Zaara's Indian Restaurant, Shipley.....Listed in the Michelin Guide

Now it's no secret that one of Ralph's favourite places is Saltaire in West Yorkshire, so it's no surprise that Zaara's restaurant in Shipley has come to my attention.  

Zaara's is an independent family run restaurant and are proud to announce that they're the only Indian restaurant from Yorkshire in the Michelin Guide 2010,  2011 and 2012.

Anjali Pathak

At Zaara's they believe in sourcing the very best ingredients to ensure they cook the finest Punjabi food. They produce their own 
paneer, cook saag to a traditional recipe and create their own sauces and chutneys.

They're inventive and inspired so for something different don't miss out on either their salads or sweet samosas, the cherry and marscapone is to die for.....just ask the lovely Anjali Pathak (yes THAT Patak) if you don't believe me!




Zaara's is the fulfillment of Harry Khinda's dream of owning a restaurant that brought the real taste of Indian food to the Bradford area.  The stylish restaurant serves "authentic Indian food", including the traditional spinach and cheese dish saag paneer, chicken seek kebab, prawn and garlic masala samosa, various fish dishes and Harry's favourite tandoori paneer tikka - "It's paneer (Indian cheese) marinated in yoghurt and spices, and cooked in a clay oven. It's soft and succulent with pure white cheese inside."

Zaara's offers a menu to suit the most discerning of palates so why not make your selection from the wide range of reasonably priced mains on offer.....and enjoy them in stylish surroundings.....or alternatively, take advantage of the fantastic offers available.....

Easy Sticky Toffee Pudding

   

Ok if steamed puddings are good enough for The Great British Bake Off they're good enough for me, but as usual because I'm a Jack Russell I'm bringing you a quick and easy Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe that wont stress you and cause you to drop it taking it out the oven! It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and even less time to cook and tastes sensational, especially with that home made ice cream recipe I put on last week.

Ingredients

• 55g/2oz butter, plus extra for greasing
• 170g/6oz demerara sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 2 free-range eggs
• 2 tbsp black treacle
• 200g/7oz self-raising flour, plus extra for flouring
• 200g/7oz pitted dates
• 290ml/10fl oz boiling water
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

For the sauce

• 110ml/4fl oz double cream
• 55g/2oz butter, diced
• 55g/2oz dark muscovado sugar
• 2 tbsp black treacle
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• vanilla ice cream, to serve

  
  
  
  
  
  

  Preparation method

  
  

  
  

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease and flour 6 individual pudding moulds.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a food processor until pale and fluffy. Add the golden syrup, treacle and eggs, a little at a time, and blend until smooth. Add the flour and blend, at a low speed, until well combined. Transfer to a bowl.
     Technique: Creaming butter by hand
     Watch technique0:50 mins
  3. Meanwhile, blend the dates and boiling water in a food processor to a smooth purée. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla.
  4. Pour the date mixture into the pudding batter and stir until well combined.
  5. Pour the mixture into the moulds (remember to grease and flour them) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is springy and golden-brown.
  6. To make the sauce, heat all of the ingredients in a pan, stirring gently and occasionally, until boiling.
  7. To serve, remove the puddings from the moulds and place onto each of 6 serving plates. Pour over the sauce and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
     
     
     
     
     

  
  

  Just in case you've forgotten, here's that easy home made ice cream recipe..... 
  

  
  Ingredients.....

  
  

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 140g caster sugar
  • 300ml pot double cream

  
  Method.....
  
  Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks and and vanilla extract with an electric whisk until light and foamy. 
  
  Clean the whisk, then in another bowl whisk the egg whites, gradually adding the caster sugar until it's
  thick and glossy, a bit like making meringues.
  
  Lightly whip the double cream until it softly holds its shape. Mix with the yolks and egg white mixture 
  until everything is combined. 
  
  Turn into a container, cover and freeze until solid. 
  
  Take out of the fridge about 10 mins before serving.
  

  
  
  
  
  Recipe from Good Food magazine, June 2011

  
  

  
  

  
  

Liverpool's family friendly restaurant.....What's Cooking

Heading into Liverpool with the kids at the weekend and looking for a family friendly restaurant that serves great food.....look no further than the multi award winning What's Cooking? in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on The Albert Dock which overlooks Liverpool's The Three Graces.  It's been serving up great food since 1978 and sources it from local butchers, farmers and bakers to provide you with the finest and freshest daily produce available from sustainable sources.



