Jamie Oliver 20 minute meals app review and his recipe for chilli corn chowder

I love Jamie Oliver! Like seriously. I think he's one of those chefs who you develop a liking towards right from the start- so down to earth and simply a sweetheart. I used to watch his 30 minute meals on telly and have even given some of the recipes a shot (obviously I take more than 30 minutes). They are absolutely easy to follow and his photographs (courtesy David Loftus) are to die for. I love how he presents his final dishes on his shows, and the props he uses, sigh!

I was asked to review an app on the Google Nexus 7 tablet available at Argos here- a gadget we have both been religiously using for all our browsing and other nonsensical stuff like watch videos, chat, etc etc. I still am not too sure why people need tablets at all, because it really cant do anything your smart phone cant (techies and gadget freaks, kindly excuse). Of course size matters but I think I would have survived without one. However, now that we have it in our life, its being put to regular use. I even carry it around to our Bloggers Buzz meetings looking all important, and it does make life a wee bit more easier. If you do want to pick up a tablet (among other cool things) then Argos is the place to go to.

Coming to the app. I did break my head about which app to pick up and after some research I decided to go with good ol Jamie (first name basis and all after 2 paragraphs). The tablet is a good thing to have on your kitchen counter but what kept bugging me was the fact that I had to keep switching it on each time the screen turned off when not in use (I don't even know if that's the right term to use, but you get the point right?). My tablet doesn't have a stand, so I had to keep cleaning my hands properly to pick it up and do the same. These may be irrelevant to most of you, but to me it kind of makes a difference and is a bit of a hindrance. I am trying to use the tablet more for my recipes while cooking instead of dragging my ginormous laptop on to a small kitchen counter, so ask me about it a few months from now and maybe I would have a different opinion.

Pro's

• The step by step pictures are fabulous, not to mention beautiful photography. It guides you through the entire cooking process.
• There are basic videos of Jamie showing is how to chop an onion, basic knife care, cooking the perfect steak and so on..something we all may know, but its kind of informative.
• The shopping list is pretty cool, in fact its my favourite feature. You can send it directly from the app to your email, making life a whole lot easier. Yes, I just had to send it to Ro.
• Navigating through the app is easy. Nothing techy about it.

Cons

• GBP 4.99 for an app is pretty steep. You do get 60 recipes for it, but still I find it a little on the expensive side. 
• It keeps crashing!!! Apparently that's been an issue with the app for a while. This definitely needs to be fixed as it gets annoying after a while.

The app is a good one, but not a great one. I mean it wont be something id miss if it was taken off and I think id find most of his recipes in his book or show. But if you are a big Jamie fan and need to hear his voice once in a while, then just buy the app..really, his videos and the way he cooks is just pure entertainment :) 

That said, his chilli corn chowder from the app was excellent. It was my first time with corn chowder (soup to be precise) and was completely surprised at how nice it tasted. Of course i couldn't complete it in 20 minutes (what with me checking fb and whatsapp and a million other 'apps' in between) but it was a winner. Ro gets to taste it today and he can give his verdict. Serve it with some garlic bread and its perfect for an autumn night in,

Chilli corn chowder (Adapted from Jamie's 20 minute meals Android app. Serves 2)

Vegetable stock- 700ml

Onion- 1 small, roughly chopped

Celery- 1 stick, diced

Chilli- 2, slit (de-seed if you cant handle the heat)

Butter- 1 tbsp

Olive oil- a dash

Thyme- 1 small stalk

Potato- 1 small

Frozen sweetcorn- 200 gms (approx. 1 1/2 cups)

Double cream- 2 tbsp (optional)

Spring onions- 2 small, finely chopped

Cheddar cheese- 25 gms, grated

Sour cream- 75ml

Salt and pepper-  to taste

Fill a saucepan with the vegetable stock and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.

While that's simmering away, slice the onion, celery and chilli.

Heat a large deep pan on medium heat and melt the butter along with a generous dash of olive oil.

Add to it the chopped vegetables with a splash of water, stir well and cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften.

Pick the thyme leaves and add to the pot of simmering stock. Let it continue to simmer for a few more minutes.

Peel and roughly grate the potato and add to the vegetable stock.

By now the vegetables would have wilted enough. Open the lid and throw in the sweetcorn. Stir it in and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Carefully pour in the vegetable stock along with potato and bring everything to a boil.

Reduce heat, pour in the double cream and let it simmer for about 5 minutes after which you can take the pan off heat.

