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

Here you go Saqi

My last post  ' Because the cousin's wife asked ' was done at the request of my cousin's wife. Tonight "Here you go Saqi" is brought to you at the request of my friend Saqiba. She asked for my recipe for Keema and potato and I'm actually surprised at myself for not blogging it already as it's not just one of mine but a firm favourite of my kids and husband, and any leftover mince makes a  great base for a chilli.

This is a dish where you literally put everything in at once, leave it cooking away slowly while you get on with other jobs and you end up with a delicious fragrant and comforting curry with minimal effort 


So to serve 4-6 people you will 

1 kilo lamb/beef mince 
6 medium onions
6-8 cloves garlic / 2 frozen cubes
1 thumb piece of grated ginger / 3 frozen cubes 
1 1/2  tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
1 tin tomatoes / 3 large fresh tomatoes 
50ml olive/vegetable oil
3 -4 green chillies 
2 bay leaves 
3 cloves 
1- 1 1/2 cm piece of cinnamon
1 -2 tsp garam masala 
fresh chopped coriander 
2 small tins of baby potatoes 

• Finely slice the onions and add to a heavy based pan, then add all the ingredients except the coriander, potatoes and garam masala to the pan. 
• Add just enough water to cover the mince and leave to simmer on a medium heat. You should leave it cooking till the mince has cooked through and all the ingredients reduce down- quite similarly as you would with slow cooking a chilli.
• As the mince is cooking away you may need to top up the water to ensure the onions and tomatoes break up to make the curry masala- I found this takes 40-50 minutes on a medium heat.
• Once the mince has cooked through and you have a smooth masala, you need to bhun the mixture which basically means to ensure all the water reduces, the oil separates from the mince and the masala sticks to the mince 
• Add the potatoes and on a medium heat, cook the mince till it's slightly browned in colour. At this point you can leave it as it is quite dry which is typical of a bhuna or re add a little water to loosen it up a little 
• Stir in the garam masala and the coriander just before serving with either chapatis or boiled rice   

Stuffed sweet potato skins with feta & coriander

The recipe for this post is a combination of ingredients that you wouldn't think would go together, but they really do. It's a recipe I've tweaked from a Jamie Oliver recipe and it's even a favourite with my kids.

These stuffed skins are great as a starter or even as a main accompanied with a mixed leaf salad. If you're having them as a starter I'd suggest cutting the potatoes into quarters rather than halves for a main.


for 4 people you'll need half a sweet potato per person i.e. a whole potato per 2 people along with :

1 lemon
100-120g feta cheese
bunch of fresh chopped coriander
olive oil

• Start by pre heating your oven to 200c (180c fan assisted). Wash the sweet potatoes, and place them in a microwavable bowl, cut the lemon in half and add into the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film, seal well and pierce a few holes for the steam to escape from.
• Steam in the microwave for 10-15 minutes, checking on them half way through. The potatoes should be cooked through and ready when you can pierce them with a fork easily. 
• Leave the potatoes to cool, and remove the lemon to a side - don't throw it away
• Once the potatoes have slightly cooled, cut them in half carefully and with a spoon remove the potato from the skins into a separate bowl
• Once all the potatoes have been removed from the skins, brush each of the skins with a little olive oil and place onto a baking tray
• Mash up the potatoes in the bowl, it doesnt have to be perfectly mashed, i quite like it roughly done. Crumble in the feta and stir through. Squeeze in juice from the lemon that was removed earlier 
• Spoon the mashed potato and feta mix evenly back into the potato skins and bake in the oven till the skins have crisped up and are golden brown
• Sprinkle over the chopped coriander and serve 

Mixed Vegetable Karahi

Tonight I'm posting a recipe for all the vegetarian curry fans. Personally I think that vegetable curries are so underrated, I try to make a vegetable based curry at least once a week for my family. This particular one is brilliant for using literally any vegetable you like. 

If like me you have 2 kids that have a favourite veg, then just add extra amounts of it to make up for bits they might not be so keen on. Its's also great to use any left overs with a bit of stock and blend into a delicious winter warmer soup.

So for my Mixed Vegetable Karahi you'll need :

5 medium onions
1 bulb of garlic crushed OR 3 tbsp of garlic paste
2cm fresh ginger crushed OR 2 tbsp ginger paste
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 green chillies
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tin plum/chopped tomatoes
1 tin baby new potatoes 
1 medium cauliflower 
4 small parsnips
1 sweet pepper
a good handful peas
a good handful of grated cabbage 
a good handful of chopped spinach leaves
2 large carrots
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp seasame seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
A good squeeze of lemon juice
Handful of chopped coriander to garnish

