Ramadan Mubarak!

How blessed are we to have gotten another chance to experience the greatness of this month! I pray that the peace and blessings of this month are felt throughout the world <3

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With Ramadan comes an array of fried goodies for iftar (break-fast time)! My family has a no-fried-food rule during the week, but we do indulge during the weekends. These crispy treats, Chicken Tikka Box Patties, are a direct result of inspiration from our trip to Pakistan this past March. The filling is my version of a samosa I had eaten at someone’s house, and the wrap is inspired by a Box Pattie I had tried at a wedding. By the way, I had never heard of Box Patties until this recent trip. In all honesty, it’s just a fancy name for a square samosa 😉

Enjoy!

(I’ll include written instructions on how to fold the Box Patties, however here is a good link with photos for those of us who are visual learners.)

 

 

Chicken Tikka Box Patties

Yield: Varies

Ingredients:

Note: measurements are in actual measuring spoons/cups and not eating utensils.

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons tikka masala (any brand)
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• Green chilies, minced finely, to taste, optional
• Samosa or spring roll wrappers, thawed, as needed
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• Water, as needed
• Oil, as needed, to deep fry

Directions:

Prepare Filling:

Heat oil in a large vessel over medium-high heat. Add chicken, tikka masala, ginger-garlic paste, and black pepper. Stir and cook until the ground chicken is no longer raw and large chunks have broken up, about 10 minutes (if mixture is dry and sticking to the pan, add a few splashes of water). Add water, stir, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook until the water has dried up, stirring as needed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

When completely cooled, add cilantro and green chilies (if using) and mix well. Set aside.

Prepare Flour Slurry:

In a small bowl, mix together all-purpose flour and enough water to create a thick yet spreadable paste. Set aside. This will be the binding paste for the patties.

Assemble Box Patties:

If using square spring roll wrappers, cut into 3 equal strips. Wrap wrappers in a damp paper towel to prevent drying out.

Place one strip vertically, and then another strip horizontally on top of it to create a plus sign. Brush a bit of the flour slurry where the two strips meet, so as to bind them together.

Place a tablespoon of the chicken filling in the center, making sure not to get too close to the edge.

Fold one of the strips over the center. Then in clockwise fashion, fold the remaining strips over the center. On the last strip, brush the slurry on over its entirety and seal the pastry.

Continue assembling the pastries with the remaining filling and set aside. Pastries can be frozen at this point.

Heat a large vessel with oil over medium heat. Add a few box patties at a time and fry until both sides are golden brown, a few minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.