I have to say that  our supper club is about OUR PANJABI FOOD! We don’t have any gimmicks – just the food!

In fact Jamie Oliver did an ‘Indian’ as a 30 minute meal  and some of it was unusual!  – we do not sprinkle turmeric over the chapatis/roti as raw turmeric is very bitter.

However, I do love Jamie as he has inspired so many young people to cook including my own children.

We  at our supper club don’t want to be millionaires – we just want to share our love of  wonderful home cooked food.

Thank you to all  of you who have come and sat around our dinner table and shared our food. I am really sorry that we are fully booked for the  5th March  but look forward to seeing you on the 26th March, which is our next date!

Joginder's Supperclub Aprons made by Carolyn Agnew.

Towards the end of last year, we were asked by one of Ma Rani’s friends if we would provide the food for his up and coming birthday celebrations in February. Originally we were going to a different venue but then the idea of hosting a supperclub birthday party began to take shape instead. He liked the idea of an informal setting where his friends and family could really relax. Everyone enjoyed an hour of drinks and opening presents before settling down at the table for an evening of food and celebrations. Our supperclub experience was the first time for all the guests.

For starters we served up Pakoras followed by Tilapia Fish Masala and Stuffed Paratha. After a brief intermission (I love that word!) the main courses were brought to the table. We served Vegetable Biryani, followed by Mutton Masala, Murgh (Chicken) Masala and Chole Daal. The homemade chutneys and relishes at the table were Chilli Relish, Tomato Relish and Spicy Mango Chutney. Once people are seated I do like to forewarn them about the ‘temperatures’ of the added extras on the table. Chilli isn’t for everyone – one of the reasons why we don’t put an awful lot in our cooking (you can add it but can’t take it out!)

Half an hour later the bowls were taken away, refilled with hot seconds and returned to the table, where it was all duly finished. We really don’t joke about the seconds thing. If you want more you can have more, that’s the way we like it! Put as much as you’d like on your plate and go in for seconds, thirds…until your nicely full or only able to roll home! So with the wine flowing and the music and conversation battling for maximum volume it was another intermission and a quick reshuffle of seating before the next courses…..

Dessert was a selection of our homemade Almond Kulfi followed by homemade Lemon Tart (requested by Ma’s friend – one of his favourites!)

Homemade Lemon Tart

Our lovely suppliers of Indian Sweets in Kingsbury always make up a varied selection for us and asked us to try a new creation ‘Tutti Fruitti’. It all went, very quickly actually, lots of sweet palates around the table and possibly sore heads in the morning  as the sound of corks out of bottles signalled the the next phase of the evening!

With the last guests leaving at 1am, full and happy, I thought to myself in a profound moment of a post supperclub high that I love our little supperclub in our candlelit basement in good old Tufnell Park. Joginder’s Supperclub loves cooking for you so we look forward to seeing you at the table very soon!

Our next date is Saturday 26th March. Email us at jogindersupperclub@hotmail.com to book your places x

P.S: Thank you Carolyn, for making our Aprons! xx

It seems strange that this time last week the charity supper club was over and  Carolyn and I were getting ready for bed! Tonight I have just finished making my various ‘masalas’ for the chicken, mutton, chole and the vegetables for the biryiani. It was a leisurely affair as I don’t like to rush around. I need to check the strength and depth of each one and it is best done in a tranquil environment. Thankfully the family were all at work most of the day and kept out of my way.

The flavours of my meat recipes come from the marinades and masalas which I use for the chicken, mutton and lamb. The richly flavoured meat dishes have been developed by generations of my family from both my mother’s and father’s side and they go back a very  long way!!  Most Panjabi’s are essentially meat eaters and my family were/are no exception.  For the supper club our signature dish for over a year now has been the ‘ chicken masala’ – on the bone of course. However, recently  we also introduced the ‘ mutton masala’ which was my mother’s ( Joginder Kaur)  favourite dish to cook for special occasions and it has been a great hit and now everyone expects it at the supper club. Mind you I have to dig deep for it because ‘Indian’ mutton is as expensive if not more so than lamb and the only place I can get it from is my Indian butcher.

Looking forward to tomorrow!

We were greeted by yet another beautiful day. I have to say that the day before was such an amazing  sunset that I took a break from cooking and took a few pictures from the garden! 

We took our time getting ready and the car was loaded up by 10.30am for the 30 km  journey. I was only sorry that ‘Ace’ could not come with us – sadly Barbara’s cat did not get on with him!  I promised him a walk when we got back. 

