Agarkar grew up indulging in her nani’s Memuna Neemuchwala’s minced lamb kebabs. Neemuch, a city of Malwa has a rich food heritage. “While making kebabs, Nani spoke about their haveli in Neemuch and Mum carried those tales with her to retell during our growing up days. These stories made the kebabs special!”

Another recipe she inherited from her mother, Abeda Ghadially, is the palak and sweetcorn chicken. “Baked to perfection, this one was a quick recipe that made those long studying nights worthwhile, and the hunger pangs disappeared with an instant smile. It was my exam stress buster, and I almost made it a superstition. My mum came from Neemuch, and my dad from Surat. Both these regions combine the best for any food lover—from pork to malpuvas, from kachoris to Ratlam sev, from pakwans to rotis made in clay pots, mutton nihari to kebabs,” says Fatema, who takes the food legacy of her family ahead with these two dishes.

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Lamb kebabs

INGREDIENTS
400 gm fresh minced lamb
Salt to taste
1 1/2 tsp jeera powder 
2 to 3 tsp chillies 
2 to 3 tsp pudina leaves
2 onions, ground to paste 
2 eggs 
Ginger and garlic are optional
Oil to fry

METHOD 
Marinate the minced meat and beat it thoroughly using a kneading dough wooden spoon. Add salt, chilies, pudina, onion paste, and eggs and mix well. Set aside for at least two hours. Bring the oil in the wok to a boil and add lumps of ball-shaped pieces. Deep fry or shallow fry a round pattice for a healthier option. Serve with green chutney, hot and sour sauce, sliced onions with a lemon squeeze over it for taste and some mint leaves.

Baked sweet corn palak chicken

INGREDIENTS 
400 gm chicken 
1 bunch spinach leaves 
3 green chillies 
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste 
1/2 cream-style corn tin
1 cup grated cheese 

FOR WHITE SAUCE 
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour 
A few green chillies
A pinch of pepper powder
1 cup milk or soup/water when chicken is boiled 
Sliced capsicum, hot and sour sauce and grated cheese to garnish 

METHOD
For the white sauce, melt butter in a pan, add flour and mix. Add milk and stir continuously until it reaches a semi-thick consistency. Marinate the chicken with ginger garlic paste for 30 minutes. Wash the spinach and steam. Add green chillies and blitz. In a pan, boil the spinach paste with ginger garlic paste. In a baking dish, grease butter and add a layer of the spinach paste. Add the marinated chicken and add a layer of sweet corn. Generously drizzle white sauce and grate dollops of cheese.  Garnish with capsicum and hot and sour sauce. Bake at 200 C for 15 minutes. Serve with buttered, toasted garlic bread.