Both savoury and sweet foods are served on Shab-e-barat. This tradition is still alive in many households. Here are some easy recipes for great halwas and some savoury dishes.

Coconut and semolina halwa (Narkel-shujir halwa)

Ingredients

1 cup semolina, shuji

2 cups coconut, desiccated

2 cups sugar

¼ cup ghee

½ cup full cream milk

½ tsp cardamom powder

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Method

Grease a square baking tray with ghee. Heat ghee in a heavy bottom pan and add semolina. Roast the semolina until slightly golden and fragrant. Once semolina is done remove it.

In the same pan, add the desiccated coconut. Dry roast for 3-4 minutes. Remove from pan and keep aside. Into the same pan add sugar and milk and boil it for 5-7 minutes, or until it starts thickening. Add cardamom powder, semolina, and coconut. Mix well and stir continuously.

Cook for a few minutes until the mixture starts thickening and forms a solid mass. Transfer the mixture to the greased tray. Let it set and cool for about an hour. Cut desired shape pieces and serve.

Sweet Potato Halwa (Mishty alu halwa)

Ingredients

2 cups grated sweet potato

1 cup full cream milk powder

¼ tsp cardamom powder

¼ cup ghee

¼ cup mixed nuts, chopped

1½ cup sugar or as per taste

Method

Heat ghee in a non-stick pan. Add grated potatoes. Fry on low heat until it turns slightly golden in colour. Add milk, sugar, and cardamom powder and mix well. There should not be any lumps. Stir continuously until the halwa turns dry. Add mixed nut and mix well. Cook for another 2 minutes. Garnish with nuts and rose petals and serve.

Poppy seeds halwa (Posto halwa)

Ingredients

1 cup poppy seeds, soaked overnight

¼ cup ghee

2 cups milk

¼ cup cashew nuts

¼ cup almonds

¼ cup pistachios

¼ cup sugar

Method

Drain poppy seeds and grind with very little water to a thick paste. Heat ghee in a non-stick pan. Fry the nuts until brown. Remove from pan.

In the same pan, add the poppy seeds paste and sauté for about 12-15 minutes or until it turns a light brown. Reduce the heat and add milk. Cook and stirring continuously, until it begins to thicken. Add fried nuts and sugar. Mix well and cook for another few minutes. Transfer into a serving bowl, garnish with fried nuts and serve hot.

Kheer er putli

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Ingredients

2 litre milk

4 tsp semolina

¼ cup mawa

1 pinch of nutmeg powder

2 cup flour

2 tbsp ghee

2 cup sugar

2 cup water

Oil for deep frying

Dry fruits for garnish

Method

Boil the milk in a pan. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of semolina into it. Cook until milk thickens and is reduced to half. Add remaining semolina and keep stirring. Let the kheer thicken. Finally, add mawa and nutmeg powder. Mix well and remove from heat. Allow it to cool down.

For making a sugar syrup, boil water in a pan and add sugar to it. Continuously stir until the syrup becomes thick. Then remove it from the heat. Now make dough with flour, 2 tablespoons of ghee, and water. Knead well. Divide it into equal portions. Keep it aside for 10 minutes. Take a portion and put some kheer on it. Gently seal the mouth and twist the top. Once it is done heat oil in a deep pan. Deep fry the putli until golden brown. Put the fried putli into the sugar syrup. Sprinkle some chopped dry fruits over it and serve.

Dudh puli

Ingredients

2 cup grated coconut

½ cup jaggery

½ cup condensed milk

2 cup rice flour

1 cup water

1/8 tsp salt

2 litre milk
½ cup sugar

3 cardamoms

3 cinnamon sticks

Method

Mix coconut, condensed milk, and jaggery in a non-stick pan. Turn on the stove and stir constantly until the mixture becomes slightly sticky. Remove the pan. Now boil water, add salt and rice flour, mix thoroughly and make a dough. Knead well for about 5 minutes. Take part of the dough and roll it out as thick as a tortilla. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter. Place a small amount of coconut filling on each circle. Brush the edges with water and seal tightly to form a crescent shape. Keep aside.

Now boil milk, sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom together in a pan. When the milk is reduced to half, add the pithas and cook for 30 minutes on medium-low heat or until the pithas are cooked. Remove the pan and serve.                          

Karachi halwa

Ingredients

For corn flour mixture —

½ cup corn flour

1½ cup water

1½ cup sugar

1 cup water

1 tsp lemon juice

5 tbsp ghee

10 cashews, chopped

¼ tsp cardamom powder

Few drops of orange food colour

5 almonds chopped for garnish

Method

Firstly, in a large mixing bowl take corn flour and water. Mix well without forming any lumps. Keep aside.