In the meat time, slice the spring onions and grate the cheddar.

Once the chowder has cooled down a bit, pulse with an immersion blender, but still retaining the texture. Don't make it too smooth.

Taste and season with enough salt and pepper and cover the pot with a lid and keep aside.

When ready to serve, spoon ladles full of the chowder into slightly warmed bowls, top with a spoon on sour cream, sprinkle over the cheddar followed by a generous sprinkling of spring onions.

(Add some chopped chillies if you are brave)

 

Notes: The original recipe called for just one chilli, half of which needed to be added with the vegetables and half used as garnish. Adamant that it wouldn't be spicy, I added two whole chillies to the chowder and skipped the garnish. It was SPICY and apparently, one chilli would have been enough. 

The cream is completely optional, but i had some left over cream that desperately needed to be used and so chucked it in. Worked for me.

The post is in conjunction with Argos

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Sponsored video: Cinco Jotas Iberian Ham and mini master classes

I first tasted Spanish food about 5 years back, when we landed in the UK. I loved it. The tapas, the Sangria, the paella..all good. It was a completely new experience, trying out these small portioned dishes which you doubt would be enough but would nicely fill you up. Oh and the variety of cured meats, that was quite an eye opener. Chorizo was my favourite out of them all for quite some time. It was only after a while that I kind of got the hang of the other cured meats.

The Cinco Jotas Pure Iberico Breed Acorn Fed Ham falls under this category- a class apart and a masterpiece of its own. Its production began way back in 1879 in Jabugo by experts whose mission was to produce the best quality of meat, a tradition they continue even now so us foodies in the 21st century can enjoy this gorgeous ham. A lot of care goes into the diet and breeding of the Pure Breed Iberico pigs and this results in the worlds best quality ham. Talking about flavours, it is very unique and reminds you of acorns and other nuts. They have a high amount of Omega 9 oleic acid (yes the good kind, if you must know) and contains a whole lot more antioxidants than other hams. 

October 12th was Spain's National Day and to celebrate this in style, Cinco Jotas has released a couple of interesting mini master classes with renowned Michelin three starred chef Pedra Subijana of Akelarre restaurant in San Sabastian. The videos show some of the most interesting ways to enjoy the ham and I sure cant wait to get my hands on some. Do check out these videos, and you'd get an idea about how much fun tapas dishes are- both to make and to eat.

Enjoy!

This is a sponsored post for Cinco Jotas, but all thoughts are my own.

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Dum ka murgh (slow cooked chicken curry)

Posting a chicken curry after a really really long time. Some of us BB-ians realised it was National Curry Week and decided to do a curry post together. Of course its the last day of the event, but better late than never right? 

I love a good chicken curry. In fact its my favourite past time to keep browsing the internet for new chicken curry recipes and bookmarking every one of them that comes my way. I have a few delicious favourites, which keep making its way through to our tables, but never to the blog because I find photographing any sort of curry incredibly difficult. I keep taking pictures each time I make a nice curry, but then they never look nice. Its mostly the styling, which I'm stuck with.

Which is why, I was pleasantly surprised at how these pictures turned out. I had initially put the curry in a brown bowl and the colour combinations just didn't work. I was all ready to give up, when I thought I'll try it in the beautiful blue bowl which I'd picked up from this gorgeous Polish pottery store called Blue Dot Pottery. The red curry worked well with the blue pottery and it was a pleasure working with that set up. Half of my worries are over if I manage to get the styling right, which brings me to the Bloggers' Buzz Photography Club (#BBPC) which we run every month. We get together in a central London location, do a couple of food photography exercises and learn from each other. If you are not in London, then you can of course join us online where we'd give a theme a month. Email us at bloggersbuzzuk@gmail.com if you want to give it a go. We are all amateurs trying to learn a thing or two about food photography, so please don't feel intimidated. All you need is a camera and some food to shoot :)

I have tasted dum ka murgh at various restaurants and it wasn't really a big hit with me. I am not claiming this is the best curry I've ever had, but surely one of the nicer ones. It pairs well with naans and parathas and the good thing about this recipe (sans the frying of onions) is how you don't need to saute various ingredients at various stages etc, but just add the chicken, close with a tight lid and let it cook in its own juices. 

