The Daily Reev

A little behind the scenes of getting everything ready for May’s “The Summer I Turned 12” party 🐚🌊

This theme just felt so perfect. May has always loved the beach and all things coastal, her favourite colour is currently blue, her birthday falls in the summer holidays and there was just something about turning 12 that felt like such a distinct moment in her growing up 🥹

This past year especially, we’ve watched her mature into the loveliest young lady. Still very much my first baby 😭but also becoming more independent, finding her own style and interests and just growing into herself. So “The Summer I Turned 12” felt so very apt for this birthday 🥹 also because her birthday is in the summer holidays, we wait till we’re back at school to celebrate with her friends. Parties have gotten smaller so I feel like I can add a few extra details.

We took inspiration from that dreamy Cousins Beach summer feel with blues, hydrangeas, shells and all the little details I knew she’d love. And because we were doing it all at home, there was a LOT to get through before the girls arrived 😂 the raspberry coulis debacle did have me a bit stressed 😩 but we move.. also my go to for parties is plattersfrom but I was late to get my order in 🥲 and ended up doing the food myself.. not terrible but I love the convenience of the great party food options at the supermarkets here! But that did mean I cheated with the cake 😆😆 no judgies .. if you see my proud face with that messy cake but the girls going WOW just mind your own business and clap for me ok 😂😂

So this is Part 1: the prep and the chaos 😂😂 will share Part 2 soonest.. and you can see how it all came together… and I genuinely loved how this one turned out 🥹🤍

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One of the things I love about London is how you can go to different parts of the city and find whole pockets of South Asian food, shopping and culture ❤️

Wembley, particularly Ealing Road, is one of ours. We come here when we’re craving good South Indian food, but you can also find Indian clothing and sarees, jewellery, groceries, sweets, prayer items and so much more. We’ve even come here specifically when we’ve needed Bharatanatyam jewellery and accessories for May.

And right along Ealing Road is the incredible Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir. Definitely worth stopping to see even if you’re just in the area for the food & shopping.

But what I love is that Wembley is only one pocket of a much bigger South Asian scene in London.

Tooting is another area we spend a lot of time in. It has a huge mix of South Asian food and shops, with a particularly strong Tamil and Sri Lankan presence. It’s one of my go-tos for ingredients, vegetables, spices and things I recognise from growing up in a South African Indian home, alongside some really good places to eat.

Southall is another one we’ve explored and feels completely different again. It’s one of London’s biggest South Asian hubs with a particularly strong Punjabi influence. So many restaurants..street food, sarees, jewellery, beauty, groceries and shop after shop along the Broadway.

East Ham is still on my list to explore properly and is another area people constantly recommend for South Indian and Sri Lankan food and shopping.

And I know there are MANY more.

I think sometimes “Indian food” or “South Asian food” gets spoken about as if it’s one cuisine, when there are so many different regional foods, languages, communities and traditions within it. London gives you the opportunity to experience little pockets of so many of them without even leaving the city.

So save this one, but also tell me where we should explore next 😁

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Another one of those very South African takes on food that I’ve somehow come to appreciate even more since living away from home 🇿🇦

Biryani itself has been on such a journey guys... It has travelled across countries, cultures and generations, picking up different ingredients, techniques and traditions along the way. And I love that about it. There isn’t only one version that means “biryani” to everyone. Durban biryani, Hyderabadi biryani, Pakistani biryani, Cape Malay versions, tin fish biryani… give it to me in almost any shape or form and I’m happy 😂

Even the spelling can differ.. Biryani is the spelling most widely used internationally, while breyani is a spelling commonly seen in South Africa. Food travels, adapts and becomes part of different communities in its own way, and I find myself appreciating that so much more now ✨

This one is my mum-in-law’s tin fish biryani/breyani and like most Indian mums, the spice measurements are largely between her and her ancestors 😂😭 She cooks by eye, so I’ve added approximate measurements to her recipe below to make it easier to follow. Adjust the chilli and seasoning to your taste.