Now, in a large non-stick pan take sugar and water. Allow the syrup to boil. Pour the cornflour mixture into the boiling sugar syrup, stirring continuously on low-medium flame. Once the cornflour mixture starts to thicken, immediately add lemon juice. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens completely. Now add a tablespoon of ghee and mix well until all the ghee is absorbed. Now, add another tablespoon of ghee and continue to mix till it turns glossy, transparent, and silky.

When the ghee is released from the sides, add food colour, cardamom powder, and chopped cashews. Continue to mix until the mixture will start to form a lump. Later transfer the mixture to a tray and spread well. Sprinkle some chopped almonds and rest for an hour. Finally, cut to a desired shape and serve.

Nikuti

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Ingredients

1 cup cottage cheese

1 tbsp refined flour

1 tbsp semolina

2 tbsp milk powder

1 tbsp ghee

½ tsp baking soda

Oil for frying

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1-2 cardamoms

1 pinch saffron

Method

In a bowl take cottage cheese, semolina, flour, milk powder, ghee, and baking soda. Mix together and mash them for at least 10 minutes. Now make small balls and shape them into ovals.

Heat oil in a pan. Fry the oval balls until golden brown. Remove from pan and keep aside. Next make sugar syrup. In another pan, add water, sugar and a pinch of saffron. Bring it to a boil and add cardamom and fried sweets. Turn off the heat, cover and allow it to cool. Then remove it from the sugar syrup and serve.

Beetroot halwa

Ingredients

2 tbsp ghee

2 cups grated beetroot

2 cups milk

½ cup sugar

2 green cardamom

¼ cup mix nuts chopped

Method

Wash and scrub the beetroot well. Peel and discard the skin. Grate it using a grater or a food processor. Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in a pan and add the grated beetroot. Cook for about 5 minutes or until it starts to soften and shrinks in size. Do stir occasionally; add milk and bring it to a simmer. Continue cooking, stirring often to avoid sticking and burning. As the milk evaporated and starts to become thick, do stir very often and eventually stir continuously. Cook until all the moisture is evaporated. Then add sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well.

Stir and cook until the moisture from the sugar is evaporated and becomes a thick halwa consistency. Lastly, add chopped almonds, cashews, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of ghee. Mix and cook for a minute and then turn off the heat. Sprinkle chopped nuts and serve.

Tandoori kofta biriyani

Ingredients
For kofta balls —
500g mincemeat (beef/mutton)
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp green chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp tandoori masala powder
½ tsp roasted cumin powder
1 tbsp gram flour, slightly roasted
Salt to taste

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

For the kofta curry —
2 onions, finely sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
5-6 green chillies
½ cup oil
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 cup yoghurt, beaten
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns
2-3 cloves
2-3 green cardamoms
2 sticks cinnamon
1½ red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp nutmeg powder
Salt to taste
2½ cups half-boiled rice

Method
For the kofta balls
Mix all the spices and ingredients with the mincemeat and mix well. Now refrigerate the kofta mixture for 30 minutes. Make equal-sized kofta balls. Now pour the balls into a pan and shallow fry the kofta balls until golden brown. Keep the balls aside.
For the kofta curry
Heat oil in a pan. Add onions and fry until brown. Now add whole garam masala and stir. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add all the spices powder, salt and green chillies and mix well. Add tomatoes and mix well until softened. Now add the yoghurt and mix well. Once the oil float on top, add the fried kofta in the curry. Mix well until koftas are well coated in the curry. Add water and let it cook for 5 minutes. Now add the half-boiled rice, sprinkle fried onions, and coriander leaves. Sprinkle some ghee. Cover and let it cook on dum for about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

Karahi Kabab

Ingredients

½ kg beef mince

2 onions, chopped

5-6 green chillies

½ cup fresh coriander

½ cup mint leaves

1 egg

1 tbsp cumin powder

1 tbsp roasted and crushed coriander

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

Salt to taste

For the gravy —

1 chopped onion

2-3 tomatoes, puréed

1 tsp cumin powder

½ tbsp ginger garlic paste

½ tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp garam masala powder

Salt to taste

Method

In a blender, add green chillies, onions, coriander, and mint. Grind them well. Take beef mince in a bowl, add the green chillies mixture to it and mix. Now add egg, crushed and roasted coriander, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, and salt. Mix well until completely combined.

Shape kababs out of this mixture and fry for 3-4 minutes. For the gravy, heat oil in a pan. Add onion, ginger-garlic paste, tomato purée, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, salt, and mix well. Add water to the pan and bring it to a boil. Add fried kababs to this gravy and let it cook for 10-15 minutes. Lastly, add green chillies and simmer for a minute or two. Remove from heat and serve.

Styling: RBR