Posted on Leave a comment

Sakonis Restaurant Style Indo Chinese Chilli Paneer Recipe

For my friends and family and for those of you that have been following for a while, you’ll know that my obsession with chilli paneer is REAL! For years I’ve trialled and tested different ways of making a similar chilli paneer to my much loved chilli paneer from Sakonis. After 18 years of going, I have FINALLY mustered up a recipe that resembles it somewhat! It’s absolutely delicious and the best part? The paneer is air fried so it’s kinda healthy right?! I don’t use MSG (ajinimoto) which is commonly found in restaurant indo Chinese food and is known to enhance flavours. Enjoy! Cooking time: 25 minutes Serves: 4 depending on how much they love paneer 😉 Ingredients: Paneer marinade: 1 tablespoon olive oil 500g cubed paneer 1 heaped tablespoon cornflour 3 tablespoon dark soy sauce 3 tablespoon light soy sauce Mix together and air fry 20 min/till cooked. We have a Tefal XL Family Airfryer. If you dont have an airfryer, you can deep fry. Base: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon sesame oil 3 tablespoon dark soy sauce 3 tablespoon light soy 1 tablespoon chilli sauce 1 inch ginger piece minced 20 cloves of garlic minced 6 green chillies 1 green pepper 1 red pepper A pinch of  black pepper 1 tbsp garlic granules 3 spring onions 1 cup shredded lettuce For full method, see below:
Posted on Leave a comment

Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Pasta Recipe

I’m always trying to make healthier versions of my favourite foods.  Here is my quick creamy mushroom and spinach pasta recipe – one of our favourites! Ingredients: 400g pasta of your choice Sauce: 2 tin of chopped tomatoes 1 tablespoon of tomato puree 1 teaspoon of maple syrup 1 tablespoon of harissa paste 2 green chillies 2 teaspoons red chilli 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes 9 cloves of garlic 1 tub of quark 1 tub of philidelphia 30g cheddar cheese ½ teaspoon garlic granules ½ teaspoon onion granules 1 onion Basil Mixed herbs Salt to taste Large box of chopped mushrooms Large bag of spinach chopped Method:
  1. Boil the pasta with a splash of oil and salt till cooked al dente
  2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a separate pan, add onions. After a few minutes, add the garlic and red chilli flakes.
  3. Next add the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree and allow to soften. Mash using your utensil.
  4. Add in the maple syrup, harissa paste, onion granules, garlic granules, salt and green chillies.
  5. Add in the cream cheese, cheddar cheese and quark and mix well.
  6. Add in the mushrooms and spinach and allow to reduce
  7. Mix in the pasta and add basil and mixed herbs
Serve with a side salad and garlic bread
Posted on Leave a comment

Cheese and Onion Pies Recipe

This is such a quick and easy recipe which provides a cosy hearty dinner! The perfect alternative to a takeaway – it definitely satisfies my cravings! To make 4 pasties: Ingredients: 200g boiled mashed potatoes 200g cheddar cheese 180g philidelphia / soft cheese (I use lightest) 1 teaspoon mustard powder 1 large finely diced onion Salt to taste 1 x sheet of ready rolled puff pastry Method: 1) Boil the potatoes (I always chop in to chunks for quicker cooking) 2) Mash the potatoes 3) Add the cream cheese, salt, mustard powder and onions and mix well 4) Finally mix in the grated cheese 5) Cut puff pastry in to 4 equal parts, place filling on one half of each part and then fold over and seal. 6) Cook at 180c or untill golden brown I serve with mushy peas and chips! Enjoy x
Posted on 1 Comment

Chilli Garlic Mogo Recipe

This is definitely one of my favourite foods. It’s always a big hit at Indian weddings but having Kenyan roots, I often crave chilli garlic mogo even outside of wedding season! I hope you love my recipe as much as I love eating it!

