Aldi's Summer Kitchen Extravaganza

For years I used to have to travel far to visit the Aldi stores as I like their home ware products and find that they are reasonably priced too. Last summer  Aldi store opened not far from where I live. I attended the opening and now I am a regular visitor to the store. I love all the specials that they have in store and my favorite area is the home ware section, where I have picked up lots of lovely items. This Thursday  6th July, Aldi are launching some fantastic new home ware so I am sharing with you my favorites from the range. You can check out the full range on line at Aldi

The New Aldi Retro Range is beautiful and you can get matching items in the range too.The Retro range comes in three lovely colours Red, Cream and Light Blue

Retro Microwave £49.99-A digital microwave with 6 Power levels,8 auto cook programmes and a glass turntable
Retro Juicer £12.99-Hand press juicer has a simple lever-arm design. It includes a steel collecting cup and strainer.
Retro Toaster £ 24.99- This retro-look 2 slot toaster with a crumb tray has a cancel, defrost and reheat setting and also an adjustable browning control & toasting time
Retro Kettle £24.99- This unusual style retro kettle  kettle  has a stainless steel body with a dry boil cut-off protection, automatic safety shut-off feature together with a cordless 360 base.  It also has a  high power of boiling at 2520 - 3000 W.

In the Kitchen you can get matching cookware too.The two tone range consists of matching casserole dishes, pans and oven dishes, they are made from carbon steel with an enamel coating making them durable and freezer safe too.

• 2 Tone Oven Dish £12.99
• 2 Tone Oven  Casserole £12.99
• 2 Tone 16 cm pan £9.99

Retro Storage Jars £ 5.99 -These beautiful ceramic jars with wooden lids perfect for storage on Kitchen work top.

With the heatwave we are experiencing,  I am loving eating out doors , the reversible Aldi 3 in 1 grill can be used indoors or outdoors and its a bargain at £29.99. This versatile temperature control grill combines a hotplate, griddle and kebab grill. It has a nonstick die cast grill plate, with self rotating skewers, a drip tray and a detachable skewer rack.

There are many more items in the Aldi Range that is available to order on line or can be purchased in store from Thursday 6th July, so why not pop into your Aldi store to check out the range.



**I was sent samples of the Aldi home ware to test in my kitchen, all views and opinions expressed in this post are my own. All images are supplied by Aldi and used with their permission.

Campsite Baked Apples

Summer times are all about enjoying the outdoors, be it in the garden, out camping or for the more adventurous hiking holidays. I adore hazy summer days and alfresco cooking and the first chance I get to go out doors, I am happy to pack a picnic basket, a blanket and a portable barbecue and set off for the day.

The smell of the charcoal on a hot summers day brings distance memories of brownie camp and girl guides where we we went on our annual camping trips. In those days putting up our antiquated tents was painstakingly difficult, not in this day and age with all the new easy to put up waterproof tents and camping equipment that are now readily available, making camping and outdoor holidays so much more fun and civilised.

As a brownie, I remember trying to cook veggie sausages and baked beans on the trangia cooking stove in the aluminium pans, which proved to be a challenge in it self. I have strong memories of surviving on a packet of biscuits that I used to sneak into my rucksack. As an adult, my outdoor cooking skills have improved by far and I love barbecuing a variety of fruits and vegetables and making homemade mushroom and veggie burgers on the barbecue. Most of all I love cooking desserts on the barbecue, charcoal roasted bananas in their skins, toasted marshmallows sandwiched between two digestive biscuits and cinnamon baked apples. Nothing beats opening a baked apple foil parcel and adding dollops of Greek yoghurt before devouring the whole thing. My baked apple recipe is fail safe and drool worthy which would be perfect to create on any camping holiday or home barbecue.

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Campsite Baked Apples

by Nayna Kanabar July-3-2017

Cinnamon spiced apples baked on charcoal and served with greek yoghurt.

Ingredients:

• 4 Braeburn apples
• 2 tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons Crushed walnuts
• 1 tablespoon Sultanas
• 1/2 tablespoon Butter
• 4 tablespoons Fat free Greek Yoghurt

Method:

1. Light the barbecue.2. In a bowl add the brown sugar, cinnamon and crushed walnuts and sultanas and mix together and keep aside.3. Wash the apples and remove the core.4. Fill the cavity of the apples with the walnut, brown sugar mixture packing it tightly.

5. Get a double piece of foil square and place the filled apple on it. Add a dollop of butter on the top of the apple and wrap the foil parcel up securely.

6. Place the apple parcels on the barbecue and cook for 30 minutes, turning them with tongs to ensure an even bake.

7.Remove the parcel from the barbecue and open it, sprinkle the apple with the remaining walnut and sugar mixture and serve it with a dollop of fat free Greek yoghurt.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 35 mins Yield: serves 4

This post is in collaboration with simplyhike.

