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Brown’s Brasserie and Bar celebrates 50th Anniversary with Covent Garden Grand re-opening

August 24, 2024 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

We have always been familiar with Brown’s and frequent their lovely rivreside location in our neck of the woods at Kingston Upon Thames.

So when I was invited to celerated their 50th Anniversary at their newly refurbished Covent Graden establishment, I knew it would be a fun evening.

With a half a million pound investment into refurbishing the grand Grade II Westend former courthouse building, this grand re-opening of Brown’s Coent Garden venue was celebrated with much pomp and fanfare.

The Grade II listed building has been transformed beautifully to highlight some of it stunning original features like the high ceilings and court cells turned into wine cellars.

The main dining area gives off a retro-mordern vibe with it’s art deco makeover. Original features like courtrooms and the judges chambers have been converted to cosy private dining rooms, all oozing an old-world charm.

The cocktails for this grand re-opning party, also paid homage to the 1920’s and 30’s.

We also enjoyed a steady stream of delicious bite-sized snacks throughout the evening to the sound of live musical performances. I thoroughly enjoyed the face-painiting part because the retro theme was maintained there to with symmetrical patterns done in shades of black and gold.

Brown’s Covent Garden is perfecly located right in the West-End and a stone’s throw away from both Leivester Square and Civent Garden tube stations. It is open late and they do an everything from an Afternoon Tea to a great Pre-theatre menu, all against the backdrop of a stunningly refurbished historic building. To Book click here

*With thanks to the PR agency and Browns Brasserie for the invite. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No monetary compensation was offered. 

Filed Under: Events, Food

Brigit’s Bakery Afternoon Tea, Covent Garden, London – Review

August 20, 2024 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

Maplin Photo Walk and Afternoon Tea at Brigit’s Bakery, Covent Garden, London

Brigit’s Bakery Afternoon Tea – Part of Maplin Photo Walk Event

Brigit’s Bakery at Covent Garden are a very popular choice for Afternoon Tea, especially the one aboard their London sighseeing bus.

Memories of my first-ever Afternoon Tea aboard a London Bus!

I had an opportunity to enjoy the lovely Afternoon Tea by BB’s Bakery, aboard their bus. It was an event organised by Friends of Glass and the theme was matching Beer with various kinds of Foods. If you would like a quick browse of my post covering this beer matching event head to my blog post here.

Maplin, the popular chain of stores which offers computing and electronics as part of their varied offerings invited me alongwith a few othere select bloggers on a Photo Walk across Central London. To guide us through how to improve our photography we had the pleasure of meeting Kaye Ford from Fortogrpahy who took us on a photo walk across Covent Graden and adjoining areas. This event concluded with us relaxing at Brigit’s Bakery and enjoying a lovely Afternoon Tea. If you would like to read in detail about the Maplin Photio Walk event I was invited to, then please do check out myblog post here.

Brigit’s Bakery, Covent Garden – Afternoon Tea Experience

Brigit’s Bakery is always busy, a great sign and why not, they serve their delicious Afternoon Tea on the very pretty floral crockery. I absolutely love collecting Vintage crockery and this was a dream table setting for me!

Talk about being insta-worthy, the whole experience is just that! I had requested a GF Tea and was very impressed with the service. The portion-sizes were very generous and desserts were very yummy. From my previous experience of their Afternoon Tea on a Bus, I remember the salmon and cream cheese blinis which I had immensely enjoyed!

We were seated in the basement so the lighting was not ideal, if you want to book into this seated indoor experience try and get a table upstairs or then carry an extra light to add that pop to your photos, Thank me later 🙂

I always enjoy a good Herbal infusion with my savoury treats during a Tea experience and I was glad that we had lovely teapot fulls of these laid out for us. Of course, after the Photo Walk and especially after walking through China Town our appetite had been whetted so we were glad to be welcomed with Prosecco and a long table heaving with treats. There was a very good selection of cakes and tarts and meringues. No prizes for guessing that my favourite savoury bite included the salmon offering. The scones with clotted cream and jam were satisfying and moreish.

Gluten-Free Afternoon Tea – Brigit’s Bakery, Part of Maplin Photo Walk

Of course as it was a group of bloggers we were definitely very intrested in clicking photos and making Insta-worthy Vidoes of our pretty crockery and yummy food! And I managed to get this ”phto-within-a-photo” picture using a tip shared by Kaye on pur photo walk earlier 🙂

And this is yet another Afternoon Tea experience in London that I will enjoy reminiscing about, especially everytime I am back on the look-out for food photography props or browsing Charity Shops for Vintage finds.

Curious to explore more options for Afternoon Tea in London? Why not browse through my blog and read about my experiences in various places:

  • Boyds Brasserie, Charing Cross
  • The Wallace Collection – Afternoon Tea amidst Art, Westminster
  • Honey Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s, Westminster
  • Moroccan Afternoon Tea at Leila, Ealing
  • Chocolate Afternoon Tea at The Landmark Hotel, Marylebone
  • Beer and Food Matching Afternoon Tea with Friends of Glass

*With thanks to Maplin and the PR agency for the invite. Thanks to Kaye Ford for a memorable experience and sharing so many wonderful photography tips, also a huge thank-you to Brigit’s Bakery for a wonderful complimentary Afternoon Tea. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No monetary compensation was offered. 

Filed Under: Events, Food

Maplin Photo Walk around Central London

August 19, 2024 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

One of my hobbies has always been photography. Growing up I have always asked my Baba to gift me camera’s. I do have a few old camera’s still stashed away in a drawer at my Mum’s place back in India.

I really started exploring my way with a point and shoot camera during my college days in Mumbai. I even made a bit of pocket money selling prints from the photos that developed from film. I do wish I had continued with experimenting and developing my own film but I do plan to get into that soon!

After moving to London, I used small cameras for a while until my darling husband gifted me my first ever DSLR Camera. Armed with my Canon, I have travelled to various destinations all over the world and photographed my way through lot of foodie events, food festivals, cooking demos with leading chefs and even managed to do some paid work. Some of my most exciting meet-up’s in London have been with budding photography enthusiats and I have found some long-lasting friendships thanks to this shared passion too.

On my first visit to Mumbai after I moved to London, I went on a photo walk in the evening with my friend A who is a talented photographer himself. I love vibrant colours and open markets and India has these in abundance.The photograph below won me an prize for an online contest in India. It means the essence of Diwali for me. I was born and raised in Mumbai and for me the festival of lights Diwali is one of the best times of the year.

This photo of a flowering tea is somethig I would set-up to play around with different elements and use them to photograph food and drinks at home. I love collecting photography props. Yes, I am that crazy woman who will swoon over cool finds in charity shops and carboot sales 🙂

But like many of my hobbies, this has moved to the back burner now. Time to get behind the lens again.

