Channa chaat

Channa chaat is a popular Asian street food very similar to a potato salad, but with the additions of chickpeas, spices and condiments. It is often served as a starter to accompany a main meal and is traditionally made during Ramadan or on Eid. 

A slightly more upgraded version is samosa chat which basically involves piping hot samosas topped with the channa chaat. The combination of cooling yogurt colliding with crispy filled samosa is a real treat for your tastebuds 

To easily serve 4-6 people you will need

4 large potatoes 

2 tins of chick peas ( drained )
1 medium red onion
2 medium size tomatoes
1 level tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 level tsp of chilli flakes
2 small green chillies
Squeeze lemon juice
2 tbsp chaat masala
1/2 a cucumber
6 tbsp imli ( i buy the ready made type in the squeezy bottles )
Chopped coriander

2 1/2 500g tubs of yogurt

Cayenne pepper paprika - to garnish

• Start by chopping the potatoes into meduim size chunks & par boil them. Drain and let them cool

• Chop the red onion finely, then cut the cucumber and tomato into small chunks. Place them all in a bowl along with the chick peas.

• Finely chop the green chilli, add to the bowl along with the cumin, salt, lemon juice, imli, chaat masala and small handful of chopped coriander. Mix everything together until combined well.

• Add in the cooled potato chunks and give it one final stir.
Put the chick pea & potato masala into a serving dish, spreading out evenly.

• Add a splash of milk to the yogurt to loosen it slightly, mix togther till smooth & pour the yougurt over the chaat ensuring all top is evenly covered, sprinkle with a mix of cayenne pepper and paprika,

• Drizzle over a little more imli and finish with a little bit of chopped coriander. Refrigerate until ready to serve

• For samosa chaat, you can either pour the channa chaat over freshly made samosas then finish off with the yogurt and garnishes or make up the chaat fully, then let your guests pour the made up chaat onto the their samosa portion themselves

Crispy basa with roasted vegetables & chilli yogurt

This recipe is a combination of wanting something for dinner that's quick, isn't anything curry like as you've had nothing but curry for almost a whole week, but also something that's got a punch flavour wise and isn't heavy and stodgy and likely to make you feel bloated.

Delicious basa fillets , with roasted veg spiked with cumin, coriander & finished off with a chilli yogurt .. all in 30 minutes

For 2 people you will need:

80g natural yogurt
1 tablespoon siracha chilli sauce
Handful chopped coriander
1 medium small potato
1 red pepper
2 spring onions
1 large aubergine
4 fillets bassa ( about 100g each in weight)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

• Start by preheating your oven to 200c / 180c ( fan ). Chop the potato aubergine & pepper into small  chunks

• Put the veg into a baking tray, drizzle     with olive oil, add the cumin seeds & season with some salt & pepper, place in the oven for about 20-30 minutes ensuring everything is cooked through.

• While the veg is roasting, trim the spring onions, and chop up along with the coriander & set aside

• In a plate, mix the plain flour along with  the smoked paprika, half a tsp of chilli flakes, a good pinch of salt and mix it all together.
Carefully dip each fillet into the seasoned flour ensuring each fillet is coated all over

• In a large non stick pan, drizzle with olive oil & cook the fillets on a medium heat for 2 minutes on each side or until it crisps up lightly all over

• Whilst the fish is frying, mix together the yogurt and siracha sauce and a 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

• Mix the chopped spring onion & coriander with your cooked veg, serve the fish ontop of the veg & finish off with the yogurt drizzled on top

Chicken Khawse

This is one of those recipes where Ive only had the dish twice at the most but it's one that I love as it's a curry that's got depth with spices without being too hot as well as being light and refreshing with the addition of coconut milk and yogurt. 

I failed in my efforts searching Pinterest and Google to find the actual recipe since i couldn't remember what it was called, and thanks good old Facebook a friend knew what i was looking for an came to my rescue. 

This is a perfect dish for this time of year, when it's dark gloomy and freezing cold - a proper winter warmer of a dish.

To serve 4- 6 people you will need:
2 medium onions
3 chicken breasts (thinly sliced) 
2 x 500g tub natural yogurt
200ml tin coconut milk 
250ml chicken stock
2tbsp gram flour 
2-3 tsp ginger paste
2-3 tsp garlic paste
2 green birds eye chillies 
2 red bullet chillies (de seeded )
1 1/2 tsp salt 
1 tsp garam masala 
1 bay leaf
1-2 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds*
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 teaspoons curry powder 
2-3 spring onions finely chopped 
fresh coriander chopped 
crisped fried onions
fresh finely sliced ginger 
200g egg noodles 
juice of a whole lime 
1-2 limes cut into quarters

• Start by heating a little oil in a heavy based based pan, add in the onions finely sliced, and cook till the onions soften and just start to colour. Add in the garlic ginger salt and the 2 green birdseye chillies. Continue to cook on a medium heat until the chillies have slightly softened and the onions have gotten slightly golden brown.
• Add in the chicken and continue to cook till the chicken just starts to colour, add in the curry powder, garam masala, bay and kaffir lime leaves and cumin seeds. Cook through until the chicken is almost completely cooked, then remove from the pan and set aside.
• In a bowl mix the gram flour with 2 tablespoons of the yogurt to make a smooth paste, then add in the remaining yogurt, then the chicken stock and coconut milk. Stir it altogether till its all combined and there are no lumps
• On a high heat, add the milk to the pan, continuously stirring till it reaches boiling point.* Reduce the heat, add the chicken to the pan along with the soy sauce. Leave to simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes
• Add in the noodles and stir through. At this point i like to taste test to see if it needs more of either yogurt or coconut milk or wether it needs to simmer for longer. If it gets too thick for your liking, all you need to do is add a little fresh boiled water till its at the consistency you like.
• Add the coriander and red bullet chilli just before serving, and as an extra serve the crisped fried onions, fresh ginger slices**, spring onions and lime wedges separatley and your guests can help themselves.

