I work full-time and will be doing so during the whole of Ramzan as well. We reach home around 6:00 pm and Iftar will be around 8:00 pm. I was wondering if anyone has any quick and easy to make iftar recipes for healthy snacks/dinner. We're not in the mood for the saalan routine this year.

Also, does any working woman out there have any tips for Iftar/Sehri preparation? Lack of sleep and working with a hungry stomach always makes my brain slow down in Ramzan

There are some things you can prepare in advance and store in freezer for later like:

-Shami kababs
-Bara's (to make dahi bare)
-Parathas(make it the way you make them but cook them for 30 secs on each side very lightly before you freeze them, separate each by parchment paper)
-chutneys for chaat(sweet taramind chutney and green chutney can be stored for at least 2 weeks if you add some vinegar/lemon juice)


I will post more ideas later.

Thanks Corrupt Angel
Already have my freezer stocked with the aaloo cutlets, shaami kababs and chutneys in fridge. We're just tired of the usual stuff.... want something different than the usual pakoras, samosas, chaats, etc. Do you have any new & different recipes?

how about lasagne ? get the keema ready before hand ....chicken pie .... spaghetti ....

what abt pizza ?

I'm going to have a pizza for iftar today =)

lasagne freezes really well!

order in?

at uni i sometimes have egg fried rice because its super super quick ( using left over rice or packet rice) and i whack in some prawns maybe chicken.

make fajita mix the nice before and get wrapping around after time with tortiallas, cheese and sour cream or even chutnies!

fajitas are a really good idea and they don't go down as heavy as saalan's either.
i usually slice boneless chicken breasts into thin strips and then i marinate them in lemon juice, soy sauce, finely chopped onions, finely chopped jalapenos and a sprinkle or two of chili sauce depending on how spicy you want it. you can do this in the morning when you're up for sehri or the night before.
then for iftaar, stir fry the chicken until its done, and serve with warmed up tortillas, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and shredded cheese. you can make the fajitas as you eat them- they're delicious!

i also love casseroles and quiches as you can make them a couple of days in advance. my current favourite is the crustless spinach quiche using this recipe: Crustless Spinach Quiche - All Recipes
instead of muenster, i use sharp cheddar, and i also add in mushrooms, zucchini, green peppers, and sauteed chicken. throw in a couple more eggs to make sure there's enough "wet" for the added ingredients and bake it as usual. its sooo good! and even better the next day when its reheated and the flavours have had more time to merge.
oh and instead of frozen spinach, i use fresh. when i'm done stir frying the chicken cubes (usually 2 boneless chicken breasts cut into small cubes with a pinch of salt in a little bit of oil, until its lightly browned), i add in the spinach to the pot and shut the lid until it cooks down. you can also add in your other ingredients like the mushrooms and peppers too at this point, and then dump all of these together into the eggs. the zucchini i don't as its quite soft and would turn to mush if pre-cooked a little bit.

oo that fajita chicken recipe sounds good - i gotta try that one

i gotta try your fajita recipe. sounds good. ^

Originally Posted by somegroovychick

fajitas are a really good idea and they don't go down as heavy as saalan's either.
.

Wow, I'm gonna definitely try the Quiche and fajitas, they sound yummy. Thanks for the recipes. My husband likes desi food only (which makes me so unhappy) but I will force him to eat these by not making anything else Thanks a lot.

I know u don't want salan, but try making tandoori chicken in a non stick frying pan (it's not salan!).

Just marinate some chicken in yogurt, lemon juice, mashed garlic, tandoori spices etc. Then add to a hot non-stick pan with about an inch of oil in it. Pour in about a cup or 2 of water and stir.

Cover and cookon high for about 7 mins, then turn chicken over and cook for 5 mins more (covered).

Then take lid off and stir fry uncovered until the liquid has evaporated. It's really tasty and quick.

Serve with plain boiled white rice or pitta bread / wraps, hummus/ raita / salad / fresh tomato chutney / salsa.

What about boondies in yogurt? Those are good, I tried them for the first Iftar.

Sandwich fillings are great also for hot sandwiches...tuna, chicken, potatoes, etc.

Quick pasta with some ready made sauce.

My cook made us mini bun kababs today.. they were really nice!

I did shrimp fajitas the other day - they were yummilicious and 2 of them were quite filling for dinner!
Sautee the shrimps in a bit of oil, salt and pepper (and oregano cuz I gotta have oregano ha!)
Sautee a couple of yellow zuchinni, couple of tomatoes, bell peppers individually. You can sit these in one bowl since you'll be piling these on the tortilla anyways. Sprinkle them with some salt.
one finely shredded onion
1 packet of Mexican Fiesta cheese.
Packet of 8 tortillas.

Warm up the tortillas in the microwave, spoon (1-2 tsp of taco sauce) and fill it with shrimp, veggies, cheese, roll it up and lightly fry in the pan so it is golden brown on all sides.


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this is my enchilada recipe but the desi way lol

take one lb of chicken breast, boil and shred.
finely chop one onion and fry until it is translucent, add to this about 2 handfuls of frozen corn, shredded chicken, 2 small tomatoes (you can use the diced canned tomatoes too if you prefer), salt, and crushed red pepper, and ground cumin (1 tsp), and oregano (haha)
Let the above ingredients mix up and cook until they are all tender and juicy.

Get some pita pockets - warm them in the microwave, add a teaspoon of taco sauce, add the chicken mixture, top it with mexican fiesta cheese and lightly fry in the pan until both sides are golden brown and the cheese has melted.
These are sooo yummy! I make the chicken mixture and freeze it in a ziploc bag so it lasts for a while!

Originally Posted by somegroovychick

i also love casseroles and quiches as you can make them a couple of days in advance. my current favourite is the crustless spinach quiche using this recipe: Crustless Spinach Quiche - All Recipes
instead of muenster, i use sharp cheddar, and i also add in mushrooms, zucchini, green peppers, and sauteed chicken. throw in a couple more eggs to make sure there's enough "wet" for the added ingredients and bake it as usual. its sooo good! and even better the next day when its reheated and the flavours have had more time to merge.
oh and instead of frozen spinach, i use fresh. when i'm done stir frying the chicken cubes (usually 2 boneless chicken breasts cut into small cubes with a pinch of salt in a little bit of oil, until its lightly browned), i add in the spinach to the pot and shut the lid until it cooks down. you can also add in your other ingredients like the mushrooms and peppers too at this point, and then dump all of these together into the eggs. the zucchini i don't as its quite soft and would turn to mush if pre-cooked a little bit.

here is my dumb question since I've never made a quiche before!! and I am thinking of trying it this weekend w/ the chicken like you suggested - sounds good and healthy.
The pan that you are using to bake this in - does it have a pie crust?? or are you just spraying it with some cooking oil and dumping the ingredients to bake? I am guessing the latter.

I had the most awesome chicken samosas ever!!!

Yes, chicken. I think chicken samosas are by far way better than beef or aaloo samosas!

I tried the spinach quiche groovychick and it was FANTASTIC AND HEALTHY!! Even my daughter ate it and so did my desi-food-loving husband. Plus it only took me 15 minutes to prepare it and stick it in the microwave for 35 minutes while I got other stuff done. Oh and I did use Mozarrella cheese (hehe) so it kinda tasted like a healthy lasagna ;-)