Chit Chaat Chai Wandsworth

Tasty north Indian street food is the attraction at this bright modern restaurant which opened earlier this year close to Wandsworth Town station.

Chit Chaat Chai is the brainchild of Dhruv Haria https://twitter.com/thisdhruv and his colleague Tania you can read their story and peruse the mouthwatering menu here. http://chitchaatchai.com/

Chaat is essentially delicious savoury street food snacks, their web site description of Chaat as "family food, weekend food, treat food" sums the style up perfectly.

Sharing a range of smaller dishes always appeals to me for maximum choice and taste experiences. The three of us were advised by our friendly happy waitress to choose around ten small chaats between us. We had seven (some are pictured) plus one large chaat the very delicious Baby Aubergine in a Peanut Masala Sauce which along with Masala Chicken Wings came out as favourite.

  

In truth they were all wonderful and is was hard to select the best. With nan and spicy dips too we were all full but of course ate every last morsel.

The Humble Nan

Yogurt Puris 

Bombay Bhel

Chilli Paneer & Masala Chicken Wings

Baby Aubergine in Peanut Masala Sauce

House Chaatneys

I can also recommend the Amritsari Fish Fingers and the Okra Fries.

Chit Chaat Chai is also great value at just 78 pounds for the three of us which included a bottle of wine and a Kingfisher beer. It's lively and popular so make sure you book. 

Breakfast or Brunch near Kings Cross

Bill Grangers Aussie restaurant is really recommended for breakfast it is located between St Pancras and Kings Cross stations in this vibrant and rapidly developing part of London.

The menu is fresh and sounds simple but in fact the combinations are complex and delicious. Take a look here https://grangerandco.com/kings-cross

My "Jasmine tea smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill pea shoots, endame & toasted rye" was a great choice and my friends poached eggs with sourdough toast equally good, her side of miso mushrooms was the star of the dish.

Presentation is natural and bright and the portions generous

Birthday at the Beachside Restaurant

What better way to spend a sunny Saturday than a drive through the beautiful East Sussex countryside, a stroll along the seafront followed by a delicious lunch.

It was a brilliant birthday meal in The Beachside Restaurant at The Cooden Beach Hotel. From start to finish all the hotel staff were warm and welcoming and the food tasty and seasonal. The restaurant service was exceptional, enhanced by a window table with enviable views over the lawns to the beachside terrace and sea.

The hotel is located about two miles from Bexhill-on-Sea famous for its stylish and popular 1930's De la Warr Pavilion http://www.dlwp.com/about-us/ and contemporary seafront complete with its impressive range of coastal planting.  

Business was steady in the restaurant with a number of family groups enjoying a leisurely Saturday lunch and plenty of people in the bar and outside on the terrace. It was good to see lots going on in this popular hotel including a wedding and an 80th birthday party

The menu http://www.thecoodenbeachhotel.co.uk/the-beachside-restaurant/ has plenty of choice, starters of salmon terrine and crispy prawns got us off to a great start.

There was certainly a fishy theme going on, I chose the sole with New Jersey potatoes which was delicious although I was also slightly envious of the mouthwatering haddock and chips.

We were far too full for desserts, but they did look good and I loved the special birthday table decorations.

The Bexhill-on-Sea area has plenty to offer and The Cooden Beach Hotel with its relaxed atmosphere and great customer service should certainly be included in your day out. One of my earlier blogs can be found here http://annsfooddiary.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/bags-of-style-in-bexhill.html with a few more ideas. 

Octopus in Spain

I am always up for a new food challenge but even I began to think I may have stretched myself too far tackling a large Octopus (or Pulpo in Spanish) but in the end it turned out fine.

Holidays are always a chance to try new things. I would like to tell you that I purchased my octopus from a fisherman on this sunny quay. The truth however is Carrfour fish counter near San Agustin Gran Canaria.

Puerto Mogan Gran Canaria

Picture from Rick Steins Spanish Book

Anyway it looked fresh and fitted the bill for a healthy authentic Spanish supper. 

Of course when I opened the bag there were a number of challenges. The octopus (larger cousin of the squid) was huge and very slippery, the bowls and saucepans in our holiday apartment were small. Luckily the washing up bowl came to the rescue and the pan was just about big enough (if watched carefully!) 

Raw, washed and ready for tenderising

The trick with octopus is to either cook is fast and hot or stew it slowly. Given the size of this one I was concerned that it could be tough. Apparently the traditional tenderising method is to hurl it against rocks, not really practical without attracting a crowd

YouTube to the rescue and a handy step by step guide. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil add half a lemon then holding the octopus by the head plunge the legs into to water for 1 minute, lift out for 1 minute and repeat twice more. Then immerse the whole thing into the pot simmer for 20 minutes, turn off the heat and leave for a further 20 minutes.