• start by slicing the onions and on a medium heat, fry in a heavy based pan in a little olive oil till soft, then add the salt, garlic, ginger & chillies. Fry these together till the onions turn golden brown & chillies have softened. Make sure that you stir the mixture to stop it from catching on the bottom.*
• once the onions have browned, add the tomatoes & curry powder and again stirring, keeping an eye that the mixture doesn't catch. Keep cooking till the mixture has slightly reduced and the consistency is sauce like.. this normally takes about 10 minutes, turn off the heat and next make a start on the veg.
• Peel & wash all your veg as required, then roughly chop. As in my roast vegetables, rough & varied sizes is fine. For the baby potatoes just remember to drain the water.
• Turn the heat back on under your pan, again have a medium heat, add the cauliflower first and stir well so the cauliflower is coated with the curry masala. Pop the lid on the pan, lower the heat and leave for about 10-15 minutes to softened. When the cauliflower has softened slightly, add the parsnips, carrott & cabbage. Again place the lid back on, leave for another 10-15 minutes to let the veg soften.**
• When the carrots & parsnips have softened, add the potatoes, spinach, pepper, peas  & the lemon juice. Turn up the heat and keep stirring every few minutes to cook all the veg through ***  This stage can take from as quick as 10 minutes up to 30 minutes, depending on how soft you want your vegetables to be. I like my veg to have a slight crunch & not completely softened.
• Finish off by adding the cumin, mustard & sesame seeds, garnish with the chopped coriander & serve with naan 

* if the onions begin to catch, add a splash of water and stir. This also helps to soften them too

** again make sure you keep an eye on it, and stir every few minutes

Quick style, but just as fab roast chicken, with all the trimmings

It's been a few weeks since my last blog. I've been so busy between housework, kids appointments, and the general madness of a hectic household my blogging's been neglected. 

Whilst the kids are now occupied with their collection of bricks & have got their dad joining in, I wanted to get this blog down.

On a Sunday I absolutely love nothing more than a good old roast with the trimmings, and it's a brilliant way for me to get the kids into eating their vegetables- they aren't keen on them when  just boiled, but roasted in the oven with herbs & a little bit of spice, they will wolf them down.

so today I'm posting the recipe for the lunch we've just polished off- with some sent off to my mum & baby sister in law . (she's 27 but the youngest out of us lot, so sorry Sadaf if you're reading this)

I love this recipe for roast as it's a variation that cuts a few corners, with the use of Nando's seasoning, really doesn't require too much effort & tastes just as good as a version that may take you hours 

 To serve between 4-6 people you'll need the following :

2 medium chickens cut in half/ quarters
2 sachets of Nandos BBQ Seasoning
1 sachet of Nandos Hot seasoning
2 sachets of Nando's Lemon & Herb seasoning
5 Large potatoes 
3 large parsnips 
1 large sweet potato 
a good handful of sprouts
3 large carrots 

•  I normally start by placing the chicken in large bowl, then I add enough olive oil to just coat the chicken, and then add in the BBQ & Hot Nando's seasoning.* with my  hands, then mix the chicken together and make sure all the chicken is coated well with the seasoning. 
• I'll leave the chicken in the fridge for at least 2 hours to marinate**
• I then peel the potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips & carrots and chop into chunks/quarters, don't worry about them being all the same size & perfectly cut, it's much easier & quicker than trying to make them all look perfect.
• To get the veg crispy on the outside, I tend to par boil my veg so it's just slightly softened, drain them from the water, then put them in a roasting dish, add the sprouts & pour in a few tablespoons of olive oil and then coat with the Nandos lemon & Herb seasoning.
• To roast the chicken, I preheat the  oven to 200 C, remove the chicken from the fridge and place it in my roasting dish & cover with foil. I put in the oven for an about and hour & a half.
• Half way through I take the foil off, turn the pieces over and let  the chicken crisp up, & then place the veg in the oven.
• To make sure the veg doesn't catch or over cook, I give them a toss around when they've been in the oven for about 30 minutes.
• I'll then serve the chicken & veg with good old yorkshires & lots of gravy

So that's my quick style, but just as fab roast chicken, with the trimmings - I hope you'll give it a go and let me know what you think or let me know of your own variations so I can give it a go. 

* I normally buy the seasoning from my local Asda, but I'm sure the other large supermarkets will sell it too

** If I'm in a real rush for time, I'll leave the chicken for the minimum 2 hours, leaving it overnight is best as it gives more time for the seasoning to do it's job

Step by Step Gulab Jamun pictures

As promised below are pictures of how to make your Jamuns :

From the bottom frame working upwards:


• in a bowl I've put the semolina, milk powder and melted butter
• I've then added the milk and the dough has started to come together, the final picture in the first frame is the dough all combined. A good tip at this point is to leave it for about 10 minutes to firm up

•the first picture in the second frame is of the dough shaped into Jamuns .. Told you they look like baby new potatoes !
•next is them in the oil getting slightly golden
• the final picture is of them fried and ready to be soaked in the sugar syrup

• the final frame has the sugar syrup bubbling away first.. For about 10 minutes
• next it's the Jamuns added to the syrup and left to simmer for about 10 minutes
• and the final image is them in the syrup in a dish ready to be served hot or to cool and pop in the fridge to go cold

**From the last picture I hope you can see the syrup is golden in Colour and not clear ..this colour change means that the syrup is at the perfect consistency though you can boil for longer for a thicker syrup**