Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

Vinegar Roast Chicken

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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.

Vinegar Roasted Chicken

Manjiri Chitnis
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
5 from 8 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Fusion
Servings 2 people

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Oven tray

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

Instructions
 

  • Wash the chicken legs and remove the skin
  • Using a knife make deep cuts on the chicken
  • Roughly chop one medium sized red onion
  • Pre-heat oven to 250°C
  • In a baking tray, lined with foil, place the chicken legs
  • Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, vinegar and pomegranate molasses onto the chicken
  • Rub the vinegar, molasses, and seasoning onto the chicken to coat them thoroughly
  • 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
  • Scatter the chopped onion and garlic around the chicken
  • If using black garlic, squeeze them partly out from their skins so they almost melt into the stock while cooking
  • Pour the chicken stock around the seasoned chicken legs
  • Sprinkle some chilli flakes on top
  • Cover with foil and cook for 45 minutes
  • Once the 45-minute mark is done, remove the tray, oven the foil and using tongs turn the legs
  • Cover and cook for another 15-20 minutes
  • Then remove the top foil and cook at 200-220 °C until the little skin around the bones turns a nice brown
  • Serve with a side salad
  • 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!
Keyword Vinegar roast chicken

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:

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 😉

BBQ pulled pork and aromatic Noodle soup

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Enjoy summery flavours mixed with a warming aromatic bowl of spicy noodle soup with Iceland Foods new BBQ Mississippi pulled pork from the World Famous Foods range

Winter evenings in February are always unpredictable, even though some days are warm, evenings are always chilly. During transition periods the trio of cold, cough and flu makes an appearance. At such times I mostly crave a hearty filling bowl of soupy noodles with a spicy zing and yesterday I had the perfect excuse – a chilly evening -and a freezer full of frozen delights from Iceland Foods World Famous Foods range. I cannot resist juicy BBQ pulled pork and thought an aromatic warming noodle soup topped with BBQ pulled pork was an apt choice – soup to warm your cockles and BBQ flavours to welcome the new season which is just around the corner.

Isn’t it great that you can enjoy summery flavours from across the world at any time you please by just stocking up your freezer with these delightfully diverse and flavoursome foods? The sheer convenience of having the #PowerofFrozen at your fingertips allowing you to create a whole host of budget-friendly, tasty meals that not only you and your family can enjoy but are perfect crowd-pleasers.

To make their frozen range even more convenient is the Chilled Life on the products, which clearly states how long a product can stay in the fridge to ensure that its high quality and taste are not impacted. The smart way to free up precious freezer space especially in the summer!

To make the meal healthy I used zero fat, low calorie and low carb, gluten-free noodles, and very little oil on high heat. You could swap the oil for a 1 cal oil spray too.

BBQ pulled pork Soup with aromatic low-carb, GF noodles

Iceland Foods has re-christened their slow-cooked range as the World famous foods range.

BBQ pulled Pork and aromatic noodle soup

Manjiri Chitnis
Easy recipe for Smoky BBQ pulled Pork in a delicious aromatic noodle soup
Print Recipe
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2 People

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Wok

Ingredients
  

  • 550 grams BBQ Mississippi Pulled Pork
  • 350 grams Beef stock from a 450 gm shop bought jar
  • 240 grams gm of mixed tender stem broccoli green beans, pak choi
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 pack bared naked noodles
  • 1/2 thumb-sized Cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 thumb-sized Ginger – peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 Thai red chilli – thinly sliced
  • 1/2 a stick of fresh fragrant lemongrass
  • 1/2 a medium sized red onion sliced lengthwise
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic deskinned and smashed roughly with the flat end of a knife
  • a pinch of brown castor sugar
  • Handful of fresh coriander roughly chopped
  • Some fresh chopped spring onion to garnish
  • 1 lime sliced into wedges
  • 2 medium boiled eggs

Instructions
 

  • Defrost the BBQ Mississippi pulled pork in the refrigerator for 24 hours before use
  • Place for 40 mins at 180 °C in a pre-heated oven
  • While the pork is heating in the oven, start with the noodle preparation
  • Heat a wok on medium heat
  • When the wok is hot add sesame oil and add the cinnamon, garlic, ginger and red onion
  • Cook on medium heat until the garlic and red onion turn a nice brown, then add the green beans and broccoli
  • Stir fry the green for about a minute on medium low heat before pouring in the beef stock
  • Add some water to thicken the stock if it is too thick and then added the cooked noodles. Throw in the sliced lemongrass stalk and sugar
  • If you are using noodles that need to be cooked beforehand, simply follow pack instructions.
  • I used Barenaked Noodles as they are zero fat, low in calories and extremely low carb
  • Add the pak choi and cook covered on a low heat for about one minute
  • To serve, add the noodle soup in each bowl then garnish with fresh coriander and some chopped spring onion. Place about 2 heaped tbsp of pulled pork in each bowl
  • Serve with a wedge of lime
  • Serve hot
BBQ Mississippi Pulled Pork
BBQ Mississippi Pulled Pork
BBQ Pulled Pork aromatic spicy noodle soup

Both hubby and I loved the thick and flavourful rich BBQ sauce and used some of the leftover sauce to drizzle over mushrooms stuffed with mature cheddar and oven cooked with just a spritz of chilli garlic oil – the result was mouth watering!