Cooked, resting in handy bowl

I have no idea how this worked but at the end I simply cut off its head (sorry for the squeamish out there) there were 8 tender juicy legs. These were dried briefly (on the balcony) then fried rapidly in hot olive oil and butter.

Fried fast in oil and butter

Fresh bread, salad and Canarian sauces were all that we needed to complete the meal. These red and green mojo sauces are delicious and served with fish and potatoes in pretty much every restaurant, read about them here http://happyhealthymotivated.com/red-and-green-canarian-mojo-sauces/  and here

I am certainly going to try these sauces at home soon. 

We even had a little octopus left over for next day tapas.

Easy Easter Entertaining

There are entertaining occasions when I go completely over the top, convincing myself that I should make everything from scratch and subsequently spending hours in the kitchen.

This is not really good news for me (risk of being a martyr while everyone else is having fun) or for my guests who don't get to see me.

So I decided that Easter Sunday dinner was going to be keep it simple.

We began with tapas. There were cold meats and thinly sliced machego cheese, warm bread with olives and anchovies and king prawns fried briefly in butter with chilli and chorizo.

These dishes took no longer than 15 minutes to put together from start to finish. Interesting the tapas that we enjoyed most was a spainish omlette tortilla with red pepper and pimento from unearthed https://www.foodsunearthed.com/product/omelettes/ 30 seconds to open the packet and 1 minute to reheat.

Continuing the Spainish theme we then had Chicken and Chorizo a one pan creation from Hairy Bikers. The recipe is here http://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/spanish-style-chicken-bake#eOieMPXcbcYlmQI8.97 and here is a picture while it was "undevelopment"

Minimum washing up with this dish too.

Then for dessert those clever little Gu puddings were on 2 for one offer so 1 minute to remove the lids and 1 more to wash and arrange the fruit. Oh and to open the cream.

Ulster Fry

This is my 100th food blog, there have been quite a range since the 2012 Guardian masterclass with the excellent food writer and critic Matthew Fort and my resulting initial review which was of The Fellow located by Kings Cross Station http://annsfooddiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/eating-my-words.html

So I was going to make my first century (figuratively speaking) extravagant and elegant truly worthy of this milestone. Then I thought of something even better to tell you about.

On Easter Monday we had brunch and who doesn't love a fry up or in our case an Ulster Fry, a worthy candidate for today's food diary.

Not all readers may be familiar with what's different about an Ulster fry and a general "fry up" and there is in fact some controversy about what's in and what's not. No beans, maybe black pudding, chips could be "tolerated" (but not by us) and certainly no time for the addition of hash browns.

I found this great explanation for you by food writer Simon Majumdar of all things Ulster Fry http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgk7mp3#z8gj7ty and it certainly is "the glories of soda farls and potato bread" brought back from a Newry trip that are the crowning glory for us.

It has to be an occasional treat but with fresh eggs from our local Kent Perry Court farm shop http://www.perrycourtfarm.co.uk/about-the-farm and those wonderful Korker sausages which I have written about many times before http://www.korker-sausages.co.uk/

Ulster Fry was a perfect Bank Holiday brunch treat and a fitting subject for Ann's Food Diary 100th edition.

Prawns and Points

If like me you love delicious food but need (at least some of the time) keep the calories and carbs down then this edition of Ann's Food Diary might be of interest both for a couple of my recipes and some from "Slice of Slim" http://www.slice-of-slim.com/

Prawns and in particular those large succulent king prawns always feel to me like a decadent holiday treat. However this luxurious seafood is remarkably healthy. 

Yesterday returning from a morning in London I hovered around Pret, Yo Sushi and M&S deliberating or rather prevaricating over what if any lunch dish I wanted, all based of course on calories and weight watchers points. The handy bar code scanner on the new ww ap helps greatly here with decision making.

In the end I bought some prawns and put together a substantial salad at home.

The recipe was simple and quick taking just five minutes to make, so here it is

Take a crisp apple, some celery and red pepper

For the dressing mix a splash of white balsamic vinegar (mild and low in sharp acidity) with a small squeeze of wasabi paste, half a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and some lime juice.

I find that adding these ingredients to a small jar and shaking well creates a slightly thickened consistency.

Then combine the vegetables, prawns and dressing add some salt and pepper and mix well and you have great healthy salad. 

For those familiar with weight watchers this receipe is just 1.5 points, for those less familiar you can eat 30 points a day so this lunch was pretty good value.

