Chef Neelma

There is never disappointment when I tell the boys I'm making chicken pot pies for dinner. This is one of our most favorite comfort foods of all times. I usually make the crust from scratch but there have been times I just buy the ready made ones from the market. Some great variations of this recipe is using ready made puff pastry and cooking it just as a top crust with this mixture in a rectangle pan, sometimes as pasties found in the fish n chip shops of England, like empanadas or even mini versions using a silicon cupcake baking tin. Any which way we chose to make them, we always pair this dish with some "chips" or as we know them -french fries. Ahhh... the struggle between the English and the French.  As fall comes closer, I cannot wait to indulge in a warm ooey-gooey, pipping hot chicken pot pie.  CHICKEN POT PIE FILLING 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thigh or breasts, cooked and shredded 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock (sometimes I just use water and up my sea

Did you know? The  Indian Chicken  Tikka Masala has been voted for as the most popular UK dish, and rightfully so. There are two different claims as to the origin of this dish, some say it was  an accidental creation in the subcontinent by a British Army cook a very long time ago and others trace it back to the South Asian community in England in the 70s. This means one out of two things; the dish can be over 174 years old today (the British ruled India for a 100 years until exactly 74 years ago today), or it's no more than 40-50 years old as made popular by the diaspora of the modern immigration of Indians in the Uk. Authentically Indian or not, it is delicious and a staple around here. This dish is created in two parts; roasted chicken pieces which is the Tikka + curry sauce which is the Masala. The first part involves marinated cubed chicken pieces, broiled -  I use bone in and shred the meat off the bone later . The second part involves the gravy making and simmering the cooked

 #NoHateOnMyPlate & Aloo Gobi Subzi Recently, I collaborated with 10 foodies on a post focused on #NoHateOnMyPlate. We came together from different parts of the world to celebrate our differences through our universal love of food. As most of you know, I am a Gujarati girl born in East Africa and so I had a lot to choose from. In my kitchen I have a good balance of both the Eastern and Western inspired cuisines. I selected a dish from my Gujarati roots for this collaboration. Every culture has a platter of some sort. In my home state in India that platter dish would be the Gujarati Thali. A Gujarati Thali is an assortment of dishes arranged as a platter for lunch or dinner in places with a Gujarati diaspora. In most restaurants today, these Thalis are bottomless if you’re up for the challenge. I don’t enjoy eating when I’m entertaining, so if you’re like me and want indulge and enjoy this experience, my two go to restaurants for this style of dining is Vatan in NYC and Kathiyaw

Hi Foodie Friends!  My name is Chef Neelma.  My background is a melting pot of cultures, cuisines and countries.  African by birth right,  Indian by family and American by citizenship molds my food journey. I have learned how to speak in 7 different languages living in 3 different countries but most importantly,  I speak the language every person on the planet understands--food.  From chundo (an Indian mango relish) to dijon, my upbringing was diversely influenced by other people like me and the flavors they brought into my life. The 3 countries I have lived in are diverse in demographics and abundant in culinary goods - because of this I have always had access to knowledgeable aunties, tools at hand and ingredients which I incorporate into my sweet and savory recipes.  Love for cooking and baking started at the age of 13 with my grandmother’s visit to Malawi in east Africa. My skills were enhanced by my foodie mom and dad and later techniques continued to bloom by way of profession. A