Dr Khan's Food Journey

03/28/2026

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

I am on the look out for a good cake as you know. I first made this cake in 2016. And then a year later when we took it to Dallas Zoo. It is great with tea or coffee and it is s a NYT Melissa Clark treat.

As a side note: if you don't want to drizzle the syrup on top, increase the sugar in the cake by half a cup or three fourths of a cup.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014800-lemon-poppy-seed-pound-cake

Ingredients:
Zest of 2 lemons
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk (I mix yogurt and cream)
3 tablespoons + 4 teaspoons lemon juice
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Method:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch loaf pan.
2. Combine lemon zest and sugar in a large bowl and rub with your fingers until it looks like wet sand. Whisk in buttermilk, 3 tablespoons lemon juice and eggs.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients, then whisk in oil and poppy seeds.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan until warm to the touch, then turn out onto a baking rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Turn cake right side up.
6. Whisk together remaining 4 teaspoons lemon and the confectioners’ sugar. Use a pastry brush to spread glaze evenly over top and sides of cake. Cool completely before slicing.

03/23/2026

Mango Sago tapioca dessert

I fell in love with bubble tea and tapioca in West Edmonton Mall. I had the best Mango Milk tea there. Nothing matches that wonderful drink. Not in Sydney or Dallas or beyond. Also, in the Chinese store beside it, there was a tapioca dessert with mango pudding. It always looked too complicated to make.

This Ramadan at my cousin's home, I had the most wonderful dessert. It was a revelation. I did not even realize that I had a craving for something like it. Bipu Apu and Masud Bhai assured me it was quite easy to make. Earlier in MD, a friend made our traditional pudding with tapioca. It was so good! That is my next project.

I checked out the ingredients from my cousin and found a similar recipe online:

https://www.thesavorychopstick.com/the-best-mango-sago-tapioca-dessert-recipe-nata-de-coco/

The following is my modified version:

Ingredients
2 cups frozen mango cubes
1 cup Sago - Tapioca Pearls
Plenty of water to boil sago
1 jar Coconut Jelly (Nata de coco)
1 jar sugar palm fruit
1 can coconut milk
1 can condensed Milk
1/4 cup heavy cream (or to taste)

Method
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the
sago pearls. Turn down the heat to medium/ medium high and cook the sago pearls for about 12-14 minutes or until they become almost translucent. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. After 12 or so minutes remove from heat and drain and rinse immediately in cold water.

2. Pour cooked Sago into a large bowl. Add the coconut milk and condensed milk. Stir. Add the mango and the drained and rinsed coconut gel and sugar palm fruit. Stir in some whipping cream. I did not get a chance to leave in the fridge. The frozen mango thickens the amalgam quite quickly.

Enjoy!

12/25/2025

Cake Tatin

I have made this cake so many times, it deserves a post of it's own. My first born was sick for a few days when she was two and I promised her a cake. This is the one I made and called it Mamata's cake. It is a twist on tart tatin. I love the idea as I have granny smith often on hand but do not have puff pastry so much. And as you know I love cakes. I serve with cream.

Ingredients
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the dish

1 1/4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced into 12 pieces

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Confectioners' sugar

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Generously butter a 9-inch glass pie dish and arrange the apples in the dish, cut side down.

3. Combine 1 cup of the granulated sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it turns a warm amber color, about 360 degrees F on a candy thermometer. Swirl the pan but don't stir. Pour evenly over the apple slices.

4. Meanwhile, cream the 6 tablespoons of butter and the remaining 3/4 cup of granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy. Lower the speed and beat in the eggs 1 at a time. Add the sour cream, zest, and vanilla and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and, with the mixer on low speed, add it to the butter mixture. Mix only until combined.

5. Pour the cake batter evenly over the apple slices and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto a flat plate. If an apple slice sticks, ease it out and replace it in the design on top of the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/apple-cake-tatin-recipe-1916306

06/20/2025

Mango Trifle

Inspired by tons of reels on mango desserts on my feed, I crossed over and made a mango trifle (?!). The method was the same as the trifle recipe on my page except that I made a mango jelly with puree made from fresh mangos in abundance in Texas at the moment. The base for recipe of the jelly was the following:

[https://www.mapleandmango.com/mango-jelly/ -recipes-5045-jump-target]

The following is with my modifications

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups mango chunks (approx. 3 medium Altoofo mangoes)
2 cups water, divided
2 1/2 tps gelatin powder, unflavored & grass-fed
2 tablespoons sugar
Squeeze of lemon

Method

1. Puree mango: Place the mango chunks in a blender or food processor with 1 cup water and blend until it becomes a smooth mango puree.

