London Diaries - Time for a Cuppa - Yumchaa

Firstly, lets get this clear. Yumchaa is a chain of tea shops now sprouting up at many different places in London but this one I am talking about is a Yumchaa in Camden Lock overlooking the little food market and the canal and makes you feel like you have walked into one of those quaint little tea stalls tucked away in a little alley in a perfect little town.

Stepping into the rugged unfinished walls and decor just makes you ease out and feel relaxed that nothing around you including you needs to be in an orderly way. Just let go, sip tea and be with yourself. 

The selection of teas are remarkable. My post, many months ago on tea was the first one to take me into the world of different teas, but this took me to a whole new level.  

You can pick from black, green and white (never knew they existed). The tea leaves are places in little mugs which you can smell into and read through the description of what goes into the tea. 

I picked Wild Rose - the aroma of the rose petals with the earthy flavour of tea was just the thing I enjoyed. 

You get the rules of working through your tea (well.. nothing too strict) and get one of the prettiest tea pots to dive into the warmth.

The selection of cakes and the way they are displayed makes you wanna grab a bite. 

I've been there a few times now and would recommend as a stop over from walking around the otherwise busy Camden Market. 

London Diaries - Time for a Cuppa - White Mulberries

Any time is a good time for Coffee - whoever said this (if at all), said it right. I am a coffee person during the day and a tea person during the late afternoons and evenings and would not mind spending a free moment at a coffee shop. Ask to meet me at a coffee shop and I am ever ready.

This cold winter's day in London, having a day off, I set out to gallivant around the streets of the city. I made up my mind to pick a warm little coffee shop to spend the afternoon. St. Katherine's docks was one of the first few places I had visited in London and had fallen for the place instantly.

White Mulberries is tucked away amongst other cafes, delis and shops bang in the middle of the docks.

Having had a rather heavy meal with a friend this afternoon I decided on coffee and a sweet treat.  Flat white was my pick and it was well worth it.

The simple décor with exposed brick and views over the dock makes you wanna sit there forever sipping the warmth. Ideal place with a book or to browse.

It was perhaps the first time I had toasted banana bread, the right amount of sweet, crunch and buttery goodness - I would give my vote for the best I have had so far in London. The other cake loaves looked yumm too.

Lunch was not on my mind, so I didn't bother much, though there were no veggie options for the sandwiches and rolls the ones that were displayed looked freshly made and full of fillings - I bet it would be good.

The staff were friendly, pretty much every one who walked in had a chat with the barista.

I would definitely go back to this one and oh! I also have a loyalty card!

Cheat's Cookery - Potato Cutlets

Well! According to me this isn't cheating, but having known so many people back home who prepare every component of this dish at home I'd resign to calling mine cheats cookery as many things are shop bought in my case.

Ok....now that I have got my foreword out of the system I'll write about my potato cutlet saga. 

All I wanted to prepare for the evening meal was a simple aloo jeera with a few spices - cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, some turmeric and salt to taste and serve this as a chunky potato side dish. What I however ended up with were overboiled potatoes and so it was a masala mash that ended up with in my pan. It also was extremely spicy - you see I love spicy food so much that I went a bit over board this time.

I thought of making cutlets out of these immediately and chopped a whole lot of onions, carrots, got my peas and ginger mince ready. After the prepping up I decided to make it with just the potatoes and not add anything else - mainly coz the quantity was so much that it would have been enough for 6-8 people.

Ingredients:

Potato mix- 

Potatoes - boiled and over boiled works just fine!

Jeera powder

Chilli powder

Cumin powder

Turmeric

Salt to taste

Seasoning - oil, cumin, mustard, asaphoetida 

Coriander 

Chutneys to serve (the cheat factor) 

Green chutney - mother's recipe's Bombay sandwich chutney has got me completely

Date & tamarind chutney

Sweet chilli sauce - not a great option but my cutlets were so spicy that I thought. It would help.

Prepping the Cutlets-

Corn Flour - 2tbsp (add water to thin it)

Breadcrumbs  (the cheat factor)

How I made it:

I made nice big patties out of my potato mix and dunked them in corn flour, rubbed them against bread crumbs and toasted them on either sides and voila! My cutlets were ready.

How I enjoyed it:

I served them with all my chutneys and as it still was extremely spicy I finished it off with a dollop of curd/yogurt. This made a perfect anytime snack, I had one during tea, another as my evening snack and couple of them for dinner.

A simple Cup of Tea

Here I go again about Coffee and Tea... very typical of me to get caught onto some topics more than others. I would like to think of myself as a coffee lover. Have I mentioned that before? Well!!!

However, in the past few years I am inclined to drinking and enjoying tea as much as I enjoy Coffee. This said, it's pretty hard for me to start my day without coffee - that cup or two to start a new day has to be Coffee! But as the day progresses, I see myself inclined towards tea.


For most of my life 'Tea' for me was what my mom prepared. A pot in which water, tea leaves, some ginger, ground elaichi, sugar and milk go in together, brought to a boil and served hot! Oh! It makes me want her tea as I say this!


She has always enjoyed serving her tea to those who enjoy tea and has this very special way of serving them in Corelle mugs (only), which are never used otherwise. I can say with all honesty that a few of my friends were 'Fans' of her tea and loved to drop in at that hour of the evening for a quick one. This was more of a common feat during the monsoon months as it's a perfect note to an evening when it rains. This perhaps is the story of many a household in India.


Tea in the western world is a whole new story. A kettle to boil the water, Tea bag in the cup, hot water going in, Sugar if required, leave it for 2-3mins, squeeze the bag out and add cold (yeah...you read it correct) milk to it, Stir and tea is ready!

I was miserable the first time I had it.

Tea also can be 'anything'....literally. Had never imagined jasmine or pomegranate or Orange or Strawberry to be 'tea' material! I must admit that I am not fond of all the available flavours, some of them just a funny coloured, weird smelling hot water. I do enjoy the 'Lemon & Ginger' tea in the evenings when I come home or during cooking.

I liked creating this collection of pictures of various blends of tea, a small set giving a quick view of what's available in the world of tea.