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

Oil

Lemon juice

1 kg cassava, mogo

1½ teaspoon salt

4 spring onions

3 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon of masala

3 tomatoes blitzed

1 tablespoon tamarind

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon Maggie seasoning

4 tablespoons tomato ketchup

1 -2 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

6 green chillis sliced

1 dried red chilli

Coriander

Method:

1. Boil the cassava with a dash of lemon juice and salt till you can comfortably piece with a knife

2. Once boiled, drain and cool with cold water and set aside.

3. Cut in to chunks or preferred size

4. In a pan, cook the garlic and chilli for 2 minutes till browned

5. Add in the blitzed tomato’s, tomato purée, tamarind, Maggie seasoning, soy sauce, tomato ketchup and mix well.

6. Add the salt, masala and red chilli powder and cook for a further few minutes till the mixture becomes well bound. Crush the dried red chilli and also add.

7. Mix in the cassava pieces till well coated and garnish with spring onion and generous helpings of coriander.

8. Serve hot

 

Posted on Leave a comment

Veggie Mince Deep Dish Lasagne Recipe With Asda

Christmas is one of my favourite times of year but boy oh boy do I feel sluggish after. It’s pretty common for a lot of us to start the new year on some sort of a health kick (let’s see how long mine lasts!). I dislike the idea of purely eating salads and cold foods during the cooler months – I’ve always been someone that needs to have a hearty meal to feel satisfied!

I decided to share one of my healthy(ish) recipes of deep dish vegetarian lasagne in collaboration with Asda. I decided to try and make a healthy meal on a budget (still on mat pay and wiped out after Christmas!) to feed the whole family (plus an extra 3!). I opted for all ASDA own brand products where possible as I wanted to see whether there’d be a difference in taste. I sourced all the ingredients for this recipe listed below, plus the sides from Asda in Hayes. I love Asda for their fresh quality produce as well as their kid’s clothing!

Preetam is a gym fanatic and needs his daily dose of protein – this meal also ticks that box as it’s primary ingredient is veggie mince.

Enjoy!

Ended up being enough for about 6-8 people! Under £30 is an absolute bargain.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 6-8 people

Ingredients:

Cheese sauce:

  • 700ml milk
  • 50g butter
  • 150g medium cheddar cheese
  • 7 tablespoon plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

Mince mix:

  • 2 packets Asda veggie mince (1kg in total)
  • 5 cloves garlic (crushed)
  • 2 x 735g jars Asda garlic and tomato pasta sauce
  • 1 x 500g Asda chilli and garlic pasta bake sauce jar
  • 1 x diced red pepper
  • 1.5 teaspoon red chilli powder (add more if you like spice)
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 250g sliced mushrooms
  • 1 large diced onion
  • 1 x 250g tub mixed beans

And:

  • 1 x packet of Asda’s fresh lasagne sheets (you can use any)
  • 2 x sliced tomatoes
  • 30g of cheddar cheese to sprinkle at the end

Method:
1. Dice the onions, mushrooms and pepper


2. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large saucepan and shallow fry the onions and crushed garlic till golden brown


3. Add in the peppers and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Don’t over cook as we want the peppers to have a little bit of a bite to them.


4. Stir in the veggie mince, mixing well.
5. Add in the tomato and pasta bake sauce and the salt and red chilli powder and mix well for 10 minutes.

6. Stir in the beans mixing well.


7. In a separate pan, heat the milk on medium heat and add in the flour and butter and whisk fast. As the butter melts and the flour begins to disappear as the mixture comes to the boil, it will begin to thicken.


8. Once the sauce bubbles, add in the cheese, mustard powder and oregano and mix until the cheese melts.
9. Next spoon in a layer of the veggie mince mixture in to a large rectangle Pyrex dish, cover with a layer of lasagne sheets and cover with a layer of the cheese sauce.

10. Repeat step 9 again, once done, place a layer of tomatoes and sprinkle with the remaining cheddar cheese.

11. Place in the oven at 140c for 30-40 minutes. We use a low heat so the lasagne sheets cook through.


12. Voila!

 

Serve with a creamy coleslaw salad (Asda’s ready chopped lettuce and mixed leaves, spring onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, carrot, red onion, sweet corn, coleslaw and croutons) and garlic baguette and potato wedges for a hearty meal!