Spiced Rhubarb Chutney

I love chutneys of any sort and I always have jars of different chutneys in my fridge. They are perfect to serve with crackers and crisps or as sandwich fillings. I have been known to stir a spoonful in cooked pasta or into a bowl of soup to add extra flavour. Making chutneys is fairly simple and you can make chutneys with any fruit or veg.

My food blogger friend Heidi from heidirobertskitchentalk has an allotment. I am very lucky to be able to get lots of organic seasonal vegetables from Heidi's allotment. She grows, courgettes, beetroot, chard, herbs, rhubarb, squash, strawberries and blackberries. The produce is seasonal and there is always something new to pick each month. On a recent visit to her allotment, I picked some rhubarb and came home ladened with two full bag. There was so much of it that I had a week of testing rhubarb recipes. We had rhubarb crumble, rhubarb muffins, rhubarb and apple soup and also rhubarb chutney. I gave my chutney Indian flavours with aromatic spices and it tasted deliciously sweet, sour and spicy. You can watch the video below of my visit to Heidi's allotment and learn how I made my Chutney.

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Rhubarb Chutney

by Nayna Kanabar June-9-2017

Spicy and Tangy Aromatic Rhubarb Chutney with Indianised flavours

Ingredients:

• 480 g Rhubarb
• 2 Green chillies (use more if you like spicy)
• 1 Teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
• 1 Tablespoon Coriander Seeds
• 1 Tablespoon Fennel Seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Chilli Powder
•   1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 75 g Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Method:

1. Wash the Rhubarb and remove the strings, Cut it into 1 inch pieces.2. Slit the chillies, remove the seeds and cut into 1 inch pieces 3. In a saucepan pan dry roast the Fenugreek Seeds, Coriander seeds, Fennel and Cumin seeds for two to three minutes. Transfer the roasted seeds to a coffee grinder and grind to make coarse spice powder.4.In a large saucepan, add the oil, when its hot add the cinnamon stick and cloves, followed by the rhubarb and green chillies. 5. Add the salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder and cook the chutney for approx 3 minutes. After three minutes add the sugar and spice mixture and cook until the sugar has all melted and the Rhubarb is soft but still holding shape.6. Turn off the heat and let the chutney reach room temperature.7. Transfer the chutney to sterilised jars and keep refrigerated.

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 5 mins Total time: 15 mins Yield: 3 Small Jars

NB -Please note that this is an instant chutney and since the sugar has not been boiled and no acidity is added to it it does not have a long shelf life. It must be consumed within a week and kept in the fridge.

Baingan ka Bartha ~Roasted Aubergine Curry

I have inherited my passion for food from my father, he was a real lover of good food and relished the idea of cooking, eating and feeding others too. My family originate from India but my father immigrated to East Africa when he was a young lad to seek his fortune. In East Africa he worked hard and set his business in a very small town, where he had a grocery and hardware shop with a petrol pump. Travellers used to stop to fill up and my father was always hospitable and invited many of them to share lunch/ dinner with our family. His heart was so generous that we were used to having total strangers at our dinner table sharing our meals. My mother was an excellent cook and between both my parents, they had a great understanding of food and we enjoyed many elaborate feasts.

On festive days it was common practice that my parents hosted large parties in our back yard for all the neighbours and friends. My mother with the other ladies from the neighbourhood would cook big pans of dhals, curries, chapatis and sweet dishes and there would be mountains of food to enjoy and devour by all.

One of my fathers favourite dishes was Baingan ka Bartha or traditionally in Gujarati cuisine it is known as Orro. This dish is created by rubbing large aubergine with oil, pricking them and then roasting them on an open file till the skin is charred. The charcoal flavour imparted by the coals gave this dish a very aromatic and wonderful taste. The aubergines once cooked are cooled and the charred skin is removed. The flesh is mashed up and cooked with tomatoes, ginger, garlic and onions and it is one of the best Indian curries I have had to date, I am not surprised its was my fathers favourite too.

Photo Credit http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/

Jagruti of jagrutiscookingodyssey, a lovely friend and fellow  food blogger has request some bloggers to create their fathers favourite recipe in time for Fathers day which is on Sunday 18th June this year. As a tribute and in remembrance to my father I have created his favourite dish Baingan ka Bartha which translates to aubergine mash!!! Unfortunately the weather did not permit cooking the aubergines on an open fire so I did the next best thing by roasting them in the oven. For best results try and cook the aubergines on charcoal.

