Showing posts with label Kitchen Nomad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kitchen Nomad. Show all posts

Kitchen Nomad Globe-Cooking Recipe : Pakistan - Chicken Yakhni Pullao

Posted by on at 4:00 AM | 0 comments

Warming comfort food from Pakistan sounded just the ticket on a grey, distinctly chilly day, so earlier in the week, I plucked the recipe for Chicken Yakhni Pullao out of this month's Kitchen Nomad box.


The recipe required lots of whole spices from the box - cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander seeds and cumin seeds (that I told you about in the Raita recipe). It also needed black peppercorns (which I had) and fennel seeds (which I didn't).


Reading through the recipe (which you can find on the Kitchen Nomad website here), it actually sounded very similar to risotto, just with the addition of spices and yogurt. The Kitchen Nomad box contained a pack of Tilda Basmati Rice to use, which tasted lovely but didn't seem as exotic and authentic as many of the other ingredients in previous boxes. It looked like it had come from the local supermarket rather than some far-flung corner of the globe, but it did do the job just fine !


First it was time to heat the whole spices in oil to release their fragrance. I didn't know that these were called garam masalas - I was only aware of the ground garam masala curry powder. That's what I love about Kitchen Nomad boxes - it's as much a voyage of learning as it is of culinary discoveries.


Next you need to caramelise onions.


Then stir in yogurt. (I used fat free Quark again.)


Finally add the chicken. I was dubious about how well it would cook in the yogurt but it did and the result was soft, mellow chicken without the tough outer surface that browning it can sometimes give. Add the rice and water, cover and leave to simmer.


I found that I needed to rectify the seasoning slightly (well, quite a lot actually !) because it tasted a bit bland for my tastes, so I added extra ginger and garlic paste, garlic salt, smoked paprika and chat masala (which was also in the box) which gave it a nice lift. To serve, I sprinkled chopped fresh parsley and coriander leaves over the top and put a big dollop of raita on the side. It's quite a dry dish, with a similar consistency to an Indian biryani, so it does need raita or something wet to add some moisture. If you usually shy away from Indian/Pakistani food because you don't like spicy dishes, this is a great mild option.

Disclosure : I received a Kitchen Nomad box in order to write an honest review. In order to see all the different recipes (from Greece, Vietnam, Lebanon and Pakistan so far) and to find out how to subscribe for your own Kitchen Nomad box, head over to http://www.kitchennomad.co.uk/

Special discount code for Madhouse Family Reviews readers: if you enter the code MADHOUSE on the checkout page of the Kitchen Nomad website, you can enjoy £5 off your first box for any subscription plan.


Other blogposts you may be interested in :

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Kitchen Nomad Globe-Cooking Recipe : Pakistan - Crunchy Tomato & Cucumber Raita

Posted by on at 3:00 AM | 0 comments

This month's Kitchen Nomad box is transporting us to Pakistan, discovering the recipes provided by  Sumayya Jamil, a freelance food writer and cookery teacher specialising in Pakistani cuisine and culture who wants to to highlight the differences between Pakistani cuisine and other South Asian cuisines. I must admit, if it wasn't for the Masoods on EastEnders, I'd probably have no idea whatsoever of any Pakistani dishes and I'm not sure how authentic the EastEnders version is !

I was quite surprised to discover the raita recipe using a mixture of cucumber and cherry tomatoes because I was under the misguided misconception that raita is always made using just cucumber. Apparently, there are numerous versions using all manner of fruit and vegetables though, which is food for thought.


But on to the food for the belly ! This recipe - which you can see on the Kitchen Nomad website here - calls for several spices from the Pakistani box. First of all, Coriander Seeds. I bit into one and loved the burst of citrus flavour that it released. I love the suggestion of planting some of these to have fresh coriander too.


Next was cumin. I have eaten whole cumin seeds in Gouda cheese but usually use ground cumin in cooking, so I was impressed with the more intense flavour that the seeds provide. I wonder if you could plant these too. Definitely worth a try !


One that everyone knows already - red chilli powder.


The most exotic ingredient in this dish is Chaat Masala, a spice blend that is typically used in Pakistani and Indian cookery. According to Wikipedia, it is usually a mixture of amchoor (dried mango powder), cumin, kala namak (black salt), coriander, dried ginger, salt, black pepper, asafoetida (hing) and chili powder.


The recipe says to use full fat natural yogurt but I had some tubs of fat free Quark in the fridge so I used that instead.


I'd never whipped yogurt before - cream yes, but not yogurt - but it made it really thick and creamy so I will almost definitely do this again when a recipe calls for yogurt as an ingredient.


