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Be prepared to be whisked away to the colourful and cultural streets of India when The Spice Club comes to Spinningfields in a pop up traditional, beautifully decorated Maharaja style tent hosted by Raj Tent Club.  We will be selling delicious home-made, freshly prepared Indian street food to hungry-passers by over the lunch period on Thursday 13th June from 11am-2pm so be sure to come hungry! No booking necessary.

Intrigued? Well why not check out the street food inspired snaps from my travels to India and the mouth watering menu that we will be serving up,  below..

MENU

Bhel Puri Chaat
Puffed rice, crunchy sev noodles, potatoes, cucumber, red onions, lime juice, raisins & pomegranate seeds tossed together with tamarind chutney  & coriander & mint sauce served in a paper cone

Samosa Chaat
Traditional Indian pastry stuffed with spiced potatoes topped with chickpea masala, tamarind chutney, coriander & mint sauce, red onions & fresh coriander

Paneer Masala Kati Roll
Indian paneer cheese cooked with capsicum, onions, ginger, garlic, tomato, paprika & garam masala topped with coriander &  mint chutney, rolled into a buttery chappati

Mango Lassi
Yoghurt drink flavoured with alphonso mangoes & crushed cardamom

Cardamom Chai
Traditional Indian tea infused with crushed cardamom & fennel seeds

Like what you see? Then we look forward  to seeing you on the day! If you have any questions, please drop an email to: monica@spiceclubmanchester.com.

Monica and The Spice Club fam x

This classic Chicken Curry recipe really takes me back to my childhood. It reminds me of spending perfect Sundays at my Grandma’s house. Every time I make this dish it takes me back to our weekly family gatherings. Uncles, aunties and cousins would congregate at my grandma’s home every Sunday and whilst all the ladies would be busy helping to cook up a grand feast in the kitchen, all the men would be catching up on the latest business gossip or discussing the most recent sports headlines over chai (general man stuff !)

I was always in charge of kneading the chapati dough and I took my given duty very seriously, ensuring I had made enough and constantly pressing on the dough to check the consistency of it was just right. We always made a plethora of dishes, with plenty of fragrant cumin rice and rotis to go round, at least twice..it’s the Indian way! The aroma of the chicken curry dish would always pull me in immediately and I would scurry in-between family members to make sure I could land myself a generous portion before anyone else. Thinking about it, my eating habbits haven’t changed much since then..this still happens to this day!

The recipe below is for the boneless version. You can of course customise this recipe according to your preferences. I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know what you think of it below or alternatively tweet me @thespiceclub

Serves 4-6

What we need:
500g boneless chicken thighs (cut into 2″ cubes)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp garlic, grated
1/2 tin plum tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
2 bay leaves
1 small piece of cinnamon
1 black cardamom (optional)
2.5 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp yoghurt
Handful fresh coriander

How we do:

• Place the chicken in a bowl. Add 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp garam masala & 2 tbsp yoghurt and mix well. If you have time, cover & leave to marinate overnight. If not, add oil to a wide pan. Once hot, add the chicken. Stir continuously & cook until the chicken is cooked & white all the way through. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Turn off & remove from heat.
• To make the masala, heat oil in a pan. Add the cumin, bay leaves, cinnamon & cardamom. Once they begin to splutter add the chopped onions, green chilli & 1 tsp of salt. Cook the onions on medium heat until they become translucent & are soft. (This should take 5-7 mins). Now add the 1/2tsp garlic and 1 tsp ginger. Mix well & cook until the masala turns golden.
• Reduce the heat slightly & add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garam masala and 1 tsp turmeric powder and mix together. Now add the tomatoes to the masala  & mash them together to make a paste.
• Once the oil begins to separate from the masala, add the chicken  to the masala. Add 1 cup of water and bring to boil. Now add 1 tbsp yoghurt. Continue to cook for a further 5-10 minutes. Now add a handful of fresh coriander. Turn off the heat. Check for salt and adjust accordingly.
• Best served with hot basmati cumin rice!

This dish is great if you’re looking to cook something wholesome and nutritious but don’t want to sacrifice on flavour and taste! I love the combination of vegetables in this recipe-the meatiness of the mushrooms combined with the comforting potatoes marriages together perfectly to create a delicious and satisfying dish. I’ve also added peas to add a little bit of colour and slight sweetness. The beauty of this recipe is  how customisable it is. If you’re not a huge fan of mushrooms, you can omit them (potatoes and peas is a very popular Punjabi dish!) or you can even replace with paneer.

