Chicken Tikka wraps

This is a dish that's always a hit no matter how many times a week i make it, as well as being super easy and you can always switch up the wraps for a mixed salad instead if you're wanting something lighter but just as tasty


For my chicken tikka wraps to serve 3-4 people you will need

700-750g boneless chicken - cut into medium chunks
5 tbsp yogurt
1/4 tsp salt
4 -5 tbsp tandoori masala powder/paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tbsp olive/vegetable oil

To dress :
green leaf/ mixed leaf salad
cucumber
tomatoes
sauces of your choice

• Simply mix all the ingredients into a bowl (apart from the dressing)
• Leave to marinate for a minimum of 1/2 an hour or if you can overnight to let the tikka masala absorb into the chicken
• Bake the  chicken in the oven for 35-40 mins at 200c fan / 180c conventional oven till completely cooked through and the chicken starts to char slightly 
• Serve in your choice of naan, pitta bread or tortilla wraps, garnish with the salad and your choice of sauces. Alternatively serve with just a load of salad for a lighter meal.  
• My kids love the chicken once it's completely cool in bread as a sandwich for their school packed lunch or shredded in cous cous

Chicken & chick pea masala pasties

Chicken & chick pea masala pasties are always a hit with all my family, and since getting the hang of making my own puff pastry I'll happily whip up a batch at any given chance, so handing them out to friends as well as family during ramadhan was the perfect excuse to indulge in batch loafs

So here's the recipe if you'd like to give them a go.

To make a batch of 6 -8 pasties you will need
1 batch of my home made puff pastry or 2 sheets of ready roll pastry and 1 batch of my chicken & chickpea masala

• Start by ensuring your block of pastry is chilled & cold but not rock solid. Cut the block in half, put one half to a side or back in the fridge till later use.

• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the block out to a large square, to about an inch thick. Cut the large square into 4 equal peices. If you're using the ready rolled sheets just cut both sheets into 4 equal squares.

• Taking one of the squares, fold it in half lightly and open it up. Use the line through the middle as a guide for the middle of the pastie

• Take 2 -3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture and place in the middle of the square. Brush the bottom edge and sides with a little bit of egg wash, and fold the top half of the sqaure over the filling, ensuring all 3 edges meet as neatly as possible

• Pierce 2 sets of holes in the top of the pastie using a fork - this will help the steam escape during cooking. Seal all the edges by gently pressing them with a fork.

• Repeat the above process with the remaining squares and the remaining pastry dough. Place the pasties on greasproof lined baking trays, brush the tops of each pastie with egg wash  and bake in a fan assisted oven at 180c for
20 -25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown & serve 

*** if you have any filling remaining, and run out of pastry dough,  you can freeze the filling & save it for another time. Ensure that any filling you defrost is used uo completely as you cannot re freeze thawed meat***

Cheats Paella

This version of Paella is super quick and easy but still full of flavour and perfect for when like me the other day, was craving this particular dish but was in a bit of a rush to get something decent on the table to have for our evening family meal.

If your not a fan of seafood, swap the prawns and scallops for cooked chicken breast as an alternative with diced peppers added in for a slight crunch.


To serve 4 people easily you will need:

3x 250g packet Uncle Bens Mexican rice
1x 200g pack of scallops
1 x 400g pack of cooked king prawns
1 x 198g tin of sweetcorn
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
fresh chopped coriander (optional)
lemon wedges (optional)

• Start by adding a little oil into a heavy based pan, and on a medium heat, add in the scallops and prawns together. Cook the scallops for not longer than 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure they don't catch or over cook on one side.
• Add in all the rice to the pan along with the sweetcorn, and continuing on a medium heat, heat the rice through. One the rice is heated all the way through, take off the heat and sprinkle the smoked paprika over the rice.
• Just before serving, scatter over the fresh coriander and serve the lemon wedges on the side as an extra for squeezing over the rice as you wish.
• As an extra, i served a mixed green leaf salad on the side with some cheesy chilli nachos