2. Bloom the gelatin: Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Stir to combine and set aside to let the gelatin “bloom” or rehydrate.

3. Simmer mango mixture: In a medium saucepan, combine the mango puree, remaining water and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and gently simmer for 2-3 minutes. Taste and add a squeeze of lemon and more sugar if needed.

Add to the cut up cake and follow trifle recipe. Instead of a pint of raspberries I added chunks of mangoes from one mango and I added some ground pistachios instead of almonds for crunch.

[https://www.facebook.com/share/1CUFxy7uy9/]

04/22/2025

Shrimp (my mother's style)

I have tried all types of ways of cooking shrimp/prawns. I have tried cooking it with ginger-garlic, slow cook, etc., but I have come up with this which values my mother's legacy and I am able to adapt it further to take into account of not overcooking shrimp/prawn.

Ingredients
2 lb large, jumbo, biggest prawns you fine. Peeled and deveined (do not soak in water or wash too many times), drain thoroughly
1 green bell pepper or capsicum, chopped
2 medium onions, finely sliced for fish
1 dried Indian bay leaf, split in two
Ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, red chilli
1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
Good quality cooking oil

Method
In a large spread out pan, karhai or wok heat about 1/3 cup. The heat has to be high. To that add the bay leaf. After a few seconds add the chopped onions. When the onions reach the bereshta, golden brown stage, add the the turmeric and add a 1/4 cup of water so the dry spices do not burn. To that add the ground coriander, cumin, red chilli and salt. When the water reduces and the oil separates out, add the bell pepper. Stir for a a minute or so. Add the shrimp and Kashmiri red chilli powder. Keep cooking on a high heat stiring every few minutes. The shrimp should be done in about 6 to eight minutes after adding it to the spices. Take it off the stove immediately.

02/09/2025

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

I have not been posting on this page for a while because of all the different events around the world. It is not as though we do not cook, or we do not eat or indulge in delicacies. And you know that I use this page to save my favorite recipes as well as add my own to share with all. On my son's birthday last year, I made cheesecake brownies which everyone loved. But because I had not saved that recipe anywhere I could not find it. Today I made this and it was enjoyed by all. Thank you Sally McKenney!

Of course I had a few modifications:
1. I used strawberry extract instead of vanilla.
2. I added whipped cream and used a whole egg for the cheesecake mixture.
3. I also added parchment paper to the bottom of the baking pan.
4. After baking I let cool partially on the countertop and covered and later put in the fridge to cool completely. The next day brought the cake to room temperature and cut into pieces.

They are too good to be stored, they will be eaten up in no time!

[https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/red-velvet-cheesecake-swirl-brownies/ -recipes-76574]

Ingredients

Red Velvet Brownies
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp strawberry extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp red food color
3/4 teaspoon white vinegar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)

Cheesecake Swirl
8 ounces full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp strawberry extract

Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Make the brownie layer first: In a small bowl, beat the 2 eggs together. Set aside. Melt the butter in a large microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments until melted. Stir in 1 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons straberry extract, cocoa powder, salt, food coloring, and vinegar. Mix each of those ingredients into the batter in that order. Whisk in the eggs, then fold in the flour until completely incorporated. Do not overmix. Pour the brownie batter into prepared baking pan, leaving about 3-4 Tablespoons for the top.

Make the cheesecake swirl: With a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat the softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, egg, 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream and 1/2 teaspoon extract in a medium bowl until completely smooth—about 1 minute. Dollop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture on top of the prepared brownie batter. Cover with the last few Tablespoons of brownie batter. Glide a knife through the top layers to make swirls.

Bake the brownies for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting into squares.

An easy homemade recipe for red velvet brownies swirled with a thick layer of cheesecake.

11/27/2023

Dim er haluwa (Egg Halwa)

Most Bangladeshi families have a story about this particular halwa. It is easy to make with readily available ingredients. The problem though is to make it consistently great. Quite a few in my greater family specializes in it. Some good and some so not tasty that you wonder why anyone would enjoy such a dish! My mother made it rarely. I was never a fan. However, I am sharing this particular recipe due to a discovery I made. One key ingredient lifts this dish and makes it really good. It has two purposes. One, it gives it more body without having to use more eggs. Two, it saves from having dry eggy halwa -- which is an irony as this is an egg halwa. This ingredient is cottage cheese.

I made this recently because my daughter mentioned that she has never had it. And I admit I had made it more in Sydney when I had more impromptu guests and have not made it in years!

Ingredients
6 eggs, always good quality, pasture-raised
3 green cardamoms
1 cup sugar, more to add in the end
1/2 cup cottage cheese
3/4 cup butter, chopped
Some ghee to add at the very end

Method
Grind the cardamoms in a grinder. Use a blender to blend the sugar and eggs. Add the ground cardamoms.

