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Prima Doner!

21/11/2020

Margot's Prima Doner Lamb Doner Kebab

Ok I admit it...my name is Margot and I do have a weakness for an occasional doner kebab!

We all have a weakness or three right? I don't really drink much and I certainly don't smoke, but I do love my food!
I hasten to add this is not something I indulge in very often either, just occasionally, which in truth amounts to about no more than 4 times a year now i think about it, but the fantasy is good too! Proper Turkish Lamb Kebab!

So can you imagine one day when someone shared to me a 'You Tube' video on how to make my own Lamb Kebab- well it had to be done didn't it?? Home and family was my practice ground until I was happy with my version as a take on the original Turkish recipe.

Prima Doner...
So from all the obvious things that appeal about making my own- much leaner, there is certainly less grease for sure, the traceability of where I source the lamb from our butcher, the added bits of herbs and spices I like, to the salad (no raw onion for me), then a toasted pitta bread crammed full of salad, the thin sliced, tasty doner meat and not forgetting that feverishly hot chilli sauce which in fact from my personal point of view I like with a bit of minty Dorset yogurt as well- but I am greedy! I do like all the flavourings to be right! The cold yoghurt and the hot chilli do work in harmony- the ying and yang/ hot and cold!!

Our doner kebab was on our first lockdown menu and was way too popular to axe this 'thyme' round either as we have a number of fans who love our version.

So if you do have a penchant for a kebab- why not give ours a go before lockdown 2.0 comes to its tedious end?

Homemade Lamb Doner Kebab served in pitta bread with a fresh mixed salad, spicy chilli tomato sauce and our special rustic chips- £12.95

Margot's Lamb Doner Kebab restaurant takeaway is available to order from the "Doing Thyme" takeaway menu for collection on Saturday evenings between 6pm and 8pm. Order any time between 8am and 12 noon on any day by phoning 01963 362202. Have a look at the full menu by clicking on the logo below....

Telephone 01963 362202
Thyme after Time Cafe and Catering
Spire Hill Farm, Thornhill, Stalbridge, Dorset, DT10 2SG

Sofishtication on a plate!

16/11/2020

Somehow, in all the years I have been in catering (which is since I was 14 years old and I have never come out of this trade at any time) I have never made fish and chips! Of course I have worked in a few places where fish and batter were bought ready made but it goes against my ethos to buy stuff in- I am a more making it from scratch kind of girl!

During the first lockdown I created a Takeaway menu with food from around the world with the idea being that if one of your family fancied a kebab but your partner fancies an Indian you could all go your separate ways without having to go to several takeaways.

The most asked for dish that was not on that menu was in fact fish and chips! In my head that is a diluted market but apparently there's always room for a decent fish and chips!
I quickly learnt the error of my ways and on lockdown 2.0 I have had to quick smart learn the art of our most popular takeaway!

One of the things I have always said is that I do not profess to know everything about food and cooking but I love to learn and I am a quick and willing student. I have also been known to say that the day I start buying everything in instead of making it, that's the day I hang up my apron strings!

My next dilemma was that I hate a stodgy, claggy batter- there is no way I was going to serve anything like that!

Fortunately having been in catering for this long I have a great many friends, contacts and ex colleagues in this trade and having tasted some particular fish and chips I knew exactly who to contact on the batter issue to see if i could get this person to impart his knowledge to me. I am, I figured, far enough away from where he cooks not to cause him any concerns by way of competition and he is just as passionate about food and shopping locally as I am!

So a quick message and I was sorted with a recipe- well, when i say a recipe, it was a proper Chefs type recipe with a list of ingredients and a physical end result I needed to be looking for!

His recipe produces a lovely, light batter, tasty and crispy and not only that it is entirely gluten free which, by the way, in no means jeopardises the finished dish!

So who is this fine Chef you are thinking now?
Well, this mighty fine Chef is Mark Young from the New Forest direction.

You can find him on Instagram @newforestchef or on You Tube

When you add to the wonderful Ale Battered Cod some of our Minted crushed peas, our awesome Rustic Chips and our special Home Made Tartare sauce you end up with, quite frankly, the most amazing restaurant standard takeaway supper! This wonderful Fish and Chip dinner is one of the items on our "Doing Thyme" lockdown Takeaway Menu, available to pre-order and pick up from the cafe on Saturday nights between 6pm and 8pm. Have a look at the full menu here..

Thyme after time Cafe and Catering
Spire Hill Farm, Thornhill, Stalbridge, DT10 2SG. Landline number is 01963 362202

Keep Calm and Curry On !

6/11/2020

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As we find ourselves in another national lockdown Margot and the team at Thyme after Time Cafe invite you to enjoy the varied and exciting dishes offered in their new "Doing Thyme" Saturday Night Restaurant Takeaway service. One of the delicious dishes is Margot's take on the classic Rogan Josh Curry...

Roghan josh or roghan ghosht, is an aromatic curried meat dish of Persian or Kashmiri origin. The dish was originally brought to Kashmir by the Mughals, whose cuisine was, in turn, influenced by Persia. The draining summer heat of the Indian plains took the Mughals frequently to Kashmir and its much cooler climate. Made with red meat, Rogan Josh is one of the signature recipes of Kashmiri cuisine, but also enjoys variations on the traditional dish in Punjhabi cuisine, where fresh tomatoes are used in the dish from which Margot's delicious creation owes its origins.

Make no mistake...Margot's Rogan Josh is no "Meat with pour over sauce. As with all of the dishes on the new takeaway menu this one is restaurant quality cuisine. Developed with a lot of testing and tasting and calling on her years of experience you would have thought she would be reticent to give away any trade secrets on the dish, but as she herself points out...

"I really am not precious about my recipes, I always think you can put a recipe together but if it’s not got soul or if you can’t do those little last minute essential flavour tweeks then something is lacking and it shows in the final result - those are the important bits and can make the difference to a dish."

"It always starts with root ginger, garlic, onion and chilli- that’s our base to most curries and always the best flavour starting point- the foundational base flavours. It’s the blend of spices that change the curries into their classic dishes and styles. Cooking these few ingredients gently at the start creates something so special.
We add slow cook Chuck beef steak, sauté it to colour it off and to add a caramelisation flavour to the dish. Next we add tomatoes and fresh stock. Then it’s just a matter of turning the gas down low and letting it work it’s magic by cooking it ‘oh so slow’! We find we don’t even need to thicken this curry as it naturally reduces and thickens on its own".

"Obviously it’s great to eat our Rogan Josh straight away when it’s ready but if you put a curry in a fridge overnight something magic happens and all the flavours further develop."

Margot's Beef Rogan Josh
Beef Rogan Josh Curry (Medium) served with Pilau rice, naan bread and Dorset minty Yoghurt - £12.95
(Gluten free without the naan bread!)

Margot's Rogan Josh is available to order from the "Doing Thyme" takeaway menu for collection on Saturday evenings between 6pm and 8pm. Order any time between 8am and 12 noon on any day by phoning 01963 362202. Have a look at the full menu by clicking on the logo below....

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Prima Doner!

Sofishtication on a plate!

Keep Calm and Curry On !

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