Spray a large pan with plenty of low calorie cooking spray. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes.
Add cumin seeds and chilli flakes and continue to cook the onions till golden brown (around 15 minutes). Use hot water if the onions start to stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add the chicken, ginger/garlic paste, Maggie cubes (if using, or use salt to taste) and one packet of the Laziza spice mix. Fry until the chicken has browned all over before adding the yogurt. Cook for 10 minutes then add 4 cups of boiling water to the chicken. Check for seasoning and add the drained water.
Cook the rice on high heat till most of the water has evaporated then place the lid on the pan and cook on a low heat for 25 minutes or until all the water has evaporated and the rice and chicken is cooked.
I thought I’d try Nadiya’s samosa hack from her latest TV show and give it a Slimming World friendly twist!
If you don’t know who Nadiya is, she was the winner of the Great British Bake Off in 2016! A well deserved winner too, all her bakes looked absolutely delicious.
I used potatoes and peas for the filling but you can be more adventurous or just stick to regular samosa fillings such as kheema. Just remember to syn accordingly.
I used mini tortilla wraps from Aldi which are 4.5 syns for each wrap and you can get two samosas out of one wrap, making it only around 2.5 syns each samosa! (See picture below).
Aldi Wrap
You can if you prefer (and can get hold of!) use the Weight Watchers white wraps that can be used as a healthy extra B choice. Your samosas will be slightly bigger though, I prefer using the mini wraps as you can batch cook them and freeze.
If you use any other brand of wrap, please remember to check syns as not all similar products have the same syn values.
Let me know if you’ve come across a lower syn alternative to making samosas!
Adjust spice levels to how spicy you prefer, I made mine quite mild as they were for a taster session in group. Enjoy and let me know what you think! Feel free to tag me in your posts when you’ve made them.
Samosa
Makes: 16 samosas
Syns: 2.5 syns each
Time Taken: 45-60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
1 pack Aldi mini tortilla wraps
2 medium potatoes, boiled
handful of frozen peas, cooked
1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red chilies
1 tsp garam masala
1 egg, beaten
Method
Make samosa filling by boiling the potatoes first. Once the potatoes are boiled and cooled, slightly mash them or you can chop the potatoes in little cubes and boil them if you prefer your potatoes quite chunky rather than mashed.
Mix in cooked peas, ginger/garlic paste, cumin seeds, salt, chilli and garam masala.
Cut each wrap in half so you get a semi-circle shape.
Shape each wrap half into a triangle shape and fill it with your filling. Use the beaten egg to seal all around the edges and egg wash the top of the samosa.
Once all the samosas are filled and egg washed, bake them in a pre heated oven at gas mark 6 for around 12-15 minutes or until they are nice and golden.
You can freeze them once the samosas are cooked and cooled.
Tip: Watch the video here on how to fill the samosas.
In one of my groups yesterday one of my lovely members mentioned chicken soup as one of her family’s favourite meal this week. I normally just make this Chicken & Noodle Soup but thought I’d try something different. She said she added a load of different veggies to it, chicken and potatoes. So after I got home from group yesterday, I raided my fridge and checked what veg I had in to make chicken soup. I already had leftover cooked chicken from the day before which made it ideal to use up. I replaced the potatoes with red lentils to make this a high protein packed soup. It turned out amazing!
Serves: 2
Syns: FREE
Time Taken: 45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated and chopped
1 courgette, chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1 veg stock pot
600 ml hot chicken stock (make more if needed)
1/2 cup red lentils
Cooked chicken, shredded
1 tsp basar (curry powder)
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
Lentil & Chicken Soup
Method
Spray a pan with low calorie cooking spray and add all the veg – onion, carrot, courgette and pepper. Cook for around 5-8 minutes till it starts to soften.
Add the fresh parley and the lentils with the spices and the stock. Let the stock come to a boil and reduce the heat and cover the lid on the pan to cook the lentils for about 20-25 minutes. If needed add more stock/water to cook the lentils. You can also add more hot water at the end of cooking if the soup is too thick.
Add the shredded chicken to the cooked lentils and cook for another 10 minutes till the chicken is heated through.