And what better day to make this decision than on World Photo Day – August 19th!

A while back when Maplin invited me to join in with a select group of bloggers and freelancer for a Photo Walk through Central London, I was beyond excited!

We met up with talented professional photographer Kay Ford at Covent Garden and walked through to Neal’s Yard and then Chinatown. Kaye shared some of her top tips on clicking photos in busy areas like Central London with lots of people milling about. I loved the tips she shared about composing a photo and how to work with a DSLR camera.

Kaye encouraged us to really get into street photography, something I do struggle with. There is always so much happening in Covent Garden with so may tourists, street performers, vendors, street food and it is always alive, buzzing and full of colour. So many photo opportunities!

Though I clicked close to a 150 photos with my Canon camera during this photo walk, it seems minsicule in comparison to the massive number of photo albums I have stored on my laptop and external hard drives. This is where Maplin comes in with photo storage solutions.

Our photo walk took us just over half an hour and we walked starting from Brigit’s Bakery across Coivent Garden, Neal’s Yard and through Chinatown and via Cecil Court (the inspiration behind Diagon Alley in the famous Harry Potter series) back to Brigit’s Bakery.

To view all social media photos from this fun event look up the hashtag #maplinphotowalk

We enjoyed a delicious Afternoon Tea at Brigits’s Bakery and it was the most wonderful way to wrap up an afternoon of walking across the streets of Central London and getting top tips from Kaye.

Here I am putting into practise one of Kaye’s tips – create a ‘photo within a photo’ effect

Here is a photo of the city from Waterloo Bridge taken a few days after this photo walk.

To read my detailed post about the fabulous sit-down Afternoon Tea at Brigit’s Bakery check out my blog post here.

Looking for Travel Inspiration around London or other parts of the U.K, then have a browse through my travel posts below:

  • An insider’s guide to London Bridge and the surrounding area in Central London
  • Top 5 places near London for the perfect day out with family
  • Borough Market, London’s iconic market steeped in history
  • Portobello Market, Notting Hill, London – an insider’s guide
  • Neighbourhood guide to Angel, Islington, London
  • England’s largest Vineyard – Denbie’s Wine Estate, Dorking, Surrey
  • Exploring Guilford town and River Wey Valley, Surrey Hills, England
  • Weekend Getaway, Southampton, England
  • Blog Camp at River Cottage
  • Five Bells Inn, Aylesbury, Weston Turville, England
  • A week in North Wales – Southstack Lighthouse and Cemaes Bay

*With thanks to Maplin and the PR agency for the invite. Thanks to Kaye Ford for a memorable experience and sharing so many wonderful photography tips, also a huge thank-you to Brigit’s Bakery for a wonderful complimentary Afternoon Tea. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No monetary compensation was offered. 

Filed Under: Events, Food

Beer and Food matching Afternoon Tea with Friends of Glass

August 19, 2024 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

Friends of Glass and Sustainable Living

I absolutely love a good Afternoon Tea and am always on the look out for a unqiue experiences.

So when, the Friends of Glass extended an invite for their Beer and Food matching themed Afternoon aboard a London Bus (Yes!) I was very excited.

Before we get into the experience itself, I wanted to share a little background of the wonderful folks at Friends of Glass

Lets start with:

Q) Who are the Friends of Glass?

A) They are a European-wide movement that unites those who believe glass packaging is best for health, taste and the environment.

Q) Why support Friends of Glass?

A) To support a sustianable and healthier future for everyone and promote taste.

Q) Why promote glass packaging?

A) Glass is the only packaging material available that is 100% inert and 100% recyclable. Unlike other packaging that leach chemicals that are hazardous to your health and change the way your food tastes; glass preserves and protects your food without adding anything. Not only that, glass is made from all natural materials and is infinitely recyclable without a loss in quality or purity.

Please head over the official Friends of Glass website to read through all the amazing work they have done so far and how you can support them by making small changes in your everyday life. Smart choices for a more sustainable future for us all!

Afternoon Tea aboard a London Double Decker Bus!

And now, without further ado why not hop aboard the special Brigit’s Bakery classic Routemaster London Bus with me? Guaranting you a virtual experience, of an afternoon tea that will challenge your perceptions and expand your tastes!

The theme for this afternoon was Beer and Food Matching and to take on this journey Friends of Glass had roped in Jane Peyton, the UK’s first beer sommelier of the year (2014) (in the photograph below Jane is talking us through one of the beer’s she has picked to match our afternoon tea treats)

Amongst the many facts that were shared with us during the course of the event, I was most astounded by these: While many women think beer is more of a man’s drink – it was actually invented by a woman. In fact women were the first brewers of beer and for hundreds of years beer has been brewed by women.

Wait, hang on, it get’s better! Did you know that the part of the hop used to brew beer is the female part? Hops are known to be rich in phytoestrogens. Wow! No wonder then that now beer is increasingly being reclaimed by women! And another wonderful nugget of information,the major deities of beer are female – Ninkasi and Dea Latis, being two of them.

Wow, that geuninely blew my mind! What do you think?

One of the other striking facts that will always stay with me is that unlike wine, due to its wide range of flavours and tastes, beer can complement almost any type of food. And this was something I experienced first hand by sampling various beers that we sipped while devouring our delicious Afternoon Tea.

We were served a selection of tasty sandwiches, yummy sweet treats including mini cupcakes and fruit tarts and ofcourse scones!

We started off our beer tasting with an India Pale Ale. I personally love bitter flavours and am partial to bitter beers and cocktails too. Even with savoury dishes, anyone remotely familiar with the Indian bittergourd ( and in Marathi – my mother-tongue or native language it is called a Karla) knows how versatile it is and is widely known for its healing properties.

Similarly here, the India pale ale which has juicy bitterness akin to a grapefruit and citrus notes, help to stimulate the digestive system. This explains why an aperitif is often bitter.

Wheat Beer, as shared by Jane is one of the most versatile beers and pairs well with many foods. We tried it with our cucumber sandwiches, mini veg quiches and chicken and tomato in a bun. The creamy mouthfeel of wheat beer coupled with the gentle citrusy tang, notes of clove and lovely aromas of banana , all come together quiet nicely when paired with these foods.

Porter Pair beer pairs well with puddings as it has notes of coffee, chocolate and dried aromatic fruits. These flavour lend itself well with pairings like Strawberry cupcakes, Lemon Meringues tarts and chocolate macaroons. Whereas Sour ale is the perfect companion for plain scones with clotted cream and jam as the acidity of the ale cuts through the rich cream and leaves the palate with a refreshing mouthfeel. This very same principle means a Sour Ale is a good combination with the popular Ham and Cheese finger sandwiches, with the caramelised flavours marrying well with the savoury notes and the acidity cutting through the fatty ham and cheese.

