Travels for Taste

Tales of travel and food with a touch of spice

The Queensbury Kitchen – NW London’s fab new All Day Bar and Grill

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First impressions of walking out of Willesden Green Tube station is of a quite suburb where even the high street seems welcoming and not maddeningly crowded.  My reason for venturing into a leafy suburb in NW London that evening – an invitation to attend a bloggers review dinner at The Queensbury Kitchen – a New All Day Bar and Grill which opened to the public late last year.

We had the long central communal table with high stools reserved for the evening and a tempting selection of cocktails to start with.

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I loved the interiors which seamlessly incorporate the industrial chic feel with the understated. White tiles, rustic tables , a turntable sitting in the corner belting out numbers on the L.P’s,  tungsten filament bulbs illuminating the tables add a cosy touch this lovely new grill and bar.

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The Mango Chilli Caiprisoka (£7) is just what you need to unwind after a long day , the sweet and sour taste of fresh mango slices work fabulously well with Vodka and the chilli gives your palate a sharp kick neatly balanced by the chilled ice and lime wedges. If you want to try something quirky I recommend the Evergreen cocktail, avocado and alcohol why not!

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First up we were served several sharing platters with BBQ Chicken (for £15 you get a whole organic chicken in a selection of 3 fab sauces – BBQ, Cajun and Bloody Mary!), Blackened Salmon (£9) and mini burgers (£7) – both regular and chickpea and feta too.

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Then followed mixed leaf salads (£3) , sweet potato fries (£4) and onion rings  (£3). When the Macaroni cheese (£4) came along, it was like nothing else on the table mattered – I thought it would start a war at the table 😉

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If that is making you salivate , you can well imagine what happened when the ribs came to the table . I had waited all evening to try the  the pièce de ré·sis·tance and I wasn’t disappointed. Not bad for £15 huh?

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Though we were sure that we wouldn’t be able to eat another morsel, one look at the desserts and our defenses crumbled. After all platters of cheescake, brownies with ice cream and tall ice-cream sundae glasses are simply impossible to resist right? Just £5 each too 😉

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And it’s not just British classics and Quirky cocktails that they do well, they also serve up a good selection of breakfast menu options at great prices, am talking Eggs Benedict/Royal or Eggs Florentine for £6 – now why not go get yourself a lazy breakfast or brunch with freshly brewed coffee this weekend? Go on, you know you want to!

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This is another one of those epic review dinners that I will always remember for the fabulous food, great company, brilliant staff, fab service and the Chef for spoiling us with a great selection of food. A special mention to the PR agency and all their team members that went our of their way to make the each one of us feel well looked after, making for a really comfortable and enjoyable evening.

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So if it’s great evening out with your friends or simply chilling out with your colleagues after work that your after then head to The Queensbury Kitchen, it’s a stones throw away from the Willesden Green Tube station and good on your pocket too. Am thinking new favourite watering hole on Friday nights for those around Waterloo . Well, you got to try the ribs and the punchy Mango and Chilli Caipiroska atleast once to know what I am talking about!

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*With  thanks to Fiona who blogs at London Unattached  for inviting me for a great evening out also the PR Agency and The Queensbury Kitchen. No monetary compensation was offered for a positive review. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. All images used were provided by the PR agency.

Tofu and whole red lentils salad

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A love affair with Tofu

I am currently in love with a few things like red lentils, avocados, butternut nut squash, oranges, baby spinach, baby kale, walnuts and matcha green tea. I somehow can’t seem to get enough of this. Also my love affair with tofu is just getting more passionate.

Easy Vegetarian Tofu Salad

The long Easter weekend has sped past far too quickly for me and I am now back to work. I just wanted to keep lunch really light today – guilty after ordering a Chinese takeaway yesterday *sad face*

So this recipe is basically me throwing together stuff found in my fridge, not necessarily planned but just what I thought would taste yummy and am very pleased with the result.