 

Using Asda’s own branded products, I was able to produce this meal to feed 6-8 people for just under £30! An absolute bargain for a wholesome and hearty healthy meal! And it tasted just as good as branded products.

 

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in the form of remuneration or in exchange for a product or service. However all views expressed above are my own.

Posted on Leave a comment

Saajan’s Fun with Food! | Organix #NoJunkJourney

As well as the gorgeous sun, sea and sand and a much needed break, our recent trip to Gran Canaria also welcomed a little acceleration in Saajan’s weaning journey thanks to daddy! Where I’m a little cautious, Preetam is a lot more of a “hand me the reigns” kinda guy and it definitely helps!

More so with Saajan due to his low muscle tone, I’m always fearful of giving him new textures incase he struggles to swallow. I’ve stuck to purées for a while now and actually I probably didn’t realise but it wouldn’t have been helping his aspiration (aspiration is where sometimes thinner fluids travel to the lungs which can be dangerous) much! Being a little OCD and not particularly excited by the thought of a toddler covered in a bright orange purée, I’ve also probably not gone full throttle with baby led weaning.

Being on holiday and having access to various foods (with the added bonus of not having to clear up heehee) and having daddy on hand was the perfect setting to kick start Saajan’s weaning journey to explore different shapes, textures and tastes! We had many first foods there and it was pretty exciting – I feel so proud of how far Saajan has come along!

As Saajan often finds it a little difficult to hold food in his hands for a long time and struggles to steadily bring it up to his mouth, we’ve adopted a combined approach to weaning since the beginning. Even when I was feeding him purees, I’d hand him a piece of food or his own spoon in his hand to build up his strength and encourage his fine motor skills. Organix sweetcorn rings have played a pivotal role in that as they are the perfect size and weight for him to be able to hold and put in his mouth and the melty texture means I don’t panic about him choking.

Some tips:

  • As per my previous guidance with Arjun, we introduced one new food at a time just in case Saajan had an allergic reaction.
  • Don’t be scared! I didn’t even think of introducing whole foods such as baked beans to Saajan but he absolutely loved them and although he has no teeth, his strong gums meant he was able to chew them – again encouraging the use of his muscles in his mouth.

  • Let your baby guide you – We didn’t introduce egg in to Arjun’s diet till well after he was one and he still doesn’t really eat it. Saajan on the other hand helped himself to a piece of Spanish omelette on Preetam’s plate and it ended up being one of his favourite things to eat while we were away. He also leaped and grabbed a profiterole off his plate and put it straight in to his mouth! – definitely wouldn’t have guessed he has low muscle tone then! Haha!
  • If at first you don’t succeed, try again! Touch wood, Saajan enjoys his food a lot more than Arjun however there are still some foods he’s unsure of. Cheese isn’t something he’ll naturally go for so now I mix it in to his egg or baked beans for a little extra protein and fat.

  • Offer a mixture of textures, shapes and colours – this was a lot easier to do on holiday! A typical plate would consist of pasta shells, broccoli, cheese and a little bread. At home I also like to offer a variety for Saajan to try.
  • Get the siblings involved! Saajan is really encouraged by Arjun – he often wants to get involved in helping Saajan to eat.


 

  • Bigger is better! For Saajan, larger items of food are much easier for him to eat. For example, strips of toast are easier for him to eat than smaller squares, whole pieces of broccoli stems and chunkier pieces of fruit.

I’ve shared some tips from Organix’ children’s food expert, Lucy Thomas to help your toddler have fun exploring foods and learning to enjoy new tastes and textures, even those they may be fussy about!

 

Disclosure: this is a sponsored post either in the form of remuneration or a free product being sent to us for review however all thoughts and opinions are our own.

 

 

:

Posted on Leave a comment

Our First Food Adventures with Organix Foods: And So Our Weaning Adventure Begins!