Time to chop up all the vegetables - cucumber, cherry tomatoes and spring onions.


The recipe calls for ground coriander and cumin seeds but the seeds were too hard to be crushed with my usual mortar and pestle. Luckily, I remembered a little spice grinder that we'd brought back from Turkey and that - to be honest - I thought was purely ornamental ! It crushed them up perfectly so I'll definitely be using this from now on.


I'd never put spices into raita before either, thinking it was supposed to be bland and cooling to accompany spicy dishes, but they did give it a lovely lift.


A quick bit of stirring and it's ready. This was being made as an accompaniment to Chicken Yakhni Pullao, another recipe from the box that I'll tell you about very soon, but it would also be lovely in a wrap or with bread.

Disclosure : I received a Kitchen Nomad box in order to write an honest review. In order to see all the different recipes (from Greece, Vietnam, Lebanon and Pakistan so far) and to find out how to subscribe for your own Kitchen Nomad box, head over to http://www.kitchennomad.co.uk/

Special discount code for Madhouse Family Reviews readers: if you enter the code MADHOUSE on the checkout page of the Kitchen Nomad website, you can enjoy £5 off your first box for any subscription plan.

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

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Kitchen Nomad Globe-Cooking Recipe #13 : Baba Ghanouj (Lebanon)

Posted by on at 2:01 AM | 0 comments

I'm not really keen on aubergines so I have to admit, I've been putting off making the Baba Ghanouj recipe from my Kitchen Nomad box. Having seen several people saying that it's their favourite recipe from the collection though, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try.



The recipe (that you can see on the Kitchen Nomad website here) calls for three ingredients from the Lebanon box : Sumac, Tahini and Pomegranate Molasses. (I told you more about those the first time I used them here.)


 The first thing to do was bake a few aubergines - as I wasn't really expecting to be keen on it, I just used one, and popped it in the oven to cook at the same time as my cottage pie. (I always try to multitask when using the oven as it saves energy, so I often throw a few potatoes to bake in the bottom of the oven with the roast, for example.)


I left it to cool and kept it in the fridge until the next day when I peeled it and blitzed it, adding tahini and lemon juice to create a thick dip.


It tasted ok but nothing special until I added the mint, sumac and pomegranate molasses, plus my secret ingredient - a couple of sprays of Frylight BBQ flavoured cooking spray which added a lovely smokiness - after which I was amazed to discover that I really liked it. Some strips of flatbread were perfect for dipping into it.

Disclosure : I received a Kitchen Nomad box in order to write an honest review. In order to see all the different recipes (from Greece, Vietnam, Lebanon and Pakistan so far) and to find out how to subscribe for your own Kitchen Nomad box, head over to http://www.kitchennomad.co.uk/

Special discount code for Madhouse Family Reviews readers: if you enter the code MADHOUSE on the checkout page of the Kitchen Nomad website, you can enjoy £5 off your first box for any subscription plan.


Other blogposts you may be interested in :

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I'm getting ready to discover the cuisine of Pakistan !

Posted by on at 1:13 PM | 0 comments

It's always a moment of great excitement opening up a Kitchen Nomad box to see what the new destination will be. The teaser picture had me intrigued when I flipped open the cardboard lid ...


Underneath, the foodie goodies were nestling, still hiding the secret of their heritage. Could I work it out? Ummm nope ! A quick look at the cards and I discovered that this month, it's Pakistan.



I have no idea of what Pakistani cooking tastes like (yet!)- I'm assuming it's close to Indian, but Sumayya Jamil, the Pakistani food writer and cookery teacher who has provided the recipes to accompany this box, is on a mission to highlight the differences of Pakistani cuisine from other South Asian cuisines. Should be interesting.



It seems to be a bumper box this time with lots of things to discover, as well as a few products that I already recognise and feel familiar with. The contents include Red Chilli Powder, Chaat Masala, Green Cardamon, Basmati Rice, Cloves, Cinnamon, Chana Daal, Gram Chickpeas Flour, Cumin, Desiccated Coconut, Pistachios, Coriander Seeds (I love the idea of growing some of these to have our own coriander to harvest) and Curry Leaves.


I wouldn't have a clue what to do with some of these products so on to the all-important recipe cards. I'll soon be making Pakoras, Channa Daal, Raita, Chicken Yakhni and a rather unlikely-sounding dessert, Carrot, Coconut & Pistachio Halva.

I can't wait to see how we get on !

Disclosure : I received a Kitchen Nomad box in order to write an honest review. In order to see all the different recipes (from Greece, Vietnam, Lebanon and Pakistan so far) and to find out how to subscribe for your own Kitchen Nomad box, head over to http://www.kitchennomad.co.uk/

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

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