Monica's Spice Diary – Indian Food Blog

A collection of my recipes & food related thoughts…

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About Monica
THE SPICE CLUB
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About Me

Hi! I'm Monica, chef, food presenter & founder of The Spice Club - an Indian Cookery School in Manchester & Birmingham, UK. Welcome to my Spice Diary...an online collection of my recipes & food related thoughts!

Watch my food show on Amazon Prime!

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thespiceclub

This time last year I had just returned from Chenn

This time last year I had just returned from Chennai, where I had been soaking in the wonders of South Indian regional cookery. As you can see here, I was about to tuck into a light bite.😉 This thali was the most memorable meal I had during my 3 month stay - 50 different South Indian delicacies on one plate. I've said it once and I'll say it again...Indian food is so much more than the C word (curry). South Indian food can also be broken down into regional micro-cuisines too - Keralan, Chettinad, Telugu, Mangalorean to name a few! Have you tried South Indian food?

Do you de-seed your chillies when you cook? If so,

Do you de-seed your chillies when you cook? If so, WHY?! If you don't like it too hot, may I kindly suggest you just use less of it🙂. The chilli plant has worked hard to produce that little chilli baba so surely we should honour it by using as much of it as we can! It's also less faff and less waste. Just sayin 😊🌶️

THE SPICE CLUB JUST TURNED 10! 🎂🎁🎈🎉 .

THE SPICE CLUB JUST TURNED 10! 🎂🎁🎈🎉 . This post is going out at *exactly the same time* we hosted our very first supperclub. On this very evening 10 years ago, a fresher faced Monica invited 8 strangers into her home for 5 courses of proper Indian home cooking - the good stuff. Fresh ingredients, family recipes and a whole load of love. My Mum helped in the kitchen, Dad helped set up and my bro was the "Maitre D". Talk about a true family affair. The Spice Club started off as an experimental project that "I did on weekends". I could never have imagined the journey it has taken me on. Thank you to every single one of you who has come to a supperclub, cookery class or just wished us well along the way. The Spice Club and I have grown a huge amount in this time. I'm incredibly excited about the future and the #spiceclubtopsecret announcement I'll be making in the coming days. So tell me, how did you came across The Spice Club? Have you been to one of my events? I would love to know!! 💛

I had my breakfast outside in the sunshine this mo

I had my breakfast outside in the sunshine this morning ☀️and then immediately started thinking about tonight's dinner. Tandoori Chicken is on the cards 😋. I've marinated the chicken already & used exactly the same recipe I taught during a live cookery class in May. Who joined me for that class?! Oh and if you didn't, don't worry, recipe link is in my bio. What are you having for dinner?⠀
⠀

It's been a long time coming and I'm about to expl

It's been a long time coming and I'm about to explode with excitement and nerves.

We are nearly there but I will need your help to cross the finish line.

More to be revealed in the coming days...

Oh hey! Don't mind me... just tipping some masoor

Oh hey! Don't mind me... just tipping some masoor lentils into a pan.

Probably wasn't the best idea to look away at the very moment I started pouring them - I'm not the tidiest cook. Masoor lentils are also know as red split lentils. Though I'm not sure why as they're definitely orange. Right?

They're so quick to cook (5 mins in the pressure cooker people!) and don't require soaking which is why I cook with them so much.

What are our feelings on Dal people? Love/Loathe?

A basket full of goodness! I am so lucky have acc

A basket full of goodness!

I am so lucky have access to so many quality Asian grocery shops here in Brum. Soho Rd is my go to place to pick up the freshest Indian ingredients. Most of the grocery shops there are independently owned too and I always end up talking to the shopkeepers in Hindi (well try to - it's Hindi with a Mancunian accent). Since I moved here, my weekly trips have become a little reminder of family and home.

Where do you go to buy your Asian ingredients??

Any ideas on what ingredient I am holding?? Here

Any ideas on what ingredient I am holding??

Here's a clue:
It stains your fingers bright yellow (saying this from experience).
It's packed full of amazing medicinal benefits - tis a natural antiseptic, anti-inflammatory & immune booster.
It's now a really trendy ingredient in the west (but Indians have been using it for about 4000 years - we were way ahead of the curve people, just sayin!)

Any ideas?