BBQ Pulled Pork spicy noodle soup

The entire range of World famous foods is available in stores at Iceland Foods from 20th Feb’17. The World famous range includes: Hoisin Duck Wings, OHSicilian Half Chicken, BBQ Mississippi Pulled Pork, BBQ Texan Down & Dirty Pulled Brisket, BBQ Memphis Baby Back Ribs, Minted Lamb Shanks, Garlic & Rosemary Lamb Leg. To find out more head to the Iceland Foods site here.

LOOKING FOR EASY TO MAKE, DELICIOUS SOUP AND STEW RECIPES? WHY NOT BROWSE THROUGH SOME OF MY EASY TO FOLLOW RECIPES:

This post was commissioned by Iceland Foods. As always all opinions are always my own.

Lamb Tasting Press event, London

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September first week will ring in the second year for British Lamb Week. A campaign that has been launched to popularise the versatile and tasty meat, especially to make it appealing to a younger audience.

Last year I was invited to the launch of this campaign which was hosted at Chef Cyrus Todiwala’s restaurant Cafe’ Spice Namaste’. As the new Lambassador for ‘ Tasty  Easy Lamb’ Cyrus very passionately demonstrated some quick and delicious ways to cook lamb. Lamb is perfect for the summer season as it can be barbecued or grilled and enjoyed al-fresco. Amongst other dishes, we tried a fabulously juicy Blue cheese stuffed lamb burger. The recipe for this by Chef Cyrus is too good not to share with all of you.

BlueCheeseStuffedLambBurger (Copy)

As expected the incredible spice man has incorporated the use of many wonderful spices in this recipe.

Blue cheese stuffed lamb burger recipe by Chef Cyrus Todiwala

Print Recipe
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 675 gms lamb mince
  • 1 finely chopped medium onion
  • 2-3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 x 2inch piece minced fresh ginger
  • 1 slender minced green chilli seeds included
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin powder
  • 1.5 tbsp ground coriander powder
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 3 heaped tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
  • 1 tsp Garam Masala powder
  • 1-2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp crushed black pepper

Forthe Stuffing

  • 150 gms Blue cheese, crumbled
  • 2 Finely chopped green chillies
  • 1 tbsp Finely chopped fresh coriander
  • 2 Finely chopped cloves of Garlic
  • Rolls or bread, to serve

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl gently mix all the burger ingredients together. Divide into 6 evenly sized burgers
  • In a small bowl blend the stuffing ingredients together and shape into equal-sized balls to stuff the burgers
  • Make an indentation in the centre of each burger with your thumb and fill with a ball of the cheese. Make sure the cheese is completely encased when you form the burger
  • Cook on a prepared grill or barbecue for 6-8 minutes on each side or until any meat juices run clear
  • Serve with your favourite bread or rolls with some sliced tomatoes, onion and lettuce and some relish

We must appreciate that the demand for meat consumption is ever increasing in spite of the many pressures on limited resources of our planet. But as a meat lover myself, I must say, that it is great to know that it is possible to love your planet while continuing to consume meat. One of the ways to do that is to choose to add locally produced lamb to your diet. It is not only easy to cook but also, lamb raised in the English countryside is among the most sustainable in the world.

Sheep and lambs graze on naturally occurring grass which is good for the environment. It helps permanent grasslands to pull in carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the soil. In addition, it preserves water quality and overall helps farms reduce their energy consumption. Along with being sustainable, sheep farming aids employment thereby building communities and supporting the economy.

Here is an easy kitchen cheat sheet to get you started with which cuts of lamb are best for what you want to cook, with handy tips on freezer storage and cooking techniques.

Lamb_Cheat_Sheet

So won’t you be doing to your bit to help protect the lambscape? The results of your kitchen experiments are bound to be lambtastic! Excuse the puns, I couldn’t resist 😉

Disclaimer:  With thanks to AHDB Beef & Lamb and Cyrus Todiwala for having me as a guest. As always, all opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review and was not compensated monetarily for this post. Kitchen cheat sheet chart and images provided by AHDB Beef & Lamb.

