to make your own yoghurt and how to grow your own vegetables (even if you live in a tiny apartment, it is possible).  "The Man" gets way too much of our hard-earned cash and I've had enough!!! 

Happy Cricket!  Happy Chutney!  Happy Outrage at High Prices!

Hankerin' for that Hunk ul-Haq and Younis Khan's Coffee to Get Started

And good morning to everyone!  I still have a gimpy webbernets hence my lack of posting, but have no fear; apparently everything will be back to normal on Monday and I'll be posting all kinds of Pakistan cricket gossip and fantastic food.

So to be quick, here goes:

1.  The Pakistan/New Zealand test match starts in a few minutes.  As the title says, I'm hankerin' to see that hunk Ul-Haq captaining the squad to victory over the next few days!  Let's go Pakistan!

2.  The ICC hearing looking into the spot fixing allegations against my three darlings is in full swing in the UAE.  The truth will come out and hopefully we'll see Mohammed Aamer, Mohammed Asif and Salman Butt back in International Cricketdom.  We've missed you guys!  Fight hard and let's get back to business!

3.  Australia.  uum yeah.

OK, no cooking for today, but here's another delicious version of coffee, brought to you by Younis Khan, former Pakistan captain and present-day captain of my sports heart.  If you're in Australia, this is just the thing to wake you up and get you all alert for the Pakistan/New Zealand test match.

Younis Khan's Mazay Dar (delicious) Instant Coffee

Put about 4 teaspoons of instant coffee in a coffee mug, and add about 6 teaspoons of sugar.
Add a few drops of milk, just enough to slightly moisten the coffee and sugar.
With a spoon, stir the mixture vigourously, almost whipping it.  The mix will change consistency, turning into a whipped, smooth light brown coloured fluffy paste. This will take a couple of minutes.  Ensure all granules are dissolved and that there are no hard chunks.
Divide the whipped mix evenly into 4 coffee cups.
Add boiling water into each cup, and give a quick stir.  You will get a rich, frothy coffee, and if you like you can also add some milk.

A note on instant coffees:  Freeze-dried instant coffee is the best because it has next to no added chemicals and tastes like the properly brewed beverage.   Soluble instant coffee is much less expensive, but it is made from a chemical process and has all kinds of funny stuff in it.  Get the freeze-dried stuff when it goes on sale; freeze-dried coffee from Brazil usually tastes the best.

Right!  The match has started and Umar Gul is bowling.  Enjoy the coffee, and let's watch Pakistan teach the New Zealanders a lesson they'll never forget!

Happy Cricket!  Happy Coffee!