Fusion Indian Salad

Whole Masoor Dal and Tofu salad
Whole Masoor Dal and Tofu salad

Whole Masoor daal and Tofu salad

Manjiri Chitnis
Deicious, fusion Indian flavours in a vegetraian salad that is wholesome and very easy to put together
Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Course Salad
Cuisine Fusion Indian
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 80 gm Baby Spinach
  • 150 gm Whole Red lentils
  • 50 gm Tofu
  • 75 gm Butternut Squash and sweet potato diced
  • 1/2 Avocado
  • 1/2 Knorr stock pot – onion gravy
  • 1/2 Knorr stock pot mixed chillies
  • Few Walnuts chopped roughly to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius
  • Line a baking tray with a baking sheet
  • place the diced butternut squash and sweet potato, drizzle some olive oil, smoked sea salt, and black pepper.
  • Wash the whole red lentils ( laal masoor ) in a sieve under running water
  • Place the washed whole red lentils with double the quantity of water in a small saucepan and add in the Knorr stock pots of onion gravy and mixed chillies.
  • Cover with a lid and allow to boil until the dal is completely cooked. Top up with more water if you think it is running dry
  • Place the tofu on a non-stick pan and dry roast on a low-medium flame for about 4 minutes each side or until done
  • Meanwhile, half the avocado, scoop out the flesh and roughly cut into large chunks with a spoon
  • Remove the butternut squash and sweet potato from the oven and set aside
  • Remove the lid from the saucepan with the cooked whole red lentils and allow them to rest for a while, as they should not be too hot when served, also allowing it to sit will help the dal to absorb any excess water, if there is too much excess water simply drain it
  • To plate, divide the spinach leaves equally on the plate, then serve the cooked masoor dal on top, followed by the oven roasted butternut squash and sweet potato, dry roasted tofu and finally top with the walnuts to garnish

Notes

  • Laal = Red in Marathi
  • Masoor = Red Lentils in Marathi
  • For this recipe, I have used whole red lentils with brown skin on. Alternatively, if you are pressed for time, you could use cooked ready to eat Puy lentils, but then you would accordingly need to adjust the time used to cook them with the stockpot I use a fan assisted oven, adjust setting accordingly to suit your oven type
  • I purchased a ready to roast pack of diced butternut squash and sweet potato from the supermarket
  • If like me you like to batch cook and also have cooked ingredients at hand to use at a later date, then, you could roast a larger batch of the diced butternut squash and sweet potato, so that you have these ready to be used in soups, salads, and curries
  • If you like your tofu firm then cut out about 1/4th of the tofu from the pack and place it on a kitchen towel to remove excess water, then place another plate on top keep something on this plate to weigh it down. Leave aside for 10 minutes. This should drain the excess water from the tofu. Alternatively, just cut the tofu straight from the pack into large chunks
  • If like me, you haven’t drained and pressed the tofu to become extra firm, then handle it very gently with a wooden spatula as it easily crumbles

Quick and easy fusion Indian vegetarian salad recipe

Whole Masoor Dal and Tofu salad
Whole Masoor Dal and Tofu salad

I found that this salad didn’t require any dressing or drizzling as the cooked dal works well with the succulent and sweet squash and the tofu adds texture and tastes great with the spinach. Walnuts add crunch, taste fab and are great for those who try this salad for the first time expecting it to be boring. Avocado I like with everything so I simply like having it in there.

I am up for experimenting and may try various permutations of this salad with the following toppings, not only will they make your salad more interesting but also help you reduce food wastage by finding new ways to recycle any of the following leftovers :

  • Steamed fish – salmon and topped with pine nuts
  • Pan grilled Tofu and walnuts
  • Slices of pork salami with nuts

I shall be reporting back with happy experiments with salads and smoothies soon  for now am just very satisfied with the end result and the fact that I am back to eating healthy.

Whole Masoor Dal and Tofu salad
Whole Masoor Dal and Tofu salad

Looking for recipe inspiration to create your own salad? Why not browse through my other salad recipe posts:

Recipes where salads are the Main event

Seafood salads

Vegetarian Salads

Salads as a side dish

Kale, Spinach and fruity superfood smoothie

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Am back with another smoothie post, this one was even better than my previous green one in that, that hubster really enjoyed it and was blissfully unaware about how much Kale he had unknowingly added into his system 🙂

Also, Chia seeds are now a permanent feature of our smoothies and I add them into our porridge too, they are quite bland on their own and go with almost anything. They are a superfood and antioxidant boosting. Besides starting your day with a green smoothie keeps you going for longer, with a healthier fuller feeling which does not spike your blood sugar levels as some other sugar-laden juices can do , which then suddenly lead to a crash and thus result in hunger pangs.

What’s fab about this smoothie?

  • Chia seeds are 100% natural whole grains that are rich in omega-3, antioxidants, fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Great for those who have Type 2 diabetes as chia seeds can significantly lower blood pressure and a marker for inflammation.
  • Kale is rich in Vitamins K and C and is calcium, also it contains a chemical called sulforaphane which has anti-cancer properties.
  • Spinach helps boost iron levels and is a rich source of various Vitamins like B2, K, C & A.
Kale, Spinach and fruity superfood smoothie

Kale, Spinach and fruity super food smoothie

Manjiri Chinis
Delicious smoothie packed with the green goodness of spinach and kale
Print Recipe
Prep Time 2 mins
Cook Time 2 mins
Course Breakfast
Cuisine Fusion
Servings 2

