COOKING WITH CHEF HUMII

Once upon a time I was cleaning my pantry at home and found loads of tinned food, enough to feed the world, ok maybe not the world but the exaggeration is justified. For all of you who have grown up in a desi household you'll know what I mean. Desi mums have the tendency of stocking up there cupboards and pantry's with so many tins of beans, chickpeas, tinned mango's, baked beans, indian beans like the list could go on and on and sometimes, even though the house is well and fully stocked up, the requirement to buy even more tins is crazy! I had to put a stop to it but it's very difficult stopping your mum from buying food, so the only option I could think of is to come up with some sort of a recipe where I can use these tins and so I came up with this. I was pretty shocked and impressed that I even came up with this and I think a lot of you will agree that this recipe will make a difference. It wont stop our mums from buying these tins LOL but atleast they wont be going to waste and we can make some yummy food out of them! So here it is guys, my Stuffed Veg Peppers...

Ingredients
- 5 Potatoes
- Fresh pepper (red/green/yellow)
- 1 Red Onion
- 2 Tomatoes
- 1/2 White Onion
- 1tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1tsp Blended Green Chillies (optional)
- 1tsp Cumin Powder
- 1tsp Turmeric
- Sunflower Oil
- Salt (to taste)
- 2tsp Coriander Powder
- 2tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- Fresh Coriander Leaves, cut finely
- 1 tin of Chick Peas
- 1 tin of Papri Lilva (Indian beans)

Method
- Grab the 5 potatoes and dice them into little cubes thereafter putting them in a bowl.
- Now finely slice the onions; both red and white, and the two tomatoes. Add this to the same bowl as the potatoes.
- Now lets add some spice to it:
- 1tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1tsp Blended Green Chillies
- 1tsp Cumin Powder
- 1tsp Turmeric
- 1tsp Sunflower Oil
- Salt (to taste)
- 2tsp Coriander Powder
- 2tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- Put a glove on and mix well.
- Once everything has blended together well, add some fresh coriander leaves and mix again.
- Now add one tin of chick peas & one tin of Papri Lilva (Indian beans)
- Let that marinate on the side and grab a shallow pan, heat it up with sunflower oil.
- With the pan on fast heat, add the mixture as well as half a cup of water, mix well but gently (we don't want to to crush the chick peas).
- Keep it on fast heat stirring occasionally.
- If everything is sticking to the pan drizzle some oil on top.
- You can either let this cook on fast heat for 5 minutes or on slow with a lid on till the potatoes are slightly soft.
- Whilst it cooks lets preheat the oven on gas mark 7.
- Get your peppers ready by cutting around the stem and pulling it out.
- Stuff the pepper with the mixture and pop it in the oven till its crispy.

Alternatively, if you don't like pepper you can choose to stuff the mix in an aubergine. Or once the mix has cooked put the pan under the grill till it has gone crispy and serve with rice or chapatti . As always explore my lovelies and let your cravings out.

Psssss...I also chose to add some olives on top as a means of salad, enjoy and lets tuck in!!!

I have a crazy obsession with moisturising, I know what you're thinking "what has moisturising got to do with cooking?" Anyways, one day I was applying my moisturiser and I loved the feel of it; the velvet smooth texture on my skin and I thought "well what can I make that's creamy, what can I create so I get the same feeling when I eat?" It had to be creamy obviously, soft and gentle and not harsh to eat. So I thought of a creamy pasta and believe me I was pretty impressed with myself when I made this (and it got finished pretty fast too!). You guys have to try this creamy recipe it's quick, easy and so addictive!

Ingredients
- Pasta (any kind you like)
- Sunflower Oil
- Sliced White Onions
- Chicken Breasts, cut in cubes
- Blended Tomato Tin
- Salt (to taste)
- 1/2tsp Pepper
- 2 & 1/2tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
- 1tsp Blended Green Chillies (optional)
- 1 &1/2tsp Red Chilli Powder
- Fresh Green Pepper, sliced and diced
- 2tsp Dried Parsley
- Frozen Veg (optional)
- 1 tub of Double Cream
- Cheese (grated)

Method
- Boil some pasta in a pan.
- Grab yourself a second pan and lets cook the chicken. Add Sunflower oil and onions. Cook till the chicken is white in colour.
- Add the blended tomato tin to the chicken (2 if you want your pasta saucy)
- Put it on a slow heat and stir well.
- Lets add a little more flavour to it, add:
- Salt
- Pepper
- Ginger Garlic Paste
- Blended Green Chillies
- Red Chilli Powder
- Fresh Green Pepper
- And Parsley
- Mix well and leave it on slow heat with a lid on, let it cook for 15/20 minutes.

