Uncategorised
-
Happy New Year, a Honest Reflection of 2023.

A huge thank you for your incredible support and from our family to yours, we wish you a super healthy and happy new year. Reflecting on the year, I think it’s important to keep you… Read more
-
Fat Loss Failures and New Year Plans – Blog Post 5

This is my 5th weight loss blog and one of reflection, joy and hopefully welcomes another exciting year ahead. It’s been an interesting year for the business, but more importantly, this new weight loss and… Read more
-
Blog Post 5 – Birthday Greetings

November 9th is my birthday and this one is just very special because it’s exactly 6 months since I joined the gym, Rise in Telford. Yeah! I made it this far and I have no… Read more
-
Blog Post 4 is dedicated to Krish, my better half.

It’s our 26th wedding anniversary on the 3rd of August and it feels only right that I celebrate this occasion in a blog and dedicate this to Krish, my loooong suffering better half. Dear Darl,… Read more
-
Blog Post 03 – Bottomless Bruises and Shopping Heaven

Where do I start with this blog post, my epic shopping trip where I purchased, 2 new gym legging thingies, 2 new t-shirts, 2 pack of socks, 2 new pairs of trainers…. I know, right,… Read more
-
Blog Post 02 – Being killed in a PT session

This last week has been an interesting journey to my new fitness regime, thank you to all of those that commented and read my last blog. I will be journaling here for myself as I… Read more
-
Blog Post 01 – Ditching the Scales
Ok, so you’ve heard this all before from me, I am going to tackle my weight and fitness, take that challenge and THIS TIME, nothing is going to get in my way. Anyone that knows… Read more
-
Diwali Wishes from our loving home to yours

Did you know it’s Diwali? It’s the festival of lights, celebrated in many Hindu, Sikh, Jain and some Buddhist families. For us, we tend to cook and enjoy a feast with Indian sweets and light… Read more
-
Happy Anniversary to Us.

Somehow, we have made twenty-five years of happily married bliss… For us, married life is just like a pack of cards, you start with a couple of hearts and a diamond, then end up with… Read more
-
International Women’s Day 2021

For me, International Women’s Day always is a time of reflection and reminds me of how fortunate I am with overcoming so many challenges of being born a girl. Being female is considered second class… Read more
-
It’s not just any old tenner

It’s a tenner from my son, Sam who is 23, I very cheekily asked him and Krish (my hubby and Sam’s dad) for a tenner each to pay for a hair cut. I fully expected… Read more
-
A Little About Lajina’s Curry Club

Recently, I was told my spices were overpriced and I was asked to justify the cost of Curry Club, YOUR online Indian cooking school and spice subscription service… Lajina’s Curry Club costs £10 a month… Read more
-
Spicing up everyday Salads

As a family, we eat really well. I am married to Krish, he’s super fit and he really isn’t bothered about food or eating. And… he married me – who wants to have a weekly… Read more
-
Simple Chickpea Curry – With No Onion
A very Simple Chick Pea Curry using Curry Masala with no onions, ginger or garlic. Warm 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tbsp of Curry Masala with a splash of water to cook the spices,… Read more
-
It’s just the beginning of Corona Virus

There have been times in my life that I have felt lower and I know that we will get through these challenging times. As sad as I feel, my mental health feels it can cope. I… Read more
-
A Quick Whizz Around My Personal Spice Box

Let me start by apologising, I lied in the subject, I said quick… how can you have a blog about spices and it be quick? It’s a glorious, magical ingredient that brings dishes to life,… Read more
-
How do you like your CURRY?

Summer is over, the kids are going back to school and we are looking forward to a little break before the Christmas frenzy begins. Autumn is one of my favourite seasons, it’s Sam’s birthday, the… Read more
-
Our Arranged Marriage

Before I start, I’d like to remind you that there are men as fabulous as Bradley Cooper and as funny as Ricky Gervais and I am supposed to meet, marry and settle with a bloke… Read more
-
I’ve been number crunching

I guess you it wouldn’t surprise you that I like to check numbers and analyse data (I was an accountant) so here’s some behind the scenes facts with you. It all started when I felt… Read more
-
International Women’s Day and Lajina Masala

Congratulations and warmest welcome to all those celebrating and taking part in International Women’s Day. Hope it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect, just as I have. Very few cared on the day I was born,… Read more
-
Catering for a Bollywood Actress was ok!