I’ve had a few people asking me for the biryani recipe I posted on my Instagram a few days ago, so I thought I’d write a post about it so people can refer to it when needed!
Laziza Biryani Mix
I use Laziza Biryani Mix spice which is syn free. You can keep the whole dish syn free by replacing the oil with a syn free spray oil or count the syns accordingly if using regular cooking oil. Remember 1 tbsp of oil (regardless of what type – sunflower, vegetable, olive etc) is 6 syns. I know a lot of my members use only water to fry the onions which is possible but may be a little time consuming.
I also use a fat free natural yogurt instead and sometimes I even leave the yogurt step out if I don’t have any and it tastes just as good too!
I cook for a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 children) and use half of one of the spice packets as that is spicy enough for my family, I don’t use the whole packet. I like my food super spicy so I usually cut up green chillies to add to my food separately.
I follow the recipe on the back of the spice box and once I’ve layered the rice with the chicken/meat, I add a few drops of yellow food colouring to the top of the rice to add some colour to the rice. And that is it! It really is a very easy and simple recipe to follow.
I absolutely love the Laziza brand spices as most are syn free and they are very easy to follow, even if you are not a very confident cook. Hope this helps those that were wondering how to make biryani Slimming World friendly 🙂
If you do anything differently please do share how you make yours.
One of the most common syn value questions I get asked quite often from both my members and other people is the syn values for Mithai and related products. These delicious treats originating from the Indian Subcontinent are often eaten at special occasions like weddings and Eid. Well you can eat (and buy them) them all year round if you wish but be careful of over consuming these lovely delicacies as they are extremely high in sugar and fat content!
To get accurate syn values for mithai is not an easy task. Mithai vary from shop to shop, there are many variations in recipes, different sizes and unfortunately they never come with nutritional information on the boxes.
I have done some research and tried to work out average syn values for common mithai so my members can have an idea on how many syns roughly to count for them. I hope this is useful especially with Ramadan coming up, the Eid celebrations straight after and then particularly the summer Wedding season. Please bear in mind that these are average syns values, not exact figures so please use your best judgement and adjust syn values accordingly. If you are still not sure of syn values, it is better to over estimate rather than under estimate to protect your weight loss.
The values are per one standard ‘shop bought’ piece unless specified.
I have to admit I was so shocked with the syn value for Halwa Puri with Chana. It is crazy how high it is!
Balushai – 6.5 syns
Barfi – 6.5 syns
Bessan Ladoo- 7 syns
Boondi- 13.5 syns
Jalebi – a single piece weighing on average 25g is 4.5 syns
This recipe took me less than 10 minutes to prepare using leftover rice! It is a delicious way of using up leftover rice. You can serve it with any meat or fish or have it on its own too. We had it with grilled salmon. You can add any veg to this as it is such a versatile dish, I was pressed for time when I made this so kept it really simple. But veg like peas, sweetcorn, grated carrots, peppers, mushrooms etc work really well with this.
Serves: 2
Syns: FREE
Time Taken: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Egg Fried Rice with Salmon
Ingredients
3 spring onions, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped (remove seeds if prefer less spicy)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Chinese 5 Spice
3 tbsp dark soya sauce
3 eggs
1.5-2 cups cooked rice
Method
In a hot wok fry the spring onions with the chilli for a couple of minutes with spray oil. Add the garlic powder.
Add the cooked rice to the wok and stir to mix everything together. Add the Chinese 5 spice powder (available in most large supermarkets) and soya sauce. Stir again.
Move the rice to one side of the wok and spray more spray oil to the wok and crack the eggs to it. Stir the eggs till cooked and mix with the rice.
I realise that not everyone knows what bassar is, I didn’t either till after I got married. I am from an Indian background and growing up my mum used a mixture of different spices for curries. Cooking Indian food looked really difficult and it never interested me. Being the youngest child I guess I got away from going in the kitchen too!
When I got married that is when I came across bassar, it was widely used by the in-laws. It makes life so much easier using this ready made spice mix! My mother in law makes her own, I have bought many different brands over the years and my favourite is the one pictured.