- (Optional step) Add the frozen veg to the chicken and mix, as it's frozen let it cook for 10 minutes with the lid on. Guys again this is optional on whether you want veg or not. I added the veg so there is more of a filling.
- Now add the double cream and stir well.
- Lets add the pasta we boiled earlier to the mix along with some grated cheese.
- And finally for deco and garnishing purposes, lets sprinkle dried parsley on top and your good to serve.

Beauty of this dish is you can choose to serve in two ways, one is the above and the other; put it in a dish with cheese and sliced tomatoe on top and bake in the oven on gas mark 7 for 15/20 minutes.

Recently I have been obsessed with sweet potato it's literally all I want to eat and more; Sweet potato boiled with salt and pepper, sweet potato mash, like I just want it all day everyday. This recipe of mine I made up when I got too many sweet potatoes from the grocery shop and I had to use them up. I had been so repetitive when I was using them to cook that I wanted to do something new; try and switch up, and that's exactly when I thought "yup chicken plus sweet potato in a pie, that should work", and trust me it was an amazing combination. It's so easy on the stomach, not too light to eat yet not too heavy, it's just right for a satisfying meal and it's also great to just freeze for eating another day. Something quick, easy, healthy and so lush!

Feeds 5-7

Ingredients:
- Sunflower Oil
- 2lb Chicken Breast, cut in cubes
- 1 Large Onion, sliced finely
- 4 Medium Sized Sweet Potatoes, sliced thickly
- Fresh Cream (Single or Double, if you would like it more thick & creamy use double)
- 200ml Milk
- 1 Large Jar of Dolmio White Sauce
- 2 Medium Tomatoes
- Salt (to taste)
- 2 & 1/2tsp Garlic Paste
- 1 & 1/2tsp Cumin Powder
- 1tsp Blended Green Chillies (optional)
- Mushrooms (optional)
- 2 & 1/2tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2tsp Black Pepper
- Fresh Parsley (to garnish)
- 1 Puff Pastry Roll
- 1 Egg, whisked

Method:
- In a pot heat up sunflower oil on fast heat and add onions. Cook the onions till soft and pinky in colour.
- Once onions are cooked, add the chicken to the pan and let it cook till they are white in colour.
- Add the tomatoes and the masalas (spices), stir well and reduce to a medium to slow heat. Leave to cook for 10/15 minutes covered.
- Add the sweet potatoes (if you choose to have mushrooms then add this too) & stir, leave to cook again for 10 minutes, covered.
- Add the Dolmio white sauce into the pot and stir.
- Grab a seperate bowl, fill it with the fresh cream and milk and mix well (don't mix so rapidly). Fold the mixture together till it's a velvety creamy looking texture and then add this to the pot.
- Leave this to cook till the potatoes are slightly soft.
- Once done, switch off to cool and garnish with the fresh parsley leaves.

- Preheat the oven to gas mark 7.
- Once the filling has cooled, set into a dish of your choice.
- Roll out the puff pastry and apply on top of the filling. Ensure to poke a few holes on the pastry so it cooks well and brush the egg on top.
- Pop into the oven to cook for 30 minutes or at-least till the pastry has risen and is golden brown in colour.

Bon apetit, enjoy my lovelies.

My desi dhal my desi dhal dhal dhal dhal dhal!!! #desigirl #priyankachopra #dostana #ifyouknowyouknow LOL

Not a lot of people like dhal (lentils) which I personally feel is just so bizarre! However, it all comes down to how it's cooked and I think with dhal (lentils) you have to cook it with a lot of lurrrvveeee. I watched my mum make this once and I got put off straight away but I love food so I had to give it the benefit of the doubt and try it. When I did, I loved it and had the urge to cook it. Dhal tastes amazing in the winter with some rice (can also be served with chappati/roti) and it has a lot of benefits, believe it or not. As well as it being so quick and easy to cook, it's a brilliant source for fibre and also helps with giving you a energy boost by replenishing the iron stores in your body. I do suffer from anaemia myself and it's highly common for women, especially Asian women, to be low in iron. I genuinely feel after eating dhal I gain some energy. It's nice to be able to cook something quick and easy that's also highly beneficial and has so many health benefits, so why not give my desi dhal a go. Give it the benefit of the doubt.
Feeds 5

Ingredients:
- 2 cups yellow split Lentils (moong dhal), washed and soaked in cold water
- 1tbs Mustard seed
- 1 large Onion finely sliced
- Sunflower oil
- 1 large Tomatoe, chopped
- 3tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2tsp Turmeric
- 1 & 1/2tsp Cumin Powder
- 3 Fresh Green Chillies
- 1 & 1/2tsp Blended Green Chillies (optional)
- Salt (to taste)
- 2tsp Ginger/Garlic Paste
- 4 cups of Water
- Fresh Coriander Chopped

Method:
- Grab yourself a pot and on a medium heat add sunflower oil and the mustard seeds.
- Stir continuously for a minute or so and then add the onions and the fresh green chillies.
- Cook the onions, stirring as often as you can, till they have softened.
- Once the onions have softened, put it on a completely slow heat and add the tomatoes. Allow this to cook for 10/15 minutes with a lid on.
- Once the tomatoes have cooked, add in all the masalas and the ginger/garlic paste.

