Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins
It has been nine years since the final instalment of one of cinema’s finest movie trilogies. Nine years of DVD and Blu-Ray releases, box sets, [...]
Author Archive for Mina Joshi
Mina Joshi writes a vegetarian food blog, www.givemesomespice.com, and as a busy working Cambridgeshire mum, she specialises in quick and healthy authentic vegetarian recipes Both her father and father-in-law were experienced chefs who owned restaurants in East Africa and they shared their recipes and tips with Mina. She started her blog to pass on some of the old-fashioned dishes that might otherwise be lost. Mina believes that nothing beats home cooking and it is her aim to make everyone realise that cooking can be fun. Mina Joshi also teaches vegetarian cookery in her home in small informal groups where students get to enjoy cooking and then eating or taking away the dishes they have prepared. Follow Mina on Twitter @Princess5409
Vegetarian Tortilla Wraps with Quinoa and Nuts
I have seen a lot of recipes with Quinoa and I was keen to try some recipes with it as it is highly appreciated for its nutritional value; its protein content is fairly high -though not as high as most beans and legumes. There is lots of information and recipes using Quinoa on the internet. I found this article very [...]
Stir Fried Rice
I made this quick and easy stir fried rice for us all when we were all hungry one midnight after playing Monopoly!! Ingredients for 4-6 servings: 4 cups cooked plain basmati rice 1 medium potato 1/2 cup peas (I used frozen peas) 1 onion sliced finely (I used red onion) 1 fresh carrot 1-2 green [...]
Spinach Curry
I made this really quick and easy Spinach Curry (also called Saag in some restaurants) as we were hungry and didn’t have time to make an elaborate meal. I usually serve spinach curry with khichedi and chapatis but on this occasion we had it with rice and naan bread. Ingredients for 4 servings: 2 cups [...]
Chick Peas and Potato Curry
Chick peas are really Garbanzos beans and are a good source of proteins. They come in several varieties such as the white Kabuli ones or the dark brown ones. This recipe works for all varieties of chick peas. Ingredients for 4 servings: 2 cups of boiled chick peas 2 medium sized potatoes, washed and chopped [...]
Spicy New Potatoes with Garlic
You can serve these Spicy New Potatoes as a starter or at barbecues with salad too. Ingredients for 4 servings: 25 small new potatoes ½ tsp salt ½ tsp turmeric 1 tbs chick pea flour (often called besan) 1 tbs ground mixture of coriander and cumin (often called dhana jeeru – available in most supermarkets) [...]
Punjabi Samosas – To Fry or Not to Fry?
Samosas are available in most places in the world as little triangle pastries filled with a variety of vegetarian and non vegetarian fillings. They can be eaten as a snack with a cup of tea or served as a starter with any meal. Gujarati samosas are usually smaller and crispier. However, they are a [...]
Cheese and Oregano Parathas
I meet a lot of people who love eating Indian food but don’t feel confident about making it at home. Most of them including my children used to end up buying curry, rice and naan bread from a take away. That’s when I decided to start sharing my recipes with step by step [...]
Bateta Vada (Battered Potato Balls)
Bateta vadas are a classic Indian dish which can be served as a starter or as a quick snack. In Mumbai, they are served as Vada pav where Batata vadas are served with chilli sauce or chutney in a roll. In most Gujarati homes, they are served as a tea time snack except when they [...]
Dry Roast Nuts: Cashews and Peanuts
Last week I bought lots of snacky stuff like crisps, peanuts and cashew nuts to munch on whilst we watched the Olympics. I was shocked to see the amount of oil and salt content in the snacks we were consuming plus the cost of some of these packets was also astronomical. I remember how my parents used [...]
Spicy Sweet Potato Juliennes
A lot of health magazines are classing sweet potatoes as one of the most nutritious vegetables. I will leave that debate to the experts. I grew up eating sweet potatoes in curries, chips and crisps and enjoy them as they taste slightly better than the potato. There are two varieties of sweet potatoes sold [...]
Spaghetti with Mixed Vegetables and Orange Juice
A couple of weeks ago, I had dinner at a lovely vegetarian restaurant in London where I picked up a recipe card for this dish. It’s a really nice touch when a restaurant is happy to share their recipes with their customers. I had to make a few changes to the recipe as I did not have all the [...]
Overnight Muesli Breakfast
Fancy a breakfast that is high in protein but also tasty? Well try this overnight muesli breakfast. This has become a favourite with my family! It’s ideal for people who are always in a rush and like to have breakfast on the go. Just prepare this overnight in a plastic container and take it with [...]
