Sunday 11 October 2015

Lentil Shepherd's Pie + Sweet Chilli Chicken + Battle of the Cakes: 3-9 October 2015.

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful




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how are you? how's your Sunday been? mine has been good, alhamdulillah. I tackled a cake that I'd been wanting to try in forever and turned a meaty Pakistani classic vegetarian. also, I was just saying to the mother that I can't actually believe it's October. where did this year go? alhamdulillah for everything though - some pretty exciting things are going to be happening round here soon, insha Allah.
this week has been so much fun. after eating way too much food at the weekend, we atoned by munching on sweet, sour, salty carrots and apples on Monday. also, a killer chicken madras curry was cooked which I need to make again - it was that good. coconut macaroons happened on Tuesday along with a much-needed shepherd's pie for Wednesday lunch. it's been so cold here - winter is most definitely on her way.

amidst all the apple fritters and cold rice pudding, I invaded my cousins kitchen on Friday. first, a short recipe for this amazing sweet chilli chicken from my aunt.

whilst I ogled her adorable chillies ..

... and spotted so many apples on her tree, her daughter's commenced the battle of the cakes. more will be revealed next week, insha Allah, but keep scrolling for a sneak peek. 

here's more from my week:

 Saturday: we spent the weekend away from home.
in other news, my daily Quran recital coincided with the Friday recital of Surah Kahf. I love it when that happens.
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 Sunday: if I was organised, I would have our freezer stocked up with food for nights when we return home late. but I'm not so we fried up some salami.
 and, made breakfast for dinner! we made scrambled eggs with onions and curry powder.
and honestly guys, it hit the spot like nothing else would. we're keeping it very real here after all. 
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 Monday: after a weekend of way too much food, it was time to get our salad game on.
since the weather was distinctly colder than when we left, I went down the autumnal salad theme.
the full recipe is here. may I add that it makes the best 4pm snack too?
the mother cooked a killer curry for dinner - her version of the chicken madras. expect it very soon!
we ate it with boiled rice - to which I am forever adding peas. I'm addicted!
such a good meal, alhamdulillah.
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Tuesday: baking for the coeliacs!
I made a batch of coconut macaroons.
they're naturally gluten-free.
and of course, a million times better when drizzled with melted milk chocolate.
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Wednesday: breakfast done right --> coffee + pain au chocolat. guys, this week I stopped putting sugar into my coffee. why? well, because I noticed that I could taste more sugar than actual coffee. alhamdulillah, without the sugar, the coffee tastes fine. I thought it would be bland but it's amazing what your tastebuds can get used to.
anyway, today was such a cold, grey day. the perfect day for a shepherd's pie.
we made ours the usual way with lamb mince but replaced half the mince with red lentils. and guys, it was amazing. like, I could have eaten the actual cooked mince above with a spoon. the lentils made it a little sweeter and it tasted so good.
a pot of mashed potatoes was made.
and spread over the incredible mince. we keep our mash on the looser side for shepherds pie - it helps it spread better.
the pie was marked with a fork.
sprinkled with grated Cheddar.
and, finished with thinly sliced tomato.
in it went to bake.
before being served with steamed corn and this carrot apple salad. 
shepherd's pie is the ultimate autumn comfort food - I hope you bake one before the season is over. the full original recipe is here.
later, the intoxicating smell of frying filled the air as the mother made apple fritters. she dusted them with icing sugar for dessert.
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 Thursday: yes! sometimes when it feels like you have so much to do, a little self-belief goes a long way. believe you can and you will. the notebook is from here!
cold rice pudding on a cold Thursday evening. I'm not a fan of having it hot - even in autumn. sorry.
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 Friday: today, I invaded my cousins' kitchen. these adorable garlic bulbs came all the way from Pakistan. my aunt soaks them in water to make peeling the tiny cloves easier.
my aunt was cooking sweet chilli chicken for lunch. she shallow-fried boneless chicken pieces which had been coated in cornflour, beaten egg, salt, black pepper and ground turmeric.

then, plenty of sweet chilli sauce is added along with ground cumin and garam masala. finally, chopped bell peppers are stirred through and the whole thing is served over boiled rice. yum.

on the side? homemade spicy pickle.
also, please take a moment to say masha Allah and admire her chillies.
that colour! so pretty.
the day turned out to be pretty hot.
so while my Mother enjoyed gluten-free apple crumble with hot mango custard ..
... we discovered more apples.
they're still growing but I'm pretty sure we'll be baking with them soon.
on to the battle of the cakes! I shot two cake recipes with both my cousins for the blog (the results will be live this week, insha Allah. first, salmon fishcakes.
and the second? cupcakes of the lemon variety. both were incredibly delicious!
with the sun still shining, we made our way home.
to cook our own dinner. tonight, it was soup night. on the menu, this chicken, rice and lim soup which I adapted from here.
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this time one year ago:
Eid-al-Adha + Homemade Fish Fingers + A Shortbread Recipe

lately, on the blog:

Trail Mix + Apple Cakes + September Walks

Carrot Apple Salad

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Keep me in your duas please, and have a wonderful week,

Wasalaam!


Spice Enthusiast
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