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Baingan ka Bartha (Roasted Aubergine Curry)

by Nayna Kanabar June-11-2017

Char-grilled aubergines cooked with ginger, garlic, onions and tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Aubergines
• 1 White Medium Onion (finely chopped)
• 4 Spring Onions (finely chopped whites and green)
• 1 teaspoon Garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon Ginger paste
• 2 Green Chillies (cut into slits)
• 4 Fresh Tomatoes (diced)
• 4 sprigs Fresh Coriander (finely chopped)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Chilli powder
• 3/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Tomato paste
• For garnish 1 red chilli finely chopped and 1 spring onion finely chopped.

Method:

1. Wash and prick the aubergines with a fork. Rub the aubergines with a little oil.2. Place the aubergines on a tray and place the tray in a hot oven for 30 mins (200 degrees C) or until the aubergines are soft and charred, you may require to turn them half way to get an even cook. (Alternatively the aubergines can be cooked on a barbecue) 3. Remove aubergines from oven and peel the skin off and discard, finely chop up the flesh. Keep aside.4. In a pan heat the oil, next add the mustard seeds.5. Add the onions and garlic and cook till onions are translucent.6. Add the chopped tomatoes, green chillies, ginger, salt, chilli powder, turmeric, cumin powder and coriander powder. Mix well.7.Cook the mixture until the tomatoes have softened and oil starts to separate, add tomato puree and mix well.8.Add the roasted aubergine and spring onions and mix well into the sauce.9. Add 2 table spoons water and cook for 5 minutes until the spices have infused into the  aubergines.10.Transfer to serving dish and garnish with fresh coriander, red chopped chillies and spring onions

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 45 mins Yield: Serves 4

For other Fathers day recipes created by fellow bloggers do check the links below:
Misti Doi
Puran Puri
Masala Baigan
Masala Upma
Sugar-free Mango, Basil and Cashew Yogurt Popsicles 
Sweet Vermicelli with Jaggery
Lotus stem Kofta

Barbecued Corn with Roasted Pepper and Mint Salsa

In my previous post I wrote about attending the John Lewis barbecue evening where with a bunch of food bloggers we created some wonderful and tasty barbecue dishes. My three foodie friends, Jagruti from jagrutiscookingodyssey, Manjiri from travelsfortaste and Lisa Moore and I are featured below with one of our signature dishes.

One of the dishes my group created was Barbecued Corn with Roasted Pepper and Mint Salsa. It turned out really delicious and I could not wait to recreate it again at home. The smokey flavours that barbecuing gives to food is lovely and this sweetcorn paired really well with the mint and roasted pepper salsa.

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Barbecued Corn with Roasted Pepper and Mint Salsa

by Nayna Kanabar May 21-2017

Barbecued sweet corn with a lovely roasted pepper and mint salsa, the mint, the spices and the lime sets this dish off beautifully.




Ingredients:

• 4 Fresh corn on the cob
• 2 Long red peppers
• Few sprigs mint
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons honey
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 lime cut into wedges for serving.
• 1 teaspoon sumac powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder(optional)

Method:

1. Place the sweet corn on the barbecue and roast it until its cooked, keep turning it to get an even roasting. 2. Add the peppers on the barbecue and roast them too, keep turning them to get them roasted evenly. 3.Remove the roasted corn from the barbecue and cut it into bite sized rounds pieces approx 2 cm thick .4.Remove the peppers from the barbecue and peel off the charred skin, remove the stalk and seeds. Roughly chop the peppers up and put them into a large bowl.5. Reserve 6 mint leaves and finely chop the remaining mint and add it to the bowl with the peppers. 7.Add the sumac, paprika, chilli powder, salt, juice from the lime, honey and olive oil to the peppers and mint and mix well. 8. Add the sweet corn to the salsa and toss it well so that its coated thoroughly with the salsa. 9. Transfer the corn to a serving dish and garnish with a few more mint leaves and lime wedges

Details:

Prep time: 10 mins Cooking time: 15 mins Total time: 25 mins    Serves: 6-8 people

Roof Top Barbecue with John Lewis.

The month of May has brought so much rain that my longing for a spell of dry weather is growing itensely. I know that rain is good for farmers and the gardens and the soil etc but I do hate wet weather and I can't wait for a proper summer to emerge. I love being outdoors and relish alfresco dining so when John Lewis invited me to their recent roof top barbecue, I jumped at the chance all along keeping my fingers and toes crossed that the sun shines on the day. As if by magic my request was fulfilled as the evening turned out bright and sunny and warm with not a sign of a raindrop!! The venue a film studio -Brunswick studious with a terrace garden set in residential area of Kilburn was perfect and really quaint.

The barbecue was organised to showcase John Lewis's finest electric and gas barbecues and we all had a wonderful opportunity to test them out. Our chef for the evening was non other than Ed Smith from Rocket and Squash, a lawyer turned chef who has recently launched his cook book "On the side" which has a collection of 140 side dishes. Ed showed us how to "burn" food on the barbecue!!!! I think he really meant how to char. 