I was booked to do some catering for a retreat where a Bollywood actress is treating herself to a well-deserved rest… It was different, it’s very rare that I do catering bookings and when I… Read more
-
Spotlight on Spices

Recently, I was asked why I have a range of spices if I am teaching you to cook, why aren’t I teaching you to spice. So, here’s my very important spice journey in one place.… Read more
-
Healthy Eating starts with Soups for me.

I really enjoy a good bowl of soup and haven’t found any ready made ones that deliver on taste or health benefit, so I decided to invest in a soup maker after my best friend said… Read more
-
Merry Christmas and let’s use up all the leftovers.

As final preparations take place for Christmas and the New Year (how did it come around so quickly?) and bookings for workshops and team builds for 2019, come in thick and fast, thank you. It’s… Read more
-
Simple Spicing for Christmas Vegetables

Christmas in my mind, should be simple, do you agree? If we all went back to basics and just enjoyed the festive season for the celebration that it is, we’d all have a more relaxed… Read more
-
Indian Afternoon Tea
Last year, I cooked an Indian meal for these beautiful ladies who raise funds for a charity called CRY Cardiac Risk in the Young, here’s the website, but be warned, it will make you cry! … Read more
-
My interview at Radio Shropshire with Paul Shuttleworth

Last Sunday, 14 October 2018, I was interviewed by Paul Shuttleworth’s Sunday Kitchen at BBC Radio Shropshire. I have done this a few times and I think my best yet. If you haven’t heard the interview,… Read more
-
Would I really make an apple crumble and add it to my blog?

It’s time to really start to think about spices, curries, eating for those cooler days ahead. If you follow me on social media, you might know that it was Sam, my son’s 21st birthday and… Read more
-
Let’s talk about Paneer.

Those of you who follow me will know that I have done a demo with Martin Moyden using his cheese to make parathas, this has resulted in lots of you asking me about paneer, delicious… Read more
-
The Masala Mix in January has never tasted so good!

Christmas and New Year seem a distant memory and so let’s take a tour around January through my eyes and all the bits I have managed to get involved in. The first lesson of the… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Twenty-Five
Merry Christmas to each of you that have cooked with me, used my spices, supported and guided me and just been the greatest friends and family I could ask for. Enjoy the day, remember to… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Twenty-Four
Hope you are settled with a nice glass of your favourite tipple. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go. I have officially finished work this year and can look forward to… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Twenty-Three
Today, I have been making some butter to brighten up plain naans. Fresh coriander and chives, chopped finely with a sprinkle of salt flakes, garam masala, crushed garlic and a whole pack of softened butter,… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Twenty-Two

I’ve been making dips to go with various dishes today. If you have cooked or eaten with me, you’ll know that I love to make different styles of dips, oozing with flavours. I try to… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Twenty-One

-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Twenty
The best one yet from my fabulous friend Graydon from the Shrewsbury Morris Dancers, can’t thank you enough! Santa baby, slip a korma under the tree, for me. I know a fabulous chef Santa baby,… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Nineteen

Last night I delivered my last cooking lesson for 2017 and what a year it has been! Always learning from my fabulous clients and I must admit, we cooked a delicious meal together, lovely way… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Eighteen
Day Eighteen of my Advent calendar and Sam, my lovely son, whose back home from uni thinks I should be talking about cooking skills in general and how I can cook all our favourite everyday… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Seventeen
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in my home. We have put the tree up, even managed to tidy up after ourselves. I was teaching on Friday and yesterday was an admin day before… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Sixteen

Last night I taught a group of four, a mother and daughter and husband and wife to cook a Christmas ingredient Indian feast at Harborne Cookery School in Birmingham. It’s a beautiful cooking school in… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Fifteen
It’s the Harborne Cookery School Lajina Masala Indian Christmas party today. We are turning turkey into a jalfrezi. “Tandooring” our aloos, chef crushing our sprouts, carrots and chestnuts. The biryani is having dried fruit and… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Fourteen

A day in the life of Lajina. It’s thawing out and I have spent the day catching up with admin, planning a cooking lesson, organising a buffet including cutlery hire, tidying my office and making… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Thirteen

Not sure which of my six spices to use? Here’s a little chart you could print, cut out and stick to your fridge. A handy little reminder of where and when you would use which… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Twelve

We are still snowed in and I refuse to drive in it so the next best thing is to catch up with house jobs, emails and cook a delicious lunch for us. For lunch, I… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Eleven