When we got to Barbara and Cedric’s house in Folles we were given the freedom of the kitchen and the dinning room. Thank you again.

Carolyn has hosted two previous Charity supper clubs for us in her home in France  and Saira would have been proud of her as ‘ front of house’. Not only was she responsible for making  the table decorations but did a fantastic job in creating the right ambiance for the ‘lunch ‘ club. She is a ‘quilter’  and loves to play with fabric , colours and her “embellishments”.  Just look at the photos!

Meanwhile I got on with the final preparations of the food.  Twelve wonderful people gathered in Barbara and Cedric’s home by 1pm and were immediately greeted by an ‘ apero’  kindley provided by our hosts.

Everyone was seated by 1.15 pm for the starters and before I could blink it was 4.45 pm and we were getting into the car to leave having raised £140. Thank you everyone – you are a fantastic group of people and you generosity will be going to Cancer Research next week.

Thank you Cedric for the fantastic ‘place mats’!

Thank you Barbara and I promise I will be sending you the spices you need!

A FINAL THANK YOU TO MY FANTASTIC FRIEND CAROLYN WITHOUT WHOM NONE OF THIS WOULD BE POSSIBLE.

My friend Carolyn is a great cook and she was an excellent sous chef on the day. The onions were peeled and finely grated, the chicken was skinned and cut up ( on the bone of course!) and all vegetables were washed and chopped. I got on with making the delicious pakoras.

Then it was time for stage two – cooking the main dishes. There was a lot to do – cook the chicken masala, keema, vegetable sabji, vegetable biryani and the chole. It was time to open up all the wonderful spices I had brought over from England. The french neighbours were seen sticking their heads out and smelling the aroma!

Carolyn also had a lot to do as she was front of house. We had bought lots of material to decorate the table so she got cracking but also decided  to make a culinary contribution by making naan from scratch! It was a fun afternoon and evening. We laughed and chatted as we cooked and created and crashed into bed at 1 am.

This is the third time I have had the opportunity to cook in France and this time a huge thank you to Barbara and Cedric-  who live in Folles- for hosting the club in their lovely home. I love cooking for our supper club and in England it is always in the evening so it was a bit of a challenge to cook food for a lunchtime. In this rural part of France everyone lives so far away from each other that a lunchtime event was more appropriate.The second challenge was to transport the food 30 km. from Carolyn’s  house in Droux to Folles, so I needed to cook parts of the food  which  could be prepared in advance and transported with ease. The next two hours were spent sorting out some of the menu and off we went to see what produce we could find. Naturally the first stop was lunch at a local restaurant ‘ Relais au Limosin’  For speed we opted for the Plat De Jour – what amazing food at 12.30 pm. Three courses plus a glass of wine and coffee all for £13. 25!  Sadly no photos as I had forgotten my camera.

Next stop  was Barbara’s house to pick up home grown produce. We left laden with carrots, parsnips, mange tout and green beans. My mind was working over time deciding what to cook with all these wonderful vegetables! Back in Bellac, in the supermarket we found everything but alas no lamb for a keema so went for the beef instead. The green coriander needed a real hunt and we did find some in the spices section. But then Dai and Phil – friends of Carolyn’s -came to the rescue. They actually had some growing in their garden in February! Back in Droux we were ready to cook.

Good morning everyone! Coming to you from Droux! Here is the menu for our charity supperclub tomorrow. We are holding it at lunch time so we should really call it Joginder’s Lunch Club? Anyway here is the menu for your to take a look at. We have a full table tomorrow, write up and pictures to follow! 

We are using a  lot of local produce as we did last time, so lots of vegetables on the menu!

Starters

Vegetable Pakoras with Raita and Tangy Kachumber

Main Courses

Chicken Masala ~ our signature dish

Beef Keema with Peas

Mixed Vegetable Sabji

Spicy Chole Daal

Accompanied by

Vegetable Biryani

Roti or Naan Bread

Yoghurt

Salad

Dessert

Seasonal Fruit Salad with a Masala Sauce and Ice Cream

All donations going to Cancer Research UK.

Joginder’s Supperclub is off to France next week partly for a nice holiday and to do a charity supperclub (take a look at our blog post from last year, this will be our second!) We were able to use a lot of fresh local produce from the local community who then sat down to eat in the evening. Watch this space for the low down on how it all went! Thanks to Carolyn for letting us use her beautiful home in Droux!

Saira x