It’s my favourite food no matter how it is served, but I am particularly in love with crisps.
Of course I never called them crisps until I moved to the UK. Growing up in Australia we called crisps chips and what UK people call chips, we called hot chips.
Ha!
Anyway, back on track.
Mr Singh’s is a family-owned company from London. Known for their hot sauce, the company has branched out into crisp production!
At the moment, the crisps from Mr Singh’s are available in three flavours:
Legendary London community kitchen Made in Hackney is set to host an online class teaching you everything you need to know about vegan samosas.
Taking place via Zoom, the class will take place on Saturday July 25, 2020 between 2:00pm and 4:00pm.
The suggested donation for joining the class is £20 but any donation amounts accepted. All funds raised go towards the Made in Hackney community meal service providing free nutritious, tasty meals to households who need them during these challenging times.
Details for the Zoom class to be provided via email (usually the day before the class). Click here to find out how to to register.
Need more details about the event?
Back by popular demand, plant based chef, Sareta Puri, will show you how to make a healthier version of one of India’s popular and famous street food snacks, based on a recipe handed down to her. You’ll also learn how to make two delicious dips: coriander chutney and cucumber raita, as well as a lovely cuppa Chai.
The class will include:
How to make healthier versions of popular Indian street food samosas
Discover how to make a classic Indian dough which can also be used for breads
Making plant based versions of classic Indian dips: coriander chutney and cucumber raita
‘Chai ‘n’ Chat’ about food traditions and culture across India
Recipe handout
All levels of spice preference will be catered for. See below for ingredients and equipment lists
Who is Sareta?
Sareta Puri is a Scottish-Indian plant based chef who learned how to cook as a child from her chef father and has been mainly self-taught since. Sareta became a chef through hosting supper clubs and has expanded her repertoire to include street food, retreat catering and private catering, as well as recipe development and food writing. Sareta is passionate about creating positive experiences through food and teaches for a range of community-based organisations including Made in Hackney, Life After Hummus, and People’s Kitchen.
Ingredients you will need for the class:
Dough
150g plain flour 100ml water 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 0.25 tsp sea salt 0.5 tsp kalonji (Nigella seeds) – optional
Filling
3 medium sized potatoes (approx 300g) 125g frozen peas 1 tablespoon vegetable oil + oil to brush 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/2 green chilli 1/4 inch ginger (1 teaspoon) 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon garam masala 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
Raita
50g soya yoghurt 1⁄4 cucumber Handful of fresh coriander (optional) 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon sea salt Coriander
Chutney
1 cup of fresh coriander (stalks and leaves) Half a lemon, juiced 1⁄2 inch ginger 1 green chilli 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Chai
Black tea bag Plant milk (oat, almond or coconut – not soy as it curdles!) Fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamon pods, black peppercorns (or whatever you can source) Date syrup to sweeten (optional)
Equipment list
Rolling pin 2 large mixing bowls Pestle & mortar (or rolling pin will do) Chopping board Knife 2 pans Baking tray + paper For the coriander chutney: a blender
The above list gives you enough of a head start to make sure you are ready for the class.
Click here for full details of the class and be sure to follow Made in Hackney on Instagram.
This isn’t new information but I thought as I just received a gift box of these gorgeous Yorkshire puddings from Mabel’s, I should give you all a reminder.
If you are not from the UK or haven’t spent much time here, you might just be a little bit confused about Yorkshire puddings.
I can recall when I first came to the UK back in 1998 how completely confused I was by the concept of Yorkshire puddings. They are doughy like cake but you eat them with gravy?!
A lot of vegans have told me just how much they miss eating Yorkshire puddings as traditionally they are made with egg and milk.
Thankfully, Mabel’s have come along with these vegan beauties.
How good do they look?!
My plans for this weekend include a giant roast dinner with Mabel’s Yorkies as the centrepiece, dripping in gravy.
You can order your own vegan Yorkshire puddings from the Mabel’s online store.
During the past two weeks, I have been living in a London hotel room in order to follow the Government mandated self isolation.
I was originally booked into a hotel with a fridge but during my flight back from Mexico, my booking was cancelled. I ended in a room above a pub with no kitchen and no fridge.
And that means takeout food for two weeks.
Here are my top five fast food items I enjoyed during my stay.
Only days after announcing their third location will be opening in Hove, superstar vegan pizza chain Purezza has announced ANOTHER location is on its way.
This time in Bristol.
Not long after tripling the size of their Camden branch to become the biggest vegan restaurant in the UK, Purezza will be opening at 79-81 Gloucester Road, Bristol which just happens to be the site of a former butcher before being taken over by Pigsty, a pork and BBQ restaurant.
They are reclaiming the space for the vegans!
The ethos and ingredients behind Purezza’s plant-based Neapolitan pizzas may be a far cry from the building’s previous occupants, but they are nonetheless loved by foodies globally, having won National Pizza of the Year in 2018 in the UK, Vegan Restaurant of the Year 2018, and being prize winners in the World Pizza Championships in 2019.
Purezza is known for crafting its own plant-based mozzarella, and a unique sourdough pizza base made with organic wholegrain flours. These are used in a range of pizzas from classics like the Margherita, to unique inventions like the Parmigiana Party which uses aubergine parmigiana and meat substitutes for its toppings.
The restaurant will also serve a full gluten-free menu, a large range of creative cocktails, and raw dishes including a raw pizza using a base made with seeds and nuts, and raw tiramisu made using finely blended cashew nuts. Food will also be available via local delivery services.
Welcome to Vegan Quarantine: Day 95. This daily video series is my way of keeping spirits high within the vegan community while also supporting independent business, charities, and musicians.
Links for everything duscussed can be found below.
If you have been watching my daily Vegan Quarantine videos on Facebook, you might have heard me mention that I am helping superstar vegan food brand Make No Bones with a spot of promotion.
Make No Bones is a much-loved vegan restaurant in Sheffield, feeding fans for a number of years. Unfortunately, they have been experiencing some downtime during the global crisis but that doesn’t mean they have been out of action completely.
The restaurant recently teamed up with local Fletchers Bakery to design and produce their own vegan brioche bun.
The buns have been such a massive success already with runaway sales in Tesco stores around the UK. (Order online from Tesco)
With this initial success under their pleather belts, Make No Bones have now announced a collaboration with Waitrose supermarkets.
The Make No Bones vegan brioche buns are available in Waitrose stores around the UK as of Wednesday June 17, 2020.
I asked Waitrose how they felt about the launch and a spokesperson told me:
We are excited to be launching these delicious vegan alternative rolls. At Waitrose, our vegan options are extremely popular with all our customers, not just those following a vegan lifestyle, so we know our shoppers will love these. The rolls will be a great addition to our shelves this barbecue season and will pair perfectly with our fabulous selection of vegan patties and burgers.
I haven’t been into a Waitrose store in a while due to the fact that I have been out of the country, but I will certainly be making it one of my first stops upon my return. I’ve been told by a few friends that their vegan offerings are pretty impressive these days.
You can buy the Make No Bones brioche buns online from Waitrose and be sure to click here to see the full list of stores currently stocking the product.