Sour Ales also pair well with fruit tarts as their acidity lends these ales a sweet and tangy fruity character that matches the fruit in the tarts, without over powering the delicate flavours.

I love my savoury food more than sweet and am huge on seafood so in an Afternoon Tea Menu am always the one who will pick a smoked salmon and cream cheese blini off the platter first. These little seafood delights find the perfect accompanimnet in Oak aged beer, which with its marmalade aromas and intensly oaky vanilla notes remonds some of the taste of whisky on their palate. Which also makes it a perfect match for the mini vanilla choux with puff pastry. The oak and vanilla flavours lending themselves beautifully to this dainty pudding.

I think all of us who shared this experience will agree that we walked away aramed with knowledge about

  • How the aromas and flavours of craft beers lend themselves to sweet and savoury tastes
  • Why beer not wine should be a regular feature on our dinner table
  • Some insight into how we can now impress our friends and dinner guests by knowing how to match the perfect beer for every course!

This was my very first experience of any meal let alone an Afternoon Tea, aboard a moving vehicle. There was so much to experience, the afternoon tea itself, the various taste sensations afforded by the many carefully selected beers by Jane Peyton and how they felt on my palate, the wonderful sights and sounds of London city as the bus weaved through the lanes of London and ofcourse chatting with my fellow bloggers and the team from Friends of Glass. How lovely that we could actually wash it all down with some chilled and refreshing Beer 🙂

I will always treasure this amazing group photo clicked by one of the fabulous PR agency team members at the Friends of Glass event. This picture reminds me of the many amazing opportunities I have had over the years working as freelance Marketing professional and as a food, travel and lifestyle writer and blogger. It also serves as a great reminder of the many fabulous relationships that I have managed to develop thanks to such experiences, of the many professional connections and so many more cherished and treasured friendships that I have found and mainatined over the past decade and more.

I am forever grateful to how blogging opened so many doors for me when I was new to London and the U.K. Every single experince and every single person I have met since at events and virtually, am grateful for.

And just in case you are wondering, I am the one with the wide smile in the extreme left in the photograph below 🙂

Curious to explore more options for Afternoon Tea in London? Why not browse through my blog and read about my experiences in various places:

  • Boyds Brasserie, Charing Cross
  • The Wallace Collection – Afternoon Tea amidst Art, Westminster
  • Honey Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s, Westminster
  • Moroccan Afternoon Tea at Leila, Ealing
  • Chocolate Afternoon Tea at The Landmark Hotel, Marylebone

* With thanks to Freinds of Glass for the invite. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No monetary compensation was offered. Unless watermarked by me all images used here are provided for the PR Agency and / or the hosts. Reproducing any text in part or whole and any photographs, without my prior written permission is not permitted. I have used excerpts from the Friends of Glass website for this blog post.

Filed Under: Events, Food

Easy Spinach and Pea Soup

January 28, 2023 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

Spinach – Love or Hate?

I have always loved spinach and green peas in equal measure but when it comes to the hubster, well… let us just say that I have put in a lot of hard work to cultivate a growing love affair with spinach! This soup is great for fussy eaters and especially for those who do not enjoy the flavour of spinach. The gorgeous smoky bacon beautifully masks the taste of spinach by adding strong bursts of flavour. Adding oak-smoked garlic packs an additional punch and gives the soup a lovely layer of flavour.

This Spinach and Green pea soup with smoky bacon is not just healthy and wholesome, it’s really easy to make. It’s the kind that will leave those who are not spinach aficionados playing a guessing game with their taste buds!

I could almost imagine my husband in a cartoon strip with those little conversation bubbles over his head with each conversation bubble having a different ingredient scrawled inside, as all those wonderful flavours enveloped his palate one after the other!

Of all the meats out there, I really think pork is very succulent and has the capacity to really alter the taste of a dish and add a whole new dimension. I also firmly believe that simplicity is the key to creating something really tasty. Therefore, the use of everyday stuff like red onions and garlic to quickly make this soup appeals to my midweek lazy self as it can really fill you up. On the weekend though I would serve this soup with a generous portion of white fish, with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, chives and some dried herbs and a big squeeze of lime with a side of rocket dressed with olive oil and honey mustard dressing. Accompanied by a crisp white wine it is a complete meal and one that is not just quick and easy to put together but a great way to eat healthily and keep the guilt conscience at bay. Much needed after a period of indulgence I say, of course with no compromise on taste!

Spinach and Pea Soup

Hearty, flavourful soup loaded with all the good stuff from spinach, perfect to batch cook, great for cold nights in.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 350 gm Spinach baby leaves washed cleaned and roughly chopped
  • 250 gm Fresh Green Peas
  • 3/4th Onion finely chopped
  • 5 Smoked Bacon medallions chopped roughly into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 tbsp Chives – chopped roughly
  • 300 ml Chicken Stock
  • 400 ml Water
  • 2 tsp Oil
  • 3 cloves Smoked black garlic
  • Salt to taste
  • Few sprigs Spring onions chopped fine for  garnishing the soup 
  • Handful Herby Bread Croutons

Equipment

  • 1 Saucepan
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 Chopping Board
  • 1 Hand blender or food processor

Method
 

  1. In a large saucepan sautee’ the finely chopped oak-smoked garlic till it begins to sweat. Then add the red onion finely chopped and cook till it turns pink and juicy.
  2. Reduce the flame to a minimum and add the bite-sized pieces of smoked bacon medallions.
  3. Stir now and then to ensure that the bacon doesn’t stick to the saucepan and become too crisp, it must cook to a nice chewy yummy consistency and not get too crisp. Cook without a lid at this stage.
  4. When the bacon has cooked completely and is almost turning crisp, remove this mixture into a bowl as we will use the same saucepan for preparing the rest of the ingredients of the soup so as to retain the beautiful juicy goodness that is in the pan and that also ensures we don’t use anymore extra oil.
  5. Wash the baby spinach leaves and the green peas and add them into the saucepan along with the finely chopped chives and chicken stock. In case you are using stock cubes, I would say use the reduced salt variety because the smoked bacon is very salty already.
  6. Add 300ml water and cook with lid on a medium flame for 25 minutes.
  7. Puree the soup with a hand blender and add a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper and some sea salt – I am stingy with the salt because I like to keep the salt to minimum when I am cooking anything withba bacon as an ingredient.
  8. When the soup has been pureed, don’t fuss if a fewstray green peas escape the blender blades, it just makes the soup that muchmore wholesome and chewy while eating.
  9. Now add in the garlic, red onion and bacon mixture and cook for another 7- 10 minutes.
  10. Serve hot topped with a big spoon of chopped spring onion and herby croutons.
  11. Perfect for an early supper with crusty bread and even better with a grilled white fish and white wine for a weekend meal.
Spinach and Pea soup ingredients close-up

Make it Vegan!