So, toadToday, Monday 11th December, I have woke up to crisp snow (lots of it) and I have a meeting in Birmingham. The main M54 motorway was closed and I couldn’t get a taxi to the… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Ten
Day Ten of my Advent Calendar takes me to a gloriously winter’s day, with inches of snow. It’s snow joke here in beautiful Shropshire and Mr Leal himself got me with a snowball fight. Sam’s… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Nine

It’s beginning to feel ALOT like Christmas and this year, I have helped with Santa’s Sleigh with the Newport Rotary Lite club. They are an informal Rotary Club, half their members are women and their… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Eight

When my head hit the pillow last night, I ignored the snow warnings. As I left the house at 6.30am yesterday morning, there was no frost or ice to clear from my windscreen and dare… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Seven
Day Seven of my Advent Calander is a blog full of love, a reminder of the beautiful people who do kind, selfless things each day, in the hope that nobody suffers the same heartache that they… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day six

Today has been a super busy day, the best kind of day you can have. I took a taster menu to a corporate client group for guests to try, a brilliant way to showcase my… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Five

Start thinking about your curry loving friends, a little spice sachet in their stocking or secret Santa gift. Maybe a personal cooking lesson with me. Today has been very productive, cooking and prepping for the next… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Four

A quick recipe for Spicy Nuts are one of my favourite nibbles and you can actually follow this tip with drained chickpeas. Great little nibble to go with your tipple. 250g whole nuts, used mixed,… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Three
I love to teach you to cook Indian food, spices are the trickiest part of cooking Indian food, so I spice especially for you. Have 30+ spices, use them up quick, roast this one, grind… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day Two
Welcome to Day two of my Yule Adore a little Spice Blog. Small Business Saturday is today and the Buy From Team recently interviewed me and that’s perfect for today’s blog. Just off to a school fayre… Read more
-
Yule Adore a little Spice This Christmas – Day One
Lajina Masala Advent Calendar is a celebration of my business success, sharing a daily blog until Christmas. There will be recipes, tips, behind the scene information and I welcome your ideas or questions that you… Read more
-
What would you expect at one of my cooking workshops?

Hiya I am Lajina, I set up a business in October 2013 to teach home-style Indian cooking, I have six handmade spices to help you on your cooking journey. I am a self-taught home cook,… Read more
-
Curry Masala

Ladies, gentlemen, teenagers and little people, I would like to introduce you to my curry masala. It’s National Curry Week, the new website shop has gone live and it’s time to introduce you to our… Read more
-
A whistle stop tour of my spice box

It is National Curry week and I think it’s time I did a blog about the spices I use. My spicing and style of cooking is self-taught with lots of tips for healthier and happier… Read more
-
Goodbye Summer and Hello Curry.

The summer is over and it’s all a little chilly, I don’t know where I have been and where the time has gone since I last wrote a blog. The only way to remember is… Read more
-
Sizzling Somosa Making at Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre
A delicious morning of somosa making at Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms. There was a small group learning how to make somosa from scratch. Here’s the summary in photos: Meet Martyn and Maisie, two of… Read more
-
Add some Spice and Sizzle to make your Curry-ful Corporate Event

Instead of a blog from me, I have an article from the lovely Kim Gilmour from Connect Consultancy, she specialises in marketing, social media, project development and she’s a training expert. Â Kim talks about the… Read more
-
A career change for me…….

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for each of you that read my blogs, support me, cook with me and generally guide me through this fabulous foodie journey. Today is a special day… Read more
-
My very Own Grand Designs in London’s Excel

Many of you may know that I have done a demo at Grand Designs at the NEC in Birmingham, two years in a row. I have learnt so much from the earlier two demos and was… Read more
-
And… I even bring the kitchen sink!

