Summer holiday fun

My twin sister, hubby and three kids arrived the first week of December, their first trip to NZ. We have a fabulous road trip planned. But with 9 of us ( including 3 teenage boys) we have to be ultra organised with feeding the troops!
So Anj and I have been baking and cooking, but making sure that meals are wholesome and filling as well as being simple allowing us to pack as much into our days as possible.
The BBQ has been an awesome friend, lots of salads, and relishes and easy recipes for the trip.
We filled the tins with shortbread, her gorgeous coconut & chocolate biscuits, chocolate cake, blueberry & lemon loaf and gingerbread loaf.

Here is a quick and easy recipe for our homemade beef burgers

I used a double recipe, but this is for 1 kg of beef mince

1 kg beef mince
2 Tbls Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbls Tomato sauce
1-2 cloves crushed garlic
A handful of breadcrumbs
Salt & pepper
Mix through making sure everything is distributed.
Make approx 12 -14 balls
Then shape them into patties, cook on the BBQ and serve with your choice of bread rolls and condiments.

Enjoy!

Ashia

Gifts from my kitchen

Well, another year has hurtled past, bringing with it a lot of memories. It's been a great year for me, my son Adam started high school, my parents came to visit from the UK, I hadn't  seen them for a couple of years. It was great spending time with them, and eating my mum's home cooked meals. Special times.

I also got published again in NZ House & Garden, another foodie achievement for me. I loved working on the food story, which had 5 of my favourite recipes, a beautifully styled and photographed five page spread.  And earlier in November we did another photo shoot for NZ House & Garden for a summer food story that will be published in March' s issue 2016 ( available to buy in Feb). Look out for more work later in the year.

The kids are off now from school for the summer. My twin sister arrived from the UK with her family for their first visit to NZ. 

We have a fantastic road trip planned, showcasing this amazing country we live in, sharing memories and special times.

 I am hoping to get a new website and updated blog, so look out for that in the new year. 

I wish you all a safe and happy festive season, lots of best wishes for a happy a prosperous  2016.

Till next year!

Ashia

TV1 segment

It has been a busy few weeks with the October school holidays and now into the 4th (& last) term of the year! Counting down to summer.

This summer for me is going to be a special one, my gorgeous twin sister  Anjum and her family are visiting us for the first time. In my 19 years to and fro this is her first visit, so needless to say we are all very excited and have planned a great holiday over 4 weeks, showcasing this gorgeous country of ours.  Next year I have plans to do more You tube clips on cooking and have more articles in the pipeline for NZ House & Garden, with the next one coming out in Feb 2016!

I have uploaded my whole food story segment that was shown on TV1 a couple of weeks ago.  Enjoy it, if you didn't get a chance to see the episode.

 

Till next time

Ashia

My food story - Neighbourhood TV ONE

Here is a clip of my story, which aired on TV ONE on the 4th October 2015
on the show Neighbourhood, you can watch it again on TVNZ on demand.

Enjoy!

Ashia

Vegetable Pulau Rice

I love making this colourful rice dish, its so versatile, it goes with any curry, and I also often make it and eat it on its own.  You can use any chopped vegetables, I mainly use frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots and sweetcorn) and then slice up a couple of potatoes.  Or you can use, green beans, cauliflower and broccoli as well if you wish.

2 Cups of basmati rice, washed well
2 Tbls oil
2Tbls butter or ghee
1tsp Cumin seeds
1tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Coriander
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Corainder & chilli paste ( you can make this yourself by taking a bunch of fresh coriander and 4-6 green chillis and whizz it all up - it stores well in the freezer)
6-8 cm cinnamon stick
1 onion, finely sliced
1/2 cup of frozen or fresh chopped vegetables
2 medium sized potatoes peeled and cut into thin 'chips'


Heat the butter and oil in a lidded saucepan and add the onions, fry until pale and then add all the spices and the chilli and coriander paste, cook for 2-3 min on a medium heat, until aromatic,  add the vegetables, including the potatoes and cook for 2-3 min, add the washed rice and cook for a further couple of minutes.
Then add 4 cups of boiling water and 2 tsp of salt (or less if you wish), bring it all to a bubbling boil, making sure that you have stirred the rice /vegetable mixture.
Once it starts boiling, put the lid on and turn the heat to the lowest setting, for 12-14 min, until the rice is fluffy and cooked.