Go ahead and make this recipe vegan!

  • Swap Smoked bacon with smoked tempeh or pan-fried chestnut mushrooms for an earthy flavour, and throw in some cooked chestnuts for good measure.
  • Swap chicken stock for vegetable stock

Recipe Notes

  • Smoked Garlic and smoked bacon add layers of flavour to this humble but earthy soup.
  • Make the soup as per the recipe, leaving out the part with the onions, garlic, and bacon, this part with the greens and stock can be cooked in a large batch and frozen in batches, neatly labelled.
  • For a milder flavour use white onion instead of red onions or Bombay Onions.
  • Need a fridge tray clear-out? All your greens going mangy can be used up – think broccoli, kale, coriander steams, cavolo nero, chard, celery sticks, a small piece of fennel, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, a small portion of cabbage leaves on their last legs – give all of these greens a new lease on life! I have even added in some boiled potatoes and half an egg yolk into my soups to use up ingredients, ummm they taste sooo fab in soup!
  • Tart green apples also work wonderfully well in this soup.

Easy Swaps

  • Swap fresh green peas for frozen or canned ones.
  • Swap smoked bacon medallions smoked for bacon lardons.
Spinach and Pea Soup

WHILE YOU ARE HERE, BROWSE THROUGH MY OTHER SOUP RECIPES

  • Clear Vegetable soup – Fusion recipe with an Indian twist
  • Red Lentil Soup
  • Tomato and Lentil soupy broth
  • Butternut Squash and lentil soup
  • Chinese chicken noodle soup
  • BBQ Pulled Pork and aromatic noodle soup

Filed Under: Food, Recipe Index, Soups

Royal British Legion Centenary Cookbook – Cooking with Heroes

November 22, 2021 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

Cooking with Heroes Cookbook

Cooking with Heros, published in partnership with St James House, is a fitting tribute to the Royal British Legions centenary year.

This is not just a cookbook but an ode to the 100 regions that the legion has been active in over the past century including the commonwealth and beyond. This hardbound beauty is jam-packed with deliciousness and will keep keen home cooks coming back for more. From finding inspiration for your weekday dinners to cooking to impress your guests, this cookbook will not disappoint.

In keeping with the centenary theme, Cooking with Heroes features 100 profiles of military heroines and heroes specific to each region. To honour each local hero or heroine, recipes have been created by a team of highly skilled military chefs who have delved deep into the profiles of the heroes and the regions they represent. Not only this, many celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver, Cyrus Todiwala, James Martin, Melissa Hemsley, The Hairy Bikers, Ainsley Harriot, Rick Stein, and Phil Daniels have also contributed their recipes to this amazing cookbook.

The Royal British Legion is the nation’s largest armed forces charity and worked since 1921 to support the armed forces and their families. A portion of the sale from every copy of Cooking with Heroes will help raise funds to ensure that the legion continues doing the amazing work they have been doing successfully for the past century.

Official Book Launch Party

Cooking with Heroes Cookbook’s official launch was hosted over an afternoon tea at Claridge’s in London in October. The event was well attended by military officials as well as members of the media. I was honoured to be invited to this launch event and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon tea at the beautiful Claridge’s in Mayfair, London.

Image Credit to my lovely pal Niru

I sampled a selection of artisan food and drink brands at the launch party, do check out the details coming soon in my Christmas 2021 Gift Guide here on my blog!


Author Profile and Q&A

I had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with the Author Squadron Leader Jon Pullen (retired). Get to know the Author via some interesting answers he has for my interview questions to him.

Q) How did the idea of ‘Cooking with Heroes’ take root?

A) Cooking with Heroes started with a discussion with Richard Freed of St James’s House (SJH) who asked me whether I wanted to do another book to raise money for the Royal British Legion (RBL).  I’d authored 2 previous books, ‘Food for Heroes’ that raised £50-80k for Help for Heroes and with Richard, the RAF100 Cookbook which raised around £145k for the RAF100 Appeal that raised funds for the RAF Centenary. 

The idea for the book was really a play on the RBL’s Centenary and what this charity that has supported the Military Family for 100 years means to me. So it started with a plan to write 100 entries, one for every year of the Centenary, with a focus surrounding the charity’s qualities… ideas like remembrance, tradition, integrity, strength, valour, courage, and support.  If you turned these ideas into the food they would be home-cooked honest, authentic, traditional food but brought into the 21st Century.  In terms of valour and courage, we worked with the RBL around the UK and Commonwealth to nominate someone who has made a great contribution to Defence to represent them, a ‘Local Hero’. And that’s what we have, 100 Regions across the UK & Commonwealth with a story of valour, endeavour, and often sacrifice alongside traditional, old and forgotten foods from that region. A unique idea that I believe properly captures the spirit of the RBL

Q) Inspirational stories are a great way of holding the attention of the reader what is your experience and how did you go about selecting them?

A) I pulled together a team from the Military Family to engage with the RBL across the UK & Commonwealth… this was a Tri-Service Team of serving, veterans, reserves, friends, families and youth services. These became known as our RBL Ambassadors, a role that saw them engage with the RBL Membership in their region and to work with them to select a local hero or heroine who had ‘made a great contribution to UK Defence’ and that the RBL local Membership wanted to celebrate and represent them.  The list is astonishing and whilst there are many well-known VC and MC winners in the Book, there are others much less well known like Captain John Perkins RN who was born a slave in Jamaica in the 18th Century and rose to Captain a 32 Gun Naval Frigate; Sergeant Alfred Holmes from Gibraltar who looked after the Barbary Apes for 38 years; Sybil Kathagasu from Malaysia who gave her life standing up to the Japanese invaders during WW2 by supporting British SOE Agents and so many more amazing and courageous individuals who have been chosen as outstanding by the members of the UK’s largest Military Charity, so many of whom are veterans themselves… a wonderful mark of respect that I hope does their memory justice.

Q) Food discussions are common ways of coming together to discuss other issues too. So how was this possible to get so many people to tell their stories? How did you reach out to them?

A) We sent members of today’s Military Family to engage with the RBL Membership.  When I started the Project, these were supposed to be sit-down meetings in an RBL club, sharing stories of our service face to face with the Membership and as we say in the Armed Forces, ‘pull up a sandbag and swing a lantern’.  The reality was sadly less engaging and fun with the majority of the engagements being over Zoom or old-fashioned telephones.  Our team then took the chosen candidate and researched the individual before presenting the article to the editorial team.