To a heavy-based flat pan, karhai or wok, add half of the butter. Turn on the pan to medium hot. Add the egg mix and the cottage cheese and stir. Keep stirring. It will seem as though it is taking a long while before it comes together but you need to be patient. Keep stirring until it starts bubbling, at this point add more butter a little at a time. At some point the mixture will appear granular but watery at the same time. You need to dry out the excess moisture. Keep adding butter and continue to stir. Check sugar, you may need more, add a few more tablespoons as needed.

When the extra liquid is dried up and the egg has attained a halwa texture, add a little more than half a teaspoon of ghee. Stir for a minute or two and take it off the stove.

Serve warm. If it cools you may need to heat in microwave before serving.

Enjoy!

11/05/2022

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies

Made this for a baking challenge. Pretty fool-proof and moreish.

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a55742/pumpkin-spice-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/

03/08/2022

Macha Cake

My daughter made a great cake to celebrate my husband's student and his family yesterday. It was sublime and I loved the cream cheese frosting. I use this page to primary save the good recipes as several months or years down the line I forget what we made. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a26278840/matcha-cake-recipe/]

INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CAKE
Cooking spray
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 c. granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. food-grade matcha powder
2 tbsp. water

FOR THE FROSTING
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
2/3 c. granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
2 c. cold heavy cream

FOR GARNISH
2 tbsp. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. food-grade matcha powder

DIRECTIONS
1. Make cake: Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 8" cake pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

2. Separate egg yolks and egg whites. Add egg yolks to bowl with butter and sugar and beat until combined.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and matcha powder. Slowly fold flour mixture into bowl with butter and sugar until completely combined, adding 2 tablespoons water too loosen, if necessary.

4. In another medium bowl using a hand mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into batter, then fold remaining egg whites into batter.
Divide mixture between prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 17 to 19 minutes. Let cool completely.

5. Meanwhile, make frosting: In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, and salt until completely combined. Slowly add heavy cream and beat until medium peaks form, 5 minutes.

6. To assemble: Place first cake on serving tray and top with half of the frosting. Place second cake on top and spread remaining frosting all over.

7. In a small bowl, whisk together matcha and powdered sugar. Use a sieve to dust this over top of cake.
---------------------
PS. The batter was quite dense. So some modifications are:

1 cup of flour minus 2 tbs of the flour. Also instead of 2 tsp of cornstarch for 2 Tbs of cornstarch. Sifitng the flour cornstarch mixture several times and sifting matcha, baking powder and flour mixture together. Also adding 4 tbsp of water instead of 2 tbsp and 3 Tbs of matcha powder for a stronger matcha flavor.

or just simply adding 3/4 cup of water.
----------------------------

03/01/2022

Chicken Liver Bhorta

This post is for the new members of this page. When I was visiting Dhaka in 2001, my Aunt-in-Law served a really interesting dish, kolijar bhorta. Now bhorta is a fantastic dish in itself but this one is extra special because you can serve it at parties and is a great hit. The way she cooked the liver was toasted it on a tawa with some oil, both sides until fully cooked. I have found an easier way to deal with it. I heat up so e oil. When it's really hot I add the liver and cover. The oil gas to be really hot to work. You want to cook the liver quite fast so as not to dry it out. It is like deep fry. I cover so it does not splatter. Hope you get to try it out and it is a great hit at your next dawat.

Ingredients
300 g chicken liver, washed and drained
1/2 red onion, finely sliced for bhorta
3-4 (or to taste) green chillies, finely chopped
Coriander or cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Sea salt
Lots of mustard oil

Method
1 In a small pan, heat a cup or so of oil. This does not need to be mustard oil. When very hot, add the liver and cover. After 2 or so minutes, stir and then cover again to cook for another 2 minutes.ify lid to see if done, if not you may need to cook for up to another 3-4 minutes. It really depends on how hot your oil is and how dry the liver was. When it appears cooked, drain the oil using a strainer. Use when a little cool.

2. When completely drained, mash it with your hand or fork. It does not need to be hot for this stage. In a separate bowl, mash the onions, chilli, cilantro with some salt and oil. You need quite a lot of oil to make the liver soft and smooth. When mashed, mix it well with the liver. Mash everything together to desired consistency. Check for salt and chilli. It should be spicy but not too much.

Enjoy!

02/04/2022

Goat paya

We had our once a year ice/snow event. And I felt a warm soup would go very well with the season. A good call since today was national home made soup day!

