My Dobsters mint Tea

I am definitely one that loves a good cup of tea at the end of a long hectic day, but drinking caffeine fuelled drinks in the evening isn't the way to go for a good nights sleep and there's not many herbal teas out there that i like either.  
So I made a few attempts at making fresh mint tea and couldn't quite get it right. Now my niece makes a mean cup of tea - Hence the title My Dobster's Mint tea- Dobster being my chosen term of endearment to call her by- so i got her to show me her version & this recipe is based on that with a tiny little twist 



For Dobster's Mint tea - with a twist you will need :

3 - 3 1/2 pints of water 
large bunch of fresh mint
4 inch piece cinnamon stick broken into pieces 
8-10 whole green cardamom pods cracked open
2 x pukka peppermint & liquorice teabags*
handful of mint leaves for garnishing
honey to sweeten - optional

• Pour your water and all the ingredients  except for the teabags into a large saucepan and on a high heat bring to the boil.
• When the water has reached boiling point, reduce to a low heat and leave to simmer till the water has reduced by about half.
• Add in the pukka tea bags and leave to simmer on a low heat for 10-12 minutes. Pour the tea into a teapot ( through a large tea strainer or plastic sieve to catch all the bits ) 
• Take the glasses or cups you are wanting to serve the tea in and drop a few mint leaves into the cups. Pour in the tea, sweeten with honey if wanted & serve 

* you'll find these in any superstore in the tea and coffee section 

Mango, Avocado & Chilli Salsa

This is possibly one of the quickest and easiest side salads ever and it's one that I will eat with a variety of mains as well as sometimes just on its own. The freshness of the lime & mint is perfect with the sweetness of the mangoes and the added slight heat from the chillies gives a wonderful kick to your tastebuds.



To serve 4-6 people you will need :

3 avocados chopped into chunks 
 2x 275g pack of pre cut mango chunks*  
juice and zest of one lime 
2 good handfuls of chopped coriander
1 handful chopped mint 
pinch of salt & pepper 
1 red chilli finely chopped - deseeded if you'd like a slightly milder salsa 
olive oil 

• Place your avocado in a bowl with the pre cut mango chunks. Using a zester, add the whole zest of the lime to the bowl and squeeze in all the juice, adding in the salt & pepper and stir through
• Add the chopped chilli, coriander, mint, a drizzle of olive oil and stir through. Check the seasoning and overall flavours. Tweak as necessary if you feel it needs a little more of any of the ingredients & serve 

* I sometimes cut up the mango chunks again myself as they can be quite big, I prefer them almost bitesize

Amy's tabouleh

Amy's tabouleh .. I've named this recipe as such due to the fact that tabouleh is something that I'd always wanted to try but never actually had up until meeting with my friend Amy for a girly catch up and a cooking session of all sorts of little bits and bobs.  Not only do I absolutely love the flavour and textures in this dish, but I love how it consists of s little and there's no exact measurements of ingredients ; Simply toss it all together and tweak as you go along .

So for Amy's tabouleh you will need :

about 200g bulgar wheat*
a bunch of mint
a bunch of flat leaf parsley
a bunch of fresh coriander
1/2 tomatoes
pomegranate seeds
olive oil
lemon juice (optional)
salt and pepper to season

• Start by boiling the bulgar wheat in a pan until just tender, (just as you would with rice, it will also expand as rice does as it cooks away ) drain any remaining water, put into a bowl or dish you want to serve it in and leave to completely cool, then add a good splash of olive oil & a little lemon juice
• While the wheat cools, finely chop half the bunch of mint, coriander and parsley, add it into the wheat and stir through
• Roughly chop the tomato, add to the bowl along with the pomegranate seeds. Season with a little salt and pepper, check if your happy with the flavours and if you need to add more of whatever you feel it needs to. 
• Serve as you would a side salad with any main or simply eat on it's own as it is 

* if you're not keen on bulgar wheat you can swap it with cous cous. All you'd need to do is soak the cous cous with freshly boiled water. You need just enough water to cover the cous cous and cover it with cling film and leave for about 5-10 minutes to fluff up. You could even try bulgar whet with quinoa 

My Favorite's favourite

My Favourite's favourite .. bit of  vague title for a recipe i hear you say.. Well since this is a blog not only about food that i love, it's a blog filled with dishes that have some sort of important memory or of sentimental worth. And my family & the foods they like are just as important to me and part and parcel of this blog.

So this one had to be shared, as it is for someone that is very much an important part of my life, one of my mums brothers, my Mahmu (uncle) one of his all time favourite dishes is Chicken & Spinach curry.