If you like spicy food you can add the blended green chillies too.

- Let this cook with a lid on for 10 minutes and then add 1 cup water and allow to cook for an additional 10 minutes.

(I usually like to like my masala cook for atleast half an hour, stirring occasionally but this is down to my own personal preference as I like to really take my time)

- Once the masala has cooked (and you're happy with the taste so far) add the lentils and the rest of the water; stir well. Keep on a slow heat and cook for 10/15 minutes, covered, till it becomes a dhal like texture and not so runny. If it appears to be quite thick and soggy in appearance then you can add more water.
- Finally garnish with fresh coriander and you can switch off and serve with either boiled white rice and chappti.

(Psssttt I also like having dhal with buttery toast why not give it a go?)

I love pie but its always hard to know exactly what to put in a pie without spoiling it and doing it justice. Initially when I was making this pie I was hoping to make lasagne on the day but, my dad got chicken breast instead of mince meat from the butchers. I wanted to make something using what had been bought for the lasagne i.e. the chicken and the white dolmio sauce. My fridge was fully stocked so I had no worries in terms of what additional to add; for once I was stress free in the kitchen and didn't have to just make do.
For those that know me well you'll know my crazy obsession with mushrooms. It's THE most amazing, delicious, yummiest thing in the whole entire world! I have even gone as far as eating it raw! I know I'm mad! But I love it and my obsession with it lead me to trying it raw. I wouldn't advise anyone to try it though LOL! You can imagine how much mushroom I added to my pie! Anywaysssss... I thought I have to add mushroom to my pie and I did. I also added peppers and sweetcorn, green pepper has a nice flavour to it and sweetcorn, well to be completely honest, I love sweetcorn and mushroom on a pizza so I thought to myself "well if they taste good together on a pizza they have got to taste good in a pie together too!" I really am random guys but all these random thoughts are what help me create these recipes so guys here it is; my chicken and mushroom pie.
Feeds 7-10 people

Ingredients

- 3 Medium Onions

- Sunflower Oil

- 4 Pound (in weight) Chicken Breasts, cut in cubes

- 2 Large Tomatoes, sliced and diced

- Salt (to taste)

- Black Pepper (1 tsp)

- Red Chilli Flakes (1 tsp)

- Coriander Powder (2 1/2 tsp)

- Cumin Powder (1 tsp)

- Fresh Green Chillies (blended) (1 tsp, if you like it spicy you can add more)

- Garlic Paste (2 tsp)

- 1 Large Green Pepper, sliced and diced (optional)

- 2 packs of Mushrooms, sliced in a thickly manner

- Tin of Sweetcorn or frozen pack of sweetcorn (optional)

- 3/4 bottles of Dolmio White Sauce

- Fresh Coriander, chopped

- Puff Pastry Roll

- 1 Egg

Method:

- Finely cut the 3 onions and add it to a pot with sunflower oil. Cook on a fast heat till the onions have softened and gone a pinky colour.

- Add the chicken breasts in and cook till the chicken is white in colour and water burns off.

- Keep it on fast heat and add:

- Green Pepper (optional)

- Mushrooms

- Sweetcorn (optional)

- Stir well and put on a medium to slow heat.

- Add the tomatoe to the mix and also add:

- Salt

- Black Pepper

- Red Chilli Flakes

- Coriander Powder

- Cumin Powder

- Fresh Green Chillies (blended)

- Blended Garlic.

(I have added the above in accordance to my taste buds so if you feel the need to add more or less then you can do so)

- Stir well and cook for around 20/25 minutes with a lid on and on slow head. Ensure to occasionally stir.

- Now add 3 bottles of Dolmio White Sauce, if you want it quite saucy add another bottle of the Dolmio white sauce.

- Finally, add the chopped fresh coriander as garnish and let this cook for around 5-10 minutes and then switch off to cool.

- Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 or 200 degrees

- Once the filling has cooled roll out the puff pastry roll, use a bit of plain flour to roll it out if you struggle. Add the pie filling in a dish.

- Add the puff pastry roll on top of the filling and with a fork poke enough holes so that it cooks when we put it in the oven.

- Scramble the egg and brush it on top of of the pastry and once the oven has heated pop the pie in and cook for 25 minutes or till the pastry has risen and gone golden brown and cooked.