I have recently bought some bassar mix from a lovely lady who makes it herself and that’s what I have been using lately and it is the best! I have no idea what exact spices goes in it but it tastes amazing!
So in my recipes where I state curry powder, that’s what I use – bassar. You can get this from most of your local Asian supermarkets. If you are in Birmingham you can definitely pick this up from shops in Stratford Road, Ladypool Road, Alum Rock Road etc.
If you use bassar in your cooking, comment below which one you use. Do you use a homemade mix or buy ready made? Have you come across a good ready made brand?
Another really simple and very easy to make recipe. All my recipes that state curry powder, I use a Bassar mixture. You can get it ready made from most Asian supermarkets or make your own! I don’t know how to make my own so I buy ready made. The one I buy is quite spicy hence why I only use a bit. You can adjust the level of spiciness to your taste.
Serves: 4
Syns: FREE
Time Taken: less than 1 hour plus soaking overnight
Difficulty: Easy
Channa Daal with Boiled Rice
Ingredients
250g channa daal, soaked in cold water overnight
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tomato, chopped
1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
1.5 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp tomato puree
Method
Fry the onion till golden with the cumin seeds. Add the chopped tomato, ginger/garlic paste, tomato puree and curry powder. Fry for around 5 minutes. Add hot water if the spices start to stick to the pan, season to taste.
Drain the water off the daal and add it to the spice mix. Add enough cold water plus a little extra to cover the daal and cook for 30-45 minutes on a low heat. If the daal is too dry, add water accordingly.
This curry is super easy to make, I always have these ingredients in my cupboard! You can use all chickpeas or use any other type of tinned pulses you enjoy. Using tinned pulses saves a lot of time in cooking.
Serves: 4
Syns: FREE
Time Taken: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Curry Ingredients
Ingredients
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tbsp. ginger/garlic paste
1 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp black onion seeds (optional)
1/2 carton passata
2 Maggie seasoning cubes
1 tin each of red kidney beans and chickpeas
Chickpea & Red Kidney Bean Curry
Method
Spray a pan with fry light and cook the onions till they are golden brown (around 10 minutes). Add a little bit of hot water to the pan if needed if the onions start to stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add the ginger/garlic paste and cook for another couple of minutes before adding the passata, the curry powder, crumbled seasoning cubes and black onion seeds if using.
Let it cook for a further 5 minutes on a low heat. Then add the chickpeas and the red kidney beans and cook for 10 minutes. You can serve this with boiled rice and a speedy side salad.
This is one of the easiest ways of making a delicious and syn free biryani. If you don’t use Fry Light you can replace it with oil and just syn accordingly. You can also use any other brand of Biryani masala, I love the Laziza brand plus it is syn free!
Chicken Biryani
Serves: 6
Syns: FREE
Time Taken: 60-90 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
4 onions, finely chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
750g chicken breast, cubed
1/2 packet Laziza Chicken Biryani mix (use more if you prefer spicier, I keep it mild so the kids can eat it too)
2 cups of basmati rice
Yellow food colouring
1/2 bunch each of fresh mint and coriander leaves, finely chopped (optional)
Fry Light
Method
Spray lots of Fry Light in a pan and add the onions. Cook them on a moderate-high heat until golden brown. Add boiling water to the onions to stop them sticking to the bottom of the pan as needed. Keep stirring, this should take around 20-30 minutes.
Onions
Add the chicken, tomatoes and the spice mix and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes have softened and the chicken is no longer pink.
Chicken, tomatoes and spice mix
Lower the heat, cover the pan and cook for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the rice. Add the rice to double the quantity of boiling salted water and cook till half done, around 8 minutes. Drain the water, rinse it in cold water and set aside till needed.
Once the chicken is cooked you can start to layer it with the rice. Use the pan you’ve used to cook the rice and add a third of the rice to the bottom of the pan. Top it with half of the chicken, then rice again, chicken, and finish off with a layer of rice reserving some to mix with the food colouring to add colour to the rice. Add the mint and coriander if using at this stage.
Cover the pan and cook the biryani on a low heat for 30 minutes.