Equipment

  • Blender

Ingredients
  

  • 250 gm Large handful of baby spinach leaves per person
  • 250 gm Large handful of Kale leaves per person
  • 2 avocadoes
  • 1 pear
  • Coconut water
  • a small knob of ginger
  • Chia seeds and fresh berries to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Chop the ginger into small bits after roughly removing the skin, if the ginger is super fresh you can use the back of a spoon to easily peel of the fine layer of skin.
  • Roughlychop the pear
  • Half the avocados, remove the seed and roughly make large chunks
  • Washthe spinach and kale under running water in a colander
  • Simplychuuk all the above ingredients into a food processor with the coconut waterand add very little water just to give the smoothie some more movement while itmixes in the food processor
  • Adjust the quantitiesaccording to how many servings you want to make
  • Sprinkle with some chia seeds and a raspberry or two and drink up for a delicious and filling smoothie that will do wonders for your body and mind!
Keyword smoothie

* With information gleaned off Wiki and some other useful sites and articles. Having said that am not a nutrition expert and am trying hard to get onto a balanced diet and exercise regime and educating myself to understand superfoods, how to eat cleaner, healthier and incorporate more raw foods, how to eat the right food at the right time to reduce blood sugar and how to fight off diabetes and other obesity led disorders.

Kale, Spinach and fruity superfood smoothie
Kale, Spinach and fruity superfood smoothie

I use my powerful and efficient Froothie U.K Optimum G2.1 Platinum blender to make my smoothies. I cannot imagine a single day in my kitchen where I go without using the blender. Why not have a look at my other recipes where I have made a quick job of the prep using my Froothie UK blender:

Avocado,Spinach and fruity Green Smoothie

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It’s a relatively bright and sunny but chilly February morning and the bright sunlight streaming through my kitchen window is not letting me sit down work due to the blinding light getting into my eyes. I have now moved to a cozy spot on the couch but it’s making me drowsy…

While I was away in India and eating all the wonderful local food, I also started reading up on a lot of things related to food, what we eat and how it affects us and how our body reacts to it all.

Now let me share some facts about myself – I am lazy – very lazy and not the type who will ever go the gym even twice a week – I have ended up wasting money in 2 currencies and 3 cities so I should know that however fabulous the gym it simply does NOT work for me.

Nor does dieting – I feel deprived and end up stuffing my face even more.

So what’s the way out when I have finally made a decision to eat sensibly and loose as much weight as I can without going mad. Well, past 2 weeks I have broken down my meals to smaller portions, trying to eat 5 small meals instead of 3 every day and have drastically cut down on sugar consumption. By sugar I don’t mean granulated sugar but sugar hidden in various food.

I have procured a chart about which foods are high in carbs and thus break down into sugar while they are being digested. Am consciously trying to read up more and steer clear of obviously sugar laden foods and any sugary foods are out. Thankfully I quit sugar in my tea years ago so that is not a problem but yes saying no to alcohol and other foods is not going to be easy. But then nothing good come by too easy does it?

Avocado, Spinach and Fruity Green Smoothie - Bursting with the goodness your body NEEDS every day!

Avocado, Spinach and Fruity Green Smoothie – Bursting with the goodness your body NEEDS every day!

So here goes, my morning smoothie recipe – an attempt to start the day on a healthy note :

Serves: 1 – makes 2 small glass fulls

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 a Banana
  • 1/2 of a big pear
  • 1/2 of a big avocado
  • 1 Royal Gala Apple
  • 2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
  • a small knob of ginger

Method:

  • Chop the ginger into small bits after roughly removing the skin, if the ginger is super fresh you can use the back of a spoon to easily peel of the fine layer of skin.
  • Roughly chop all the fruits into chunks.Break the banana half by hand.
  • Simply chuck all the above ingredients into a food processor and add very little water just to give the smoothie some movement and consistency.

I prefer a thick consistency the type you can scoop out using a spoon as it is simply more satisfying and increases the feeling of being full.

This made 2 small glasses and I had both of them , simply double up the quantity for 2 people and so on and so forth.

Avocado, Spinach and Fruity Green Smoothie - Bursting with the goodness your body NEEDS every day!

Avocado, Spinach and Fruity Green Smoothie – Bursting with the goodness your body NEEDS every day!

Leafy, green, tasty, bursting with fruity goodness and taste, this smoothie is an immune system booster and full of all things good for your body. It will definitely boost sagging energy levels and induce a feel-good factor. The smooth creamy taste added by the avocado is a bonus!

I have linked up my recipe with Credit Crunch Munch which is a frugal food recipe sharing challenge developed by Helen over at Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla over at Fab Food 4 All and guest hosted by the lovely Elizabeth who blogs at Elizabeth’s Diary,  linked up for Feb 2015 on her blog post too.