We watched a demo of beetroot and red onions being char grilled and then served with a lovely dill and feta dressing. This followed by char grilled leeks and spring onions and baked butternut squash and sweet potatoes. The leeks were served with a romesco sauce made from char grilled red peppers and almonds. Ed also barbecued some lamb for the non vegetarians.

Ed showed us that barbecue food does not have to be boring and all you need to do is be a little more imaginative with your ingredients. With this thought in mind we split into groups, mainly vegetarian and non vegetarians and created our own dishes from all the lovely produce that John Lewis had provided.

With three other foodie friends, Jagruti from jagrutiscookingodyssey, Manjiri from travelsfortaste and Lisa Moore we set about making our two dishes. Jagruti and I concentrated on the savory dish of Barbecued Sweet corn with Roast pepper and Mint salsa whilst Manjiri and Lisa created a sweet dish Smoky-n-Crunchy BBQ Pineapple. 

The other teams created some skewers of vegetables and lamb, roasted sweetcorn and sweet potato mash, sweet potato wedges served with a lovely creamy dip and a dessert of baked apples made on the barbecue served  with vanilla ice cream.

All our creations were photographed by Charlie Richards who is the photographer for the John Lewis Magazine. Once the photo shoots were over, we all tucked into the lovely barbecued feast over lots of chit chat and prosecco. The evening ended with gifts of beautiful signed copies of Ed's book.

You can find the recipe for the Barbecued Sweet Corn and Roasted Tomato Salsa with mint dressing recipe in my next post.
I would like to thank  John Lewis for inviting me to this lovely event, it most certainly brightened the rainy month of May. All the opinions and views expressed in this post are my own as are all the photographs.

Masala Milk- Mums Recipe.

Mothers day is celebrated all over the world, in the UK it is usually celebrated in March, however in other parts of the world its celebrated in May. Mothers are special and there can never be too many days to honor their status. This May, Mayuri Patel a very good blogger friend of mine who writes at  Mayuris Jikoni has set a challenge to create a post dedicated to your mother.

My mother passed away when I was very young, however I still have fond memories of my mum mostly about her cooking. She was a wonderful cook and homemaker and she spent endless hours in the kitchen creating scrumptious dishes.
As a child I was a picky eater or so my family tell me and I still remember my mum encouraging me to drink milk which I hated. However I never had any problems gulping down this delicious Masala milk she used to make. The masala milk was flavored with saffron, cardamom, nutmeg and had a blend of  mixed nuts which are rich in protein, fibre and essential fats. When we were running a temperature or had a cold she used to add a pinch of turmeric to the milk too. This was definitely "Mothers love and goodness in a glass."

You can make the milk masala in bulk and store it in an air tight jar to use as and when needed.

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Milk Masala

by Nayna Kanabar May  05-2017

Creamy and Delicious saffron and cardamon flavoured Masala Milk




Ingredients:

• 50 g Almonds
• 50 g Cashew Nuts
• 50 g Pistachio Nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon Saffron strands
• 1 teaspoon Cardamon powder
• 3/4 teaspoon Nutmeg powder
• 400 ml Milk (I used skimmed milk but you can use any)
• Sugar to taste

Method:

1. In a coffee grinder, coarsely grind the nuts. 2. In a bowl add the ground nuts, stir in the cardamom powder, saffron and nutmeg and mix thoroughly.  3.Fill  a sterile glass jar with the masala mixture and use as and when required. .4.To make the masala milk, pour the milk in to a milk pan and bring it to boil. Add two tablespoonful of the milk masala and add sugar to taste. Simmer the milk with the masala for a couple of minutes. 5. Pour the masala milk into tall glasses and serve warm or cold as per preference. You can stir in a pinch of turmeric if desired. 

Details:

Prep time: 5 mins Cooking time: 5 mins Total time: 10 mins    Yield: 2 servings of milk.

NB- For this recipe you will only need two tablespoons of the milk masala, the surplus can be stored up to a month in an airtight jar for future use.

To see what other fellow bloggers have posted as a tribute to their mothers, do check out the links below:

Strawberry and Pomegranate Swiss Roll
Beetroot Cutlets
Rajasthani Raabdi
Mango and Coconut Mousse Tart
Aloo Paratha
Mogre ka  Sharbat
Malpua
Paal Poli
Classic Apple Pie
Lavender Corn Muffins
Mango Cream Cake
Matar Kachori
Apricot Sweet Rolls
Mango Ice Cream
Mango Mastani
Mustard Green Chilli Pickle
Thengai Podi
Pogaca