End of Year Gifts for Teachers

CityPlatterCome 3rd week of June, every parent is shocked to realize that yet another academic year is about to end! Once the realization sinks then , then starts the frenzy of organizing everything.
The summer term is always a busy one. With school day trips, sports days, fairs, MUFTi days and so on there is always so much to remember. And top it all with the busy weekend calendars.

End of the year Teachers gifts is the real opportunity to appreciate all the hard work that they have been doing with your tiny tots! It has got to be special :)

You could go to a lot of places and find gifts like mugs, pens, notebooks, Best Teacher certificates, keychains and  so on. But have you realized just how many stationary items do teachers get flooded with every year!

Do something different this year! Why not try our personalized cake pops or Cookies as gifts instead. They can never be enough of this. We can put in a personalized message for your Teacher and you can choose from a variety of shapes and designs.

These are available in a variety of flavors:

 * Chocolate * Strawberry milkshake * Chocolate orange * Vanilla * Rasperry Ripple
* Salted caramel * Black forrest * Pink Lemonade and Pimms * Strawberry and Prosecco
* Lemon drizzle and Gin.

 These delights come in boxes ready to be gifted.  We can post these to your door :)

Priced at 5.50 GBP a box, these treats can be ordered on www.cityplatter.com or using our iPhone App. If you would like to discuss any design, please call us on 07391039382 or email us at info@cityplatter.com.

Hope you have a wonderful summer holidays!

Food Influences across Cultures : Menu Design : First Blog

Food is the basic necessity. It's the one thing everyone needs, wants or atleast thinks about atleast once a day. You live to eat or eat to live, whatever you may be your attitude, you would still enjoy a bite.
In my lifetime, I have lived in two great countries.
Born in India, a country that absolutely loves her food. There is such an extensive menu that the country has to offer that you could spend years just going around and having it all! If you are interested in expanding your culinary skills then you could spend a lifetime and still not learn it all..let alone master it!
As a professional I moved to the UK, the land of opportunities and my gateway to Europe. Having spent almost a decade here, this country is Home now :). To be honest, there is not a lot on the menu to offer but the country embraces all food that is good. So , I have been able to have the most authentic recipes from around the world.
There are some dishes that distinctly remind me of India , some not so much! But there are some elements that are very similar, in preparation, concept or simply looks.
Ultimately, everything is tied together..somewhere..somehow.
This is just my naive attempt to pen down my observations. No expert comments, just a simple foodie expressing her love for food and people ! :)

Apple Fritters

This serving will usually serve 2 people, but then it depends on how hungry you are!! :)

Prep Time : 30 minutes
Cooking time : 20 minutes

Ingredients:

Sunflower Oil ( or any other oil of your choice that is fir for deep frying) : Quantity should be such that the pan that you use for frying is full enough so the fritters can move about.

Apples : 4

All purpose Flour : 2 cups

Eggs : 2

Sugar : 1 tbs

Salt : 1/2 ts

Baking powder : 2 ts

Milk ( semi-skimmed) : 1 cup

Cinnamon sugar : 1 cup

Oil (of your choice) : 1 tbs

Method:

1. Peel and chop the apple into small pieces.
2. Beat the eggs to a smooth consistency.
3. Take a large bowl and mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Add the beaten eggs, milk and the 1 tbs of oil in the bowl.
4. Mix the contents to make a consistent mixture.
5. Add the chopped apples and evenly distribute.
6. Heat the oil in the pan (initially keep the heat high, you can notice smoke above the oil and movement of the oil in the pan).
7. Turn down the heat a bit and then using  a spoon put the mixture into the oil in small pieces.
8. Turn the fritters over in the oil so they are cooked evenly until golden brown.

Take care : do not put the mixture into very hot oil else the fritter will turn black on the outside while these are still not cooked on the inside.

9. Once the fritters are cooked, drizzle the cinnamon sugar and serve.

Fusion Food : Recipe for Apple Halwa

Apple Halwa

Prep Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 30  minutes

Prepares 2 Serving

Ingredients:

• Apples grated finely - 2 cups  ( Read method before grating)
• Milk - 2 cups
• Milk Powder - 4 Teaspoons
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Ghee ( Clarified Butter )* - 2 Teaspoon
• Saffron* - 4-6 strands
• Cardamom Powder*
• Dry fruits - raisins, finely chopped almonds

* For UK reader, Clarified Butter is available in World Food section of Sainsburys, Waitrose and Tesco. 

