I hope you all had a great Easter and spent quality time with friends and family, hopefully sharing a meal together. I had a very special Easter weekend this year celebrating with the winner of our National Curry Week Campaign. Our ‘Official Curry Taster’ won a prize to have dinner cooked by me for 10 people and what a better time to cook a banquet than on Easter weekend. I packed myself off with my travelling spice tin and headed to Kent. After a day spent in the kitchen with Richard and his 7 year old son who is a budding chef, we created a feast fit for kings. I served canapés of Chicken Tikka with an exotic tomato salsa lay inside mini crunchy pappadums. For our main dish we cooked a Whole Stuffed Fish which was served with Saffron Pilau Rice, Tadka Dhal and a Cucumber, Mint and Peanut Raita. My favourite part of the meal was the dessert; it’s always about the dessert! I decided to use the last of the season’s rhubarb and created a Rhubarb, Ginger Cinnamon Crumble. I could hardly wait whilst it was bubbling away in the oven. A wonderful evening filled with laughter and happiness.

You can find the recipe for my Whole Stuffed Salmon here: http://www.pataks.co.uk/recipes/whole-stuffed-salmon-(zamin-doz-macchi).aspx

January feels like such a long month and in truth it’s because its cold outside and the year feels like it started ages ago. Most people slip back into their usual routine, especially when it comes to the recipes they cook. I couldn’t count the number the of times I’ve come home after a long day and all I’ve fancied is beans on toast, something simple with minimum effort. Of course it goes without saying that it isn’t just beans on toast, it’s got to have a tablespoon of my favourite spice paste stirred through before heating. That’s what I love about the pastes. Not only are they recipes that have been handed down through my family, and so they have been around for over 40 years, but they are just a blend of spices that can be added into almost anything. You need to make sure you heat them up to release those all essential oils and flavours, and if you have some leftover then you can pop them back in the cupboard ready for the next meal. They last for 6 months once opened so plenty of time to think about wonderful ways to spice up those all time favourite dishes.

I usually think about eating healthily, especially after the indulgent month I’ve just had, and thankfully it isn’t one I break.  I use my spice box to bring life to the most ordinary vegetables, and it means I can use less oil as the spices have natural essential oils that carry all their flavour. You don’t need lots of spices to make a marinade or rub, and if you want to make your life easier then use one of our spice pastes. They include over 10 different spices so you don’t need to stock up on different spices which will clog up your cupboard. They can be used for roasting veg or meat, used as a base for curry, and they last ages! So make healthy eating one of your resolutions…it’s easier than you think! You can have a look at our delicious paste recipes here.

My family and I have always steered away from turkey on Christmas day, mainly because it’s the one day of the year my dad gets in the kitchen and creates one of my all-time favourite dishes, ribs! It may not sound particularly exciting or traditional, but trust me they are awesome. Juicy slow cooked pork ribs laced with a wonderful combination of exotic spices. My dad keeps his recipe a secret, but after so many years of sneakily watching how he makes his marinade we have come to the conclusion that not only does he use most of the pantry, there is a strong hint of Patak’s Tandoori Paste in there.

I suggest roasting ribs in a tray with a little water for about an hour or so. Drain off the water and then add the marinade all over the ribs and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes until slightly charred on top. To prepare the marinade, mix the Tandoori Paste with a combination of the following ingredients: yoghurt, mustard, smoked paprika, grated ginger, soy sauce and honey. Taste the marinade as you combine all the ingredients to ensure it meets your acquired taste before it is poured all over the ribs.

Are the kids back at school already?! The summer holidays have flown by.  It’s back to quick mid-week meals, pack lunches and thinking about snack packs for those school trips.

Some of my favourite food memories are the snack packs my mum used to make me for those long coach trips when I was young. I would always be the envy of the people around me as my lunch box would be filled with all sorts of strange Indian snacks, and from the second it opened the air would be filled with scents of cumin, ajwain and coriander.

Since then, I have learnt to love baking and often create spice infused recipes. These would be perfect to have on hand for when the kids return from school and need something to munch on before dinner. Spices and baking have been friends for a long time but have you ever tried adding some Mango Chutney into your mix? It may sound strange but the fabulous flavours of ginger and cinnamon work fantastically, and the sweet mango pieces mean you can reduce the amount of sugar you need to add. Try it with a basic muffin recipe – just add 2 tablespoons to the wet mixture before mixing it into the dry floury part. If you love baking it’ll soon become your new secret ingredient.

Ok, so it’s time to start thinking about what I want to take. Of course everyone expects me to take something Indian but I think I want to take something that is Indian inspired instead of traditional. One of my favourite ingredients is smoked paprika and it tastes wonderful as part of a marinade. I’ve often mixed it with Tandoori paste and rubbed it onto meat for some beautiful extra smokiness, but it is such a versatile spice that it can be used in many other ways.

There is a fantastic potato dish that I grew up eating at my family BBQ’s which I have changed slightly to incorporate my favourite spice. Simply scrub some potatoes to remove the dirt, but leave the skins on. Rub them all over with your favourite Patak’s paste, wrap in foil and cook on the BBQ or in the oven until soft and fluffy. Mix some spring onions, deseeded red chilli and smoked paprika with some plain thick yoghurt and generously dollop it onto the spiced roasted jacket potatoes.

Simple, no fuss but really flavourful. I think the best part of celebrating is creating dishes that taste great but are as easy as can be!

When I was little I spent a lot of my time in the kitchen learning about my family spice tin. It would get opened for preparation of nearly every mealtime and my grandma or mum would show me what they were using and why. I didn’t realise how much I had learnt until I left home and had to cook without their tuition and guidance.

The fresher the spices are, the better they will taste. They don’t often last as long as you think and I always recommend that you only grind as much as you need of whole spices. They will taste better if they stay whole for as long as possible.

Everywhere I travel in the world I always pack my spice tin. It has become my ‘thing’! I buy my spices fresh just before I leave and fill my tin when I get to the other end. It’s the perfect way to know that I will always be able to create fresh tasting authentic dishes anywhere I go. And if you don’t have a spice tin, then don’t worry. Our spice pastes are the next best thing to fresh spices and they are all blended to our secret family recipes so you can create delicious tasting Indian dishes without worrying about how to get the combinations just right!