Mum-in-law’s Tin Fish Biryani

2 cups basmati rice, cooked until almost done
2 tins tin fish, cleaned and drained
6 medium tomatoes, chopped or blended
2 large onions, sliced
3 medium potatoes, cut into wedges and fried
3–4 green chillies
Small handful mint
Small handful dhania
A few sprigs thyme
½ cup sour milk
2–3 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
2 tbsp butter
3–4 boiled eggs, optional

Whole spices:
2 small cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds

Ground spices:
1 tbsp ground dhania
1 tsp ground jeera
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp turmeric
1½–2 tbsp chilli powder/masala, depending on how hot you like it

Cook the rice until almost done, drain and set aside. Fry the potato wedges until golden and set aside. Fry some of the sliced onion until golden and crispy for the final layer.

In a pot, heat the oil and fry the remaining onion with the whole spices.

Once softened and lightly browned, add the ground dhania, jeera, garam masala, turmeric and chilli powder.

Add the green chillies and tomatoes, season with salt and cook until the tomatoes have broken down and the oil starts to surface.

Add the sour milk, mint, dhania and thyme and cook for about 5 minutes. Gently add the tin fish and allow everything to cook together without breaking the fish up too much.

Then layer your biryani with the tin fish chutney, fried potatoes and rice, repeating as needed. Add boiled eggs between the layers if you like. Finish with rice, fried onions and a few blobs of butter.

Cover with foil and bake at 180°C for 30–45 minutes.

I think recipes like this are such a lovely reminder that food doesn’t have to stay exactly where it started to remain meaningful. Sometimes the journey becomes part of the tradition too. ❤️

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Food was a hot commodity at Lekker in London in Cheam park yesterday 😆😆 It was an 8 hour festival and I was there pretty early so I was hoping to eat a lot more .. but once the vibes went up the queues were a bit mad.. but this is what I managed to get my hands on.. ngl I am so sad I missed out on the peppermint crisp and milk tart and lamingtons and even koeksisters 😭 but what I did have was actually pretty good for festival food .. the malva pudding and Durban samp & lamb were my faves.. samp was definitely not something I was expecting but omw what a pleasant surprise and the flavour was actually pretty good.. I did want to try the bunny too but didn’t get ahead of that queue 🥲 there were also koeksisters, prego rolls, vetkoek & mince .. also wish someone would do a lamb boerie roll man 🥲🥲 i definitely feel like they needed more food stalls to account for the number of people and to cut down the queues .. but hopefully that’s something they will improve on at future events but overall a great day out with some good flavours from home ✨ oh and i also got some Mexican chilli and ghost pops from at the end of the night when their boerewors queue died down 😆

pure vibes guys 🇿🇦🇬🇧

brought together nearly 5,000 people for a day of South African music, food, rugby, comedy and all the little things that make home feel like home.

There are more South African expats living in the UK than anywhere else in the world, so maybe it makes sense that a day like this felt so big. But beyond the numbers, it was the accents, the flags, the songs, the food and seeing everyone coming together so beautifully to experience a little piece of where we come from 🥹

Now this was the first of its kind of this magnitude .. and honestly overall it was a lovely vibe and I hope to see more of this in the future.. it was super well attended even with the rain.. we were there early so didn’t have an issue with queuing too long for food & drinks .. I think I just queued for my Samp which was worth it 😆😭 also I didn’t feel like I missed out while queuing because I could still see the screens, watch the stage because of the nice setup of the grounds.. but I did see some long ass queues especially for the boerewors!! What was in them guys?? And while I get that could have been frustrating.. I do think for a first event of its kind, there would be these sorts of situations and it will be a learning curve for being bigger and better in the events to come..

If you were there, what was your favourite part?

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A little morning vlog for Varalakshmi Vratham ✨♥️

A micro haul from my Wembley trip and how cute is this cotton two piece kurthi set I got

It’s been a week.. but always grateful for Gods presence and blessings in our life and even when super simple, these moments of prayer and worship always bring peace & contentment 🙏🏼✨