Spicy Egg Dopiaza. This was such a fun live cooker

Spicy Egg Dopiaza. This was such a fun live cookery class to teach. Thank you to everyone who joined me! Behind the scenes I've been working on improving our live cookery class game to improve the online learning experience for my students. Multi camera angles, text on screen for ingredients.. even had a very special guest chef virtually join and teach parathas - my MUM! Have received some really positive feedback but I'm still tweaking to improve. If you want to watch it, the video link is in my bio - I would love to hear your thoughts. The recipe for this delicious Egg Dopiaza is now also up on Spicediary.com. The next FB live cookery class will be on 25th September - MARK YOUR CALENDAR people! It's going to be a very special one 🗓 🤩👩‍🍳

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Recent Posts

Egg Dopiaza
Murgh Jhalfrezi
Batata Vadas
Butter Chicken
Mutton Keema Conchiglioni

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thespiceclub

This time last year I had just returned from Chenn

This time last year I had just returned from Chennai, where I had been soaking in the wonders of South Indian regional cookery. As you can see here, I was about to tuck into a light bite.😉 This thali was the most memorable meal I had during my 3 month stay - 50 different South Indian delicacies on one plate. I've said it once and I'll say it again...Indian food is so much more than the C word (curry). South Indian food can also be broken down into regional micro-cuisines too - Keralan, Chettinad, Telugu, Mangalorean to name a few! Have you tried South Indian food?

Do you de-seed your chillies when you cook? If so,

Do you de-seed your chillies when you cook? If so, WHY?! If you don't like it too hot, may I kindly suggest you just use less of it🙂. The chilli plant has worked hard to produce that little chilli baba so surely we should honour it by using as much of it as we can! It's also less faff and less waste. Just sayin 😊🌶️

THE SPICE CLUB JUST TURNED 10! 🎂🎁🎈🎉 .

THE SPICE CLUB JUST TURNED 10! 🎂🎁🎈🎉 . This post is going out at *exactly the same time* we hosted our very first supperclub. On this very evening 10 years ago, a fresher faced Monica invited 8 strangers into her home for 5 courses of proper Indian home cooking - the good stuff. Fresh ingredients, family recipes and a whole load of love. My Mum helped in the kitchen, Dad helped set up and my bro was the "Maitre D". Talk about a true family affair. The Spice Club started off as an experimental project that "I did on weekends". I could never have imagined the journey it has taken me on. Thank you to every single one of you who has come to a supperclub, cookery class or just wished us well along the way. The Spice Club and I have grown a huge amount in this time. I'm incredibly excited about the future and the #spiceclubtopsecret announcement I'll be making in the coming days. So tell me, how did you came across The Spice Club? Have you been to one of my events? I would love to know!! 💛

I had my breakfast outside in the sunshine this mo

I had my breakfast outside in the sunshine this morning ☀️and then immediately started thinking about tonight's dinner. Tandoori Chicken is on the cards 😋. I've marinated the chicken already & used exactly the same recipe I taught during a live cookery class in May. Who joined me for that class?! Oh and if you didn't, don't worry, recipe link is in my bio. What are you having for dinner?⠀
⠀

It's been a long time coming and I'm about to expl

It's been a long time coming and I'm about to explode with excitement and nerves.

We are nearly there but I will need your help to cross the finish line.

More to be revealed in the coming days...

Oh hey! Don't mind me... just tipping some masoor

Oh hey! Don't mind me... just tipping some masoor lentils into a pan.

Probably wasn't the best idea to look away at the very moment I started pouring them - I'm not the tidiest cook. Masoor lentils are also know as red split lentils. Though I'm not sure why as they're definitely orange. Right?

They're so quick to cook (5 mins in the pressure cooker people!) and don't require soaking which is why I cook with them so much.

What are our feelings on Dal people? Love/Loathe?

A basket full of goodness! I am so lucky have acc

A basket full of goodness!

I am so lucky have access to so many quality Asian grocery shops here in Brum. Soho Rd is my go to place to pick up the freshest Indian ingredients. Most of the grocery shops there are independently owned too and I always end up talking to the shopkeepers in Hindi (well try to - it's Hindi with a Mancunian accent). Since I moved here, my weekly trips have become a little reminder of family and home.

Where do you go to buy your Asian ingredients??

Any ideas on what ingredient I am holding?? Here

Any ideas on what ingredient I am holding??

Here's a clue:
It stains your fingers bright yellow (saying this from experience).
It's packed full of amazing medicinal benefits - tis a natural antiseptic, anti-inflammatory & immune booster.
It's now a really trendy ingredient in the west (but Indians have been using it for about 4000 years - we were way ahead of the curve people, just sayin!)

Any ideas?

Spicy Egg Dopiaza. This was such a fun live cooker

Spicy Egg Dopiaza. This was such a fun live cookery class to teach. Thank you to everyone who joined me! Behind the scenes I've been working on improving our live cookery class game to improve the online learning experience for my students. Multi camera angles, text on screen for ingredients.. even had a very special guest chef virtually join and teach parathas - my MUM! Have received some really positive feedback but I'm still tweaking to improve. If you want to watch it, the video link is in my bio - I would love to hear your thoughts. The recipe for this delicious Egg Dopiaza is now also up on Spicediary.com. The next FB live cookery class will be on 25th September - MARK YOUR CALENDAR people! It's going to be a very special one 🗓 🤩👩‍🍳

Load More... Follow on Instagram

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