Roast Lamb Shoulder

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Succulent, delicious and easy to cook – Roast shoulder of Lamb

Happy New year everyone! 2015 has sped past at lightening pace and lots has happened offline and as well as online too. My blog has a new name and a new home and so do we, we finally decided to move ur from our tiny but very pretty flat to a new place with a proper kitchen for a change! Exciting times! I was not blogging as frequently as I would have liked to though but hope to put that behind me and regularly share my food and travel adventures with all of you. Speaking of travel I am happy to report that I started 2015 with a month-long trip to India and visited Chennai and Pondicherry apart from my usual trips to Mumbai and Pune! Very exciting and I have finally managed to write up some posts about Pondicherry – more later! We also did our first ever trip across the pond to the Big Apple and managed to squeeze in four days at Washington D.C too – was so exciting, but the best bit, of course, was that we spent Thanksgiving with our family and caught up with friends after many years – what a treat! 2015 was kind to me in other ways too, I was invited to many foodie events and met some really cool master chefs, tried exotic food and reviewed many restaurants and bars too – will soon share more as the year unfolds 🙂

On the very first of the New Year, I experimented with a cut of lamb that I haven’t before – a large shoulder of lamb that I decided to roast. Here is an easy to follow a recipe, the only tough bit – waiting for the meat to cook 😉

I wanted to use a cheaper cut than the usual ones, a lamb shoulder seemed like a good place to start – this joint cost me £7.99 per kilo from my local butcher. For that price, this cut gives some much more ‘bang for your buck’

Lamb’s shoulder is quite fatty so there is no need to add too much oil, the meat pretty much cooks in its own fat and the port wine I have used adds deep rich flavours to this very succulent cut of meat. A joint of this size also allows for a lot of leftovers and therefore a great way to make a range of other recipes – think stews, casseroles, curries, pulavs, tikkis (a mashed potato fritter stuffed with meat – a great tea time treat) and so many more. Great on the pocket and a great choice for winter recipes.

Try cooking with this highly underrated cut of Lamb today

How to make a great roast lamb shoulder
How to make a great roast lamb shoulder

I am happy that the baster I purchased for my Christmas roast chicken is proving to be very handy. I have to say that I am so proud that my Roast Chicken turned out absolutely fab and delicious – it was another experiment and the pork and cranberry stuffing and all the sides were made at home by me with lots of chopping, peeling and cutting help by the OH.

Juicy roast Lamb shoulder recipe

Easy recipe for Roast shoulder of lamb
Easy recipe for Roast shoulder of lamb

Roast Lamb Shoulder

Manjiri Chitnis
Deliciously succulent joint of lamb – cheap and cheerful roast
5 from 4 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 kg Lamb Shoulder
  • 2 medium-sized red onions
  • 15 -18 cloves
  • 6- 8 cloves of garlic
  • Sea Salt as per taste
  • 500 ml A generous glug of ruby port wine – approximately a pint
  • handful Fresh rosemary
  • 2 – 3 spritzs Oil – from a spray bottle

Instructions
 

  • Wash the lamb shoulder and place it on a tray.
  • Make cuts on both sides with a knife.
  • Peel and cut the garlic cloves in half. Stud the joint of lamb with cloves and garlic in the cuts made by the knife.
  • Sprinkle with sea salt. Tear the rosemary leaves from the stem and sprinkle them on both sides. (lamb and rosemary – a classic combination – just about to be made better with a little twist!)
  • Peel the onions, half, and then roughly chop them.
  • Place the onion on a roasting tray – I recycled my foil tray used for my making roast potatoes for our Christmas dinner.
  • Place the seasoned and prepared lamb shoulder on the onion and spritz with oil – I used oil very sparingly and find using oil from a spraying bottle ideal for this recipe.
  • Then pour a generous glug of ruby port wine onto the lamb – I didn’t measure this but added enough to ensure that the meat is totally wet and there is enough to make a gravy – allow for enough so that you can baste the meat at least twice while it is roasting in the oven. Roughly 500ml or one pint should suffice.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 220° C.
  • Cover the roasting tray with a foil such that the foil covers the edge of the tray like a proper lid.
  • Roast in the preheated oven for 2 hours, basting at least twice to allow the meat to cook thoroughly and ensure you get a succulent soft roast that simply falls off the bone.
  • After 2 hours check the roast and adjust cooking time accordingly – I needed about 40 mins more for a soft roast.

The lamb should now be at the ‘melt-in-your-mouth stage – serve with warm bread and steamed veggies on the side – ideally beans, carrots, and peas, or broccoli. Hubster is not fond of peas but I would be very happy lots of them 😉

Roast shoulder of lamb
 Roast shoulder of lamb

The leftovers will get a rub of my home-made hot spice mix that adds a warming touch to my curries and stews – leftover lamb curry – can’t wait to share that recipe – it’s definitely a winter warmer and a firm family favourite.