Saffron is available in the Spice section of Sainsburys, Waitrose and Tesco.

Cardamom Powder is available in the Spice section ..though might be a bit of a challenge spotting it.

Method:

1. Wash and grate the apples.
2. Take the milk in a bowl and keep adding the grated apples to the milk. This will avoid discoloration of the apples.
3. In a saucepan, add the Ghee.
4. Once the Ghee is hot, add the mixture of the milk and the grated apples, and the saffron.
5. Keep stirring. You will see that the milk starts to curdle due to the apples. Keep stirring.
6. Once the milk has dried, add the sugar.
7. Continue stirring.
8. After cooking for about 5 minutes, once the sugar had completely mixed, add the milk powder, cardamom powder and stir.
9. Once mixed, transfer the mixture in a bowl.
10. Garnish with the chopped dry fruits of your choice.

If you love cooking, please join us on www.cityplatter.com or email us at info@cityplatter.com.

If you look eating home-cooked food , please visit www.cityplatter.com to look at the offerings from our Home-cooks all over UK.

Apple Jam Recipe

Apple Jam

Your jam would be ready in 1 hour following this recipe.

Prep Time : 45 min
Cooking Time : 15 min

Ingredients:

(To make 6 jars of 225gm)

• Chopped apples ( peeled) - 1Kg
• Water - 250 ml
• Lemon Juice - 1 Tablespoon
• Pectin - 26 gm
• Caster Sugar - 1 3/4 kg
• Ground Allspice - 2 Teaspoon
• Ground nutmeg - 2 Teaspoon
• Dark Brown Sugar - 100 gm

Method:

1. In a saucepan, mix the apples, water and the lemon juice.
2. Cook the mixture on low heat for about 20 minutes, until the apples are soft.
3. Add the pectic, stir and boil.
4. Now add the Caster sugar.
5. Continue stirring and boiling until the sugar is completely dissolved.
6. Remove saucepan from heat.
7. Now add the Allspice, nutmeg and the brown sugar. Stir to make a mixture.

Add the mixture to the sterilized jars ( leaving about 1- 1.5cm space on the top).  Be careful to remove any clingy bits from the jar top or the jar rims.

If you love to cook join us on www.cityplatter.com. If you love to eat Home cooked Food, then again visit www.cityplatter.com.

Find Your Hunger @CityPlatter

Fusion Desserts are a Reality!! Awesome

Have you thought if you could have a dessert that had.....hang on...

The base layer as a chocolate cake.....topped with
mousee with exquisite flavours......
Indian sweets crumbs in between the layers that increases the richness of taste.....

another layer of cream.....and

toppings of the Indian sweets.










Absolute treat for the ones with the sweet tooth!! Awesome!!

Visit www.cityplatter.com

Did you know you could even visit Sandwich!! Read on

Sandwich

Did You Know?

Sandwich is a town in East Kent in South East England. The popular snack got its name due to the John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich.

John Montagu was a notoriously avid gambler. In 1972, he realized that he needed a snack that could satisfy his appetite and still allow him to stay at the cards table. He then trialed a snack of two pieces of bread holding a filling, which was inspired from his visits to the Middle East.

He cannot however be credited with the invention of the sandwich itself, just the name in the West which eventually caught on with the rest of the world.

The first sandwiches were prepared in the 1^st century B.C. by the Jewish sage Hillel the Elder during Passover, with lamb and bitter herbs in pieces of matzo bread. These snacks were called Hillel’s snack by the Romans. There is also evidence that the Middle Eastern countries prepared “sandwiches” long before the West. In Europe though the Dutch prepared something similar called the “filled roll” about a century before John Montagu.

At some point of time, sandwiches transitioned from a late-night men’s snack to a any-time-of-the-day snack. The possibilities of exploring the filling between the bread and the variety of bread choices further increased its popularity. The choices were endless.

It is now the most popular meal in the UK.

In fact, each year, the British population manages to munch their way through a staggering 11.5 billion sandwiches.

References : http://www.britishsandwichweek.com/index.php/facts-figures/3-how-many-sandwiches-do-we-eat