High Protein Chocolate Chip Cookies
I was making some basic recipe chocolate chip cookies with oats and my son comes in the kitchen and said “Can you put some of my protein powder in the cookies?” Just to explain the protein powder is a supplement people generally consume immediately before and after exercising and my son is really into his sports and exercise. [...]
Yoghurt, Coconut and Green Chilli Chutney
Over the last few months, you will have seen my recipes for green chutney/dip and tomato chutney. Both these chutneys are perfect to serve with potato bhajias, onion bhajias, pokoras etc. This yoghurt, chilli and coconut chutney/dip is also perfect for serving with any Indian starter. The sweet and sour yoghurt with the hot chillies [...]
Sweetcorn Curry with Nuts & Dessicated Coconut
I have always loved sweetcorn especially the canned version. I love eating it cold in salads and I’ll often open a small can for my lunch and just eat it cold. This reminds me of my student days!! If you like your curry to be rich and creamy and slightly sweet, you will like this [...]
Tomato Chutney
Whenever I make any kind of bhajias or samosas I like to serve them with this tomato chutney/dip. It’s tangy and sweet to taste but can be made hot by adding chillies if you like hot chutneys. Ingredients: Time – 10-15 minutes 4 -5 ripe tomatoes 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon of tomato puree [...]
Malai Kofta Curry
Before I got interested in cooking, I used to order Malai Kofta Curry whenever we ate out as I used to think that this must be a very complicated dish to make. But believe me it’s not! Not only is it easy to make, it’s not too time consuming either. It’s a fantastic dish to make as [...]
Spicy Coriander & Mango Chutney
A lot of Indian restaurants and take away places serve complimentary green chutney which is usually eaten as a dip with pakora, samosa, kachoris etc. Having worked in a restaurant and knowing the secrets of some their cooking, I never eat these chutneys as I am never too sure how fresh they would be. My [...]
Aubergine Caviar (Baigan Bhartha)
Today’s recipe is a very easy and versatile dish using Aubergines. Aubergines come in all shapes and colours ranging from light green to purple to almost black. You get small aubergines, long ones and the most popular are the big fat aubergines sold in all western supermarkets. In India, aubergines are eaten regularly and parents [...]
Sambharo – Spicy Cabbage Salad
Sambharo is rather like a spicy cooked salad always served up as a condiment to a main meal. It’s usually made with carrots, white cabbage, raw mangoes, raw papaya and hot green chillies – stir fried in oil, mustard seeds and turmeric. It can be served hot or cold. This kind of a [...]
Cucumber Raita
Raita is a yogurt condiment flavoured with grated or finely chopped vegetables, fruit or herbs and mustard to enhance the flavour. In Gujarati mustard is called “rai”. “So a raita without mustard isn’t a raita” according to the Gujaratis. I used the ready made English mustard which is fairly mild. You can add as much [...]
Garlic Rolls with Sesame and Coriander
I had these rolls at a friends place and couldn’t resist asking her for the recipe. I followed her recipe mostly but as my aim this year is to have more leisure time – I used a store bought bread mix with yeast to save time. Hope that you will try out my version and [...]
Carrot & Coriander Soup
My New Year’s resolution this year is to have more leisure time for myself and therefore, I am hoping that most of the food I cook will be quick and easy to make without losing any of the taste. Here’s my first quick and easy dish for this year. It’s winter time in UK [...]
Hot Sandwiches with a Difference
How often do our kids bring home friends after school and ask us to provide quick snacks for them? I know it happens in most families and often we end up giving them unhealthy snacks like crisps and biscuts. If possible, I like to serve them something healthy as they have been to [...]
Stuffed Peppers
I have always had Romano peppers chopped up either in a salad, pizza topping or rice. I got some large peppers and capsicums from the farmer’s market and I wanted to see how they would taste stuffed with vegetables or rice. I decided to experiment and stuff them at the same time as when I was making [...]
Onion Bhajias
My last recipe was for crispy potato bhajias. If you are planning on entertaining and want to make bhajias as starters, it’s always nice to make a variety of bhajias. This recipe is for different variety of bhajia. The onion bhajis or bhajias you get in the supermarkets are very different to ones most Indians make at [...]
Ask City Connect
Ask Tom – Serving Wine
Dear Tom
Can you give me tips on how to serve wine properly ?
There are a few of things you need think about when serving wine to get the most out [...]
Style
Viva Vintage This Autumn!
The trends on the catwalk this season are drawing inspiration yet again from the past; from 40s glamour to 60s mod, so the high street is awash with reproduction vintage [...]
Relationships
Bringing Up The Baby Conversation
So you’ve been dating Mr Wonderful for 6 luxurious months. It’s all hearts and flowers and looking dreamily into his eyes over the Seabass. You think he could be the one or at the very [...]