Inspired to give Lamb meat a chance? Then why not also have a look at other Lamb based recipes:

Also, have a look a my easy recipe for an aromatic and delicious recipe for a cracking home-made spice rub that will work to elevate the flavour of any cut of lamb!

Happy New Year once again folks and a lot of new and exciting recipe and travel posts coming up! wooooohoooo!

Korean Beef stir-fry

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What is one to do when left with a gorgeous cut of meat? Well other than eat it as is, would have been delicious given the meat in question was a 300 gm rump of steak with a fabulous chimichurri sauce. But I had other plans for the leftover steak. ( Where did I order this gorgeous steak? It was at CAU in Blackheath where I was invited for an Argentinian Street Food Masterclass where I learnt how to make empanadas and sampled some amazing authentic Argentinian cuisine. CAU group of restaurants is raising funds for the charity Action Against Hunger with the launch of #CAUnival a month-long celebration of  ‘Friend’s Day’ or Dia do Amigo. Read all about it here )

The thought of a spicy Korean beef stir fry served with a comforting bowl of rice was very appealing. I wanted to ensure that I made the most of the succulent medium-rare cooked beef and gave the vegetables just the right amount of flavour without any flavour overpowering the already moreish chimichurri dressing.

Korean Beef Stir Fry

Korean Beef Stir Fry

Ingredients:

  • 250 gm beef  (in this case I used leftovers from a medium-rare cooked steak with a chimichurri sauce)
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp Chimmichuri dressing
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 a red Thai chilli
  • 250 gm of vegetables – carrots sliced into ribbons, green beans, bok choy
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • Chopped fresh spring onion to garnish
  • 1 tsp red chilli flakes
  • Salt to taste

Argentinian Lomito Steak with Chimichurri

Argentinian Lomito Steak with Chimichurri

Method:

  • Slice the beef thinly and set aside soaking in the chimichurri dressing. The chimichurri contains paprika, garlic, parsley, tangy vinegar and oil. Packed with favour this Argentinian steak sauce pairs surprisingly well with the spicy Korean flavours of the stir fry. If you are serving the Korean beef stir fry with steamed rice then leave it to cook before starting on the beef, so that it is ready soon after the beef is done.
  • Remove the skin from the garlic cloves.
  • Heat the sesame oil in a large wok and fry the garlic cloves in the hot oil until it just begins to brown. Sprinkle the dried red chilli flakes into the hot oil.

Garlic,red chilli and dried chilli flakes in sesame oi

Garlic, red chilli and dried chilli flakes in sesame oil

  • Then add the chopped red chilli and add the carrots followed the beans, allow them to cook ensuring the vegetables still have a bite in them. Stir in the soy sauce and season with a little salt. (Light soy sauce has less salt content that’s why I generally prefer it over dark soy sauce)
  • Remove the vegetables and set aside in a bowl with a lid.
  • Then add the sliced beef into the wok and stir fry on heat for under a minute as the beef is already almost cooked.
  • Now reduce the heat to a minimum and add in the vegetables, add the bok choy and drizzle the chimichurri sauce over this. Mix everything well together.

Mixing the vegetables and the stir fried beef

Mixing the vegetables and the stir-fried beef

  • Remove from the wok and serve with the steaming hot sticky rice. Garnish with chopped spring onion for a fresh, crunchy garnish.

Korean Beef Stir Fry

Korean Beef Stir Fry

Chicken Tikka Masala – Air-Fryer

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Friday nights – when all you want to do is get home, put your feet up and watch some telly while tucking into your favourite takeaway.

Chicken Tikka Masala
                                                                             Chicken Tikka Masala

But here are some staggering facts about the eating habits of Britons and how many calories are consumed on an average with a takeaway meal. According to Tefal’s ActiFryday Report:

  • From a study of the 5 most popular dishes, it was found that the nation consumes 12,400 tonnes of saturated fat through takeaway’s alone.
  • Brits eat up to 2900 calories and 161 grams of fat in their most popular takeaway meal.
  • Friday is the most popular day to order.

Not surprising then the survey revealed this shocking statistic –

BRITONS FEAST ON MORE THAN 12,000 TONNES OF SATURATED FAT FROM TAKEAWAYS EACH YEAR

Am sure you are as shocked after reading these statistics as I was. So naturally when Tefal asked me to take on their Actifryday challenge – to swap a typical Friday night takeaway for a healthier alternative –  I was in.