I’m particularly proud of one region and that was ‘Tyne & Wear’ where we set up a competition with the County Air Training Corps Squadrons to tell a panel, chaired by me but representing the RBL, the Publisher, and the County, who should be in the Book representing their County. I spent the most wonderful evening watching and listening to presentations from young Cadets passionate about their chosen candidate before having the unenviable task of choosing one:  Kate Adie. A superlative choice of a Journalist who spent her career supporting and representing the Armed Forces, always reporting the stories as they really were and never refusing to go anywhere where British Troops were deployed.  A truly inspirational choice.

Q) In your travels which cuisine have you most enjoyed discovering and why?

A) I’m that person who leaves the group to find a back street restaurant and ask the waiter what he or she is having for tea… on occasions, this has been a truly bad idea but mostly it gives an insight into the real food culture of the region. There’s no way I can choose a favourite as there’s no experience like trying a new taste for the first time but if I had to choose one it would be the Proustian moment brought on by Cypriot food.  Having grown up in Cyprus, the memories that the fusion of Greek and Cypriot Food brings back to me is unsurpassed:  Even just a smell of Sheftalia, Dolmades, Stifado, and of course Kleftiko turns me into a sun-tanned 8-year old bare footboy with grazed knees, a voracious appetite and probably guzzling a glass of Kokinelli and Lemonade. Heaven.

Q) In your opinion, what is the single most versatile ingredient?

A) Probably Eggs, I haven’t much to add to the world’s knowledge of the million and one uses of eggs other than to say, even with all of the sweet and savoury uses of Eggs that are out there, nothing beats a properly prepared poached Egg.

Q) What is your signature dish?

A) I think that would be my favourite recipe from the RAF100 Cookbook… the Italian North African (Ethiopia today) Dora Wat. So seldom do we encounter entirely different flavours but that is why the Dora Wat is so amazing.  It starts with slowly melting 1.5Kg of Red Onions (that’s a Bag and a half that need thinly slicing so make sure you have plenty of tissues around… it’s going to get emotional) in a pot (that’s the Wat in the title).  Once they have melted to a gloop, you reconstitute them with Chicken Stock and the beautiful Berebere spice mix (available in the posh supermarkets but we published the recipe anyway) before adding Chicken and finally boiled eggs… it’s an utterly delicious fiery and sweet red chicken stew and like nothing you’ve ever tasted before… unless your Ethiopian!

Q) Breaking bread together is a great way of bonding; can you share any traditions that you have experienced while you served in the armed forces, that you will always hold close to your heart?

A) As Napoleon observed, an Army Marches on its stomach and this is never so true as after an operation when it is often the opportunity to stop and eat that provides that first chance to relax.  The same is when we used to Exercise when I was much younger where the enemy was always an un-named Eastern-Block aggressor and each 3-day scenario became astonishingly similar as the directing staff went through their scripts to check that we were operating as we should.  This was just as true with the exercise food where you could tell how well we were doing by the food that arrived. By the time we received the ‘Egg Banjos’ we knew we were on the home straight, that we could remove our respirators (gas masks), that our fictional foes were finally in retreat (again), and that we could perhaps, for a moment, get warm, dry and eat.  The Egg Banjo is a humble treat being no more than a runny fried egg between 2 pieces of thick(ish) ham held between 2 pieces of bread.  These were brought to us en-masse in hotlocks which were neither hot nor locked, but nonetheless, to this day these eggy treats still brings pangs of nostalgia as perhaps the ultimate comfort food.

But, I hear you ask, why are they called Egg Banjos… in truth it was many years before I worked out why they were so named. I was sat opposite a colleague at the end of one of these exercises, dressed in his NBC suit with dirt and camo across his face as he bit into his Egg Banjo… which subsequently exploded egg-yolk across the front of his jacket. Exasperated but not beaten, he immediately took the Banjo in his left hand, drawing it away from his body so it would drip no more before and with a flourish that any stringed instrument player would recognise as a strum, vigorously wiped the egg off the front of his jacket, looking exactly like an Air-Banjo player. Needless to say, I immediately understood why they are referred to as Egg Banjos.

Cooking with Heroes – The perfect Christmas Gift for all foodies

Why not add this amazing cookbook to your Christmas shopping list? This is bound to make for a fabulous gift for your friends and family alike. A high-quality hardcover book filled with fabulous easy-to-follow recipes and interesting stories of military heroes and heroines with a sprinkling of celebrity spice, what’s not to love?!

Cooking with Heroes is available in all major bookstores including Blackwells, Waterstones, and WH Smith, to purchase RRP £19.95 – with all profits (£5 per sale) going to support The Royal British Legion.

* With thanks to the PR agency and St Jame’s House for the invite and a complimentary copy of the cookbook. With thanks to Author Jon Pullen for taking the time to patiently respond to my questions. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No monetary compensation was offered. Images credit E Jacobs Photography unless stated otherwise

Filed Under: Events, Food

The Instagram Foodie Bag – Must have for all Food Photographers

August 2, 2021 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

Let me introduce you to my latest find The Instagram #Foodie Bag. I also have a super exciting Giveaway for this fabulous piece of kit on my Instagram.

The Instagram Foodie Bag – Must have for all Food Photographers

Are you passionate about food photography?

Do you collect food photography props?

Are you an avid food blogger, food writer, Instagram foodie?

Then the Instagram Foodie Bag from Paper Bag Co is just the thing you need to add to your photography kit!

*Disclaimer: I was sent an Instagram Bag for review

A mobile food photography kit for all foodies

As a food writer, blogger, and freelance Marketing and PR manager, I am often at events where I need to carry my DSLR camera and photograph food. This bag is just perfect for carrying not just my camera bag but also a few essentials that will help me take better photographs. Basically, the #FoodieBag is your mobile fully equipped photography studio

So what does the #FoodieBag contain?

The Instagram Bag comes filled with the following Food Photography essentials:

  • A limited-edition, stylish and very large (12 oz i.e. 340 grams, ) cloth bag – with zip closure. The bag has a handy internal pocket and a mesh closure.
  • 4 beautiful photography backgrounds by Black Velvet Styling, they are portable as they come rolled-up in a sturdy carboard case – very handy!
  • 5 in 1 pop-up reflector and diffuser in a portable zip closure case
  • A set of beautiful postcards with stunning food photos and top tips by phone photographer Matt Inwood to inspire even the most seasoned photographers

The #FoodieBag

This bag is a great piece of kit for all food bloggers and foodies. What I like most about this bag is that it looks trendy and is perfect for carrying all the things one could need for clicking really good photo photos. It is an eco-friendly cotton bag in a very large size. You can easily carry a light laptop in its case and a compact camera case in this spacious bag, along with the portable diffuser. The inner zip pocket is perfect to store valuables like your travel tickets, bank card, a small hand sanitiser, and a face mask ( essential everyday items in a post-pandemic world)

If you need inspiration then the 8 postcards that come included have some stunning food photos by renowned phone photographer Matt Inwood and some handy tips too.

