Category: Easy

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Chilli Cheese Parathas

Week two of my Facebook LIVE COOKERY CLASSES brought Chilli Cheese Parathas to the kitchen! Once you’ve been introduced to the deliciousness that is stuffed parathas, there is no turning back.

Chilli and cheese is such a great combination but you can stuff your parathas with whatever you like! Gobi Parathas (spiced cauliflower) are the paratha of choice in my home. Oh and Cheeni Parathas, which are stuffed with ghee and sugar. Honestly, you are winning whatever you choose. You can also use the dough to make plain chapatis or parathas which make the perfect accompaniment to your favourite curry or simply with a fried egg on top.

Have a go and let me know how they turn out for you! If you missed the live cookery class but want to catch up and watch, you can do so by clicking here. Also, if you have any dish suggestions for next week’s class, comment below or drop me a message on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!

Chilli Cheese Parathas

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Servings 4 parathas

Ingredients
  

For the dough:

  • 1 cup (130g) chapati flour you can also use plain flour
  • 2 tbsp yoghurt
  • 1/4 cup + 1 to 2 tbsp warm water (this is a rough guide, you may need more or water depending on your flour type)
  • Oil for kneading

For the stuffing:

  • 150 g grated cheese I like to mix 1/2 cheddar & 1/2 mozzarella for flavour & texture but you can you use what you like!
  • 1/2 medium onion finely diced (I like to use red, you can you whatever you have)
  • 1 green chilli finely chopped or you can use chilli flakes/chilli powder
  • Handful fresh coriander finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp Carom/ajwain seeds optional
  • 3/4 tsp Salt or acc to taste
  • 1/2 tsp Black pepper

You will also need:

  • A non stick chapati tava pan/crepe pan/ non stick frying pan
  • A rolling Pin
  • A bowl with some chapati/plain flour in it for dusting

Instructions
 

  • Place the flour in a mixing bowl. Add the yoghurt and rub in really well using your finger tips until it is completely mixed in. Then, add the water little by little. Use your hand to combine the flour and water to make a dough. You are looking for the dough to be soft and tacky but not overly wet. 
  • Now, very lightly grease your hand and begin to knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until you have a smooth and pliable dough. Cover with cling film/damp tea towel and leave aside for 10-15 minutes.
  • In a bowl, mix together the stuffing ingredients. Keep aside. 
  • Now heat a tava/non-stick frying/crepe pan on high heat. Once the pan is hot, reduce to a low heat whilst you prepare the parathas.
  • Divide your dough into 4 equal dough balls. Roll each one so they are smooth and round. 
  • Dip one dough ball into the bowl of dry flour and with a rolling pin, begin to roll out until the size of a starter plate, forming a chapati
  • Divide your cheese stuffing into 4 portions. Place one portion of the stuffing in the centre of the chapati and bring together all of the edges so that they meet in the middle. Press down so it is sealed.
  • Dip the sealed stuffed dough ball in the flour and shake off any excess. Place on your work surface and roll out gently until it is 7-8″ in diameter and even in thickness all the way around.
  • Increase the heat of your pan to the maximum setting. Carefully pick up the paratha, web your fingers and flip the paratha from hand to hand to get rid of any excess flour.
  • Place it on the hot pan. When it changes colour and small bubbles begin to appear turn it over and cook the other side.
  • Cook until paratha is golden, then flip and cook until golden and all over and crispy. Finish by smearing a teaspoon of ghee or butter. • Make the rest of the parathas using the same process. Keep them wrapped in a towel or foil until ready to serve.
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Sukha Aloo – Punjabi spiced potatoes

We are all adjusting and adapting to a very new style of living right now. It’s resulted in huge change across the board and for every individual, that has translated to mean different things. The biggest change for me has been shutting shop at The Spice Club and closing my cookery school doors. It’s been very hard but I have been trying to focus on how I grateful I am that as a job, I get the opportunity to share my cookery knowledge with others and actually see my students benefit from it in their own kitchen.

Given the situation I am in, I’ve decided to take this opportunity to continue sharing. Via social media, posting recipes on here and as of yesterday by means of LIVE ONLINE COOKERY CLASSES on Facebook. I taught one of my favourite dishes yesterday, Sukha Aloo. It’s a fav because it takes 10 minutes to cook and scores high marks in the taste department (that’s an actual place in the brain). If you’d like to re-watch it and follow as I cook, you can do so here. Or if you’d rather not watch me jibber jabber, you can scroll down and read the recipe below.

I wil be doing regular FB Live cookery classes. My next one will be next Friday 3rd April at 4pm GMT. Hope to see you there!