Tefal Actifry XL
Tefal Actifry XL

I decided to give the Chicken Tikka Masala recipe that they sent me a go. Why? Because  I have always been very intrigued by the recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala – a dish that I only ate when I first came to the U.K a few years ago. CTM, as it is popularly called, is, without doubt, the nations favourite British-Indian curry. Part of its popularity is attributed to the fact that its origin is quite disputed and many have staked a claim as to the dish being their own invention. While some believe that it was dish born out of necessity to satiate the British palate’s need to serve chicken in a gravy which can be mopped up with naan or rice, it is also believed that it is a variation of butter chicken. Many also firmly believe that it’s rooted like in Mughlai cuisine and it was one of the many culinary inventions that were born to suit the English palate when the migrant population from post-partition India, Pakistan and Bangladesh came into Britain. Of course, I was not going to follow the recipe without making some changes of my own. I normally make all my own masala’s and marinades from scratch and all of them can be stored and/ or frozen to be used later. I used half of the tikka masala paste I made and froze the rest. Find my easy recipe for tikka masala on my blog here.

Tikka Masala Paste
Tikka Masala Paste

Since this is a recipe which aims to reduce the fat content the double cream that normally goes in the curry is replaced by low-fat natural yoghurt. Figuring out how to use my new Tefal Actifry XL was not difficult at all and the instruction booklet is quite simple to follow too. Once the removable parts have been hand washed and dried completely, I set about making a Chicken Tikka Masala. Here is my modified version of the Chicken Tikka Masala recipe:

Chicken Tikka Masala – Air Fryer Recipe

Manjiri Chitnis
Make a lighter version of this hugely popular Indian dish and create your own 'fake'away with my easy to follow recipe for my homemade Chicken Tikka Masala, the air-fryer version
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Fusion Indian
Servings 2 people

Equipment

  • Air-Fryer

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 2cm pieces
  • 100 g Tikka Masala curry paste
  • 2 pots 150g size natural low-fat yoghurt
  • 1 ActiFry spoon of vegetable Oil
  • 1 Large finely chopped onion and made into a thick paste
  • 390 g canned premium chopped tomatoes made into a puree
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • 1 onion gravy flavour pot – I used Knorr
  • 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
  • 150 ml of water
  • 1/2 teaspoon of sugar – I used a substitute -Natvia
  • 2 teaspoons on lemon juice
  • Salt as per taste
  • Handful – Fresh coriander leaves – chopped fine – to garnish

Instructions
 

  • In a large bowl mix the Tikka Masala paste with 4 tablespoons of yoghurt. Add the chicken in the coat then cover. Leave the marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours or ideally overnight – this will ensure the flavours have really seeped in, into the chicken
  • Heat oil in ActiFry for 2 minutes. Add the onion paste and cook for 5 minutes. I simply chopped the onion fine in my food processor and sprinkled some water to give it movement and gave it 2 spins at low speed. The result was a thick onion paste which is a much better way to use the onion in this recipe in the Actifry
  • Add the marinated chicken and cook for another 10 minutes. This ensures that the Actifry is hot enough to bruise the ends of the chicken giving it a similar treatment to what the griddle pan will. But of course, the bruising is minimal and cannot be compared to grilling the meat. But this is where the addition of smoked paprika in the chicken tikka paste plays a big role as it works with the chicken and the cooking process to impart a much better smoky effect than without
  • In a small glass bowl crush the chicken stock cube, add the onion gravy flavour pot and smoked paprika and pour 2 tbsp of hot water. With the back of a spoon mix well until a thick paste is formed
  • Add the tomato puree, the mixture with the stock and water cook for another 10 minutes. Add salt to taste but keep in mind that the chicken stock cube contains a lot of salt, so taste some of the gravy base before adding additional salt
  • Remove the CTM into a bowl and then stir in remaining yoghurt. Then add the sugar and mix well
  • Add the lemon juice mix well and top with a handful of freshly chopped coriander leaves
  • Serve with steaming hot basmati rice, jeera rice or naan
Keyword Chicken Tikka Masala

If you would like to view the original recipe from Tefal click here. To save time you can purchase the tikka masala paste too.

Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Tikka Masala

Both hubby and I were quite satisfied with this low-calorie version of CTM and it definitely can hold it’s own in terms of taste. Of course, the texture of tandoor grilled chicken tikkas and the unmistakeable creaminess of double cream is missing. But it’s a win-win on 2 very important factors :

  • Saving on unnecessary calories from the grease and oil from a takeaway. Thus eliminating the risk of eating artery-clogging saturated fats.
  • Tefal Actifry is easy to use and very easy to cook in. With a little effort and planning it’s not at all difficult to produce a delicious curry – a healthier alternative to your takeaway- at home.

