Sunday 13 September 2015

Sunday Soup + Plum Cake + Chicken Tikka Salad: 5-11 September 2015.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful




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how are you?
how was your week? can you believe we are almost halfway through September? and, pretty soon we'll be celebrating Eid-ul-Adha.

today, it being Sunday, I baked something filled to the brim with cinnamon. it was fudgy, gooey, almost brownie-like. of course, I took pictures so the recipe will be in your kitchens v.soon.
right now, there's spicy chicken grilling on skewers and homemade chips in the oven. I also stirred up a killer garlic sauce to go with. a delicious end to the weekend!
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the weekend began with plenty of sweet things. fun fact: from the above, my favourite is always the simple Dairy Milk. total classic. also at the weekend, pasta bakes and carrot soups with all the fixings. we're talking pitta za'atar chips, lemon tahini dollops and roasted cumin chickpeas.
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on Monday, because I was in an autumnal mood, I baked a plum pudding cake. it was gluten-free and the perfect treat for my cousin. a soft ginger cinnamon syrup sponge studded with fresh plums - sounds perfect for a cold, crisp autumn day, right? well, the weather was not playing ball here because we had blue skies and blazing sunshine. 
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throughout the week, there was a chicken biryani ..

... a chicken tikka salad ..
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.. and we rounded the week off with a little garden harvest.

here's more from my week:

 the weekend began with a pasta bake - cooked pasta + white sauce + spicy chicken mince with peas.
the three went into a baking dish.
and, were baked until bubbling.
creamy perfection for a Saturday night.
 I felt like a soup for Sunday lunch.
diced carrots were softened with onions, garlic and spices.
with the soup, chickpeas were roasted as were pitta wedges.
the chickpeas were tossed with olive oil, salt and ground cumin and roasted until crisp.
wholemeal pittas were sliced up, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with za'atar and salt before being baked until the edges were golden.
to dollop over the soup, a blend of tahini + salt + lemon juice + water.
and, a few wedges of lemon because it makes everything so much more delicious.

the carrots and spices were simmered with vegetable stock before being blitzed until smooth.
and, it was time for lunch! the recipe I used is here.
a sweet, spiced, nutty bowl of goodness.
with oranges and tangerines for pudding.
 Monday morning baking with ..
... plums.
into a pan went golden syrup, honey and butter.
they were melted together ...
.. before brown sugar was stirred through.
a cinnamon ginger cake batter was put together.
plums were stoned and sliced.
and, it was time for the cake to bake.
the batter was poured into a tin and the plums were dropped in before being baked. 
the recipe I used is here.
Tuesday lunchtime and we decided to make a quick chicken biryani. boneless chicken pieces were marinated with yoghurt and ground spices.
onions were fried.
rice was par-boiled with whole spices.
once the onions were brown, some were taken out for garnish.
before the marinated chicken was cooked with the rest of the onions.
the rice was drained.
to finish the biryani, fried onions, food colouring and dried plums <--- my absolute favourite.
once the chicken was cooked ...
... the rice was placed on top.
the biryani was finished with the fried onions + dried plums + food colouring + fresh mint + fresh coriander + homegrown peppers.
once steamed, it was time to eat!

on the side, this ready-made raita that I wanted to try. it was nice but not as good as our homemade one.
biryani is one of my favourite meals so it was really nice to make this quick one for a weekday lunch - I'll try and cook it again to share with you all.
 Wednesday and this is our usual weekday lunch - chicken salad! but you know us. we love a little spice so this is our chicken tikka salad.

the chicken tikka is made by simple stirring together and marinading:
3 tablespoons plain yoghurt 
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chilli flakes
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons dried fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon salt
few drops of red food colouring
2 chicken breasts, cut into pieces
it was cooked in a pan until the chicken was done and the sauce was slightly thickened.

for the salad, we just sliced up what we had in the fridge - pickled peppers + cucumber + cherry tomatoes + baby gem lettuce + tomatoes.

for the dressing sauce thing, I made green yoghurt chutney into which I swirled mint sauce + Sriracha.

the salad was great by itself, piled onto a plate, but it's also delicious stuffed into a soft, warm pitta.
this is my kind of lunch. yum!
dinner on Thursday involved another of my favourites - coconut noodles.
the full photo recipe for these spicy coconut and basil rice noodles is here.
remember the chicken tikka from earlier? well, we didn't cook it all for lunch so the remainder were skewered up for dinner.


grilled, juicy and ready to eat.
on the side, steamed carrots + cabbage + broccoli + fresh corn.
with the coconut basil noodles, dinner was ready!
 Friday afternoon and it was time to harvest the garden produce.
first up, tomatoes.
so many tomatoes.
next, sweet and spicy peppers.

then, it was time to pick the greengages.

the greengages were so sweet - like mini plums.
a successful picking.
peppers.
tomatoes.
and, greengages.
for dinner, spicy gram flour pancakes which were dairy free. these were made by mixing together gram flour + wholemeal flour + salt + green chillies + cumin seeds + crushed red chilli flakes + fresh coriander + water + ginger paste + garlic paste.
fried until golden.
and, eaten with carrot pickle and scrambled eggs. breakfast for dinner!

this time one year ago:
an apple glut + secret paths + pineapple smoothies

lately, on the blog:

Spice Enthusiast
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