As you will know from my previous post about for aisha meals we are big fans of the tasty pouches and tray meals. They are full of flavour, dairy free and low in salt. One of the things I love most is that when I read the ingredient list everything is recognisable and I even have most of the ingredients in my cupboards and fridge . For aisha are bringing out a cook book so you can recreate the recipes at home, but how similar do they taste? They gave us a sneak preview to find out.
I decided to try the for aisha recipe for Date & Apricot Tagine with Lamb to see if my youngest would like it as much as the ready made version. The recipe takes about 40 minutes to cook with about 10 minutes additional prep time. By making the recipe at home you have the option to choose the texture you want and it makes the portion size more flexible. The recipe makes 4 portions, but obviously you can give each child more of less than a standard portion depending on their appetite.
What is in the for aisha Date & Apricot Tagine with Lamb?
I raided my spice cupboard for the required ingredients including ground spices: Turmeric, Coriander, Cumin, Ginger and Smoked Paprika. I also had garlic puree, rice, a lemon and onions already so I only had to buy: lamb, dried apricots, pitted dates, fresh coriander, fresh parsley and baby new potatoes. The recipe requires a really small amount of lamb so it's best to head to a butchers or meat counter to buy just the amount needed.
Ingredients
150g onion
1 tsp garlic puree
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground Organic Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
50g finely diced cubes of lamb
50g chopped soft dried apricots
50g chopped pitted dates
2 tbl chopped fresh coriander
2 tbl chopped fresh parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
150g cooked rice
200g boiled potatoes chopped
Cooking the for aisha Date & Apricot Tagine with Lamb
I put the baby new potatoes on to boil and the rice on to cook while I chopped the onions, lamb, apricots, dates, fresh herbs and squeezed the lemon. All the ingredients except the rice and potatoes go into a casserole dish with 200ml of water. Pop on the lid and simmer for 40 minutes giving it a stir every so often.
The recipe uses 150 grams cooked rice which is around 50 grams dry rice. I used to struggle to cook rice, but now I have a easy way to make perfect rice every time: weigh the required amount of rice, put it in a cup or measuring jug so you can see the volume of it, rinse the rice in a sieve and add it to a pan with twice the amount of water by volume. Bring it to the boil then add a lid and reduce the heat. Cook until all the water is gone (about 10 minutes) then fluff up the rice. Perfect!
When everything is cooked transfer it all into a food mixer and blend to the required consistency. You might want to add a little more water if it's too thick. If you don't have a food processor you could chop everything up more finely and use a potato masher and you will get a fairly chunky texture.
The Verdict?
Yum. It tasted remarkably similar to the packet although it took a little longer to cook (the tray meals are ready after 30 seconds). Little worked her way through a bowl just as happily as normal, which isn't always the case with home cooked versions of meals.
I kept half the cooked food aside and didn’t blend it so I could have it for my dinner, although it tastes pretty good either way.
It was nice to cook something a little different to my normal meals and I will definitely cook the tagine again.
***Disclosure: This is a collaborative post. Recipe provided by for aisha for the purpose of the post***
Looks absolutely delicious!
ReplyDeleteOh this sounds great, and it's great that it tastes like the original ones too.
ReplyDeleteOooo we love a good tagine! This one looks really yum!
ReplyDeleteThis looks and sounds seriously delicious!! Will give it a go myself
ReplyDeleteThat is such a fab idea - I love that they are sharing their recipe!
ReplyDeleteNot heard of this brand but it looks like you've done a brilliant job of your own adaptation. We have a tagine which we don't often use but it does make a great change from the standard weekday meals. Love date and apricot together.
ReplyDeleteThese are some of my favourite flavours. Very nice!
ReplyDeleteOh that sounds delicious! I love a tagine!
ReplyDelete