Serves 4, serve with a curry or on its own with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.

 

Some other dishes I serve this yummy rice with, a lovely fried paneer curry and a really easy egg curry.

 

 

Till next time, enjoy!

Ashia

Sunny Florida

 A fantastic opportunity for Adam and his team to travel to Orlando, Florida, over the school break, to take part in the Youth of America Basketball National Champs.                                         

 

Before the long flight over

                                              

 

 They were in a closed camp, but we saw all the games and were there to support them and cheer them on.  The weather was hot and humid, so a dip in the pool provided some much needed relief.

 

                   

 

 

 We had some amazing meals out and it was great to sample some American food.  They serve very large helpings!  We went to a Mexican restaurant, and the guacamole was made right in front of us, fantastic to watch, and boy they must go through a lot of avocados!  Fish tacos and quesadillas  and lots of nachos and spicy dips, yum.



                                        

                  

We had also planned to for Zara to swim with dolphins, as this has been a dream of hers, so what better place to do it, than Discovery Cove! An all inclusive day, with breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks...one very happy little girl!

We sampled more food, a Portbello mushroom burger and some absolutely gorgeous corn bread served with maple butter! Divine!!

                   

 

 More food this time at the Red Lobster, where we had seafood galore.

                    

 At the end of the tournament just before the flight home, very tired but happy boys!
                                         
                                                      Enjoy, till next time Ashia

Food for filming

 

A couple of weeks ago I was asked if I would like to be part of a TV1 lifestyle/doc about the neighborhoods we live in, and the cultural differences that make up these diverse communities.
The production company wanted me to be part of the food story in that episode.  So I gladly agreed.  The story was about where I am from and how living in New Zealand and the other countries I have lived in, affected my style of cooking.

They were filming all day, starting with an interview and then filmed me making a curry dish, which included me making roti, picking up the children from school and then coming home to have dinner with the family.

!t was a great experience and I will keep you updated as to when it will air in NZ (for my lovely overseas readers) you will be able to watch it on line

 

 

 

Lots of fun had by all and I loved being part of it!

 

Till next time

 

Ashia

Slow Cooked Beef Curry

This is a lovely curry to have on a cold winters day, you can cook it on the stove top, but I find that putting it in a slow cooker, makes the meat really tender and is perfect to come home to at the end of the day.  Traditionally at home we use tomatoes and red chilli powder and a range of spices as the base of our cooking, this is no different.
This is similar to a "beef madras", with a couple of slightly different ingredients that gives it a slightly milder taste.
Also I have used ready crushed paste of garlic and ginger, for ease of recipe and powdered spices, as the whole idea of my blog is quick. simple and authentic meals.

500g  Diced Beef (Can be bone in)
2-3 medium potatoes peeled and quartered
1 Sliced onion
2-3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
4-5 Tbl  Vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp Ginger & garlic paste
1 Tbl Tomato paste
1 Tsp Cumin powder
11/2 Tsp Coriander powder
1/2 Tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Garam masala
1Tsp Chilli powder
1Tsp Paprika
2cm cinnamon stick
1Tsp salt
Pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onions until a golden brown.
2. Add the ginger & garlic and salt and turmeric, cook for 5 min, then add the chopped  tomatoes, tomato paste and all the spices, cook  for a further 8-10 min  on low until the tomato mixture separates from the oil ( this process is important to give it real depth of flavour) add the beef, stirring to coat.
3. At this point, pour the curry into a slow cooker, add the potatoes and 600mls of water
4. Cook on a low setting for  4-5 hours. If you are cooking it on the stove top, after adding the water, bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and cook for about 11/2 hours or until the meat is tender.

Serve with a plain or vegetable pilau rice.

Enjoy!

Till next time, Ashia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All In The Family

I thoroughly enjoyed working on my food feature for April's issue of NZ House & Garden.
Fantastic food styling by Bernadette Hogg and brilliant photography by Manja Wachsmuth. Great working with you both again!

Well here is the pdf of the article for all my friends and family in the UK and Austrailia, and all you lovely foodies, that visit my blog. Please feel free to share and cook and leave comments, I appreciate all your support.

