COOKING WITH Aly Zaker

First there were food carts, and then came in a facebook group called 'foodbank' which somehow turned almost every person who ate out into a foodie. But before all that began, there was Aly Zaker who was a foodie before it started trending.

The man doesn't cook much, but does have a few favorites. Aly Zaker likes to cook what he can which is Shahi Tukra and Palong Paneer. Since, he isn't able to eat spinach, he uses kolmi as a substitute, and in turn inventing an entirely new dish called kolmi paneer! So Star Showbiz decided to find out how Aly Zaker prepares his favorite dishes.

Kolmi Paneer – Wash then chop up kolmi, onions, chillies, garlic and ginger. Bring two glasses of water to a boil and add the kolmi, onions and chillies, garlic, ginger and boil for 10-15 minutes, remove from heat and set aside to cool. The next step is heating a mixture of ghee and oil in a wok then adding cumin, bay leaves and tomato paste and sautéing the ingredients for a few minutes. This is followed by adding the cooled vegetables along with salt, turmeric powder, chili powder, ground coriander and all-spice powder. Cook the mixture for five minutes, add cottage cheese and simmer for a minute or two. Add fresh cream on top for garnish.

Shahi Tukra – Start by chopping up almonds and raisins, set them aside for later. In another bowl, mix 1.25 cups of sugar and half a cup of water and set aside for later. Take a few slices of bread, cut the edges off and fry in ghee till golden brown, strain excess ghee and coat with sugar syrup. Place the slices on a serving dish. Add either condensed milk or thick cream and sprinkle chopped up almonds and raisins along with some saffron. Set the dish in the refrigerator to cool.