The 4 photographic backgrounds are just the right size for food photographs and are designed by stylist Sophie who set up the now popular company Black Velvet Styling.

I am most impressed with the compact, portable reflector and diffuser that comes in a smart zip closure carry case. It is so handy and can be used to adjust the lighting for your food photos.

Instagram Giveaway of The #FoodieBag

I was sent this beautiful limited edition bag to review and now two lucky winners can get their hands on this limited edition kit! Head to my Instagram now and find out how you could be one of the two lucky winners who can win this fantastic piece of kit worth £39.95 for free.

Win The #FoodieBag!

Head to my Instagram account now! My #FoodieBag was shipped out very promptly so the two lucky winners will not have to wait long once my giveaway ends and the lucky winners are announced on my Instagram feed.

*With thanks to Paper Bag Co for sending me a review sample product. All my reviews are always unbiased based on my personal experience.

Filed Under: Food, Product Reviews

Restaurant quality meat – Swaledale Online Butchers – a review

June 30, 2021 by manjirichitnis Leave a Comment

Grass-fed, free-range, heritage breed meat from the Yorkshire Dales – home delivered

Looking for exceptional tasting, restaurant-quality British meat? Let me introduce you to Swaledale Online Butchers. Swaledale Butchers have built their business on the foundation of working only with native rare breed livestock, farmed sustainably and ethically. Their experience of working with some of the leading chefs in the country will ensure that the meat you purchase is not just restaurant quality but premium.

Exciting meat boxes specially for the BBQ season

Swaledale Online Butchers offers a large selection of meat and chicken. For the BBQ season, I would highly recommend their Spring BBQ box. This box will give you a good range of wholesome cuts from their heritage breeds. You can get creative and serve up a meat fiesta to please a crowd!

All you need to do is fire up the BBQ and get cooking!

What is inside the Swaledale Online Butchers BBQ Box?

  • 2 x 180g Denver Steaks
  • 4 x 135g Free Range Herb-fed Chicken Drumsticks
  • 4 x 120g Lamb Chops
  • 2 x 220g Pork Ribeye Steaks
  • 1 x 495g pack of 6 Yorkshire Breakfast Chipolatas
  • 1 x 480g pack of 6 Lamb Merguez Sausages

Priced at £44 this is a tempting deal for premium quality heritage breed meat.

Keep Calm and get your BBQ on!

Summer, sunshine, great weather, BBQ parties, and cocktails – that for me is the essence of these glorious few months. I have just the recipe for you to create a fabulous meal with less fuss and a few ingredients. I used the Swaledale Online Butchers Yorkshire breakfast Chipotlas from their Spring BBQ box for this recipe.

Grilled Masala Sausages served on a bed of puy lentils and enjoyed with a side of greens

So far, I have used the following cuts of meat from my meat box delivery from Swaledale Online Butchers to cook up the following dishes:

  • Free Range Herb-fed Chicken Drumsticks – Juicy Lemon Chicken traybake. Ross chicken, that hand-fed a rich diet of ten varieties of fresh herbs, it was a joy to work with these drumsticks
  • Diced Mutton – Traditional family recipe for a mutton curry – deep, intense flavours that work so well with the beautifully aged mutton. The ewes graze on a variety of wildflowers, herbs and grasses in the Yorkshire Dales. The older age of the animal – 2 years plus – gives it a complex flavour that reflects the diet of the ewes
  • Free-range herb-fed whole chicken – Traditional Sunday Roast dinner – the diet of these slow-grown free-range chickens gives a depth of flavour that is noticeable. The hens enjoy a locally milled, additive-free, cereal-based diet in addition to a mix of at least ten herbs that also come from a local farm. I noticed that meat is darker and takes up more of the flavour from a marinade in a much shorter marination period.
  • Merguez sausage Meat – I cooked up an easy One-pot Merguez sausage casserole using this very flavourful sausagemeat and the flavours were dancing on my palate, so so so good!

Rare, traditional breeds

Based in the stunning Yorkshire dales, Swaledale partners with the local farming community to bring the ultimate and most delicious ingredients directly to your kitchen.

How are they able to do this? By only working with farmers who rear traditional breeds.

Breeds like the Belted Galloway or Highland cow, which graze on the local landscape all year round and the result is beautifully marbled beef. Ross chicken, that are hand-fed a rich diet of ten varieties of fresh herbs – Imagine how this impacts the flavour of your herb-fed whole chicken roast! Delicious pork with a high-fat content that comes from the local Yorkshire bred Middle white pigs

Swaledale Butchers believe that everyone should be able to trace the exact provenance of their meat. As a consumer, to me, this means a lot because I know for a fact that important things like animal welfare, support of the local farming community, and a return of traditional heritage rare breed animals are assured.

Benefits of eating grass-fed, organic, traditional meat

  • Purely grass-fed, free-roaming traditional livestock is bound to produce superior quality meat. Taste that reflects the natural environment where the animals have grazed. So essentially what you cook and plate up has beautiful natural flavours that stand out on their own even when combined with vibrant spices
  • Ethical farming practices that benefit the local farming community means a sustainable system that benefits everyone in the chain
  • Pesticide-free grass and animals that are not pumped up on antibiotics. A perfect example is that Swaledale cattle take 4-6 years to mature whereas commercial animals take up to 14 months or less, I shall leave you to do the math for yoursef!
  • Grass-fed meat is higher in antioxidants, has a higher number of healthy fats, is packed with vitamins, and is, therefore, better for you.
  • Cows, pigs, sheep, and poultry heritage breeds that are suited to survive outdoors and feed on the grass produce the best tasting meat.

Online ordering FAQ’s for Swaledale Online Butchers

  • All the meat comes to you fresh and not frozen. It is suitable for home freezing and needs to be unpacked immediately. Everything reached me in pristine condition.
  • The packaging is recyclable and designed to provide thermal insulation.
Summary

Swaledale Online Butchers have a strong ethos towards traditional rare breeds and their selection is a great example of the perfect field-to-fork experience. Expert butchery, 100% grass-fed, traceable provenance, and ethical practices are the hallmarks of their business. They work with top chefs and highly respected restaurants in London and across the U.K

I have sampled a large variety of their meats and will not hesitate to recommend them. As always my reviews are honest and based on my personal experience. This means that you can go ahead and buy with confidence.

*With thanks to Swaledale Online Butchers. I pride myself on providing unbiased reviews based on my personal experience.