Many of you may be thinking, I have been quiet for a while, huge apologies to those of you who have been waiting with baited breath for my next blog along with all the excitement that… Read more
-
My top tips in the Indian kitchen

My top tips in the Indian kitchen, written especially for YOU, guaranteed to assist you as you get inventive with your spicing. Cook an onion, Â really well for curry, it’s a myth that you need… Read more
-
Curry is the Food of Love……

Are you looking for the ultimate romantic Valentine’s Day?  Well, look no further, I have the solutions you are looking for to sizzle up your day. It is well known that the natural power of spices… Read more
-
Lohri Greetings from Lajina

A lovely celebration, always on 13th January, a nice excuse to break the new year diet (the thought never even crossed my mind). Lohri is the end of the coldest days of winter, celebrating the… Read more
-
Seven Top Tips for healthy Indian Cooking

It’s New Year’s Eve and the importance of my fat fighting mission for 2017 is at the forefront of my mind. If you have been following my blog, you may well know that I am planning… Read more
-
Super Speedy Somosas with Christmas leftovers

Let’s face it, Christmas leftovers are always yummy, but sometimes, we have way too many leftovers and it’s nice to make something a little spicy and tasty, these somosas are an easy recipe, which I… Read more
-
My radio interview at Seabury School
I received an email request in June,  to ask if I would like to be interviewed by pupils at a school who have their own radio station, the keen entrepreneur in me couldn’t resist and sent… Read more
-
Top 5 Curry Suggestions as stocking filler gifts

Three weeks today, we will be opening our Christmas presents and stockings, some of you will have Lajina Masala vouchers to present to your loved ones, particularly exciting as they will be cooking with me… Read more
-
Healthy eating and fund raising for 2017, Lajina Masala Style

That’s right, goal setting is on my mind, having never really been one to set goals, possibly because I was brought up to believe in Karma and the only goal that really mattered was ensuring… Read more
-
Diwali Greetings
What’s not to love about Diwali? Â We used to light our house with candles, the only time candles were lit in my childhood was either when we had a power cut or Diwali. Festival of… Read more
-
Indian Cooking Workshops

Have you been thinking of booking a cooking a workshop with me and didn’t know what to expect? A workshop is an ideal and affordable way to learn some tricks in the Indian Kitchen, the… Read more
-
Cooking at home for your loved ones

In my younger years, I could cook enough to get by and then I was blessed with my beautiful baby and becoming his mother was the saddest and happiest time of my life, (my father… Read more
-
A Simple Spice Box

The Indian kitchen has its’ own complicated art of spicing, it relies on spices to work together, the texture and sequence of cooking is important and there’s always something new to learn. Â In modern times,… Read more
-
Learn to cook your favourite Indian dishes with Lajina

The million dollar question, Lajina how do you teach us to cook our favourite Indian dishes? Â The answer is simple, for the past three years, I have been setting up and growing my business, knowing… Read more
-
To stuff or not to stuff? The love of a good paratha.

I have just written the recipe for a pumpkin paratha and it may have just opened a can of parathas! Â A really well made paratha is difficult, it takes practise, but we are home cooks… Read more
-
Black chickpea, butternut squash curry with Lajina Masala
Here’s my latest cooking video for you. Read more
-
Garam Masala

My passion lies with teaching Indian cooking, the most difficult part of Indian cooking is the spicing. I think its the reason people shy away cooking because they think spicing is complicated. All six of… Read more
-
Entertaining Indian Style – my top ten tips

So, you think it’s a great idea to throw an Indian dinner party? If I can, anybody can, I didn’t discover my cooking skills until we moved away from our favourite Halwai, the Indian treat… Read more
-
Fancy an Indian?

Do you often find yourself hunting around for the local take-away leaflet, you’ve left it too late and wished you had prepared your meal earlier? Â I used to do the same but now, with a… Read more
-
To Weigh or not to Weigh

The Scales – Â Course I’m not talking about that horrendous moment you step on the scales! Â Kitchen scales, to weigh our ingredients, is it even necessary? Today’s blog is to hopefully share my thoughts on… Read more
-
Top tips for your Curry Masala Spices – Frying Onions

The most important part of curry is the sauce. Frying onions for a curry sauce doesn’t require a great deal of skill, it requires patience, a little time and lots of love. When frying onions,… Read more
-
How to make Chapattis

Lajina demonstrates how to make chapattis in the comfort of your own kitchen. Quick and simple way of creating delicious chapattis. Read more
-
Featured in Homemaker Magazine

I was honoured to be featured in Homemaker Magazine, written by the artisan British designer Julie Dodsworth: Julie Dodsworth is an artisan British designer who works and lives on her narrowboat Calamity Jane on… Read more
-
How to make a basic chicken curry

See Lajina in action in this video of her creating a scrummy chicken curry using her Masala Magic Pots as a basis for the sauce. Read more
-
Chris Evans mentioned me on his show!

Wow – I’m so excited. If you’d like to hear what he says about me you can listen below. Read more