The Tefal ActiFry Express XL is available from John Lewis RRP £249.99, subject to availability and price may differ.

*With thanks to Tefal for sending me a Tefal Actifry XL for review. No request was made for a positive review.No monetary compensation was provided. As usual, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Tikka Masala

Easy Moroccan Chicken one pot meal

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The chill in the air is just right for warming one-pot meals. Make them healthy, quick, and easy to put together and you have a winner on your hands. Last year at the Cake and Bake show which I attended with a dear friend and fellow blogger,  I ended up spending a bomb (£££!!!!) on four different sized pots – non – stick being one of their biggest virtues. One of them is a huge wok which I intend to use to make a stir fry over the weekend. The coating is said to last for years and each vessel comes with a glass lid. I can apparently also shove them directly into the oven but haven’t tried that yet. The big and rather saucepan is what I use as my crockpot for making one-pot meals in. In fact, there is something very comforting watching a warming curry or gorgeously tasty and nutritious one-pot meals!

heaven in a saucepan - healthy , happy meals begin here!

Ok so coming back to my one pot recipe. I had a bag of baby spinach leaves in my fridge and was craving a wholesome soupy stew with lots of vegetables. So managed to gather a few things that I think would taste great together and then added in Knorr onion gravy pots and Knorr mixed chilli pot for flavour and the result was so very satisfying.  But the best part was adding in Ras El Hanout a delicious and fiery moroccan and North African fragrant spice mix. The delicate dried rose petals look so pretty , that’s why I decided to name my dish Moroccan Chicken one pot.I also devoured it for lunch today – umm.

Moroccan Chicken one pot meal

Make this in a large quantity and it will freeze well. Batch cooking is highly recommended as it saves you time and ensures that you do not eat things that you will end up regretting when you are hard pressed for time and simply cannot cook.The freezer is a wonderful boon, use it!

I purchased a beautiful Red Leicester and Pumpkin seed batard to go with my meal – it is soul-satisfying to mop up the thick gravy with the bread while sitting on the couch watching my fav crime show on the telly, feeling all warm and happy.

The best part of this recipe is I haven’t added in potatoes or extra sugar to taste and yet the flavours are so well balanced. (Though both gravy pots do contain sugar) I love stocking up on these tiny Knorr flavour pots they are life-savers!

A recipe with enough spinach to make Popeye jump with joy! Spinach has several health benefits and is known to be a great source of folic acid and several essential vitamins and great levels of iron too. Best part is a big bag of spinach can be consumed in no time as the leaves are high in water content and it reduces in size when cooked.

Moroccan Chicken one pot meal

Easy Moroccan Chicken one pot

Serves:4  Preparation Time: 10 minutes  Cooking time: approx 25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • Olive oil 2 tbsp
  • 1 large red onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • Mixed bag of broccoli, carrot and cauliflower – 270 gm
  • Chicken thighs – 500 gm – appox 3 big pieces
  • Trimmed green beans – 75 gm
  • Chestnut Mushrooms – 4 – 5
  • 1.5 Knorr onion gravy flavour pot
  • 1 Knorr mixed chillies flavour pot
  • 4 handfulls of spinach leaves
  • Red lentils – without skin and halved 3/4th cup
  • 1/2 tsp of Ras El Hanout
  • 1/2 tsp of roasted cumin powder
  • Water

Method:

  • Remove the skin from the chicken thighs after washing thoroughly under running water.
  • Chop the chicken thighs to make strips of the flesh leaving just enough on the bone.
  • Wash and cut the broccoli, carrots,cauliflower, green beans and chestnut mushrooms bits into bite sized pieces.
  • Slice an onion lengthwise into fine strips.
  • Remove the skin from the garlic cloves and chop into tiny bits.
  • In a large saucepan or stock pot heat olive oil on a medium flame, when the oil becomes to heat up add the finely chopped garlic and saute’ until they turn a golden brown then add in the sliced onion.
  • Stirring occasionally allow the onion to sweat and just when it begins to brown add in the chopped vegetables and saute for half a minute.
  • Then add in the chicken thighs and saute for another minute.
  • Then wash and add the red lentils , add enough water to create a thick gravy – enough to allow the lentils to cook and not soak up all the water. Then add in the Knorr flavour pots and mix well.
Big, beautiful pot of healthy goodness - absolutely irresistible!
  • Then add the washed spinach leaves, cumin powder and cover and cook on a medium flame for 15 minutes.
Gorgeous Bowl of goodness with immunity boosting spinach and delicious veggies
  • By now the lentils will have cooked and the chicken will almost be done too.
  • Then taste the soupy water and if it is too spicy add just a very tiny pinch the Ras El Hanout , I added 1/2 a tsp as the taste reminded me of garam masala. Ras El Hanout is a moroccan mixture of fragrant spices with rose petals and gives the stock pot a gorgeous full bodied flavour.
  • Cook for a further 10-15 minutes on a gentle low flame.
  • Serve in large bowls with a big portion of the pumpkin batard bread.
Moroccan Chicken one pot meal recipe

Easy Ham and cheese tart recipe

by 12 Comments

Hello Everyone!