Recipe adapted from here and here

 

Chicken- 500 gms with bones, cleaned and cut into medium pieces

Oil- enough to fry

Onions- 2 medium, finely chopped

Cinnamon stick- 1 inch

Cardamom pods- 2

Cloves- 2

Whole peppercorn- 4

Green chillies- 2 slit (optional)

To marinate

Yoghurt- 1/4 cup

Almond powder- 3 tbsp (grind with some water to make a paste)

Garam masala- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

Tomato ketchup/ paste- 1 tbsp (I used ketchup)

Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Mint leaves- 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions till golden brown and crispy. You need to keep stirring this at intervals, so it fries evenly. Also make sure you don't burn it.

Drain on paper towels and keep aside.

In a large bowl, mix together all the marinade ingredients.

Crush the fried onions, reserving about a tbsp of it, and add to the marinade. Mix well.

Add the chicken and thoroughly rub in the marinade. Keep covered in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

When ready to cook, heat the remaining oil (from frying) and throw in the spices and green chilli. Sauté till it gets all fragrant.

Add the marinated chicken and fry in the oil for a couple of minutes.

Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to medium and cook the chicken for about 20 minutes.

Check once or twice in between to give it a quick mix and if you feel that the water is really less, add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup, mix well and continue cooking with the lid closed.

Do a taste test and check if salt levels are good and if the chicken is cooked. 

The curry is ready when you see a thin layer of oil that's separated from the gravy.

Garnish with the remaining fried onions and some coriander leaves just before serving.

Notes: I did the mistake of adding the almond powder on its own without grinding it to a paste and so kept getting the grainy texture in the gravy. Not pleasant, so make sure you grind it.

Its not spicy at all, so add more green chilli/ chilli powder if needed.

Add a dash of cream at the end, just before taking it off heat for some extra richness.

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Sponsored video: Fairtrade and the 'Finding Hannah' competition

Ro and I are hardcore coffee drinkers..well me more than him. I NEED my cup of coffee first thing in the morning and its not funny how grumpy I get when I haven't got my caffeine kick.

Talking about coffee, I'm sure you have noticed the Fairtrade stamp on a lot of the coffee packs. I buy my coffee from  a local supermarket and I'm proud to say that, although not intentional, the coffee I buy is Fairtrade. The Fairtrade Foundation is a non-profit organisation that aims at helping producers in developing countries to enjoy better trading conditions. Their main focus is to tackle poverty and help farmers and workers attain a sustainable price for the products they sell, thereby improving their quality of life and securing their futures. The Fairtrade mark on products mean they comply to the rules and regulations as per Fairtrade standards, and so the next time you are out shopping for coffee, cocoa, sugar etc, make sure you look out for the Fairtrade stamp and support them.

The Finding Hannah campaign aims at creating awareness about fair trading to the general masses. The first episode shows comedian Tony Law roaming around a supermarket trying to talk to shoppers about what Fairtrade means. After a few unsuccessful attempts, he finally gets 'actor' Hannah (who is a Fairtrade novice) to play the part and sets off with her to show her what choosing Fairtrade coffee really means. Watch the second episode from the series to see what they are up to now.

And before you log off, don't forget to enter the "Finding Hannah" competition wherein you have to guess which location Hannah was whisked off to, and if you're lucky, you'll win a trip there for two. Watch the episodes carefully and you'll be able to gather some hints and clues. Good luck!

This is a sponsored post for Fairtrade Foundation, but all thoughts are my own

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Oeufs en cocotte (eggs in pots) and Paris in pictures

When the husband ditched me on my dream trip to the vineyards of Burgundy region, I was really upset. I whined about it to my friends and suddenly a plan materialised. Ananda and Finla decided to join me and emails started flying back and forth with Paris holiday plans. Its high time I accepted the sad fact that the husband and I have completely different ideas of a holiday, which is good, because then you are not forced to do things we don't like. The practical thing to do would be to meet half way and decide on something we both enjoy, but that's lot of work apparently!

I have been in UK for 5 years and have wanted to travel around Europe ever since we came here. I always felt bad for broaching the topic to Ro because I was unemployed and it didn't feel right. Now that I have started working, I think I can start paying for my holidays and it feels great to be able to do that. Thanks to my blog, I have friends who are equally enthusiastic about travelling and food and it makes the holiday even more fun. I spent 3 fabulous days with the girls and we plan on making this an annual ordeal. Greece is up next and I am going to start saving for it right away.

