Recipes By Zaynab Issa
15 recipes found
Chile Egg Salad Sandwiches With Yogurt
This egg salad sandwich reimagines Turkish çilbir, a breakfast dish made with poached eggs, garlicky yogurt, and smoky, chile-infused melted butter — a dish that’s rich and very flavorful despite the modest ingredient list. Here, those bold flavors appear in the tangy, yogurt-based dressing that coats jammy boiled eggs. The combination of creamy yogurt and slightly runny yolks creates a rich egg salad that doesn’t need mayo. If you don’t have a microwave, blanch the garlic cloves in boiling water with the eggs for 30 seconds before finely grating them and combining with the chile flakes and oil.
No-Bake Lime and Speculoos Cake
The caramel-y, gently spiced flavor and crisp texture of Biscoff speculoos cookies make them a great choice for icebox cakes. As the cookies chill in the refrigerator between layers of lime cream, they meld and soften, resulting in a sliceable dessert reminiscent of a frosted cake. The whipped cream layer includes cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk to sweeten and stabilize the cream, while lime zest and juice add a bright, citrusy contrast.
Sweet and Salty Frozen Grapes
This snack draws on the South Asian and Mexican culinary traditions of serving ice-cold fruit seasoned with spices and salt. Here, grapes get tossed in a punchy combination of lemon juice, lemon zest, chile flakes, sugar and salt, then frozen solid for a refreshing treat. The lemon zest is optional, but the flecks add a bright, citrusy note.
Iced Matcha Latte
Matcha is a finely ground, powdered form of green tea with a distinctly grassy, umami flavor. In traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, high-quality, “ceremonial-grade” matcha powder is prepared with water only. The matcha latte, and its cousin, the iced matcha latte, are both made with milk (and often sweeteners) in a modern adaptation popular in the West. For a hot latte variation, see Tip.
Cumin Beef and Green Bean Stir-Fry
Borrowing from both Hunan and Indo-Chinese cuisine, this speedy stir-fry features a generous amount of crushed cumin seeds for their aroma and earthy flavor. While ketchup is commonly used in Indo-Chinese cooking to provide tangy sweetness, sriracha does double duty, delivering a spicy kick without needing to reach for the chile powder. Green beans are ideal here for their mild sweetness and crunchy texture, but any quick-cooking vegetable will work in their place.
Lemon Turmeric Chicken Salad
Afghan murgh kebab (chicken kebab) and white sauce is a classic combination — the tangy, earthy sauce complements the turmeric-stained grilled chicken. Here, the two inspire a creamy, lemony chicken salad. Traditionally, Afghan white sauce is made with mayonnaise, milk, dried dill, vinegar and often MSG. A bit of Greek yogurt balances the richness of the mayo while maintaining a texture sturdy enough for a pita pocket. Fresh dill, sugar, salt and vinegar pay homage to the original seasonings, while the lemon zest, turmeric and garlic draw from the traditional murgh kebab marinade.
Curried Red Bean Soup With Kale
This riff on classic Italian minestrone draws inspiration from rajma and maharage nu shaak, two red kidney bean curries with spiced, aromatic gravies, typically made with tomatoes (rajma is Hindi for kidney beans, and maharage is Swahili for beans). This version offers a perfect use case for black mustard seeds, which bloom in the oil to add a sharp, earthy flavor before the onions and garlic are added. This, along with a few other warming spices, helps create an aromatic tomato base for the kidney beans, pasta and greens. Using whole peeled tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) is key to achieving a brothy soup that still has body, but crushed tomatoes will work in a pinch.
Sheet-Pan Malai Chicken and Potatoes
Inspired by traditional South Asian malai chicken, a warmly spiced, yogurt-marinated dish that’s usually tandoor-grilled or served as a creamy curry, this sheet-pan meal comes together in under an hour. Here, the cream, or malai, is added just before serving, combining with lemon juice and water to create a silky, tangy sauce. The yogurt marinade acts as a powerful tenderizer for the chicken, so even a quick rest will enhance the flavors (if you have time for an overnight marinade, all the better). For this version, a sheet pan is used to maximize surface area and help the potatoes brown, but a cast-iron skillet also works.