Filed Under: Food, Product Reviews, Uncategorized

Vinegar Roast Chicken

June 23, 2020 by manjirichitnis 18 Comments

This Vinegar Roast Chicken recipe is a Keto-friendly, Low- Carb, delicious, protein-packed meal. Requires minimal prep too.

Who doesn’t love an easy chicken recipe that hardly takes any prep and results in a flavor-packed meal, right? Vinegar Roast Chicken is that recipe which everyone should add to their repertoire. Even a novice will be able to re-create this easy dish and feel a sense of pride and achievement.

Vinegar Roast Chicken by Manjiri of www.travelsfortaste.com

Easy Vinegar Roast Chicken in a Dark, rich and delicious sauce

I love creating recipes that require less prep and where I end up with a dish that really explodes with flavour

Season, place into the oven, sit back and relax

Yes!This recipe really is that easy. You will want to make this over and over again. Take it for pot-luck parties and everyone will be asking you for the recipe – don’t forget to share my blog link with them 🙂

Vinegar is the Star ingredient here, especially if you use fruit flavoured one like I have. I love my cranberry flavoured vinegar. I also have tried this recipe with a coffee flavoured vinegar, balsamic vinegar and truffle flavoured vinegar. I would urge you to invest in really good vinegar, you will thank me later for investing in this wonderfully versatile ingredient

The pomegranate molasses add deep and rich undertones into the stock as it cooks.

Manjiri Chitnis

Vinegar Roasted Chicken

5 from 8 votes
Bursting with flavour, this oven-roast chicken dish is a must-have in everyone's arsenal of recipes. Prefect for when you want a quick but delicious meal – an anytime recipe
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins
Servings: 2 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

  • 6 chicken legs without skin
  • 2 tbsp fruit flavoured vinegar
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 450 ml Chicken stock – homemade or use 1.5 chicken stock cubes crumbled into hot water
  • 2 cloves of black garlic with skin
  • 1 small red onion finely chopped
  • 2 tsp chilli flakes
  • Pinch of smoked sea salt
  • 1 tsp olive oil spray
  • Freshly cracked black pepper

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Oven tray

Method
 

  1. Wash the chicken legs and remove the skin
  2. Using a knife make deep cuts on the chicken
  3. Roughly chop one medium sized red onion
  4. Pre-heat oven to 250°C
  5. In a baking tray, lined with foil, place the chicken legs
  6. Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, vinegar and pomegranate molasses onto the chicken
  7. Rub the vinegar, molasses, and seasoning onto the chicken to coat them thoroughly
  8. I always use my homemade chicken stock but if you are using stock cubes then dissolve them into freshly boiled water from the kettle and make a mixture
  9. Scatter the chopped onion and garlic around the chicken
  10. If using black garlic, squeeze them partly out from their skins so they almost melt into the stock while cooking
  11. Pour the chicken stock around the seasoned chicken legs
  12. Sprinkle some chilli flakes on top
  13. Cover with foil and cook for 45 minutes
  14. Once the 45-minute mark is done, remove the tray, oven the foil and using tongs turn the legs
  15. Cover and cook for another 15-20 minutes
  16. Then remove the top foil and cook at 200-220 °C until the little skin around the bones turns a nice brown
  17. Serve with a side salad
  18. During summer I like to serve my Vinegar roast chicken with a rainbow salad and a refreshing fresh salad dressing, recipe to follow on my blog soon. Stay Tuned!

Notes

  • The oven time can vary based on how big the chicken pieces are, what cut you plan to use, and the type of oven you have.
  • If using frozen chicken legs, I advise cooking at a low temperature of about 150 deg Celsius in a pre-heated oven for over an hour. The oven dish should be covered with a foil, tightly fitted around the edges.

Looking for more chicken recipes? Have a look at some of my easy to create delicious recipes below:

  • Spicy chicken curry
  • One-pot chicken and noodle recipe
  • Jerk Chicken
  • Pomegranate chicken curry
  • Spicy Mexican Chicken wings
  • Spicy grilled chicken
  • Chicken and red lentil stew ( Recipe can be adapted to a vegetarian version)
  • Chicken Frankie roll
  • Kadhai Chicken Masala
  • Moroccan Chicken one-pot recipe
  • Chicken Tikka Masala – Air-fryer recipe
  • Flu-fighting chicken noodle soup
  • Butter Chicken

Who doesn’t love a good homemade chutney? You will love Heidi’s recipe for Blackberry Chutney – promise not to faint after seeing photos of me in her post 😉

Filed Under: Food, Meat, Recipe Index

Butter chicken

May 18, 2020 by manjirichitnis 2 Comments

Incredibly easy Butter Chicken recipe

The very mention of the name of this dish conjures up images of a creamy and buttery gravy with delicious tandoor cooked chunks of chicken just begging to be scooped up with warm buttery naan

Butter Chicken – Travelsfortaste blog

Delicious chicken in a creamy and flavourful yet mild gravy sauce

This version is sort of a cheat’s version, meaning you can be create this much quicker if you follow my handy tips and tricks given below. There are also several adjustments I have made here which allow for alternate ingredients, especially swapping fresh cream for thick Greek yoghurt. Believe me it tastes just as good but it so much lighter on your tummy and your conscience!

Hugely popular North Indian chicken dish

This recipe adapts well to those using an Instant Pot or slow cooker too and is a great way to celebrate a BBQ. It is a very user-friendly recipe so if you do not have an oven you can still crack the code with some smart hacks. Yes, yes, I call my own smart, what can I say, am very humble like that 😉

Usually, I am a very happy bunny creating traditional Maharashtrian curries and especially from my home cuisine – CKP. But because I have lived in Bombay ne Mumbai most of my life in India , I have a palate that appreciates and loves a whole host of varied regional cuisine. And Butter Chicken sits right up there among those much-loved dishes. I don’t make this often enough is the only complaint I hear from the OH!

