Mandira’s Kitchen

16/07/2024

When we (the staff of Mandira’s Kitchen) think of MK, we think of the vibrant flavours, experiences and lifestyle that is created here 🌸 There is a wonderful community flourishing with beautiful products and services to offer ✨

Now we want everyone else to see the magic of the brand too! 🪄 so we have added to the media team - meet Clare, Ellen and A***n!

Stay tuned for weekly uploads across our social media platforms 🤳

Instagram
Facebook: Mandira’s Kitchen
Website: www.mandiraskitchen.com

06/07/2024

A twist on a childhood favourite…
"Sausage curry" was a firm favorite while growing up in the plantations of Assam. There were no shops nearby and sausages were special and were flown in occasionally from Calcutta - 1200 kms away. Apart from the usual sausages at breakfast, the “curry” at dinner was nothing more than chopped sausages sautéed with onions, spices, tomatoes, and lots of fresh coriander, and enjoyed with fresh hot chapatis. Today’s lunch was a nostalgic nod to this dish - transforming plain sausages from the fridge into a delicious sausage pulao. Paired with a refreshing raita and a creamy butter bean and walnut chutney made by Mahera, this was a quick one dish easy meal - perfect for not the the sunniest of Saturdays…
Let me know if you would like the recipe.. xx

06/07/2024

Part time / Bank Staff : If anyone you know is based close to us and is interested.
Mandira’s Kitchen are looking for enthusiastic individuals to join our team for a variety of events and café operations. You can be a student, a retired professional, a part time job holder, a parent or anything in between between
Who We Are:
Mandira's Kitchen is an award-winning business based in the Surrey Hills. (GU59BW) We create ready meals, provide bespoke catering, and run a fabulous street food café overlooking the Silent Pool in Surrey.

Roles Available:
- Catering Events:
- Market Stands:
- Cafe Operations:

- Hospitality experience is a bonus, but not essential.
- A valid driver's licence is a huge advantage.
- Candidates should be friendly, outgoing, organised, and love chatting with people. A good sense of humour and a love for Indian food are a bonus.
- Must be available for weekend and evening work. Hours are shift-based.

Other Info:
- Salary: Market rate.
- Benefits: Food and drink provided, plus a share in the tips.
- Flexibility:Choose events based on your availability.
- Work Environment: Never a “daal”
Moment

If you fancy joining our team and being part of our exciting journey, please email a copy of your CV to [email protected].

Feel free to share this post with interested individuals!

27/06/2024

During the hot Indian Summer villagers eat "Panta Bhaat". Traditionally the fare of the poorest - left over rice is left overnight in some water to preserve it and the next day served up with chillies, salt and lime. Only recently have the health benefits of panta Bhaat been highlighted as 100gm of cooked rice has only 3.4mg of iron, while for the same quantity of rice fermented for 12 hours, the iron content went up to 73.91mg. Likewise, sodium, which was 475mg came down to 303mg, potassium went up to 839mg and calcium went up from 21mg per 100gm of cooked rice to 850mg. The fermentation also allows for easy digestion and is a coolant.
Ever since we were kids on hot days my mum made a variation of this called "jol Bhaat" or rice in water. This consisted of pouring ice cold water on left over rice, adding some boiled raw mango or lime juice for the tang, salt , chopped onions and coriander leaves and then the icing on the cake.... Crispy fried moong dal fritters .... Sounds weird but tastes amazing and believe it or not cools you down...
No points for guessing what my dinner will be today.

26/06/2024

The perks of the job .. tasting our new soon to be launched mini desserts for our catering events… Garam masala and dark chocolate hazelnut bombe, mango and passion fruit cheesecake , chai and bisvoff (vegan) cheesecake and very delicate rose and pistachio (vegan) cheesecake.. Tasted as good as they looked!!

18/06/2024

LAST 6 SPACES: Before the sun sets on the longest day, join us at Mandira’s Kitchen for the Summer Solstice Dinner

This Friday 21 June – celebrate the Summer Solstice overlooking the magical Silent Pool.

The evening begins with a welcome drink and unfolds at elegantly set long tables on the patio. Enjoy a three-course dinner featuring vibrant street food platters and a traditional Indian barbecue, storytelling and some Bollywood dancing .

Limited space left – so book now : [www.mandiraskitchen.com/products/summer-solstice](http://www.mandiraskitchen.com/products/summer-solstice)

Celebrate the Summer Solstice at Mandira’s Kitchen overlooking the magical Silent Pool on June 21st. The evening begins with a welcome drink and unfolds at elegantly set long tables on the patio. Enjoy a three-course dinner featuring vibrant street food platters and a traditional Indian barbecue, ...

17/06/2024

Long post alert: The joys of technology… We created a fantastic menu, the team ( including the juniors) gave up their Father’s Day time with their dads to come work a 10 hour shift.. On Thursday we (thought we had) shut off the booking system after 40 bookings only to arrive yesterday to find to our horror, it had not and we have over 187 people booked mainly within the same 2 hour slot.. There was no option but to plough through it… 9 of us worked without a break to cope with it all.. Apologies to the people caught up in this and a big thank you to every one who was understanding for the longer than average wait and the chaos.. This is not an excuse or a bid for sympathy but just to say S #%t happens sometimes beyond our control. I came back and sent every one for the 70 plus bookings a note to apologise .. some responses … xx

15/06/2024

“Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventures, story-tellers, and singers of songs.”
Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing fathers and father figures out there … We are looking forward to welcoming many of you this weekend with a special menu based on my dad’s favourites…My Dad is 89 and is as big a foodie as I am !! xx

14/06/2024

“Oh but you don’t drink Mandira” is what I hear all the time.. but that doesn’t mean Mandira can’t make drinks.. Introducing my very own creations and yes I tasted all of them!!! Xx Silent Pool Distillery

03/06/2024

Bhaloo is as noisy as the rest of the MK team!!! We taught him well.

