Low Maintenance Iftar Recipes

As I felt the responsibility to help my mom out with iftar this Ramadan, I realised while most aspects of life are complicated, cooking doesn't always have to be. Here are some recipes I gathered from my experimentation, they are easy and (spoiler alert) low maintenance

POTATO FRITTER PANCAKE

If all the ingredients you use are yummy, there is no way you can mess up. Whatever you end up with after the cooking process will contain the same ingredients, and therefore, taste good.

Ingredients: 2 medium potatoes, 1 egg, as much cheese as your heart desires (this is optional but is it really?), 1 tsp each of salt, pepper and dried oregano, 1 tbsp cooking oil.

Peel your potatoes and then grate them. Add salt and pepper. On a medium frying pan, add oil and then the potatoes. Stir and cook the potatoes on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Spread the potato out covering the base of the pan and let it cook till the shape has settled. Whisk the egg and pour it on your pancake. Add shredded cheese. Carefully fold the pancake into half covering the filling. Cook till the bottom is golden brown and serve. Garnish with oregano.

SEEKH KEBABS

The ingredient quantities are given for rough measure. I always eyeball them and don't bother if I don't have one or two at hand (except the meat and kebab spice of course). Always turns out pretty good.

Ingredients: 1 kg whichever meat you prefer, 50g kebab spice mix, 2 tbsp garlic paste, 2 tbsp green papaya paste, 2-3 tbsp ground green chillies, 2 tbsp cooking oil.

Grind up the protein in a food processor briefly so that the result is more chunky than mushy. Mix in the rest of the ingredients and leave it to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour. Coat your palms with oil and scoop out a big ball of the meat mixture and pierce it through the skewer. Spread the meat on the skewer into a cylindrical shape. You can either bake your kebabs in an oven, pan fry them or use a grill if you have one. Periodically turn the skewer while cooking. Serve once the kebabs are slightly charred.

CHOCOLATE MILK UPGRADE

This is a beverage. No need to measure anything. Just taste your drink after adding each ingredient and figure out what to tweak.

Ingredients: 2 cups of milk, 1 (big) spoon of Nutella, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla essence, cream.

Whisk this in a pan over on your stove until it's well mixed and you're done. Let it cool and add ice if you want it cold.

Pro-tip: If you want it to be even lighter and fluffier then let it cool, put it in your blender and blend for about 30 seconds (trust me it's worth it).

The final instruction I'd like to give you is be humble and smile when the sophisticated taste of your food is praised. Do not reveal that they took minimal effort. I've been a good child, and now that you're armed with my knowledge and wisdom, it's your turn.    

Amrin Tasnim Rafa is always confused, it's literally her dominant personality trait. She challenges you to find something she won't think is confusing. Try your luck at amrinrafa@gmail.com