Onion Bhaji

These not exactly the prettiest Onion Bhaji's but they sure are lovely, so much nicer than the ones from the supermarket and a damn sight cheaper to boot!
The recipe makes a decent amount about 20ish which should last a few days in the fridge in an air tight container, we like to devour them with my homemade garlic sauce or chilli sauce. Ideal as a side dish with curry or just a good lunchtime snack.


You will need;
2 large onions,thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of garlic powder
4 Tablespoons of curry powder
2 teaspoons of turmeric
1 teaspoons of chilli powder
10 Tablespoons of Gram flour
Enough oil/fat for deep fat frying

Chuck it all in a large mixing bowl making sure its all incorporated, best way is to use your hand. Heat your oil or fat to roughly 350* Drop a spoonful of the mix into the hot fat then as soon as it pops up to the top put another one in,dont over crowd them. Cook for roughly 2 minutes on each side till a nice golden brown colour, drain on kitchen paper. Then feast on those suckers!

Quick garlic sauce recipe I use;

1 level teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of garlic paste
good sprinkle of dried parsley
2 heaped tablespoons of full fat greek yoghurt
2 heaped tablespoons of full fat mayonnaise

Chuck all in a bowl and give a good mix, taste and add more garlic if needed.

Quick chilli sauce recipe;

5 Tablespoons of tomato sauce/ketchup
1 teaspoon of mint sauce
1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder (adjust to taste)
Touch of water to thin slightly

Mix all together, easy as that.

Name Change

Well R has decided that she no longer likes her birth name and has changed it completely by Deed Poll,so now I will be referring to her as Iz on the blog.

I should of changed my name to something less nutty,I mean who looks at their newborn and thinks Hazel is a fab name for you kidda with your little round head shaped just like a nut.

Dishcloths,homemade of course!

I have been making my own dishcloths for a couple of years now, they are made from 100% cotton string,I use size 4 needles. I source my string from the cheap shops which works out at 3 dishcloths for less than £1,the quality is far more superior than any dishcloth I have purchased out of a shop.
As they are made from cotton the can survive a boil wash if needed and they are incredibly strong, I still have the very first one I made which is still in great condition.

They are really easy to make,I just cast on roughly 30 stitches and continue to knit until the ball of string is finished, beauty about making them yourself is that you can have them at the size you prefer.I don't like the large shop bought square cloths what hole within a month of usage, they just don't wash well.

They can be dyed if you're one of those colour coordinated folk, me, I can't be arsed when its only for washing the pots, if it was on display and I had lots of visitors then I may consider it.Consider it then still think 'nah' its a dishcloth.


Here is a little piccy of a dishcloth nearly completed.

It only takes me an hour from start to finish as I'm a slow knitter and you'll never run out of dishcloths unless you forget to buy string.

Completed Dishcloth

Leigh's pickles

Pickled Cucumbers,not my kind of pickle personally but Leigh loves these.Really easy and cheap to do, he used an empty Lidl Gherkin jar which are pretty big and used the leftover pickle juice from the Gherkins and topped up with extra white vinegar.He sliced chilli peppers and a few sprigs of dill along with his thick slices of cucumbers. These about a couple of months old now and he says they are tremendous!

I'm a fussy sod and only like sweet sliver skin pickled onions or beetroot.

He does a similar thing with picked eggs, saves the jars and the reuses the leftover vinegar. I've never actually tried a pickled egg but I may do one day.

Slurping the pickle juice is a great cure for heartburn/indigestion and good for replacing electrolytes when you're feeling a little run down.