About

‘Chilli and Mint’ is my foodie outlet to the big wide world. I’m Torie and I will be sharing my recipes – whether passed down, sourced or invented to you all, as well as anecdotes I think will be of interest.

I do not proclaim to be a culinary trained chef with Michelin stars floating around my head, far from it, I am simply a mother of two daughters (who in this blog will be referred to as ‘big A’ and ‘little Z’ – which are in fact their initials) who lives in London and loves to cook and try out new recipes for her family and friends. My beloved recipe file, which has a collection of recipes I have lovingly gathered from all manner of sources over the last decade, has been on its last legs for a long time, and only the other day – May 2011 to be precise – it fell apart. Devastated, this was clearly a sign that now was a good time to start my long overdue blog.

Why chilli and mint I hear you ask? Herbs and spices feature heavily in my cooking and I adore all of them and I felt that chilli and mint covered the full spectrum from the aromatic, fresh and fragrant mint to the feisty, strong and bold chilli; the David and Goliath of herbs and spices, if you will. My other half, Mr B, is Indian so I guess you could say that I have been privy to all those wonderful spices that I might have been a little more reticent to use with such zeal as I do now.

34 Comments »

34 Responses

on June 25, 2011 at 3:58 am | Reply Christine & Richard Amery

Hi Torie,
All of us New Zealanders are so impressed!
It’s cling film for the poached eggs in future, and we love your receipes.
Richard and Christine
on June 29, 2011 at 9:31 pm | Reply Lori Duckworth

Thanks Torie, look forward to trying some of these out! -Lori x
on July 5, 2011 at 1:50 pm | Reply chicaandaluza

Glad I stumbled across your blog – will be back soon for more!
- on July 6, 2011 at 6:42 pm | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Thank you for your sweet comment !
on July 11, 2011 at 9:28 pm | Reply Olivier (Hortense's husband)

I am not only impressed by the recipes but also by the nice photos ! are they all yours ?
- on July 13, 2011 at 12:31 am | Reply chilliandmint
  
  That is very kind of you to say Olivier. Yes all mine. Am in Vancouver at the moment so will blog from here soon. Do pass on my blog details to foodies or those who simply want to expand their repertoire.
on November 29, 2011 at 12:06 am | Reply Mirjam

Dear Torie, this is Mirjam, and we met at V+A last week!
I like your blog and I really think I should try one or the other of your recipes during holidays. Was fun to discuss Tyler Brulé
- on November 29, 2011 at 7:02 pm | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Welcome to my site Mirjam – glad you found it. Lovely to meet you too. Do send me any of your favourite recipes for me to try to chilliandmint@gmail.com. Hope our paths cross soon. Torie
on February 9, 2012 at 9:21 am | Reply Karen Trusler

Dear Torie – your mother told me about your blog last week. I’ve only had a very quick look but the recipes I’ve seen are fab! Very excited about trying them out.
- on February 9, 2012 at 10:32 pm | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Hi Karen,
  My number one fan has been spreading the word again. Sweet! Let me know how you get on with the recipes.
  All the best
  Torie
on February 24, 2012 at 2:23 pm | Reply Rebecca Osborne

Dearest Torie,

I love your site, really clean with beautiful pictures. I have been meaning to thank you so much for the spices you sent through the post to me. I don’t have your email address or phone number! would love to catch upl NB Berlin was super but freezing (-15) and could have done with some of your lovely red split lentil dal!

Lots of love

Rebecca.
on March 8, 2012 at 6:09 pm | Reply belinda

Had no idea you were such a super star….seriously impressed!
- on March 8, 2012 at 7:16 pm | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Thanks for stopping by Bee. Glad you like it. Am loving the look of your new website/business too.
on April 2, 2012 at 10:08 pm | Reply Sumayya (@PukkaPaki)

i really love your blog, the recipes and stories are clean, work perfectly and pics are lovely. all the best x
- on April 2, 2012 at 10:13 pm | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Thanks for your sweet comment. Lovely to hear. I’m a big fan of your site too. Torie x
on April 18, 2012 at 8:32 pm | Reply Sue Testar

Must get cooking on these. Fab ideas. I love Chilli and my mint patch.
Sue Tx
- on April 18, 2012 at 9:02 pm | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Hi Sue, chuffed to bits that you stopped by. Hope some of the recipes grabbed your attention. love Torie
  - on April 19, 2012 at 8:38 pm | Reply Sue Testar
    
    Well the T gang just have finished Ottolenghi’s Roast Chicken with Saffron, Hazelnuts and Honey – I made a few changes due to cupboard availiblity.
    I used a harisa and rose rub with honey and nuts for the crust. It was delicious – thank you. Great one for a mum in a rush back from work…..
    - on April 20, 2012 at 2:19 pm | Reply chilliandmint
      
      Hi Sue,
      Glad the meal was a hit, I am impressed you made it so quickly after posting. Your changes sound rather good too. Other speedy chicken recipes that you might also like are: Moroccan chicken with olives and lemons and Spanish Baked Chicken. You will find these under ‘Mains’ in my Recipe Library. Thanks for posting a comment. Best Torie
on June 8, 2012 at 10:25 pm | Reply Francesca Evain

Loving your blog Torie! Any opportunities to sample your recipes? Plans for taster evenings?… A delicious thought!… Thank you for sharing.
on June 24, 2012 at 8:37 pm | Reply Laura Haworth