30/05/2024

Kofta curry being made to Mummy’s recipe… only about another 600 to go!!!

29/05/2024

Our guests wanted hot tiffins delivered to their office .. so the blankets came in handy !!

28/05/2024

The kitchen smells wonderful…

27/05/2024

We do all sorts of weddings .. from castles and fields and everything in between. This was a fun one !

25/05/2024

You do get a veg pulao facial but at least the rice grains remain intact !!!! Kitchen smells amazing .. we are open all weekend so come see us ..

pulao

24/05/2024

Bookings open - www.mandiraskitchen or via link in bio. See you then. ###

22/05/2024

Age is but a number.. Today my 97 year old grandmother ( on the left) went to visit my 94 year old grand aunt ( on the right) who’s recovering from an infection and even cooked Upma (a savoury semolina dish) for her. ###

16/05/2024

We had a foraging workshop today with Hinoki Forest Bathing at Mandira’s kitchen. We turned wild edibles into culinary wonders: dandelion lassi, nettle dal, and mustard green pakoras. Clare and Sarah’s insights into the healing benefits of spices used also reminded us of nature’s pantry.

15/05/2024

Today was the Surrey County Council Chair’s celebration lunch to say thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who so generously give their time and energy into various charities and causes. We had a lovely time with Turmeric House setting up the hall with a Bollywood twist, providing a three course lunch complete with our Chai and Biscoff chocolates made by Sweet C's Handcrafted Chocolates to take away and even a fabulous dancer to add to the festivities.

15/05/2024

We are so lucky to work with so many lovely local businesses ..Today’s 80 person corporate lunch needed “Bollywood” flowers - thank you Kingfisher Farm & Flower Shop for delivering on point!!!

12/05/2024

We had great fun putting together a special birthday last evening.. from the set up, decor, all the little touches like a cake reflecting the birthday boy’s favourite things, a memory corner and his favourite food. Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as we did.. ###

11/05/2024

Thank you to every single of the 401 people who joined us for our 5th birthday and Surrey day celebration.. Not bad for a sleepy little cafe in the Surrey Hills. We are so privileged to have your love and support .. My heartfelt thank you too, to the MK team including the long suffering friends/ family/ husbands / wives / children (youngest litter picker in action as you can see) who were roped in to help . Some of team did a 12 hour shift in the blazing sunshine in front of a blazing fire - you guys rock. Some photos from today. Mandira xx

10/05/2024

That, my friends is called an Ofyr.. he has arrived along with his friend called Sunshine and is ready for the most delicious surrey day party in town tomorrow (11th May from 10-6) We have a fabulous Indian barbecue Indian street food, biryani , a bar , music and plenty of parking all overlooking our beautiful Silent Pool. Everyone is invited and we look forward to seeing you.
OFYR Surrey what's on and eventsSurrey Hills Enterprises Surrey DayVisit Surrey

06/05/2024

Every dish at Mandira’s Kitchen has a personal connection. Our Watermelon and Tamarind sorbet is made using our tamarind chutney - inspired by Manik our local watermelon seller in Calcutta who sells the sweetest, freshest watermelons. Our chai and pistachio gelato is inspired by those sneaky cups of chai and good conversations with my sister in the car at Balwant Singh who makes the best chai in town! Both available instore and online for UK wide delivery… xx

05/05/2024

Here's a bit of the harsher side of nature caught on camera at MK. We usually have a pair of swans over the summer, but this year a third swan showed up and it's been chaos. In the video, you can see the male swan not letting the new, younger one even get in the water. Poor chap has been stuck on the side most of the day, a matter of time before a fox gets him! A reminder of how brutal nature can be. Makes me wonder if things would've been smoother if it had been two female swans and one male instead... Thank you Lisa for capturing this and the commentary.. xx

03/05/2024

At the end of today it will have been five whole very eventful years since we moved into . I moved in on a wing and a prayer, not really sure if anything would come of it.. The 2.5 people who joined me in the first month on a part time basis were given strict instructions not to leave their jobs as we weren’t sure if the business could afford to pay them! But here we are - a little bit more grown up but adapting continuously, much like the shifting waters of our pond—changing, rippling, swirling with every breeze. In some ways it doesn’t seem like five minutes but in some ways it feels like a life time..
Looking back, the feeling that stands out the most is gratitude. I'm thankful for the support from friends, family, colleagues, and every single one of you who've walked this path with us, step by step.

Love always,
Mandira xx

29/04/2024

Growing up on a tea plantation meant there were no restaurants around. Whenever my parents went out to a party, which was often, my sister and I were at home with the staff - our nanny Asha Didi, the Bearers, our cook Monglu, his assistant Mayar Ma etc. We had the most amazing time as they always came up with ideas and created a make believe world. One common theme to make us eat our food was to set up elaborate restaurants. The dreaded milk we had to drink was always turned into “milkshake” and served in bottles with a paper straw. Somehow a straw always made us feel we were somewhere glamorous! Our fresh mango lassis and lemonades are now bottled and come with straws and these labels arrived today !!! Took me back many years ..

28/04/2024

We celebrated Spring at Mandira's Kitchen with a riot of colours… our next event on 11th May won’t have all the colour throwing but it will have music and a lovely Indian BBQ… so come join us if you can. It’s not ticketed but booking is good if you want a guaranteed table.. https://lnkd.in/e8vJZ-Kw

28/04/2024

“Mandira's Kitchen is where I go when my heart whispers India," says Susan. We are open all seven days for breakfast, brunch, lunch and tea. Also open for private bookings on the evening. . "