Manjiri Chitnis

Butter Chicken

Incredibly easy Butter Chicken recipe for a delicious chicken in a creamy and flavourful yet mild gravy sauce
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Marination and resting time 8 hours hrs
Total Time 8 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Servings: 2 People
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

Round one of margination -Overnight margination of chicken/ or six hours before cooking
  • 450 grams Boneless chicken – personally, I prefer chicken thighs

  • 2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder (check notes below – I make mine fresh)
  • 2 tbsp Freshly ground ginger & garlic paste
  • 1 heaped tbsp Garam masala
  • 1.5 tbsp Freshly squeezed tbsp lime juice
  • Salt as per taste
Mix for round two of marination
  • 2 tbsp Cooking oil – ideally mustard oil

  • 4 heaped tbsp Hung curd (check notes below) – approx 1 cup
  • 1.5 tbsp Lime juice
Ingredients for the curry
  • 2 tbsp Unsalted butter

  • 1 tsp Oil
  • 350 grams Chopped tinned tomato– or 3 to 3.5 medium fresh ripe tomatoes
  • 1 medium-sized Red onion
  • 1 – 2 Green chillies
  • 1-2 Bay leaves
  • 1/2 thumb-sized Stick of Cinnamon (ideally cassia bark)
  • 1/2 thumb-sized Piece of Fresh ginger
  • 6 – 7 Cloves of Garlic with skin on
  • 2 Peppercorns
  • 4 Cloves
  • 1 Badi Elaichi /Black cardamom
  • 4 Elaichi/green cardamoms
  • 6 Cashew nuts
  • 6 Almonds without skin
  • 1 tsp Kasuri Methi
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • Water as required
  • Salt to taste
  • 1.5 tsp Fresh cream or Thick Greek yoghurt
  • Handful Fresh Coriander leaves finely chopped to garnish

Equipment

  • Mixer / Blender
  • Heavy Bottomed Pan
  • Griddle pan/oven and skewers

Method
 

  1. Wash the chicken pieces and set aside in a bowl
  2. Make small cuts in the chicken to allow the marinade to penetrate thoroughly
  3. I prefer an overnight margination for the first stage as it makes the flavours shine through, you can do it about 6 hours before cooking as there are two stages to marination
  4. Mix all the ingredients from the overnight margination list above and coat the chicken pieces thoroughly, place in the refrigerator overnight
  5. The reason hung curd is used is to as to ensure that no extra water gets into the gravy and the gravy has a beautifully creamy consistency
  6. Use a muslin cloth to hand the curd for about 2 hours
  7. Place the dahi /curd/ Indian set yoghurt in a fine muslin cloth and twist the ends to close the muslin and made a big potli/ parcel
  8. Once all the water from the yoghurt collects in the vessel below, it isokay to remove it from the muslin *Check notes
  9. Beat the hung yoghurt with a fork and then pour onto the chicken, add the lime juice and mix well, then add the oil
  10. Now put the chicken back into the refrigerator for at least four hours
  11. About 4 hours before making the chicken remove from the refrigerator and let is sit outside for about 45 minutes (during winter, during summer – depending upon the room temperature let it sit out for at least 20 minutes)
  12. Let the chicken rest outside at room temperature while you make the gravy
  13. Soak the almonds in lukewarm water for 10 minutes, the skin will come off easily
  14. In a heavy bottomed pan heat the oil and then add the butter , follow this up with the green chillies, crushed ginger , crushed garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, cloves, black cardamom, green cardamom pods opened
  15. Sauté well till all the whole spices are lightly fried , releasing all their gorgeous aromatic flavours
  16. Now add in the whole cashews and whole almonds, stir and sauté
  17. Then add the finely chopped onion and cook until they turn a light brown colour
  18. Follow this up with the chopped tomato from a tin or concentrated tomato puree. Dilute the concentrated paste before adding. Read my notes below for tips.
  19. Let this simmer for under 2 minutes, then transfer to a ceramic bowl and cool
  20. String the chicken pieces through a skewer, spray some oil and cook them in a pre-heated oven at 200 degree Celsius until almost done. Turn the pieces so both sides get grilled equally
  21. Alternatively, use a heavy bottom griddle pan and cook on either side till you see juices releasing
  22. The best way to cook the chicken is over hot coal on a BBQ, which imparts a beautiful smoky flavour note to the chicken
  23. Remove the chicken from the skewers and using a scissor cut them down to smaller chunks
  24. Now blend the gravy using a blender – blend until you get a smooth consistency. Read my pro-tipbelow for this step – it can make or break your dish
  25. In the same pan used to sauté the gravy, add the smooth gravy from the blender, if you want you can add an additional dollop of butter before adding the gravy
  26. Now stir in the chicken pieces and mix well
  27. Then add in the kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves, sugar and salt as per taste and cook on a very low heat setting until done. Cover and cook
  28. When the chicken has cooked through transfer to a serving bowl
  29. Garnish with fresh cream, some chopped coriander leaves, some kasuri methi/ dried fenugreek leaves and serve hot
  30. Serve with a side of buttery garlic naans, or plain tandoor roti’s or steamed basmati rice or simply plain naan
  31. Whatever you choose to pair it with remember to add a blob of butter on top for that added decadence

Smart Swaps:

  • Unsalted butter over regular salted
  • Few soaked dry fenugreek seeds can be used if you cannot find Kasuri methi. Dried fenugreek leaves
  • Thick Greek yoghurt over fresh cream
Butter Chicken – Recipe by www.travelsfortaste.com

Tips:

  • Chopped tomates in a tin and concentrated tomato puree in a tube are store cupboard essentials, also they have the right kind of acidity that you need. Fresh tomatoes tend to be sweet which may change the balance of flavours we are after here
  • Before blending the gravy sauce, you may want to remove the bay leaves and the badi elaichi. I do this both my husband and I believe that the sauce tastes better without blending this. Later just add these back with the chicken pieces.
  • Frozen onion and tomato gravy is very handy
  • Frozen ginger garlic paste is another time saver
  • Pressed for time? Skip the overnight marination and go for only one marination for 4 hours
  • Making a large batch of Butter Chicken? You will need more hung curd. I hang the muslin cloth from my kitchen sink tap so the excess water simply drips into a bowl waiting in the sink. Do not throw this water away! It is loaded with flavour and nutrients. It is great for mixing into chapati/Indian flatbread dough and a base for salad dressings (Yes!)
  • Batch cook – this curry freezes very well; I make 4 times the amount and stash my freezer when I have a packed schedule. It is amazing to come home late from work to this beautiful curry (I cheat and get store-bought naan when am unable to make any fresh!)
  • Skip the green chillies entirely if you cannot handle the pungent undertones

Notes:

  • Kashmiri dry red chillies are easily available in most Indian grocery stores/ Online as is the bright red ready to use powder. The powder is what gives this recipe it is trademark bright red colour. Do not fret if you can’t find the powder, just blitz a handful of the dried Kashmiri chillies in a spice grinder – dry blitz and make your own powder! If you want, you could also add water and all the other ingredients of round one of margination and make a paste. Saves time too!
  • Using an Instant pot? I will be sharing a version of this recipe in the coming days – will update a link here

Did you follow my recipe? Please let me know in comments, I love reading your comments and feedback

Snap a picture of your creations and use the hashtag #travelsfortasteblogrecipe and share it to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and I will re-post it.

Butter Chicken – Recipe by www.travelsfortaste.com

Filed Under: Curry - Meat, Seafood, Food, Indian, Recipe Index

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