So I got some goat paya and thought I would use the same recipe as I had for the beef paya I posted on this page last year. There are a few things I learnt. First it is really hard to make goat paya tasty compared to beef paya. Secondly, if you don't want to add a thickening agent you have to cook the paya in steps of at least three times ideally for three days. Third, you have to get rid of the extra goat smell of paya, bring the trotters to a boil in just water and then make your paya stock or perhaps smoking the trotters in open flame will work to get rid of the smell? I added the former for reference.

Those who know me know I love traditional recipes. However, what I was looking for was somewhere between a soup is and paya. But didn't want to spend too much time on it. So after studying a few recipes and tips from friends, this is my take.

Cleaning trotters
To clean the trotters toss them with 1/4 cup wheat flour. Leave it for 5 minutes and then scrub the trotters with the flour until the trotters are clean of any hair remaining on them. Rinse thoroughly with water and set aside.
Boil the trotters in 2 cups of water for around 5 to 7 minutes until a layer of foamy dirt emerges on top. Discard the water and rinse clean the trotters.

[https://flavoredbyfatima.com/2020/09/30/mutton-paya-mutton-trotters/]

Ingredients
3 lb goat paya

For stock
6-7 cloves of garlic, cut in half
2-3 large chunks of ginger, cut in large cubes
1 tbsp whole black peppers
2 green chillies split
Sea salt

Paya stage
2 medium onions
3-4 cloves garlic
2 chunks of ginger
2 tbsp ghee
3-4 tsp of Khadiza's kitchen nihari powder [https://khadizaskitchen.com/2014/06/13/nihari-masala-powder/]
Dried tamarind, soaked and juice extracted
Extra kashmiri ground chilli and red ground chilli
Sea salt

1. Bring the ingredients with the trotters to boil in medium heat after adding about 3 liters of water. Keep cooking for 3 or so hours. Turn off and cool. And cook again for another few hours. Add water every hour or so.

2. Drain all the stock. Separate the paya/the trotters and the cartilage that comes with it.

3. Add some oil and ghee and add the onions. Fry till bereshta stage, add the garlic and onions. Extricate the fried contents leaving the oil and ghee in the pan and grind in a food processor or grinder. You may need to add some stock and water to get a smooth texture.

4. Add the ground contents back in the ghee/oil. Add the nihari masala and chilli. Add the tick back slowly and add the trotters put aside. Keep cooking. Add the tamarind juice. Check salt and chilli seasoning to your taste. Cook for another hour or two. Serve when done.

References

https://www.facebook.com/358333007684310/posts/1496496777201255/

https://khadizaskitchen.com/2014/06/19/paya-nihari/

01/28/2022

Chinese Stir-fry with meatballs

I want to start by welcoming you all who are new to this page. There is nothing special about my cooking except that I love sharing my different experiments and my favorite recipes. And often after I make them.

I have not been well over the past few days. And so I wanted to cook something healthy yet tasty for the kids. I used frozen broccoli here, but you can use your favorite vegetables or leave them out completely. If you use fresh vegetables, you must steam the vegetables first.

I had some leftover chicken mince. I was experimenting using a recipe that I use for whole chicken. You can use any pre-prepared meatballs or any ground/mince meat mix you like. Chicken would work better.

For Asian cooking, I take a lot of inspiration from Ken Hom and Marion Grasby. You will find influences from there. I have put up pictures of the bottles of the sauces I use if it helps.

Ingredients
1 lb chicken mince marinated with materials from https://www.facebook.com/358333007684310/posts/723184747865799/
1 1/2 large onion peeled and cut into large pieces
2 green chillies, split in half, lengthwise
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A large chunk of fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 cups frozen broccoli
2 tbsp cornstarch
Dark soy sauce
Light soy sauce
Fish sauce
1 tsp Shrimp paste
Hot sauce
Rice vinegar

Method
1. In a flat tray, line with foil and grease with oil. Make little balls from mince mix (or little "muthas" মুঠাs) about an inch and little more in diameter. Space them out. Broil (or grill) in a pre-heated broiler on high. If you don't have broiler or grill, you can light fry in shallow oil. Cook for 3 mins on each side. Put aside when done.

2. Heat some oil in a large wok or heavy based pan or karhai on high. Add the ginger, garlic and green chilli. Add a little salt. When the garlic/ginger is a little translucent, add the onions and shrimp paste. Keep cooking, stirring often. You may need to reduce the heat a little so as to not burn them. Now add a splash from each of the sauces and vinegar. Cook on high. The taste you are looking for is tangy-savory.

3. Add the frozen broccoli. Stir and cook for about 3 mins on high. Add the meatballs and stir. In a separate bowl, add half a cup of water and two tablespoons of cornstarch or cornflour until dissolved. Gently add that to the wok. Stir. Reduce to desired thickness. Take off heat immediately when done.

Enjoy!