I have been away on a long holiday in Indian for almost four weeks. I got back last week and it has taken my system a few days to throw off the jet-lag completely and my internal thermostat to acclimatise to the massive difference in the weather.But am back now all refreshed and raring to go! So expect a lot of new and fun recipes, LOTS of travel posts and many photographs from my foodie and travel adventures – oh yes not to mention more exciting competitions, fabulous restaurant reviews and events that I will be going to soon – woohoo!

While I was in India I did a fair bit of travelling to Chennai, Pondicherry and shuttling between Mumbai and Pune. So all the resulting fatigue has taken it’s toll too.

Besides have discovered that I do have a fair amount of catching up to do with my blogging as well. hummm

So dinner the day after I landed had had to be a simple affair, because my body clock was still following IST. We decided to make a quick and super easy yet delicious Turkey, Ham and cheese tart using my own recipe. Hubster and me are both big fans of Jus-Rol as it really can save the day when things are crazy busy or plain lazy 😉

I have made a few minor tweaks to the original recipe but other than that it was smooth sailing. Here is my version:

Prep. Time: Less than 10 minutes
Makes: 2 servings
Total Time: 35 mins
Ingredients:
  • 320 gm Jus-Rol™ puff pastry ready rolled sheet
  • 2 medium onion peeled & chopped fine
  • 100 gm cooked ham diced
  • 1-2 tbsp oil
  • 3 heaped tbsp Gran Luchito smoked chilli honey
  • 250 gm cooked turkey diced
  • Salt & black pepper
  • 75 gm grated Parmesan Cheese

Method:

  1. Heat oil in a large pan, gently sauté the onion until it is translucent, then add the diced ham and cook on a low flame for about 2 minutes. Meanwhile remove the Jus-Rol™ puff pastry ready rolled sheet and allow it to rest while the filling is being prepared.
  2. Add the turkey,season to taste and then add the smoked chilli honey. Stir continuously to ensure the chilli honey does not burn and cook on a gentle, low flame for a further 2 minutes.
  3. Prepare a baking tray by lining with a baking sheet and carefully place the Jus-Rol™ puff pastry ready rolled sheet onto the baking sheet.
  4. Preheat oven to 220°C/(200°C for fan assisted ovens)/Gas 7.
  5. Spoon out the turkey and ham mixture onto the baking sheet and sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese over the mixture.
  6. Bake in the preheated for 20 minutes and serve hot.

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I remember going to buy Jus- Rol at a supermarket two years ago post Christmas and it simply wasn’t available anywhere. Clearly people had been smart and stocked up on this lifesaving fridge fav for all those leftover meals after the big day. And have since then made a mental note to stock up well in advance for future occasions. There have been numerous dinners and surprise tea time treats for unannounced but welcome visitors who have been fed piping hot treats with several hot cuppas thanks to that pastry roll lying in my fridge! So like many of my store  cupboard essentials this is one of my life savers and will almost always be found living in my refrigerator.

I loved this recipe and now am looking forward to more experiments with Jus-Rol .

If you need more inspiration to get creative with Jus-Rol why not check out these gorgeous recipes on the Jus-Rol website ?

*With thanks to Jus-Rol and the  PR team for sending vouchers to buy some samples of Jus-Rol  for review . No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. As always all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Smoky and Spicy Lamb Burgers

by 27 Comments

Come Summer and I am one happy bunny,more so because I really miss the omnipresent sunshine from back home in Mumbai city! But the one thing I love the most about the British Summer is the amazing BBQ’s we have ! Last years most fun barbie was at our friends place , we OD’ed  on grilled seafood and Pimms – hoping to have a repeat of that this year !

Some friends have a BBQ planned for later this month but I couldn’t wait so got myself some lamb mince and decided to use some fresh mushrooms and add my own twist to the burgers with a bright red smoked sweet red pepper! My trusty old griddle pan at hand , I turned my tiny urban open plan kitchen into a tiny BBQ party venue!

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Perfect time to use up some of the wonderful La Chinata smoked paprika powder.

