How excited are we to have stumbled upon Kamaal Ka Khana in Durban North, offering authentic Gujarati cuisine that embraces nuances from various states of India.
With its name meaning ‘Marvelous Cuisine’ Kamaal Ka Khana, is the brain child of two local siblings, one of whom was, and still is, a fussy foodie, while the other was gifted with a raging sweet tooth – especially partial to all things chocolate. Could there be a better pair to helm a cuisine boutique?!!!
For years they’ve uploaded photos of a variety of items they’ve prepared onto social media. Who doesn’t, right? They never in their wildest dreams did they anticipate being approached to put together an authentic Gujarati spread for a birthday dinner, followed by an onslaught of interest and demand for their mouth-watering meals.
Realising there was undoubtedly a need in the market for one of their (and our) favourite cuisines, the duo founded Kamaal Ka Khana and embarked on a journey to offer not only cuisine hailing from vibrant Gujarat, but also delicious food embracing flavours and dishes from various diverse states of India.
As the months rolled on, they expanded their product range to include meat dishes and mouth-watering curries like Kebab Karahi, Chicken Korma and Murgh Makhani, as well as yummy decadent treats like Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies and Luxurious Chocolate Eclairs to name a few.
Since only the freshest, top quality ingredients are used in every meal, a four to five day lead time is needed for orders, but it’s certainly worth the wait, as a delicious taste experience awaits when it comes to anything you order from their menu.
Details:079 688 7573
To tease your tastebuds, they’ve shared two delicious recipes… for kebabs and double chocolate fudge brownies!!!
Kebabs
Ingredients
Beef/ Mutton Mince: 500g
Onion: 1 finely chopped
Green Chillies: 4 to 5 depending on your taste
Ginger Root: 1 ½ ” piece
Garlic 2 to 3 cloves
Fresh Coriander Leaves: 1 cup
Gram Flour: 2 to 3 tbs (used to bind kebabs, adjust if necessary)
Dry Fenugreek leaves (Kasuri Methi): 1.5 tsp
Cumin seeds crushed, or Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder: ½ tsp depending on your taste
Turmeric Powder: ½ tsp
Coriander Powder: 1tsp
Homemade Garam Masala Powder: ½ tsp
Salt according to your taste
Method
In a blender pulse together chopped onion, green chillies, ginger root, garlic clove and coriander. Add to mince. All all spices, gram flour, garam masala and salt. Mix well and allow to marinate overnight. The following day, divide mince into oval or round kebabs, and shallow fry in a pan.
Gravy
Ingredients
Onion: 1 finely chopped
Salt: half tsp or as per taste
Ginger Garlic Paste: 1tbs
Full Cream Yogurt: 7 to 8 tbs
Red Chilli Powder: 1tsp
Red Chilli Flakes: 1tsp
Turmeric Powder: ½ tsp
Cumin Powder: 1 tsp
Coriander Powder: 1 tsp
Crushed Black Pepper: 1tsp
Crushed Ginger: ½ to 1 tsp
Green Chillies: 4 to 5 /as per taste
Tomato Puree: 1 can (can be adjusted)
Canola Oil
Method
In a Karahi or deep pot preheat oil on medium temperature, saute onion for 2 to 3 minutes / till translucent. You can add ½ tsp salt to quicken the process. Add ginger garlic paste, saute for a minute or 2. Add tomato puree and all spices. Cook well for 4 to 5 minutes till the oil separates. Reduce temperature, add yogurt, crushed ginger, salt & green chillies. Cook on medium temperature for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep stirring. Gently add kebabs in the gravy. Cover with lid. Allow kebab to cook slowly. Stir frequently, but gently, do not break the kebabs. Add water as per desired amount of gravy. Replace lid. When starts boiling cook on simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve.
Homemade Garam Masala
Dry roast a handful of: bay leaves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, Kashmiri chilli powder, black pepper corns and cloves until fragrant.
Cool, then crush using a grinder or mortar and pestle. Sieve if necessary.
Double Chocolate Fudge Brownies
Ingredients
284 (1 ¼ cups) grams unsalted butter, plus more, softened for greasing
228 grams good quality semisweet or dark chocolate (60-70% cacao), roughly chopped
¾ cup unsweetened good quality cocoa powder, divided
1 tablespoon espresso powder
2 cups castor sugar
½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract/essence
2 teaspoons kosher salt
6 large eggs
1 cup cake flour
Handful of chopped walnuts (Optional)
¼ Chocolate chips (Optional)
Method
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 180 Degrees. Grease a 28cm square baking pan with softened butter, then line with baking paper, leaving excess paper hanging on all sides (to remove from the pan easily once brownies are baked). Grease the baking paper.
Combine the chopped chocolate, ¼ cup of the cocoa powder, and espresso powder in a heatproof liquid measuring cup or medium bowl and set aside.
Add butter to a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until the butter just comes to a vigorous simmer, about 5 minutes, swirling the pan occasionally. Immediately pour the hot butter over the chocolate mixture and let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until the chocolate is completely smooth and melted, then set aside.
Combine the castor sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract/essence, salt, and eggs in a large bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. It will be similar to the texture of a very thick pancake batter.
With the mixer still on, pour in the slightly cooled chocolate & butter mixture and blend until smooth.
Sift in the flour and remaining ½ cup of cocoa powder and use a rubber spatula to gently fold until just combined. If you are adding walnuts, fold them in now. For Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies, you may add the ¼ cup of chocolate chips if you have opted for them.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until lightly puffed on top, about 20 minutes. Remove the baking pan from the oven, then lightly drop the pan on a flat surface 1-2 times until the brownies deflate slightly.
Return the pan to the oven and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the brownies comes out fudgy but the edges look cooked through, about 20 minutes more. The center of the brownies will seem under-baked, but the brownies will continue to set as they cool.
Set the brownies on a cooling rack and cool completely in the pan. Use the baking paper to lift the cooled brownies out of the pan. Cut into 16 pieces and serve.
Enjoy with ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream!
