Tandoori Chicken and a Chutney Trio

I love a good challenge and trying something new is a really good feeling for me, especially if executed well! A good friend of mine was asking me if I made my own tandoori chicken… and now I can absolutely tell him that I do.

I am obsessed with making my own sauces and chutney that I use alongside my own curries but thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share my tandoori recipe with a trio of chutneys to serve. This trio is like the Destiny's Child of chutneys... the mango one is definitely Michelle as it's one that I often forget about but secretly just as good.

Tandoori chicken can be made in advance which is perfect if you are having guests round for dinner and the chutneys I would advise making fresh as the herbs are a lot more potent if served immediately.

Ingredients:

Marinade

500g natural yogurt

2 x tsp garam masala

1 x tsp cumin

1 x tsp turmeric

½ tsp x chili powder

4 x crushed garlic cloves

Thumb size piece of ginger

To Serve

100ml lemon juice

12 x boneless chicken thigh

2 x red onions

3 x tsp paprika 

Basmati rice

Balsamic Chutney

1 x red onion

1 x tsp ketchup

2 x tsp balsamic

Handful of plum toms

Handful of fresh coriander

Cool Yogurt

3 x tbsp sour cream

1 x tsp mint sauce

Handful diced cucumber

Pinch of chopped fresh chives

Pinch of chopped fresh parsley

Sweet Chili and Mango glaze

1 x mango

2 x tbsp sweet chili sauce

Pinch of salt

1. Chop up the red onion and mix with the paprika and lemon juice in a small bowl. Once thoroughly mixed, lay the mixture onto a baking tray.

2. Chuck all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

3. Slice the chicken thighs a couple of times to ensure they soak up the marinade. Coat each piece of meat thoroughly in the marinade and place on the baking tray on top of the red onion mixture.

4. Let the meat marinate for about an hour before popping it in the oven at 200 degrees for 40 minutes - ensure you are checking the meat every ten minutes or so as the yogurt can start to char.

5. Whilst the meat is cooking, it’s time to start the chutneys…

6. To make the Balsamic Chutney, dice the red onion and baby plum toms in a small dish. Add the ketchup and balsamic vinegar and mix until ingredients are thoroughly covered. Chop up the fresh coriander and sprinkle into the chutney. BISH BASH BOSH.

7. For the cool yogurt, scoop the sour cream into a bowl, add the mint sauce and stir before adding the herbs. Finish off by adding the diced cucumber and finish with a sprinkle of black pepper to make it look jazzy.

8. Lastly, this one is for Michelle... sweet chili mango sauce. De-flesh the mango and blitz in the blender until smooth with a few chunks. Add the sweet chili sauce and salt, mix with a spoon and poor into a small dish to serve.

9. Once the chicken is looking a bit bbq’d in the oven, serve the thighs on a bed of rice and sprinkle with the red onion mixture from underneath the chicken.

10. Enjoy and thank me later…

Keeping you hungry,

Hannah x

Hannah’s Harissa Lamb

I’m absolutely obsessed with spices from around the world and really enjoy finding new meals to incorporate them into - it’s kind of like that child element in me that wants to experiment with potions and perfumes... but with food!

Harissa is a spice from Tunisia that you can buy in powder or paste form. I’ve tried a few different recipes from other chefs but none of them quite lived up to what I was expecting. I visualised the kind of dish I wanted to create and just went with it and ended up with Harissa sauce served with harissa marinated lamb which I served on top of quinoa but you could chose cous cous or veggies instead.

Ingredients: (serves 3-4)

700g diced lamb

2 x diced white onions

4 x tbsp harissa paste

1 x red bell pepper

1 x tbsp cayenne pepper

1 x tbsp paprika

1 x tsp chopped chillies 

Handful of fresh coriander 

1. Chop the red pepper and soften along with the white onion in a frying pan on a medium heat, ensuring that the veggies soften and don’t char.