I started weaning Arjun when he was about 4.5 months old. I was super excited as he was my first and was so eager to get on with it! It’s so different with my second, Saajan, for more reasons than one. Firstly, he has Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome often means low muscle tone which means they take a teeny tiny bit longer to develop gross motor skills such as head control, paced swallowing and sitting up all of which can impact weaning. It also results in a delay in the development of fine motor skills which is the use of the hands and fingers so can impact when a child can pick things up. Secondly, I wasn’t in any rush for my baby to grow up this time! Thirdly, he’s a superhero – he’s recently had open heart surgery and that’s sets him further back a little.

At 6 months, we decided it was time to begin our weaning journey and to start introducing new textures tastes and shapes, one month post op. I’ve always deep down felt as though Saajan is going to be a foodie and that makes me excited to embark on this journey!

I’ve had my concerns around weaning Saajan especially as he’s not sitting up and isn’t close to just yet, he also hasn’t quite found his footing with his head control yet and can be a little wobbly. I’ve been working with our local Speech & Language Therapist (SALT) and the ones at The Royal Brompton in establishing the best way to begin weaning. Thankfully, we own a swing from when Arjun was born – it props him up high enough to be able to feed him. It was the same swing I began Arjun’s weaning journey in! All the SALT’s I’ve spoken to really felt that weaning would help Saajan especially as thicker consistencies would be easier for him to swallow slower and to master control of the use of his mouth and tongue. I’ve also been concerned about weaning encouraging the outward movement of his tongue but I guess we can’t let that hold us back.

 

Firstly, here’s a list of our weaning essentials:

Organix is a well established brand in our house offering variety of healthy snacks – most of Arjun’s favourite snacks are made by the brand. It was therefore only natural that I decided to start weaning Saajan with Organix’s Strawberry and Banana flavoured porridge. I know the usual protocol is to begin with baby rice, but judging from Arjun’s experience, I decided to skip straight to porridge! I was particularly drawn to the Organix porridge as it has added vitamin B1.

I’ve adopted the same approach as I did with Arjun – we first introduced breakfast, once we’re good with that, we’ll then begin introducing lunches trying the same flavour over a few days before introducing dinners. If you’d like to read more on our vegetarian weaning journey approach from past experience, you can do so here.

The first time we fed Saajan, I used a watered down version of porridge as I felt he’d be more familiar with it. He took to it well and gulped down about 14 spoons! I noticed the following few days, he wasn’t as keen and decided to blow raspberries instead! I decided to thicken the consistency and it worked! He definitely prefers it a little thicker and it also helps with his tongue control when it’s not as watery.

After 4 days of just porridge for breakfast, I decided to introduce finger food – a ripe banana. Saajan isn’t quite there yet with lifting food from the table and towards his mouth but I know with perseverance and in time he’ll get there! Arjun and I helped him and he absolutely loved sucking on it!

As time progresses, the plan is to introduce further flavours – predominantly vegetables to begin with over fruit (who doesn’t have a sweet tooth?!) and will be following a similar regime to that of Arjun’s weaning journey just on the scenic route taking our time and letting Saajan guide us.

In the mean time, here are some tips for 1st food adventures with Organix’s #NoJunkJourney!:


Do you have any weaning tips for us? What were your baby’s first flavours?

 

Disclosure: this is a sponsored post either in the form of remuneration or a free product being sent to us for review however all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Posted on Leave a comment

Skinny Chicken (Quorn) & Mushroom Pie Recipe 

Hi Guys!

I’ve had lots of messages requesting my cheat Skinny Quorn Chicken & Mushroom pie recipe. It’s super quick and easy and it’s pretty healthy too! I love a good pie but they can be so calorific! Using Quorn and only one sheet of puff pastry is what makes this a “skinny” pie – it’s the perfect balance between comfort food and a quick and healthy meal. It’s also great for the little ones.
Excuse the lack of a blog friendly picture – I wasn’t planning to post the recipe 🙈