They're an American Diner style no-nonsense, TexMexin', Nachos and Cheesin',  Burger flippin', Chicken wingin', Steak sizzlin', Fajita wrappin', Drink pourin' sensation.....plus they have free WiFi, TV's in every booth and free DS Lite available for the kids!




There's always a great deal to be had too.....whether it's a 3 course meal deal for £20, a bucket of beer or a bottle of house wine for a tenner to the exceptionally priced 'Lets Do Lunch' where you get 2 courses for £10 or the Sunday Specials menu where you get 3 courses for only £15 all day long.....why should Mum cook for the family on a Sunday when she can relax and enjoy herself too.....Result!

                                                                                                         

Now if you're a fan of US TV series Man V Food this one's for you.....The Olympic Burger.....all you have to do.....is eat 24 ounces of ground beef in 24 minutes.....oh yeah, and all the trimmings.....and its FREE.....c'mon Dad are you man enough to step up to the challenge.....and if Dad isn't Randy Santell definitely is and you can watch him try live.....




You've seen the programme, you've winced at the challenges. Well have we got a treat for you! On 18th October What's Cooking will be hosting 'Man Vs Food' with 113 competition champion Randy Santel of Kansas City, America. 

During his UK tour Santel will be stopping of at Liverpool to take on the Olympic burger challenge. For those of you who don't know the challenge consists of 1 x 24oz beef burger with 6 rashers of bacon, cheese, onions, tomatoes and jalapenos as well as 2 sides of chili chips! Santel only has 24 minutes to devour this feast or he pays the forfeit!

                          

Ralph on Tour.....Llandudno

Here's a little twist on Ralph's Life where I get to go on holiday and blog about it!  The Old Dear decided his batteries needed recharging so I thought he was going to take me to Maplin, however it involved stuffing more food and drink into a car than is physically possible and heading to some big kennel in Wales (which is actually a country and not a big fish).  

Bron Berllan Uchaf cottage is on the outskirts of Dyserth village which is four miles from the seaside towns of Prestatyn and Rhyl (home of the legendary 2p machines).  It has 5 bedrooms sleeping 12, with 2 sitting rooms a dining room, a large kitchen/dining area separate toilet and two bathrooms with showers and it is extremely well appointed throughout.
  




Bron Berllan Uchaf, Bron Berllan
Hiraddug Road, Dyserth, Rhyl
Denbighshire, LL18 6HS.

You can contact the owner Mr J Scott directly on either 07974875019 or 02476725423 and tell him Ralph sent you!








The views from the cottage to the 
surrounding countryside are stunning and from the upper area of the grounds you have a lovely sea view over towards Kinmel Bay. 


There's an extensive patio area leading to a well kept sloping lawn where you can go and talk to some very nice horses in the next field!  To the front there's another nice lawned area but beware of the steep drop to the roadway over the low wall.


Once all the stuff was unloaded from the car and the double fridge/freezer was full it was time for a chillax on the patio where drink was plentiful and thanks to the chiminena blazing away much fun was had late on into the night.

Now one of the highlights of the week was our visits to the lovely seaside town of Llandudno with it's pier and spectacular esplanade situated between the Great and Little Ormes with two wonderful beaches, the award winning North Shore and the quiet, sand duned West Shore and and which has kept its Victorian and Edwardian elegance and splendour, despite its modern attractions.  

Having wandered the town's extensive shopping area and in need of refreshment, one of Ralph's favourite eateries was Kava , a charming little coffee house and licensed restaurant just off the main drag.  The staff are as attentive and friendly as the coffee and food is reviving and tasty!  After only one visit (like the bar in 'Cheers') they'll not only 'know your name' but remember your drink of choice.  

The highlight of several visits to Kava over the week was 'Corrie's' Les Battersby (aka actor Bruce Jones who was appearing in nearby Rhyl) having a cuppa with me (ok he was at the next table).  Apparently he wasn't overly starstruck by my presence so we didn't swap autographs.....









Now next door to Kava is a little shop that is very dear to my heart as it sells chocolate, and not just any chocolate as Grumpys is a traditional sweetie shop where you can take a trip down memory lane with their fantastic retro and old-fashioned sweets!

They have an amazing selection of traditional favourites as well as a plentiful selection of modern sweets! Every product listed has been chosen by Grumpy himself, and because of this they can be confident that you will be completely satisfied with your purchase!

Their shop stocks over 300 variations of sweets that you're bound to remember from your youth, and we're increasing our online product range every day. Remember; If you don't find exactly what you're looking for then please contact them and let them know. They'll do their very best to accommodate your requirements and seek out what you are looking for and you can order from Grumpys online!

