This dish is really easy to make and is packed with aroma and flavor. This is a great alternative to biryani if you don't want to be in the kitchen for too long.

This serves approx 6 people
Cooking time in total 1 hour approx

Ingredients

1kg = 1 chicken (on the bone and cut into medium pieces by the butcher) 
3 cups basmati rice ( washed)
6 cups water
2 chopped onions
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander powder
7 cloves
7 cardamom pods
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
1 tsp garam masala
3 bay leaves
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 of a lemon (juiced)
salt
sunflower oil

For the yogurt
2 tbs boondi (found in most Indian stores)
2 tbs yogurt
4-5 tbs water
pinch of cumin powder
handful of fresh coriander


Method

Marinate the chicken in some salt and chilli powder and set aside. In a large pan add some sunflower oil and the chopped onions and cook on a high heat until dark brown. Whilst that is browning add the yogurt, boondi, and chopped coriander to a bowl with the 4-5 tbs of water and stir. Keep an eye on the onions to ensure they do not burn. Add the pinch of cumin and pinch of salt to the yogurt and leave to one side to allow the boondi to soften. The consistency should be that of double cream.

The onions should be brown by now and you can add the chicken and stir on a high heat. Now add the garlic, lemon juice and all the remaining spices except the garam masala, . Stir again for about 5 min on high heat until the meat is browned.

At this stage, put the heat down to low and add 6 cups of water and increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Add the garam masala now and stir. Once the water has been boiling for a couple of min, add the washed rice and stir. Taste the water at this point to check if more salt is needed. If so, add some at this stage. Once the water has slightly evaporated cover the pot and cook on low heat for 30 min.

Serve with the boondi yogurt and avoid those whole spices when eating.

 

TANDOORI CHICKEN & HOME MADE CHIPS

Tandoori Chicken is a popular Indian dish and is best left to marinate over night. I served this with home made chips but this can be served with  naan bread and salad too.

Serves approx 2-3 

Ingredients

1 Small skinless chicken cut into 8 pieces
2 tbs Tandoori powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp Chilli powder
3 Garlic cloves (crushed)
1/2 Lemon (juiced)
1/2 tsp Fennel seeds
Salt
1 tbs Natural Yogurt
2 tbs Sunflower oil
Handful of fresh coriander
3 Medium sized Maris piper potatoes

Method

Marinate the chicken in all of the above ingredients (except the potatoes) and leave in the fridge overnight or at least a few hours.

Pre heat the oven at 180oc and place the chicken on a lined baking tray and pop in the oven for 45 min. Whilst the chicken is cooking peel the potatoes and cut into chips.

Deep fry the chips until golden brown approx 15 min before the chicken is ready to come out of the oven.

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potato fries are a great alternative to normal potatoes and tastes soo good especially with a garlic mayonnaise dip. This is easy to make and works as a great side dish.

Serves 2
  
Ingredients

2 Sweet potatoes
2 tbs Sunflower oil
1/2 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1 tsp Mixed dried herbs
1 tsp Chilli flakes

Method 

 Pre heat the oven to 200oc

Wash and peel the potatoes and cut into chunky chips. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper, add the sweet potatoes and mix all of the ingredients above.

Place the sweet potato fries into the oven on 200oc for 20 min and then using a spatula turn the fries over.

Cook for a further 10-15 min or until the fries are cooked and slightly colored. Be careful not to over cook as I have done this in the past and the fries go very chewy after cooling down slightly. When the fries are taken out of the oven they should still be slightly soft as they will firm up upon cooling.

Room IV Coffee and Dessert Review

If you follow me on Instagram you will all know I love coffee and visit cafe's regularly. I like to feel comfortable, relaxed and embraced with the scent of coffee.

I have recently been trying to visit independent coffee shops around my city and one that I have visited a few times now is Room IV. It has a very warm and relaxing ambiance and I wanted to share this little gem with you all.



Location

121 Evington Road, Leicester LE2 1QH

The mint tea which my friend had was served in a tea pot with a gorgeous gold tea cup and saucer. She found it kept the tea warm and allowed her to help herself to more than one cup. It also had a lovely flavour.

The last time I visited, I had a slice of chocolate cake and soy cinamon latte. I should note that the picture above shows chai latte as I was served the wrong drink, however, the member of staff changed this as soon as I made her aware and it was no hassell at all.

The chocolate cake was moist and definitely a chocolate lovers dream. The coffee latte had the strength I like as I must admit some coffee shops serve very weak lattes. I was very impressed as it wasn't sickly sweet even though it had some cinnamon syrup.

Previously, I had a soy cappuccino with a coffee and walnut cake. The cappuccino was just as good as the latte and the cake was the best coffee and walnut cake I have ever had!! It was soo light and delicious. I just haven't seen it there again since that day :(  

My niece ordered the hot chocolate and I cant remember what she thought of it. I have to admit, it did look pretty yummy, although I have never been into hot chocolate as I always think it doesn't taste as good it looks or smells.

Room IV only take cash so I do feel that this is a bit of an inconvenience when you have to go across the road to take cash out when its soo cold and grey outside.

Overall, I really like visiting room IV as they serve great coffee as well as a whole variety of other drinks and food. You can check out everything they have to offer on their website www.roomiv.co.uk.

Tarka dhal with crispy aubergine & potato

I make this meal when I am bored of eating meat all week. I feel the crispy aubergine and potato adds a real exciting element to the dish.

You can easily freeze the dhal once boiled which leaves the tarka to be done when your ready to eat.