2. Add the paprika, 2 x tbsp harissa paste, cayenne pepper and chopped chillies (I’ve used Lazy Food’s chopped chillies)

3. Once fragrant and smelling spicayyy, add a small glass of water and blitz in a blender until smooth.

4. Cut the chunky fat off of the lamb and marinate the meat in 2 x tbsp harissa paste for 30 minutes before frying on a medium / low heat until cooked through.

5. Serve the meat on a bed of quinoa or similar and cover in the harissa sauce.

6. Saucy darling... enjoy.

Keeping you hungry,

Hannah x

Satay Away

Sataaaay away queens. This meal is quick easy and yummy.

I never used to be a fan of peanut butter but it was quickly on my radar when I started having a keen interest in my diet. Natural peanut butter is full of natural fats and a smooth flavour which makes a killer satay chicken. Whether you serve with on it's own or with rice it's full of protein and really simple!

Ingredients: (serves 1)

1 x chicken breast

1 x chopped red chilli

1 x large tbsp natural peanut butter

1 x tbsp soy sauce

100ml water

Handful of spinach

1. Dice the chicken and fry until cooked through with no pink bits.

2. Toss in the spinach and let it wilt before adding the peanut butter, chilli, soy and water.

3. Ensure that you are fully coating the chicken in the satay sauce before serving.

4. Serve on it's own or alongside egg fried rice /noodles.

Keeping you hungry,

Hannah x

Working the Wicks

As a keen foodie, I pull a lot of inspiration from other chefs and lifestyle coaches. This recipe is a little spin on Joe Wick's bashed pork and red pepper mayo - after all who doesn't like (fancy) the body coach?

Pork is a toughy for me. I don't really enjoy the meat, however, healthy eating can be pricey and pork comes with a manageable price tag - so let's put faith in Joe and give his red pepper mayo a go.

I bought 8 pork steaks for around £3.50 which would serve family of four. I also chose to serve the pork on top of giant cous cous as well as rocket but this is entirely optional - I was just a hungry gal.

Ingredients (to serve 1)

1 x jarred red pepper

1 x clove garlic (minced)

2 x pork steaks

1/2 x pack of giant cous cous (ASDA below)

1/2 x an avocado

2 x pork steaks

1 x tsp butter

30g Light mayo

Handful of rocket

Pinch of Sage & Rosemary 

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. To make the sauce, chuck the garlic, red pepper and mayo into the blender and blitz until smooth.

2. Set aside the red pepper mayo. Heat up a tsp of butter in a frying pan.

3. Season the pork with salt, pepper, sage and rosemary - there are a lot of strong flavours, so be extra careful not to over season.

4. Fry the pork in the butter on a medium to low heat so that the meat stays tender.

5. Meanwhile, cook the cous cous in a sauce pan with boiling water.

6. Serve the pork on top of the cous cous and rocket, topped with avocado and the red pepper mayo.

7. BAM hunnay. Flavour overload.

Keeping you hungry,

Hannah x

Pongy Paella

Ok, so pongy might not be the perfect selling point but good marketing is being true to your word and this fish dish does kick up a little bit of a stink!

Rich in omega 3 this paella dish is perfect for lunch, dinner and meal prepping (but you may upset the office) if seafood isn't your thing you could try chicken and chorizo or experiment with Mediterranean veggies for a vegan option. The gist of making paella is very similar to making risotto - keep feeding it liquid until it is the perfect density & it's ready to serve...

Ingredients:

A handful diced chorizo 

500g mixed shellfish 

400g tinned tomatoes

300g paella rice

100g peas

500ml chicken stock

6 x cloves crushed garlic

1 x diced onion

1 x tbsp paprika

1 x tbsp cayenne pepper

2 x tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 x chicken stock cubes

Serves 6 (could serve 8 for smaller portions)

Calories - 512

Carbs - 72g

Protein - 33g

Fat - 8g

1. Chuck the tinned toms, 4 of the 6 cloves of garlic, 1 of the 2 stock cubes, onion, paprika, cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce into a sauce pan and cook throughly.