There were only two downers over the week.  The first was missing one of Ralph's favourite groups Catfish and the Bottlemen playing Llandudno the day after I was due to leave (gutted).  On the plus side they're playing Sneaky Pete's as part of Ralph's favourite musical event EH1 LIVE on the 16th September in Edinburgh.  In the meantime here's a wee look at the video for their latest release 'A.S.A' and you can check out all their tour dates, music and merchandise on their website catfishandthebottlemen.com 

Second downer of the week was a visit to Rhyl Sun Centre, which I won't dwell on other than to say it's an overpriced, overcrowded, dirty, disorganized waste of two hours that I can't replace.  On checking the Sun Centre reviews by way of being even handed in my assessment I found that I was far from alone in my disappointment at what should be the main attraction in the list of things Rhyl has to offer the discerning visitor by way of entertainment.

Enough of the doom and gloom though.....highlights of the week were.....a visit to Dyserth Waterfalls

A stroll along the promenade in Llandudno only to be confronted by a seagull that thought it was a Pelican Crossing.....

We enjoyed a brisk 4 mile walk round the Great Orme at first in drizzly rain but half way through the sun broke through with the ensuing spectacular views.  Onwards and upwards to one of two hilltop cemeteries looking out over the bay and Llandudno rooftops. I must give a mention to the mental goats (not the name of a band) who inhabit the narrow ledges of The Great Orme!
Finally a mention to the beautiful Happy Valley Gardens opposite the pier at the start of the walk with it's Ski Slope and Happy Valley Cafe selling a Gold Award Winning Welsh Ice Cream.  A great place to sit, relax and take in the view at the end of a hard days walking!

Well the upshot is Bron Berllan Urchaf Cottage is the ideal place to stay in order to sample the delights of the Denbighshire and Conwy coastline.  Don't miss out on a coffee at kava in Llandudno and remember.....tell everyone.....Ralph sent you!

Banana Tarte Tatin.....the easy way!

Always fancied making a Tarte Tatin but couldn't face the trials and tribulations that ensue?  Well here's a recipe for a Banana Tarte Tatin that even a Jack Russell could follow. It's a quick, painless (relatively) and delicious alternative to the traditional Tarte Tatin!   Made with bananas and toffee sauce, an alternative to a traditional tarte Tatin will be sure to go down well with all the family.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time:      20 - 25 minutes

Total time:           30 - 35 minutes    


Ingredients:

• 375g pack fresh Ready Rolled Puff Pastry
• 4 ripe bananas
• ½ x 300g pouch Waitrose (or any other) Toffee Sauce

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. 

Lightly grease a 24cm round cake, or tarte Tatin, tin. 

Unroll the pastry and cut out a 24cm diameter circle to fit the tin.

Peel and cut the bananas into slices then lay them inside the base of the tin. Pour over the toffee sauce, covering the banana evenly.

Place the circle of pastry over the bananas, tucking the edges loosely round the edges of the tin so that steam can escape. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to stand for a few minutes to cool slightly. Using an oven glove to protect your hands, place a serving dish on top of the tin and, holding them firmly together, turn the tarte upside down. Carefully remove the tin. Scrape any remaining sauce in the tin over the tarte Tatin. Serve immediately with chilled  organic Single cream or a generous scoop of good quality Vanilla Ice Cream.

Now if you're feeling really adventurous, why not have a go at making your own vanilla ice cream as this easy, creamy recipe for vanilla ice cream doesn't require an ice cream maker and only takes 10 minutes to cook!

Ingredients:

• 2 vanilla pods
• 500ml/16fl oz double cream (see tip)
• 70g/3oz sugar
• 3 fresh local organic egg yolks
  
  
  
  
  Preparation:
  
  
  
  
  Halve the vanilla pods lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Add the pods to the cream and bring to the boil, then add the sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
  
  
• Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a large bowl then slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture.
• 
  
• Pour the mixture through a fine sieve into another bowl and whisk in the vanilla seeds. Pour the mixture into a freezer-proof container and freeze for 2-3 hours, or until set.

• Top Tip:
• 
  

• Due to the absence of milk in this recipe, the ice cream does not crystallise in the freezer bowl. So there's no need to stir it. Ideal for anyone without an ice cream maker.

Feel free to share this recipe with your friends and.....if you made it and enjoyed it.....let Ralph know, he'd love to hear from you!