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Ingredients:

  • 500 gm Lamb Mince
  • 1 bunch of spring onion
  • 1 big sweet red pepper
  • 250 gm button mushrooms
  • 150 gm cherry tomatoes
  • 3  tsp sweet paprika powder La Chinata
  • 1 tsp red chilli flakes
  • 2 tsp garlic paste
  •  4 tsp coriander powder
  • a large sprig of fresh rosemary
  • 1 1/2 tbsp chilli oil
  • Salt to taste

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Method:

  • Flame roast the sweet red pepper on a gas flame, if you’re doing a BBQ ,first rub some oil and garlic paste onto it.
  • After it has been roasted and cooled down a bit,peel off the skin and chop fine
  • Chop the mushrooms to tiny bite sized pieces
  • Finely chop the spring onions and cherry tomatoes
  • Wash the lamb mince under a running tap by placing it inside a sieve.
  •  Mix the chopped smoked sweet red pepper, mushrooms,spring onions ,cherry tomatoes,rosemary,chilli flakes,sweet smoked paprika powder from La Chinata and coriander powder,paprika and salt.

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  • Knead all the ingredients into the mixture.
  • Make mini burger patties by taking palm sized portions of this mixture and ty and pat them into roughly round shape.
  • On a griddle pan add some chilli oil and place a few burgers on it. Cook them for a few minutes on one side and them flip and repeat.
  • Serve the cooked lamb burgers inside wholegrain soft burger buns generously lined with butter , a thick slice of cheese, pickles,crunchy salad leaves and doused with ketchup. Or if you’d rather not then eat them plain – I did , served with some grilled button mushrooms and tender shoots of asparagus on which I slathered generous amounts of smoked paprika sweet chilli powder mixed with some oil and garlic paste – pure heaven!

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The sweet smoked paprika powder gives the lamb burgers a definite sweet hot flavour and the others spices combine well with the vegetables.Its also a great way to get fussy eaters to eat veggies hidden in layers of delicious meat and spices. I would have loved to add some boiled green peas too, they would add more bulk and taste too.

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*With thanks to La Chinata for sending samples  for review.No monetary compensation was provided for this post.All views expressed are my own.

 

Spicy Chorizo Pasta with loads of veggie goodness!

by 13 Comments

I often struggle to get the hubster to consume hero veggies like Broccoli and Mushrooms ,both which I quite frankly love .. always have ! So what started off as a veg pasta was met with a grunt and audible grumbling and had to be re-engineered to create something fabulous ! I am therefore grateful for the grumbling  – totally depends on the end result right? 😉 Its also a very good recipe to use all the veggies lying around in your fridge and many some store cupboard excesses to start that spring clean you have been itching to do ( yes I love cleaning – am quite certain I have a mild OCD too)

Preparation Time: 25 minutes Cooking Time:40 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 500 gm Penne
  • 300 gm Chorizo chopped bite size
  • Broccoli a handful
  • Button Mushrooms – half a small packet – std supermarket size-chopped bite size
  • 200 gm Sweet Corn and Red Peppers canned
  • Grated parmesan Cheese – generous amount;)
  • 1/2 of a large Red Onion
  • 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • 2 large tomatoes pureed
  • Sea salt
  • 2 large tablespoons Olive Oil
  • Chilli flakes as per taste
  • 2 large Spring onion finely chopped
  • 1/4th cup low fat cream
  • Dried italian herb mix for pasta 2 teaspoons

Method:

For the creamy sauce

  • In a saucepan heat one and a half large tablespoon of oil and saute the finely chopped garlic and when it begins to brown add 2 cloves of garlic chopped spring onion and saute for about 1 min
  • Then added the finely chopped broccoli
  • Now add the chopped button mushrooms and the sweet corn and red pepper mixture.
  • Add the cream and cook on a low flame for 2 – 3 minutes,season with salt  and then add generous amounts of cheese.
  • This sauce should have a balance between creamy and chewy with the mushrooms on the broccoli can retain a bit of its crunch so if you use a lid it may overcook

Before starting on the spicy sauce boil the past in a large saucepan and add sea salt and olive  a generous splash I use flavoured oil – the bottle had a large sprig of rosemary some crushed garlic and chilli flakes tossed inside to give it a deep rich flavour- so , so good!

For the Spicy Sauce

  • In a saucepan heat half a tablespoon of oil and fry the red onion chopped lengthwise and 2 garlic cloves finely chopped.
  • Then add the bite  sized pieces of Chorizo and reduce the flame to low.
  • Let the chorizo almost start to get crispy and  then added the pureed tomatoes,dried herb mixture,chilli flakes and salt as per taste.

In a clean bowl add a generous portion of the creamy sauce, top it with cooked pasta and then add the spicy chorizo sauce.Sprinkle with as much cheese as you want and watch it melt into the steaming hot pasta.If you want just a bit of guilty pleasure drizzle some chilli olive oil on the pasta before mixing the whole thing together!

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