2. Blend all the ingredients that are in the saucepan, in the blender until smooth and set aside.

3. Create 500ml chicken stock with the remaining stock cube and boiling water.

4. Pour the paella rice into a hot frying pan with a drizzle of oil and the remaining garlic and toast the paella rice for a couple of minutes. 

5. Gradually add the chicken stock, allowing the rice to soak up the stock before adding more.

6. Once the rice has soaked up all the chicken stock repeat number 5 with the blended sauce.

7. The paella should now be nice and gooey which means its time to add the cooked shellfish, peas and chorizo. Cook for a further 7-8 minutes.

8. Voilaaaaa amigos...

Keeping you hungry,

Hannah x

Tangy Hot Sauce

Lover of hot sauce but of all the additives? Make your own hot sauce from scratch in just 20 mins - in the best part is it's completely guilt free made purely with fruit and veggies.

This sauce can be used as a salad dressing, marinade or even just for dipping and dunking BUT it comes with a warning its hella hot (maybe just for my girly taste buds)... you adjust the heat by using less chillies or ensuring you de-seed them before cooking.

Along with the sauce I've prepared a fresh salmon dinner idea to go with your home made hot sauce to give a summery vibe on this cold miserable day! 

Ingredients (for the sauce):

2 x mangos

2 x sweet pointed peppers

4 x chillies

6 x cloves of garlic

For the dinner: (serves 1)

1 x pack of Asda steam bag "Cous cous & quinoa warm salad"

1 x 110g salmon fillet

Dinner specifications:

Calories = 530

Fat = 18g

Protein = 34g

Carbs = 54g

1. Peal and chop up your mangos - the best way to do this is to slice around the mango and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and separate from the skin.

2. Blitz your mangos in the blender and set aside the mango puree.

3. Chop up your peppers, chillies and garlic and place on a grease proof or foil lined tray and drizzle with olive oil.

4. Cook the veggies for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.

5. Blitz all the veggies in the blender until smooth and then add the mango puree back into the blender until completely mixed. (Sauce done)

6. Cook the salmon at the same temperature for around 12 - 15 minutes until cooked through put still pink and moist (woah apologies for the innuendo)

7. Meanwhile cook the steam bag in the oven for two minutes.

9. Serve the salmon on top of the steam bag with a drizzle of hot sauce and voila... summer on a plate!

10. Buy yourself a cute jar - mine was £1 from Asda - to store the rest of your sauce.

Keeping you hungry,

Hannah x

Sweet Sticky Beef

Just because you're eating healthy doesn't mean it's all salads and steamed veg... you can still enjoy food - even when you're restricting yourself from certain foods, never restrict yourself from flavour!

When you're cooking a meal from scratch it helps you have a clearer understanding of what goes into your food and it can be really satisfying knowing that you are proactively making your own decisions on the ingredients you are consuming. This sweet sticky beef recipe is flavoured with honey and soy. That's it. But does it taste great? Helllll yes.

Ingredients:

Microwave packet egg fried rice

475g diced beef

250g tenderstem broc

100ml soy sauce

3 x tbsp honey

2 x eggs

1 x green pepper

1 x red onion 

Per serving: (serves 3)

Calories = 587

Protein = 72g

Fats = 11g

Carbs = 49g

1.  Dice the pepper and red onion and sauté in a little dash of oil.

2. Once cooked and soft set aside. Microwave the rice and once cooked chuck in a frying pan.

3. Microwave egg fried rice never tends to be as eggy as you want it so to get it to that take away level, crack two eggs into the the pan and whisk into the rice to make it hella eggy.

4. Whilst you're letting the egg cook through the rice chuck in the sautéed veggies.

5. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, chuck in the beef soy and honey.

6. Once hot, the honey will start to bubble and almost caramelise. Coat the beef fully in the sauce and add salt and pepper to season.

7. Boil the broccoli or nuke in the microwave to save time.

8. Serve the egg fried veggie rice alongside the sweet sticky beef and broccoli.

Keeping you hungry & healthy,

Hannah x