 

Spicy Grilled Chicken Bites With a Cooling Avocado Dip

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With an obvious change in the weather, we all are living in fear that this year’s glorious summer is coming to an end. I was lucky enough to get a few invites to barbecue parties in the past few months and had my share of some really divine meats and grills and some rather lumpy or burnt bits too!!!

Lucky because I live in a tiny rented flat with a small open plan kitchen. I try all sorts of tricks to fool myself into thinking that I am cooking in the fresh open outdoors. One of my favourite tricks to fool myself and get some tasty tidbits on my plate is by using a grid pan and earthy spices with smoked sea salt, delicious dips and of course washing these down with chilled beer.

Since I always seem to have some basic purees and pastes frozen and hiding in some corner of my tiny freezer I try and use them up quickly to ensure I always have place for some frozen desserts. One such favourite spicy green paste is made with one medium sized bunch of fresh coriander and 2 bright green chillies. Coriander is expensive and a regular feature in my kitchen so I try and freeze it after chopping it fine or better still making this paste and just adding large spoons to curries which gives them an instant face lift!

For a spicy twist on grilled chicken I decided to make these easy to pick and pop in the mouth pieces of chunky chicken making it a more fun way to share your food on the table. I love that it’s easy to just throw things on the pan and even the dip is a no fuss 3 step recipe which is a brilliant companion to the heat of the chillies on the chicken. The fact that the dip has zero oil is a big bonus.

You can make the coriander paste and store it in the freezer and even with the dip recycle it as a quick spread on sandwiches and use up any leftover meats the next day for a packed lunch. So convenient, especially on a Monday morning after a lazy weekend!

Placing the chicken on chunky cabbage leaves smeared with some mustard paste is another inexpensive alternative to posh salad leaves and helps finish of the last of that quarter portion of cabbage which lies neglected in your veggie tray and faces the threat of going into the bin soggy and spoilt, not a pleasant thought at all.

Guaranteed to tickle your taste buds this original recipe from my tiny kitchen is a food adventure in itself. Here’s how you can make this quick grilled chicken in easy steps:

Spicy grilled chicken bites with cooling avocado dip

(Serves: 4, Cooking Time: including 40 mins for marination is 1 hour):

Ingredients:

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 4 large tbsp coriander and green chilli paste (proportion of 1 bunch of coriander with 2 green chillies)
  • Himalayan Pink Salt for seasoning
  • 2 tbsp refined oil
  • 1 tsp mustard paste
  • 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • ½ tsp red chilli flakes
  • 4-5 leaves of fresh cabbage washed
  • ¼ medium sized red onion cut lengthwise
  • Toothpicks with little flags

For the dip

  • 2 avocados
  • 1 stalk fennel with few leaves
  • ½ medium sized red onion finely chopped
  • Himalayan pink salt for seasoning

Method:

Marinate the chicken breasts with coriander and green chilli paste, salt as per taste and 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic. Make small cuts on the chicken breasts with a knife and rub in the marinade. Add one tbsp oil to this mixture allowing the garlic to marry with the coriander and chilli paste. Marinate for 40 minutes

Cutting the chicken into thick cut style bites

On a grid pan spritz enough oil to coat the pan. Pan fry the breasts turning the sides over when they begin to change colour. When both sides appear to have changed colour remove the chicken breasts on a chopping board and let them cool for a while.

Meanwhile, smear the cabbage leaves with a small amount of mustard paste and place on a wooden board which will be used to serve the dish.

Now prepare the dip – Halve the avocados and scoop out the fleshy part. Take the thin green stalk and tender leaves of the fennel and put them together through a blender to make a coarse paste. Chop ½ a red onion fine and to the avocado and fennel paste, season some Himalayan salt. The dip is now ready.

Pan Grill red onion ,garlic and red chilli flakes close up shot

Now get back to cooking the chicken. In the same grid pan add a 1 ½ tbsp oil with some red onion cut lengthwise and sauté for a while for a caramelise finish. Now cut the pieces of the chicken into “thick cut home-made potato-chip” like sizes and place them on the grid pan along with the onions.

Chicken on pan being grilled with the spices

Sprinkle the red chilli flakes .Cook on low flame till done and flip over using tongs, a bit of charring is allowed to add more flavour. Place the chicken strips with toothpicks on the fresh cabbage leaves in a flat plate.

The chunky avocado and red onion dip will offset the grilled chicken bites.

close up with all elements of display

Serve with garlic bread on the side and some chilled drinks and soak up all the sun you can before the leaves turn auburn.

chicken on a toothpick with dip close up

 

This was my first post for the Great British Chefs community and can be found here

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