For this version I've taken a short cut and used frozen chopped spinach rather than having to wash & chop a load of fresh spinach, which can make this dish quite time consuming. I will be sharing a version using fresh spinach at some point in the future as it does give the dish a totally different taste. But for now, here's my take on Chicken & Spinach AKA in my house The Uncle's favourite :

To serve 4-5 people you will need:

1x 750g bag of frozen chopped spinach
4 medium onions
2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
3 chillies
2 tsp curry powder
1 x tin of chopped/plum tomatoes.
1 tsp salt
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium chicken cut in pieces*

• Start by adding the onions, chopped, into a heavy based pan, and frying till softened, add in the salt, garlic & ginger paste, and cook through till the onions are golden brown in colour. 
• Add in the chillies, either whole, or chopped up to add more heat to the dish, and continue to cook on a medium heat until the chillies have softened and begun to cook through.
• Add in the tomatoes, and the curry powder, add in about 100-150 ml of water and leave to simmer on a low heat so that the tomatoes soften, i find that this can take between 10-15 minutes.
• While the masala is simmering, add the mustard & cumin seeds to a non stick frying pan, and dry roast on a low heat. Remove from the heat and put aside. With your chicken, if it is on the bone, take the drumsticks and score them through the thickest part as this will help the drumsticks cook evenly.
• Take all the chicken pieces and add them to the masala. Cook on a medium heat till the chicken is lightly brown in colour, no pinkness should be visible. The masala should almost stick to the chicken and the oil will separate.**
• Add in the spinach, stir and cook through on a medium heat. You will know it is cooked once there is no water/ moisture in the spinach, it will have darkened in colour, and again you will see the oil separate from the chicken and spinach. **
• Add in the cumin and mustard seeds, stir through to ensure they're well incorporated & serve with chapatis or naan. 

* if you're not a fan of chicken on the bone, you can use either chicken breast (about a kilo)  cut up or ask your butcher for thigh meat which wont dry out as much as chicken breast possibly would.

** you will need to stay close to the cooker at this point as it can catch and burn quite easily, and you need to be stirring it often to keep it cooking consistently. If it does catch, add a splash of water and carry on cooking through

Greek yogurt & fresh fig pavlova with honey & rose water

Anyone that knows me well enough should know that I've got a real sweet tooth & that I can never resist a meringue based dessert.

Imagine how ecstatic I was when I came across the Meringue Girls, they have taken meringues to a whole new level with creations that you wouldn't have even thought possible.

This post shares one of their amazing recipes from their book which of course I obviously have... A pavlova topped with fresh figs, Greek yoghurt & a delicate addition of rose water .. It is absolutely amazing ! 

For the pavlova you will need:

5 medium whites

300g caster sugar

For the topping you will need :

100g green pistachios ( optional ).

1tbsp rosewater

8 fresh figs

300g greek yoghurt

4 tbsp runny honey

• The first thing is to make the meringue to form your pavlova. Start by lining a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
• Preheat your oven to 200c/ Gas 6 line a small roasting tray with greaseproof paper, pour in the caster sugar and bake in the oven  for about 5 minutes till the edges are just begininng to melt a little.
• While your sugar is baking, pour your egg whites into a free standing mixer bowl or a plastic bowl if using a hand held electrical whisk. Whisk on a low speed so you get small little bubbles forming
• Turn up the speed a little once the bubbles have formed and whisk until stiff white peaks form - you should be able to tip the bowl over without the whites falling out.
• Next step is to add the sugar, with the whites still whisking remove the sugar from the oven - the sugar should feel hot when touched (& lower the oven temperature to 100c) and add it to the whites a spoonful at a time. 
• Once all the sugar has been incorporated carry on whisking the whites for another 5-7 minutes. Check a small amount of the mixture between your fingers, it should be smooth. If its a little grainy, whisk for another couple of minutes. 
• The mixture will be ready when a small amount of it forms a smooth stiff peak on the tip of your upturned finger
• Grind half of the pistachios and add them to the merge mix along with the rosewater. Fold it together as quick as you can but remember to be gentle- you don't want to knock out that air that will give your pavlova the volume
• Spoon the meringue mixture onto your earlier lined baking sheet and mould into a nest like circle, about 10 inches wide. Use the back of the spoon to make a slight dip in the centre.
• Sprinkle the rest of the ground pistachios on top of the nest and bake in the the oven for 2 hours
• The pavlova should come away from the paper easily & base will be firm. Leave to cool completely
• When you're ready to serve, cut your figs into quarters and roughly chop the remaining 100g of , pistachios.
• Place your pavlova onto a serving dish, spoon in the greek yoghurt into the middle of the pavlova, let it run down the sides and add the figs, sprinkle with the chopped pistachios, drizzle over the honey and serve 

For a little inspiration you can check out the girls YouTube account here , as well as their instagram account  and their official website  too .. You will not be dissapointed I promise