*stirring the milk until boiling point prevents the yogurt from splitting and ending up from looking like curds/ cottage cheese. I tend to stir in circular clockwise motions at a slow speed so i can see the bubbles form as it comes to boil

** for the ginger i use a vegetable peeler to get really thin slithers and that way it's perfect to bite straight into and gives a really nice kick

Cumin rice

This is a quick way of adding a tasty twist to boiled rice. It's great for when you want rice, but plain just won't cut it, and may not have all the essentials for traditional Pilau. The simplicity of this recipe is what I think actually makes it so moreish 

It goes great with most daal dishes as lentils and cumin are just a beautiful combination, or even just a drizzle of natural yogurt !

This will easily serve 4-6 people and you may even have enough for the next day :

4 cups of rice

2 tablespoons cumin

1 large onion

1 tbsp salt

7 cups water

125g butter

1 fl oz vegetable / olive oil

• Melt the butter in a heavy based pan, and add in the oil. Finely slice the onion and add to the pan. Fry the onions on a high heat till the are dark brown in colour. You will need to keep stirring to stop the onions from catching at the bottom of the pan.
• When the onions have browned, add in the cumin, and slightly lower the heat, stir the cumin with the onions for a couple of minutes. The cumin should brown and their aroma should come through
• Pour the water into the pan & bring back to a high heat. When the water reaches boiling point, add in the rice & salt.
• Boil the rice until the water has almost completely been absorbed. Remember to keep a close eye as the rice will can stick and burn at this point
• Lower the heat completley under the pan, place the lid on the pan* and leave for about 10-15 minutes on the low heat
• Fluff the rice through with a fork and serve

*cover the lid with a tea towel first as this helps absorb the excess moisture in the rice and gives them their fluffiness

Mango Lassi

I've made it very well known that I'm no fan of cold weather, so with the last few days of stunning weather, I've been a very happy bunny. Hot weather doesn't just mean a happy Foody Mama, it also means it's the perfect time to indulge in copious amounts of mango lassi; Let's be honest drinking lassi on a cold wet miserable day just doesn't go does it ?

For those of you that may not be familiar, lassi is the Asian take on the British smoothie. In Asian cuisine, there are a few variants, from the salted *pulls face at thought* version to fruit based ones  .. Fruit sounds more like it .. I hear you !


So I thought since it's made a rather regular appearance in our fridge over the last few days, it just had to be blogged about

This recipe will easily give you 5-6 rather generous servings and will need an electric whisk or liquidizer jug :

1x 454g tub natural yogurt
1 x 850g tin mango puree
250 ml cold water
6 tbsp sugar

• place all the ingredients into your liquidizer or in a large jug if using an electric whisk
• whisk/ blend till all the ingredients have combined together, leave to chill in the fridge
• serve in tall sundae style glasses 

That is really all there is to it. For a bit of a twist, you can always add in a few chunks of mango for a bit of texture and dive in with a spoon. For a slightly naughtier version, top up with squirty cream ! If like me you've got a weak spot for strawberries, swap the mango puree for a punnet of strawberries and wizz up in the exact same way.

I'll leave you with a rather brilliant advert for mango lassi by HSBC ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVdC9vY55Og

Saffron Chicken

In my last post Sweet Chilli Chicken Noodles I mentioned about chicken making regular appearances at our table and having to find different ways to cook with it. This a is one of those recipes that is just that. I like to serve it as a starter for guests but if we're having it for our main meal it's great with salad on the side or with a bit of my cheat's pilau

For this recipe I've used a whole leg piece per person, as chicken on the bone really does give you more flavour, but if you prefer you can use chicken breast - one per person is more than enough. To serve 4 people you will need :

         large pinch of saffron 

         50ml/2fl oz boiling water

         4 chicken legs / chicken breasts

         1 green chilli (chopped)

         1/2 tsp coriander seeds

         1 bay leaf

         1 inch piece cinnamon stick

         1 tsp smoked paprika

         2 tsp mustard seeds

         250ml of greek style yogurt

         2 tbsp flaked almonds 

• Start by combining the saffron & water in a bowl and leave to soak. Next make  a few small cuts with a knife in the chicken (this helps the chicken cook through )  then in a large frying pan, heat a little oil, add your salt and green chillies and stir on a medium heat till the chillies have slightly softened.
• Add your chicken and brown on both sides - you can do the pieces in batches rather than all in one go.
• Once the chicken has browned, remove from the pan and put aside. In the same frying pan on a low heat add the coriander seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon & paprika. Stir for a couple of minutes.
• Add the mustard seeds to the pan, when they start to pop, put the chicken pieces back in, add the yogurt & saffron water, (and the strands) stir through and cover. Leave to simmer on a low heat for about 40 - 50 minutes 
• toast the almond flakes by putting them in a small frying pan and stirring on a low heat for no more than 2 minutes - keep your eye on them as they catch easily ! Garnish the chicken with the almond flakes & serve 

** if you'd like the sauce slightly thicker simmer for an extra 15/20 minutes