Lemony Turmeric Potato Soup
This humble, bright yellow soup hails from Stone Town, Zanzibar, and is a popular street food known as Zanzibari Mix or Urojo. It’s affordable, filling, and reflective of the island's cross-cultural history. Traditionally served with various accompaniments like lentil fritters, cassava chips, chutneys, and sometimes hard-boiled eggs for protein, this dish has become synonymous with the island. This version features a classic interpretation of the simple soup base but relies on ultra-crispy, spicy jalapeno-flavored kettle-cooked potato chips for the crunch and heat usually provided by the toppings. Don’t be fooled by the modest ingredient list; this soup packs a punch.
Curried Coconut and Red Lentil Soup
In this quick-cooking and restorative soup, the key to building flavor fast is curry powder. While the spice blends vary from brand to brand, most include at least coriander, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek and black pepper. Madras curry powder, used here, is a spicier variant featuring chile powder. In the time it takes for the vegetables and aromatics to soften, the red lentils cook through, creating a creamy, velvety texture when the soup is blended. The optional addition of coconut water reinforces the flavor of the coconut milk and balances the aromatic savoriness with a hint of sweetness. The extra hydration this soup provides is especially welcome during Ramadan.
Chicken Jalfrezi
Originally created as a way to add flavor to roasted meats, chicken jalfrezi is a tangy, spicy stir-fried curry with origins in Bengal. “Jalfrezi” translates to "hot fry," and the dish typically features meat coated in a thick tomato-based gravy — a defining characteristic of the Anglo-Indian version that became popular through British curry houses in the mid-20th century. This recipe uses both Kashmiri chile powder and fresh serrano chiles to deliver its signature spicy kick.
Salted Lassi
Lassi, a refreshing yogurt-based drink from the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, is often consumed in hot weather as a cooling, hydrating beverage that promotes healthy digestion. Variations abound, but this simple salted version remains beloved. Some salted lassi include kala namak (black salt), which has a more pronounced sulfuric flavor, but standard salt and sea salt are often used as well. Other popular seasonings are cumin seeds (used here) and chaat masala. Using South Asian dahi (yogurt) is ideal for achieving the drink’s classic tart, creaminess. Avoid using Greek yogurt or skyr in its place, as they can be too thick, but if you can’t find dahi, plain whole-milk yogurt will work well.
Chocolate Crepes
These cocoa-infused crepes are delicious rolled up and eaten as-is, but for a more celebratory dessert, dress them up with your choice of chocolate-hazelnut spread, whipped cream, powdered sugar and berries. Making crepes isn’t complicated, but it does require a bit of patience. Letting the batter rest for the full 15 minutes (or up to overnight) allows the flour and cocoa powder to hydrate, which contributes to a tender and slightly bouncy texture when cooked. To minimize frustration while cooking, use a good nonstick skillet and avoid cooking the crepes too hot and fast—medium heat is ideal.
Strawberry Lassi
Strawberry lassi is a popular variation of lassi, the yogurt-based blended beverage with origins in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. This refreshing drink is made with frozen strawberries instead of ice to add flavor while keeping it cool. Sugar is the traditional sweetener in lassi, but the maple syrup here adds a subtle earthiness and dissolves quickly while blending. South Asian dahi (yogurt) is ideal for achieving the drink’s characteristic tart creaminess, but plain whole-milk yogurt will also work well. (Greek yogurt and skyr can be too thick for lassi.)
Smashed Beef Kebab With Cucumber Yogurt
This quick skillet dinner of spiced, seared ground beef over cooling yogurt combines elements of two Persian classics: kebab koobideh (grilled kebabs) and mast-o-khiar (cucumber yogurt). The creamy yogurt base keeps close to the original, while the ground beef is hard-seared on one side like a scallop for a crisp texture. Walnuts and raisins, traditionally toppings for mast-o-khiar, get toasted in the beef fat, adding crunch and sweetness to balance the savory meat and tangy yogurt.