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A Grown Up Evening! (With a recipe thrown in for Jeera Chicken Wings!)

Yesterday I spent the evening at my friend’s house.

Some of you may recall me mentioning my group of mummy friends, the Tootie Frooties!

Well, one of the yummy mummies has recently moved house and there have been a few of us who celebrated birthdays over the last two months. It was a get together to celebrate the new house, birthdays, and a great excuse to cook up a storm and enjoy each other’s company, despite coughs, colds, kids, and work the next day!

We were missing two Tootie Frooties!

We all brought drinks and a dish.

Me, being so grown up, opted for the Coco Pops Spoon… just because!

Most of us also brought the extra addition of kids!

One of the things we discussed over dinner was the fact that this night, though it didn’t involve going out to some fancy bar or club, was what we all preferred. A chilled evening with the music of our choice pulsing through the sound system, good food, good company, and the ease of being able to have the kids milling around, not worrying about babysitters. They were perfectly happy causing their own version of havoc, while we cackled like a coven of (rather glam) witches in the kitchen!

All in all, a pretty grown-up affair, don’t you think?

Oh, and here’s what I made!

Mine was Butter Jeera Chicken Wings!

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Jeera chicken wings ready for tonight! #tootiefrootie #girlsnightin #ladiesnight @gizimann @sukhy28 @gurpreet.virdee @angelapanaser

A post shared by Ritu B (@ritubhathalwrites) on Oct 26, 2017 at 2:31am PDT

What’s the recipe? Well, I’ll tell you all!

Now I cook by Andaaza. Please forgive me, but there are no amounts for the ingredients, as my mum uses andaaza. This basically is when you just know! It’s a skill I think many mothers hone over the years while cooking the family favourite dishes!

I used

20 pieces of chicken (wings)
Butter
Olive Oil
Cumin Seeds
Garlic
Ginger
Fresh red chillis
Salt
A Little Natural Yoghurt
Garam Masala
Lemon Juice

Honestly, it is so simple, and really tasty!

Add the butter and oil to a wok or large pan and allow to cook together. Both fats together stop each other from burning,
Once hot add around two teaspoons of cumin, ginger, garlic, chillis and salt. Allow to cook for a few minutes.
Add the chicken, stirring so all the pieces are coated with the spices.
Add a tablespoon of natural yoghurt to allow the chicken to keep its moistness.
When the chicken is almost cooked, add around two teaspoons of garam masala and a few squirts of lemon juice.
Allow the chicken to cook thoroughly.
Enjoy!

And I think everyone enjoyed!

I hope you enjoy too!

Happy Friday Peeps! I’m off to try and control my eating for the next week, to make up for the calorific content of my diet yesterday!

My New Mugs From Jivana Style!

I love tea.

I love to have a good mug to drink from too.

When we moved into this house I ordered some lovely personalised mugs for the four of us, from a website called Jivana Style. They are great! They have these characters that are Indian, or West Indian in appearance that feature on cards, keyrings and all sorts.

You can get wedding cards for mixed marriages depicting the couple as they really are! I loved them! A little niche that catered for what I like!

Slowly I bought some for my parents-in-laws, brother in law and wife, then my own parents, brother and sister in law. Sam Alfred was the contact I had there, a lovely lady who helped me personalise all the mugs, choosing colours and characters to suit each member of the family!

Imagine my devastation when they slowly broke… It was inevitable… But I was unable to reorder for various reasons.

I found their website again recently, and placed an enquiry email with regards to getting some new mugs but got no answer for a couple of weeks. Fearing the recession had got them, I tentatively rang their number, not expecting a reply, but it did get answered, and Eddie Alfred answered. He hadn’t received my original email, but was so helpful in arranging for me to get new mugs in the designs I wanted!

He also told me that, sadly, Sam, who I had dealt with previously, had passed away a couple of years back. I’d never met her, but had dealt with her a lot over the phone and by email, so felt a little sadness.

Anyway, after little less than a week, my package arrived… and

Tadaaa!

Here are our family of mugs! The pictures and colours selected by the kids too! Lil Man wanted to be playing hs drum, and he got what he wanted!

Thank you so much Eddie, they are fantastic!

I recommend the company to everyone for a personal service, and a great range of products too!

Eddie asked me to spread the word with regards to the website as, since Sam’s passing, business had been slow. I asked him if he minded me blogging about them, one way to put them out there, and he was more than happy, so here is my little post!

Please, go check out their website!