butter chicken

I remember vividly when and how I fell in love with Butter Chicken. The month was May, the year 2011 the place a small, ramshackle restaurant in New Delhi, India. I had been in Delhi studying since early March of that year and had months to go before heading back home to Cape Town to finish off my degree. Most of the food I had been exposed to in the city until then had not been to my liking, mainly because I did not at the time have much of a palette for hot and spicy food. One day when my friend and I went out as we often did to get out of the campus, I decided to try out Butter Chicken, which I was assured was the dish with the least heat on the menu. I was immediately hooked. For me it was the creamy texture and how the spices were tempered with yoghurt and tomatoes that made this meal a winner. Fast-forward to 2021, I’ve been enjoying this meal for a decade. The recipe below is my take on this delicious meal and I hope you can use it to switch up your chicken meals once in a while.
Scones, Scones, Scones

This is my recipe for yumminess produced in under an hour. These scones are perfect for a weekend or weekday morning. All you need to do is set your alarm an hour early to make sure that you stay in your family’s good books for an entire week! My scones are light, fluffy and golden. The sugar content ensures that they are sweet enough to enjoy on their own and not too sweet that you can’t add jam and cream. I really like adding ½ a teaspoon of cinnamon for that added bit flavour. You can also add a teaspoon of nutmeg for that additional flavour pop. Go on, give this recipe a try and let me know how popular you become in your home.




Succulent Lamb Shanks

There are Lamb Shanks and then there are my succulent, juicy, fall-off-the-bone Lamb Shanks! If ever there were a pecking order for this cut of meat, then mine would definitely take the top spot. Nope, there’s no humility from me on this one.
Here’s my recipe for a dish that’ll have your guests talking about your kitchen prowess for weeks. Don’t be put off by the number of ingredients, it is a lot, yes, but they come together so well that you really should just try having all of them. Of course, once you’ve mastered this recipe I would encourage that you give it your own variation and flavour. For example, you may wish to add fennel powder, or Worcestershire sauce. You might also wish to remove the ginger paste, it’s all up to you. But do try this out and let me know how yours turn out. And remember, don’t go for the cheapest wine for your cooking. Cook with wine that you would drink. The quality of wine really does make a difference to the dish.