You can now serve :)

Whenever I go to a wedding the one thing I look forward to is the lamb ghosh/curry. Nothing pleases me more than to eat a good, spicy, lamb curry. Everyone's style of lamb ghosh is different and I love how everyone's way of cooking it has its own originality, its own take, and its something I've always wanted to be able to achieve. My mum taught me my basic use of masalas and what each one was good at bringing out; what brought flavour, what brought spice, what brought that extra taste; that va va voom. I wanted to make sure when I attempted to make a lamb curry I would achieve all the above. One thing I've learnt is that the longer you leave something to cook the better and richer the flavour; especially with a curry. This saying has been taught in my family for generations all the way from India! So I had to implement it. I know it takes time to cook a curry but believe me this is worth it and the exciting thing is you get to experience the smell of the spice cooking bit by bit!
This recipe is brilliant for large family gatherings, wedding parties or just to serve at home. I hope you guys enjoy cooking this as much as I did.

Feeds 7

Ingredients:
- 3lb Lamb shoulder (cut)
- 3 Medium sized white onions - sliced
- Sunflower oil
- 2 Cinnamon sticks
- 5 Cloves
- 7 Peppercorns
- 3 Cardamoms
- 1tsp Coriander seeds
- 1 tin Blended chopped tomatoes
- 3tsp Ginger garlic paste
- 1tsp Turmeric
- 1 1/2tsp Cumin
- 4tsp Coriander powder
- 1 1/2tsp Red chilli powder
- 1/2tsp Curry powder
- 1/2tsp Red chilli flakes
- 1/2tsp Garam masala
- 1tsp Blended green chillies
- Salt (to taste)
- 1tsp Tandoori powder
- Fresh coriander leaves cut
- 3tsp Lemon juice
- Potatoes (optional)

Method:
- Finely slice the onions and cook in sunflower oil on a fast heat along with the coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns and cloves, until onions are golden brown.

- Add the lamb meat and the ginger/garlic paste and stir well. Cover with a lid and put on a slow heat to cook for a good 30 minutes, occasionally stirring.

- Add the blended tomato tin, stir well and leave to cook with the lid on on slow heat for an additional 10/15 minutes.

- Add all the spices mentioned above and leave on slow heat with a lid on for 30/45 minutes, occasionally stirring.

- Add 2 cup water (more if you like it soupy) and lemon juice to the lamb and leave to cook for 10 minutes on slow heat without a lid. If you don't like it soupy and want it to be more of a masala just add 1/2 cup water.

(Preference: If you want to add potatoes you can do, cut them into large chunks and add to the pot, once the potatoes are cooked you can switch off, garnish with fresh coriander and serve).

- Finally garnish the curry with fresh coriander leaves and you can serve with a choice of naan bread, roti/chappati or brown rice.

You ever get that feeling where your so hungry but don't want to takeout, you just want something nice and homemade but you don't have a lot to use, you have no meat and all you want is to eat something quick, easy, and tasty?
Well have no fear this recipe is one my quick and tasty ones! I would defo recommend this to any uni students.
I love this recipe; everything I got was on a tight budget. I purchased my spaghetti from Tesco, I used the 'Tesco everyday value spaghetti' which was 20p, fresh lemon 30p (each, of course I only needed the one) and the stir fry packs which was £1. There are so many options for stir fry so you can pick whichever tickles your taste bud, all for a £1. If you do opt for a larger pack the price will increase but that would all depend on your own individual price budget. The masalas that I used are all basic ingredients I always have in the household and weren't too much of a worry for me to purchase but it was so relieving to know that something so easy could be made at a generous price. So guys here it is my vegetable spaghetti stir fry!

Ingredients:
- Spaghetti
- Half a Lemon
- Olive Oil
- Stir Fry Veg
- Szechuan Hot & Sour Cup Soup Sachet
- Salt
- Pepper
- Soy Sauce
- Chilli Flakes
- Garlic

Method:
- Boil some spaghetti in a pot with water.
- Squeeze half a lemon to juice it up and add the lemon itself into it once done, let it boil.
- Drain the water from spaghetti (do not wash in cold water).
- Put the spaghetti pot back on the cooker and let it heat on fast heat.
- Drizzle olive oil over and toss for a minute or so.
- Add some Stir Fry Veg.
- Grab the Szechuan Hot & Sour Cup Soup Sachet and follow the instructions on the box, once made add it to the spaghetti.
- Add the following too and stir well:
- Salt
- Pepper
- Soy Sauce
- Chilli Flakes
- Garlic
- Put a lid on it all and let it cook for 15 minutes.
Bon appetit your good to serve, quick and easy.

Stuffed Veg Peppers

Creamy Chicken Pasta

Sweet Potato Pie

Desi Dhal (Lentils)

Chicken & Mushroom Pie

Slow Cooked Spicy Lamb Curry AKA Lamb Ghosh

Tight Budget? ... Try my Vegetable Spaghetti Stirfry

About Me

Popular Posts

Labels

Blog Archive