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time
: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 x Puff pastry ready rolled (I go for “lighter”)
  • 3 x Heinz mushroom soup
  • 500g Quorn pieces
  • 2 x Pack of chestnut mushrooms
  • 1 x Leek
  • 1 x Broccoli
  • 2 x Garlic cloves
  • 1 x Onion
  • 1 x teaspoon Nutmeg
  • 1 x teaspoon salt
  • Pepper to taste

Method:

1. Chop the garlic in to fine pieces, dice the onion and quarter and slice the leek
2. Shallow fry in a little bit of oil till golden
3. Quarter the mushrooms and chop the broccoli in to small pieces (however big/small you prefer). Add to the pan and sautee
4. Add in the Quorn pieces and cook for a few minutes
5. Add the mushroom soup and mix well
6. Add the salt, nutmeg and pepper to complete the pie filling
7. Fill a large pie dish with the filling evenly
8. Top with the puff pastry
9. Place in the oven on the middle shelf at 180c for 25 minutes

 

Voila!

Serving suggestion: homemade skin on mashed potato and vegetables

Posted on Leave a comment

This Wife’s Guilt … 

As you probably know, the last few weeks Arjun and I have been living with my parents as our house is currently a hazardous zone with major construction work happening. 

Preetam’s daily routine consists of waking up at 6am, usually doing a building materials run based on what the builders need, coming home, getting ready for work, taking the train in to London, doing a full day at work, coming back home, changing straight in to his work wear, eating whatever he can grab (usually a slice of bread and cheese or scrambled egg!) and diving straight in to building work … sometimes he’s working till past midnight and then does it all over again the next day. How he does it, I will never know. The amount I worry I about him, I do know. 

I’ve felt so guilty the last few weeks, there isn’t a fully functioning kitchen at home and I know that feeling when you’ve had a long day at work and want to come home to a hearty cooked meal. 

It’s been so difficult running up and down from my parents house to my house to work to nursery to hospital … between work, sewing, managing a toddler – I feel physically and mentally exhausted but my physical exhaustion cannot be anywhere near Preetams. The pressure of having to have a house in a reasonable state in preparation for the arrival of a newborn, the thought of a newborn, managing a big construction project, being away from his son – so many times he’s broken down, and living alone …to top it off infrequently cooked meals for him as I just haven’t been able to manage everything just feels like too much. I’ve cried so many times at the thought – my heart literally breaks. I wish we could be a family and I could be there to support him, I’m really missing him. But I also know this is temporary and it’s the right thing to do to get things done quickly. Like any couple, we sure have had our ups and downs, but there is nothing quite like home – as much as my parents home will always be my first home and Arjun and I are being absolutely spoilt here, home is where my husband and son are. 

Today I decided to surprise him by cooking some of his favourite comfort food that can be frozen while Arjun napped to keep at our house so that he has hearty food when he fancies it. I feel so awful that it’s so cold, he’s working so hard, and I haven’t even been able to provide at least that… it looks like a cheese feast but at least he’ll have a few of his favourites a few times a week whenever he fancies it and there’ll be a few bits left over for when we go back … Broccoli cheese, lasagne and macaroni cheese! It makes me feel better that as helpless as I feel right now, at least I can feed him even though he’ll probably never want to see any of those dishes again! Haha! I haven’t been able to spend any time with Preetam and today it’s felt like I’ve invested time in us, in our relationship in a weird way. 

I am so proud of the man that he is – I don’t know anyone that works as hard as he does and is so knowledgable in so many things. I’m so lucky to have him as my husband and as the father of my kids – Arjun and his sibling will learn so much from him and Arjun is already a mini version of his dad. Always ready to help, so hands on and so keen to learn. 
I am forever grateful for how much he does for us. 
I’m making the most of my time at my parents house as I know I’ll be heartbroken all over again when it’s time to leave but I can’t help but miss my home too. It’s a shame that Indian girls have to leave home to get married and live with their husbands!! If only it was acceptable for them to come and live with our parents 😉 Still, I’m lucky to live so close to my mum and dad. 

I’m looking forward to being reunited as a family and starting the next chapter in our lives in our beautiful humble home with my precious little family x