Diwali Gifts 2012

We've created some awesome gifts for Diwali this year and our 2012 Collection is now available to purchase online.

To start with there's our Limited Edition Dark Chocolate Coffee Masala Caramels - Made exclusively for Autumn/Winter 2012 these warming, dark caramels have been infused with our signature freshly ground blend of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and clove alongside a hint of delicious roasted coffee, all enrobed in silky smooth dark chocolate.

We've also created a delightful collection of gift hampers to suit a variety of budgets; from our Discovery hamper at £39.95 to our incredible Deluxe hamper at £85.00 which includes a beautifully decorated jute gift bag.

Finally we have a dazzling Diwali greetings card from our friends over at Ananya, the card can be purchased separately or combined with any of our lovely Diwali gifts.

Click the link to see the full collection: http://www.devnaa.com/Diwali+2012.htm

Chilli & Lemon Popcorn Recipe

The miserable weather in England these last few weeks has had the Devnaa team staying in, watching movies and reaching for comfort food. In an attempt to maintain a vaguely healthy lifestyle (in case the sun decides to break out in a late summer hurrah) we've been trying to snack more on popcorn rather than anything deep fried and highly calorific. Pleasantly, this had led to a tremendous variety of flavours of the fluffy snack being created and it's been lots of fun trying out sweet, savoury and even sour versions!

Here's one of our favourites - chilli and lemon popcorn with some fried spring onions for extra flavour.



Chilli Lemon Popcorn Recipe (serves 10)

Ingredients:

4 tbsp sunflower oil
200 g spring onions, finely chopped
5 tbsp butter
3 tsp paprika powder
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
150 g popcorn kernels
Salt to taste

• Heat up 2 tsp of the oil in a small frying pan and add the onions.
• Fry the onions until crisp and brown and then reduce the heat and add the butter.
• Allow the butter to melt, then turn off the heat and stir in the paprika and lemon zest.
• Leave to one side.
• Heat up the remaining oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan placed over a medium heat.
• Add the popcorn kernels before the oil gets hot and toss them in the oil. Shake the pan so that you have an even layer of popcorn on the bottom.
• Cover the pan with a secure lid and allow the popcorn to pop.
• Using a rolled up dish towel to protect your hands and hold the lid of the pan down, carefully shake the pan every 30 seconds or so to help the popcorn cook evenly.
• When the popping sound reduces to 1 pop every 2 seconds, turn off the heat and leave the pan covered until the popping sounds stop completely.
• Transfer the popped popcorn to a large mixing bowl and pour the flavoured butter on top (you may need to reheat it slightly first if it has cooled and become too firm).
• Toss the butter into the popcorn until all of the corn is well coated.
• Add salt to taste and serve immediately.

Vegetable Manchurian, an Indo-Chinese Recipe

One of our favourite dishes to order when we eat out at an Indian restaurant is the 'vege-manchurian'. It consists of small, deep fried dumplings made of vegetables and flour, served with an amazingly thick, dark gravy full of Oriental flavours like soy sauce and ginger. The dumplings can contain most varieties of vegetables but I've chosen to keep my version simple with just carrots and cabbage.There are lots of Chinese inspired Indian recipes on the menus of Indian restaurants these days from honeyed potatoes and different varieties of noodles but we like this one the most! I often wondered how it was made and happily, upon researching it, found it was not difficult at all. Now we can enjoy one of our favourite restaurant dishes home made Devnaa style, and so can you :)

Vegetable Manchurian Recipe (serves 8)

Ingredients:

1 vegetable stock cube
500 ml hot water

Dumplings:

600 g cabbage
300 g carrots
5 tbsp plain flour
5 tbsp corn flour
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp grated garlic
1 small green chilli (finely chopped)
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp red chilli flakes
Ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

• Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water and leave aside to cool.
• Finely chop the cabbage and grate the carrot to achieve coarse (small but not too mushy) shreds.
• Combine the vegetables and stir in the flours, ginger, garlic, chilli, soy sauce, chilli flakes, pepper and salt.
• Mix well to combine, you should be able to take a tablespoon of the mixture and squash it into a rough ball that holds together. If this does not work, add some of the vegetable stock mixture until you achieve the right consistency.  (You should still have about 400 ml stock left over for the gravy).
• Heat up oil in a deep frying pan or wok placed over a medium-high heat. The oil is ready if you place some of the cabbage mixture in and it rises to the surface immediately.
• Take tablespoons of the cabbage mixture, roll into rough balls and deep fry until golden brown all over.
• Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm.

Gravy:

3 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp oil
250 g spring onions (use the green bits too!)
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp grated garlic
2 small green chillies (finely chopped)
3 tbsp light soy sauce
5 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
Salt to taste
5 tbsp finely chopped coriander

• Mix the corn flour into about 100 ml of the cold vegetable stock and leave aside.
• Heat up the oil in a large pan and then add the spring onions, ginger, garlic and chilli.
• Allow to cook until lightly browned and the flavours have released well.
• Carefully pour about 300 ml of the vegetable stock into the pan and stir well.
• Allow the stock to come to a boil over a high heat and then reduce the heat slightly before adding the soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, sugar and salt.
• Mix well and allow the sauce to come to the boil over a medium heat.
• Stir in the corn flour mixture and cook until you have thick gravy.
• Arrange the dumplings in a serving dish and pour the gravy on top.
• Sprinkle with coriander and serve immediately.

Chef's note: You can use most vegetables when making the dumplings but as they are deep fried, be careful not to add sweetcorn in case the corn bursts in the oil whilst frying. xx