I want to follow your blog – is this how I do it??
Thanks
- on June 24, 2012 at 9:29 pm | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Hi Laura, to follow you need to go to email subscriptions on the home page. It’s just below ‘follow me on twitter’. You need to enter your email address and then you will receive an email confirming you want to ‘follow’ my blog. At least I think that’s how it works. Each time I post a new post you will then receive an email (on average once every week) saying i have just posted something new. Let me know if it doesn’t work. Thanks for following. Best Torie
on September 17, 2012 at 3:35 pm | Reply shuhanlee

Thanks for dropping by my blog, I love yours too! And esp with a name liek that, chillies and mint, two of my favourite ingredients too because I grew up in asia!Chillies for sure, I’ll die without them! Looking forward to hearing more about your cooking adventures, everything looks brill so far! x
on November 16, 2012 at 12:07 am | Reply soulofspice

I love your blog’s name. its so unique & captivating. I love chilli too & mint–(but only in mint chutney). look forward to reading more of your posts! just followed you… charu
- on November 16, 2012 at 11:34 am | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Ahhh that’s really kind of you to say. I thought it covered the full spectrum of herbs and spices pretty well! I love them all and like to try a wide range of dishes that incorporate both the well used and loved, to the lesser well known, which need to be given a voice. I wondered if I could convert you to try mint in this http://chilliandmint.com/2012/04/23/chick-pea-curry-with-tomatoes-spinach-fresh-mint-and-coriander/ it’s not what you expect, but I love it and is super quick and easy. Thank you for following. Best Torie Ps: I rather like the name of your blog. Will have a good look through it soon.
on December 12, 2012 at 4:13 am | Reply 3 Awards « soulofspice

[...] winner for the Blog of the year 2012 award is Torie of ChilliandMint – I love her beautiful rainbow [...]
on December 12, 2012 at 4:15 am | Reply soulofspice

Hi Torie, I love your blog and would like to award you the Blog of the year 2012 award..check out the details here. http://soulofspice.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/3-awards/
- on December 12, 2012 at 11:11 am | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Hi Charu, Wow I am honoured and chuffed to bits that you awarded me the ‘Blog of the Year 2012′. What a lovely comment to wake up to. Will follow the steps on your blog ;o). Happy blogging and so glad I came across your lovely blog too. Thank you. Torie x
on December 30, 2012 at 3:26 pm | Reply Kaho

Great name! My old email account was “mintchoco” as my husband likes mint chocolate chip ice cream. I closed it down and I don’t use that account any more but I miss having mint as part of my identity. I think mint sounds so pretty. You live in London. That’s very cool! I love having two girls. Thanks for leaving me comments on my blog! Nice to meet you!
- on December 30, 2012 at 3:54 pm | Reply chilliandmint
  
  How funny re the ‘mint’ connection, it happens to be my fav ice cream in fact! Very glad to have stumbled across your blog yesterday. Lots of interesting posts for me to browse through.
on February 5, 2013 at 2:05 am | Reply Chuck Alderete

Hi, I found your duck vindaloo recipe on Tastespotting and I’m eager to try it. I have a question about chilis: (the recipe calls for 5 dried chilli and 5 small green chilli) I live in California and I have access to, and use, dozens of varieties of chilis used in Asian and Mexican/Latin American cuisines, and I look for them by name. Can you tell me what chilis I should use for this recipe? For example, for dried would I use the small Japanese or larger Mexican types of hot chili? For green would I use jalapeños or serranos? Are there named varieties of Indian chilis that I could find in our many Asian store here or Indian shops in San Francisco? I will appreciate any guidance here. thanks, Chuck
- on February 5, 2013 at 9:57 am | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Hi Chuck,
  You asked a very good question – I should indeed probably have noted which ones I used. To be honest I tend to use whichever variety I have sitting in my fridge for the fresh chilli – whether it be the Jalapeno, Serrano or Finger Chillies. I tend to mainly use serrano or finger chillies in my cooking and in the case of the duck vindaloo I used finger chillies, which are hotter than the green chilli, jalapeno and Hungarian hot wax, but not as hot as a Birds Eye. If you prefer a milder sauce then definitely go for the Jalapeno. Serrano is also a go to chilli for me as it has a nice kick. Again if you prefer it less hot remember to take out the chilli seeds as it will then tone it down a lot.
  As for the dried chilli I used small dried red chillies from Thailand. I think the proper name for them is ‘Prik Haeng’, which I source from my local Asian grocers. I think that you will have a far wider selection on offer in California so I would love to hear what you end up using and how it turns out.
  My in-laws, who are Indian, find the full on version slightly too hot for them, although I personally love it. Remember to have some natural yoghurt to hand, just in case it gets a little too hot when you are eating it. A spoonful of natural yoghurt on the side works wonders!! It may be best to start with the milder version and then see how it tastes before adding one or two more depending on how hot you like it. Best of luck. I hope you love it. All the best Torie
on May 14, 2013 at 10:14 pm | Reply Peppercorns in my Pocket

What a lovely space you have, Torie! I just found your blog on a browse, and was drawn in by it’s name. And then your photographs and words just brought the name alive Gorgeous.
- on May 15, 2013 at 7:28 am | Reply chilliandmint
  
  Hi Pia, That is such a lovely comment thank you so much, it means a lot to me. Glad you liked the name – I love all herbs and spices so wanted a name that encompassed them all – from the bold to the more subtle – and a name that had a ring to it. I am drawn to your name too and just had a peek at your blog – looks enticing so will definitely have a good browse around. I see you come from Kolkata – same as my hubbie ;o)