Our plan was to do a bit of sightseeing, but trying out all the French food we whipped up for the blog, and have become so familiar with, was priority. We also wanted to check out some of the famous cook shops in Paris, known for the copper vessels and pastry making utensils and go crazy there. The vineyard trip was on the list, but we couldn't make it because travelling there without a car was slightly difficult (and expensive) and so it was replaced with another day out in Paris. 

Highlight of the trip was the amazing dinner we had at a quaint French restaurant which Finla found after loads of research. Reservations were made and I cant tell you how glorious the food was. I think I'll never forget the food I had there. After a bottle of wine and some cocktails, we stumbled back to the hotel past midnight and yapped away, till we no longer could keep our eyes open. Day 2 was relaxed since the vineyard trip was cancelled and so we took it easy and generally roamed around some markets and streets and also went up the Eiffel tower. Day 3 was spent at the numerous cook shops and we went crazy seeing all the cooking utensils there. They were expensive so we had to choose and select what we really needed. I can still see Finla's excitement at having bought authentic canele moulds- copper ones at that- which would be like a family heirloom :)  We also wanted to check out the famous Sabre Paris store but Monday was their day off (which we painfully found out only after visiting 2 locations) and so that didn't work out, much to Ananda's disappointment as she was planning to go crazy with prop shopping there ;)

In all honesty, Paris failed to amaze me with regard to the city. Its beautiful alright, but when you actually travel around like the locals you'd see that the metros are terribly dirty, smelly and the number of homeless people sleeping in the stations and people begging were scary. Food, I must admit was fabulous- the crepes, the croissants, the pastries and the wines would never be forgotten. I didn't think it was crazy expensive but of course it depends on where you eat. If you stay clear of the touristy areas (which we decided we would) you wont be bankrupt. I found the French people very very helpful, We'd be standing on the pavement with our maps open and there would be passers-by who would tell us how to get to a place. They'd correct the way we were pronouncing names and generally strike up a conversation. This would have usually irritated me (me not being social and all), but when you are in a foreign country, it somehow makes a difference. 

Back to reality after 3 great days, and dreaming of our next trip to Greece. Thanks girls for coming to my rescue when I was down in the dumps and making it a memorable holiday. 

Hotel de Ville (the local administrative office)

Notre-Dame de Paris - perfect example of French Gothic architecture

'Love Lock' Bridge

River Siene

We picked up a few macarons from Laduree, my favourite being the pink peppercorn.

Of course we checked out rival Pierre Herme as well. I must say, I preferred L'aduree better

Jardin du Luxembourg where we enjoyed our macarons. Of course we only saw the main fountain area.

Dinner was at this fabulous restaurant called Chez Toinette where we had the most amazing French food. Started off with snails (which were yum) and Oeufs en cocotte and went on to the famous Boeuf Bourguignon, Steak au poivre with Potato Dauphinoise and Sea bass with olive oil and thyme

Dessert was of course Creme Brulee at another restaurant (which was not really up to mark)

Day 2 started off with a visit to a farmers market

Breakfast was freshly baked croissants and coffee

Fell in love with the balconies

Eiffel..soaring high. I thought it was a bit over rated. In fact when i saw it from afar I thought it was the BT Tower (like we have in London)
My dream of kissing a guy under the Eiffel Tower is yet to come true. ONE DAY!!! :)

Le Louvre, I thought, was another one of those over rated places, but boy was I wrong. The mere magnificence of the exterior had me floored. I'm kicking myself for not having spent a day at the museum. Next time!

The French Onion Soup which was not that fab, but I HAD to give it a go.

Oeufs en cocotte (eggs in pots) (Recipe adapted from Julia Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking). Serves 1

Butter- 1/2 tsp
Double cream- 2 tbsp
Egg- 1 (or 2)
Salt and pepper to taste
A ramekin that is 3 inches in diameter and about 1 1/2 inches high
An pan containing water

Pre heat oven to 187C.
Take a bit of butter and grease the ramekin
Pour in 1 tbsp of double cream into the ramekin and place into the pan containing simmering water over moderate heat.
When the cream is hot, break the egg into it and pour in the remaining tbsp of double cream over the egg.
top with the remaining butter and chuck into the oven along with the pan of water.
Cook for about 7 to 10 minutes..
Its done when the egg is set but still a bit wobbly. Make sure you don't over cook the egg, or else it would turn hard. (which of course I managed to do)
Take it out of the oven but leave he egg in the water bath for about 7 to 8 more minutes after which you can season, add some herbs and enjoy.

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