I cooked this dish in a pressure cooker and it literally  took 5 minutes. However, it can be cooked in  a normal pan too and this is the recipe I’ve written below for y’all.

With Autumn around the corner and the temperature dropping slightly, served with some hot chapatis, this dish is a great “warmer-upper”! Try it out and comment or tweet at me to let you know what you think @thespiceclub.

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The right wine choice can really complete a meal, bringing out unexpected flavours and adding to the gamut of tastes you experience. Choosing the right wine can be a fine art, particularly with Indian cuisine where you already have bold and controlling flavours to begin with!

As many of you know, we have a “bring your own” policy when it comes to drinks at The Spice Club. Some guests have found selecting the right wine to bring and match with Indian food a little bit tricky and understandably so..walking down the wine aisle of a super market can be confusing when there is so much variety available on the shelves nowadays.

I also used to feel a little confused about choosing wine until I took a few wine tasting classes (which contributed as credits to my undergraduate degree may I add!). These classes cut through the “snobbery” that is sometimes associated with drinking wine and cut straight to the chase so at the end of the course I had (what I considered) a pretty decent understanding of pairing wine with food and most importantly, establishing the sort of wine I liked and didn’t like.

To help you in your wine pairing journey, I thought I would clear the choice-fog with some personal suggestions and also the recommendation from wine expert, Omar from Didsbury Wine Club (a great wine club that holds regular wine tastings in Didsbury).

My personal favourite wine to drink with Indian food is a German Riesling. It’s quite sweet white wine which I find compliments the spiciness of Indian food really well. Also, it goes well with vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes which works quite well as an all rounder at our supper clubs as we serve a diverse range of dishes. I also love Gewurztraminer-this is another German white wine. (It’s names apparently translates as “spice traminer”). Again being fairly sweet in taste, I love how this wine cuts through the spices in Indian food. Also, I always think Gewurztraminer tastes like lychees (I heart lychees) which is just another reason that is is one of my favourites!

So enough of what I think, let’s see what our wine expert’s suggestions are…

Omar says: For meatier dishes, I would suggest Shiraz because it is a red that goes very well with spicy bold dishes. It is in itself slightly spicy and tannic and so compliments the spice and heat in the dishes..Shiraz is always a good choice as it works well with Indian food without overpowering the food or being overpowered whilst enhancing the dining experience. Champagne or a good Cava is also great paired with Indian food as their texture just works brilliantly with a dishes with complexity and varying levels of spice!

I hope this has helped you a little bit and guided you a little bit in the right direction. If you have any questions about wine or upcoming supper clubs, feel free to drop me a line.

Monica x

This Saturday we will be hosting our “Road to Rajasthan” themed supper club. I have been to India over 18 times (see the holiday snaps below!) and out of all of the states I have visited so far, Rajasthan is my absolute favourite. My Mum was born and brought up in Jaipur, the capital of the state and I feel lucky that I have had the chance to view and roam the city from a tourist and a local’s perspective. Known for its beautiful palaces, rich culture, art & jewellery and Royal history (Rajasthan translates as “Land of the Kings”), you get that feeling of never wanting to leave when you’re there.

But let’s be honest, there is obviously another reason why I love this place..can you guess what it is? Yep that’s right..because of the FOOD. Rajasthani food is famous all over India and rightly so because it is delicious!  Consisting of spicy dishes made to nourish during the harsh dry Summers in Rajasthan, the cuisine has been made up of delicious mouth watering dishes that immensely satisfy the appetite.

My Mum and I have been looking forward to hosting this supper club for a while now and we have carefully crafted a lovely menu for our guests to savour and enjoy.  Without further ado I present our royal Road to Rajasthan Menu…

If you’re joining us tomorrow evening-we look forward to meeting you! For more information on this beautiful state, read my lovely friend’s blog on her recent visit there. Her photos are also amazing: http://la-concordia.co.uk/http:/la-concordia.co.uk/rajasthan-revisited.

Monica x

I think I need to start this blog with a little apology as it has been far too long since I last posted. My reason (not excuse) is that we have been incredibly here at The Spice Club over the last couple of months! In March we had 3 supper clubs events which were really enjoyable and we got the oportunity to meet over 70 new lovely guests! We also had a great time hosting private events in March; from catering a dinner party at a guest’s house to planning a private customised cookery class and even hosting an office party supper club! We have also been taking part in a new project called the “Smarter Living Challenge” hosted by the Telegraph and Zurich which involved a film crew coming into The Spice Club for a weekend….I will be posting more on this very soon! (Apology accepted yet?)

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