Serves approx 6 people
 

Ingredients 
For Dhal
2 Cups of toor dhal (oily)
6 Cups of water
2 Medium onions (thinly sliced)
Handful of chopped coriander
5 Curry leaves
Salt
3-4 Cloves of garlic (thinly sliced)
1 Tomato (chopped)
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Chilli flakes
1 tsp Chilli powder
1/4 trsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Garam masala
1 Stick of cinnamon bark
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Sunflower oil

Crispy Aubergine & Potato 
1/2 Large aubergine (cut in small pieces)
2 Potatoes (cut in small pieces)
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
Handful of chopped coriander
1/2 tsp Garam masala
1/4 tsp Fennel Seeds
Squeeze of fresh lemon
3-4 tbs Self raising flour
Salt
Oil for frying


Method 

Wash the dhal in some cold running water then add to a large pot with the 6 cups of water, some salt and the cinnamon bark. Bring this to a boil on a high heat then cover and simmer on a low heat for approx 1 hour. I would suggest giving it a whisk up at the half way point and at the end as the dhal needs to blend in with the water. If you feel you want a thinner consistency of dhal you can add some more water at this point.

Now in a separate pan add about 3-4 tbs of sunflower oil and the sliced onions, curry leaves and cook on a high heat until golden brown and then add the garlic (do not move away from the stove). Take the pan off the heat after 2 min and add all the spices except the garam masala. Stir thoroughly and quickly add the chopped tomato. Put the pan back on high heat and when the mixture starts to sizzle then add to the dhal immediately and stir. Add the garam masala, squeeze of lemon and chopped coriander. 

To make the accompaniment of crispy aubergine & potato, cut the aubergine and potato into small pieces ensuring its not too thick so it cooks quickly when deep frying. Add this to a bowl with all the other ingredients listed and mix well. Now add some water very slowly until the aubergine and potato has a light coating over it. If you need to add more flour you can do so (remember its not a proper batter so you will see the vegetables through the coating). Now deep fry until golden brown and crispy.

Serve with some boiled rice or chapati.

coriander chicken skewers & vegetable rice

This dish is very tasty and takes no time to make. Its also very adaptable as you can use whatever vegetables are in season or what suits your taste buds.

Makes 7 Skewers (3-4 chicken pieces on each on skewer)
Rice can serve up to 5 people


Ingredients
(For the skewers)
1 Large boneless chicken breast
2 Red onions
1 Bell pepper
2 Handfuls of fresh coriander
3 Garlic cloves
1 tbs Green chilli paste or fresh green chillies
Salt
Pepper
1/2 Juiced lemon
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Fennel seeds
2 tbs Sunflower oil
Bamboo skewers

( For the rice)

2 Cups of rice
4 Cups of water
1 Stock cube
Salt
1 Onion
2 tbs Frozen sweetcorn
2 tbs Frozen sliced peppers
Frozen mushrooms (few pieces)
Sunflower oil

Method

Cut the chicken, pepper and red onions into cubes and keep to one side. Take a pestle and mortar or a grinder and pound together the fresh coriander, garlic and green chilli until it has turned into a paste.

Now add this as well as all the other skewer ingredients to the chicken and vegetables, marinate and feed threw the skewers. I used around 3-4 pieces of chicken per skewer and didn't overload to ensure it cooks evenly.

Set the chicken and veg skewers on to a baking tray and set aside. Pre heat the oven to 200oc or the equivalent and in the mean time get started on the rice.

Chop the onion and cook in some sunflower oil until translucent, add all the other ingredients except the rice and water and cook for a few minutes on a high heat. Now add the washed rice and water and stir thoroughly. Cook on a high heat until it bubbles then cover and reduce the heat to low. At this point put the skewers in the oven and both the skewers and rice will take approx 20 min to cook.

Serve with some green salad and enjoy.

 

cheats sunday roast

So this is called a cheats Sunday roast as I have had the chicken cut into half by the butcher to reduce the time it takes to cook in the oven. I have also used store brought gravy granules and frozen Yorkshire puds. I know I know, I should have made my own. However, I think if its not a special occasion and your dish has many component,s its ok to cheat a little.

Serves approx 2-3
Takes 70 min to cook ( cooking times may vary depending on the size of your chicken)

Ingredients 

1 Medium chicken ( halved by the butcher)
2 Cloves of garlic
1 Whole lemon
6-7 Sprigs of thyme
1 tsp Chilli powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
Coarse black pepper
Sea salt
Olive oil
5 Medium white potatoes (enough to make approx 15 peices)
5 Carrots (cut into batons)
210g in total of Green beans & tender stem broccoli
1 tbs Rice flour
Frozen Yorkshire puddings (as many as you like)
Bisto gravy granules 


Method

Pre heat the oven at 180oc and then cut the lemons and garlic in half. Squeeze the lemon over the chicken and then add the lemon itself to the chicken too. Now add the garlic, thyme, chilli powder, cumin powder, salt, pepper, and some olive oil and rub all over the chicken.

Place the chicken onto an oven tray and in the oven at 180oc on the middle shelf. Whilst the chicken is cooking, put the kettle on (not to make yourself a brew). Wash and peel the potatoes and cut into large pieces, add to a pan and pour over the boiled water. Place on a hob on high heat for 5 min until parboiled. Drain and place into a roasting tin, add some salt, pepper, 2 tbs olive oil and rice flour. Stir this all together and put into the oven. At this point the chicken has been in the oven for 15 min.

Peel and cut the carrots into baton and boil/ steam until half cooked then add the broccoli and green beans. Once cooked cover and add some salt and pepper.

Once the chicken has 15 min left to cook, increase the heat to 220oc until the chicken and the potatoes are cooked. Plate the chicken and use the same oven tray to cook the Yorkshire puddings as per packet instructions and use this time to make the gravy as per packet instructions.


Do not throw the lemons away, squeeze them over the cooked chicken as they would have released more juices after roasting. Eat the roasted garlic too as they taste amazing with the chicken.