Sukha Aloo

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Ingredients
  

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 tbsp oil
  • 1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 medium onion (approx 100g) thinly sliced
  • 2 heaped tbsp double concentrate tomato puree
  • 575 g potatoes red/desiree are ideal, cooked & peeled & cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt or according to taste
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp amchur/mango powder optional
  • 1 green chilli finely chopped or 1/4 tsp chilli powder
  • Handful fresh coriander roughly chopped, optional
  • water

Instructions
 

How to:

  • Heat oil in a pan. Once hot, add the cumin seeds. Give them a quick mix and then add the onions.
  • Sauté for 2-3 minutes on medium/high until light golden in colour. Now add the tomato puree along with 4-5 tbsp water and mix well.
  • At this point, add the potatoes and sprinkle over the salt as well as all of the dry spices and green chilli. Mix well.
  • Finish with fresh coriander and mix once again. Turn off heat. Taste for salt/chilli and adjust accordingly.

Notes

To cook the potatoes, you can boil them. OR I cook mine in the microwave as it’s easy/no washing up. To do this, wash potatoes, then place in a freezer safe bag (or any clean small plastic bag) and tie it up. Pierce a hole in it and then place in the microwave on high for 8-10 minutes or until cooked.

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Bread Pakoras

How are we all doing? Ready for another #spiceclubstaple? I’m sharing another favourite of mine – bread pakoras. It’s a dish that completely transforms the staple. It’s also great for using up bread that is possibly heading towards it’s best before date.

If you really want to make these but can’t source bread right now (I am sadly still seeing social media posts of empty supermarket bakery aisles), you can use slices of potatoes or aubergine or even spinach leaves instead!

This recipe uses a batter made from gram flour (a lot of us have this in the cupboard but don’t ever get round to using it!) As it’s made from chickpeas (ie. gluten free friendly), it’s deliciously nutty and is amazing when deep fried. If you don’t deep fry a lot, I suggest that you use a small sauce pan or a small wok so you don’t have to use too much oil. Also a wee tip – once you’re done frying, cool the oil and then drain into a jar. You can fry with this same oil a good 3/4 times again until it begins to change in colour/smell.

Interestingly – bread pakoras are actually a Punjabi speciality. I grew up on them (as did plenty of other Punjabi kids) and we used to dunk them in tomato ketchup and coriander & mint chutney. Crispy & spicy on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside – these are the pakoras of dreams people.

Enjoy and don’t forget to send me photos of your recreations via social media! Peep the recipe (& the video below!) to see how I made them.

Bread Pakoras

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Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 4 slices white bread (you can use brown too)
  • 1 cup (approx. 90g) gram flour
  • 1 tsp salt or according to taste
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • ½ tsp paprika powder
  • ¼ – ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds coarsely crushed
  • ¼ tsp mango powder/amchur optional
  • ¼ tsp asafoetida powder optional
  • Handful fresh coriander finely chopped (optional)
  • You wil also need:

You will also need:

  • Water
  • Oil for deep frying sunflower/vegetable oil works well

Instructions
 

  • Place oil in a pan (a small wok or saucepan works well) until it is about 4” deep and heat on a medium heat setting. Cut the bread slices into square quarters or in triangle halves NB. The quarters are probably easier to handle compared to triangles – if this is your first time making these!).
  • Sift the gram flour into a bowl and then add the salt and all of the spices along with the fresh coriander. Gradually add the water and whisk until a smooth yet thick batter forms. It should be the consistency of a thick pancake batter and should be able to coat the back of a spoon. If the batter is too thin, it won’t create a nice layer of coating when fried. (If you do add too much water, you can fix this by adding a little more gram flour – don’t forget to add a little more seasoning if you do this).
  • Test the temperature of the oil by placing a small piece of bread /crust into the oil. It should sizzle and come up to the surface within 5 seconds. If it sits at the bottom of the pan, the oil is too cold so continue to heat the oil.
  • Keep your bowl of batter right next to the wok with oil. Now, fully dip a piece of bread in the batter ensuring it is covered evenly and carefully place into the hot oil. Repeat with a few more pieces being careful not to overcrowd the pan. (You will need to cook this in batches). 
  • Fry on medium heat until the pakora becomes golden brown on one side. Flip it over and cook the other side until golden. For extra crispy pakoras, increase temperature to high for the last 45 seconds. It should take 3-4 minutes for the pakoras to fully cook. Using a slotted spoon, remove pakoras from oil and drain well. Once the oil has stopped dripping completely, only then place on kitchen paper. Adjust the temperature of you oil so it is back to a medium heat and then repeat with the remaining bread.
  • Enjoy with you tomato ketchup or your favourite dipping sauces!
    *If you want to get fancy, you can spread your favourite chutney/sauce on one side of the bread pieces before dipping in the batter, for an extra hit of flavour*