I was then reminded of another recipe I invented some time ago called Healthy Prawns and Chorizo and here it is (6 points) http://annsfooddiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/healthy-prawn-and-chorizo.html

So that brings me back to Janey Green and Slice of Slim. Janey is passionate about food, creates amazing recipes and writes for weight watchers, her You Tube videos are worth watching too. Each recipe aims for great taste and low calories. Earlier in the week I made her "Something for Nothing Vegetable Curry and Rice" it is delicious and the addition of mango and banana inspired, http://www.slice-of-slim.com/2012/07/something-for-nothing-vegetable-curry.html

Fish Soup

This is an easy recipe for a fish soup that only takes 15 minutes to prepare, is low in calories but has all the rich depth of flavours found in this seafood favourite.

Chop 1/2 an onion, with some red peppers (I used the very versatile variety from a jar by Pepperdew) together with some chopped fennel from the garden which had survived all winter.

Gather the seasoning and spices while the kettle is boiling and add all the vegetables and other ingredients to a medium saucepan. Measure according to taste I used two portions of fish stock, a "squirt" of tomato purée a pinch of pimenton and saffron and a good helping of black pepper. Celery, crushed garlic and a splash of Pernod would be good additions too. Cover the ingredients with boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile remove the seafood from the freezer, there is no need to defrost this

I used half a pack of mixed seafood. After the 10 minutes add the seafood and bring back to the boil for just 1 minute so the seafood is cooked through. 

Stir in a tablespoonful of cream (mine was soured left over from last nights Mexican dinner) or some milk. Top off with a sprinkling of fresh parsley, also still thriving in the garden. 

This soup is equally good made in my wonderful much used soup maker which you can read about here http://annsfooddiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/more-soup.html the result then is slightly thicker than the version I produced today.

For weight watchers fans an enormous bowl is only 2/3 pp!

Pig, Pork and Pies

This blog is certainly not a read for vegetarian friends but I was playing that silly game recently based on if you could only eat one type of animal for the rest of your life what would it be?

There was the usual debate of "oh a chicken is so versatile" and " it must be a cow as I can't imagine never having a juicy steak" again. My choice would be a pig. 

Roast pork with crunchy crackling and apple sauce never ceases to excite for a Sunday treat http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/pork

Then there are our Saturday bacon and egg sandwiches and wonderful pork belly with Asian spices and pac choi in oyster sauce http://www.recipefy.com/en/rick-stein-s-crisp-skin-port-belly-bbq-spice-rub/recipes/610 from my favourite Rick Stein the food hero's series and book. 

I have written before about sausages, no ordinary sausages but the delicious Korkers which you can hear more about here http://annsfooddiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/korker-sausages.html made in Kent and now so popular with family around the country that I have to take supplies for them when visiting.

And what about pork pies? I once read that no one admits to buying a pork pie but they are one of the best selling supermarket products. Quite a draw on stalls at farmers markets too. Every so often I will make a pork pie. My first attempt was the mighty pie cooked for sharing at our village Jubilee party in the summer of 2012 http://annsfooddiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/mighty-pie.html

Last week I made two more. These are made far easier by my investment in decent quality solid pie tins with loose bottoms for easy pie release. 

Hot water crust pastry can be moulded into shape in the tin. The filling combines pork shoulder (I used value steaks) minced, and diced plus minced pork belly with some smoked bacon. Salt, pepper, thyme and mace are the seasonings. 

Once cooked and cooled chicken stock and gelatine are poured through a hole in the pie top to form the all important jelly.

Assorted Anchovies

Last night we devoured a whole packet of what are the most delicious anchovies I have discovered to date. These hot or cold smoked beauties come from Fickle Fish http://www.theficklefish.co.uk/ not widely available yet but well worth seeking out.

They got me thinking about the vast range of culinary opportunities for the 144 varieties of anchovies, those small fish which can be found in most of the worlds oceans. 

In Spain we have enjoyed them as tapas whole, filleted, lightly brined and served in mellow olive oil.

One of my favourite ever summer receipes is Delia's ceasar salad from her Summer Collection (published in 1993). Just 50 grams of salty anchovies deliver that unique ceasar flavour. http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/salad-days/mixed-leaf-caesar-salad.html  Paired with an adaptation of her parmesan chicken this salad was a feature of one of my early food blogs and you can find the recipes here http://annsfooddiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/taste-of-summer.html

Another classic from the great food writer and chef Simon Hopkinson matches lamb with rosemary, garlic and the ever versatile anchovy http://www.simonhopkinson.tv/recipe/10/roast-lamb.aspx

In the garden my rosemary is luscious and green and last summers garlic has stored well. Anchovies are also ready and waiting to be added to a tasty looking piece of lamb.