Enjoy reading my food feature!

Till next time

Ashia

Macchi Fry ( Fish Curry)

Nothing like a fresh fish curry, especially if it's caught by my lovely husband! Graham went out paddling on his sea kayak and caught a lovely big kahawai. So that was going to be dinner, with mum and dad visiting from the UK I thought a fish curry would be ideal. Kahawai is lovely and fleshy and tastes divine in a curry.
With a little help from my lovely mum, we made my mum's gorgeous curry. We used 2 large fillets which were approximately 1kg. You can halve the recipe for 500g.

2 Large fillets of fresh fish ( a fleshy fish is best)
1/2 cup of oil
Juice of half a lemon
2 medium sized onions ( sliced thinly)
6-8 cloves garlic, crushed
21/2 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Salt
3/4 Tsp Turmeric
Pepper to taste
2 tsp chilli powder
1 Cup chopped tomatoes or passatta
1 Tbl Tomato paste
1/2 Tbl Tomato sauce
Small bunch of chopped fresh coriander

1. Cut fish into large chunks, and add the lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of salt, mix well and set aside.
2. Heat oil and fry sliced onions on medium heat until golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon and put aside on a piece of paper towel.
3. Fry the fish pieces in the same oil until golden, set aside.
4. In the same oil, add all the spices and garlic and then the chopped tomato, cook on a low heat for 12-15 min, then add tomato paste, cook for 3 min and then add the tomato sauce, cook for a further 2-3 min then add the fish pieces.
5. Just before serving arrange the fish in a dish, scatter the fried onions on top and garnish with coriander. Best served with Roti or paratha but you can serve it with rice if you wish.

Enjoy!

Ashia

Sugar Puff pastries

My parents are visiting from the UK, and I am loving cooking and trying new recipes with my mum. Some of these bring back memories from my childhood growing up in Malawi.

These scrumptious little pastries are a great accompaniment to ice cream or just served as an afternoon snack.

2 Cups plain flour
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Tsp baking powder
1 Tbl semolina
1/3 Cup ghee ( or melted butter)
1/2 Cup milk
Oil to fry

1. Heat milk in a pan and add the sugar, stir until melted. Add the ghee/ butter
2. Add the remaining dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, add the liquid mixture to make a soft dough.
3. Divide the dough into 3 balls and roll out into a circular shape approx 22 -24 cm, using a sharp knife cut into diamond shapes
4. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry until golden, when slightly cool, dust with icing sugar.

Divine! These are best eaten on the day.

Enjoy!

Till next time

Ashia

Tuna Fish cakes with dipping sauces

These gorgeous little fish cakes are so simple and perfect for Summer!  Again, as with all my recipes, using simple ingredients, quick and easy from your pantry and fridge.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

These delightful little morsels can be made spicy (using a mixture of green chillis and coriander) or left plain, depending on who you are entertaining. This serves 4-6 people as a main with a salad.

8-10  small/med potatoes - peeled and cut into chunks
11/2 can of tuna (in oil -drained)
1tsp chilli and coriander mix
1/2 lemon juice
salt and pepper
1 Beaten Egg
Breadcrumbs, I use panko.
Oil to fry


1.  Boil and mash the potatoes, don't add milk or butter.
2. In a large bowl, add the mashed potatoes, lemon juice, drained tuna, salt and pepper to taste
3. Grind a hand full of coriander and 2-3 small green chillis into a paste . I usually make quite a lot of this and pop it into the freezer to use in my other recipes.  If you are going to do this, you would need a large bunch of coriander and 8-10 green chillis, once grinded it keeps well in the freezer for about 4-6 weeks, you can put it in an ice cube tray and use as required.  It is quite potent so use cautiously!
4.  Add the chilli and coriander mix to the bowl and mix well.  You can then start shaping them into small patties.
5.  Dip each patty into flour, then the egg and then the breadcrumbs, set aside.
6.  Heat oil in a pan and fry on a medium to high heat, you want a lovely golden colour

Serve with a crunchy green salad or an Asian slaw, and dipping sauces , I had a yoghurt and coriander and a sweet chilli sauce. Perfect for a quick and easy meal.

Enjoy!

Till next time

Ashia