Hussain Nadiya - Nadiyas kitchen: over 100 simple and delicious family recipes

We very rarely get a lazy Sunday morning these days but when we do, it is all the more special. There is nothing better than waking up before the children and creeping down the stairs like a thief in my own home. Trying my hardest to avoid the creaky fifth stair, I discover that the sixth stair is now creaky too (noted for future Sundays). I reach the bottom, only to hear someone stir and greet me with bleary eyes from the top of the stairs, beneath a monumental head of bed hair. The morning cuddles that follow are the warmest of their kind. I flick the kettle on, and the heating (much to the other halfs disdain), and tiptoe quickly across the cold floor to have another little snooze on the couch, with the tired sugar lump from the top of the stairs. As the kettle boils and cools I can hear medium-sized feet above making their way from room to room, looking for mum. Finally they all make it down, one by one, for a mum-and-honeys sandwich on the couch. As the sun comes up behind the shutters of our television room we share a few hours of broken sleep, interrupted only by abrupt volume changes and the question of who has taken too much of the fleece, until I realise it may be time to get up properly and feed the brood. The kettle might have boiled twice, maybe even thrice, and it is finally the hour to make something perfect for breakfast or in our case, borderline brunch. Something to awaken those tired eyes and enthuse the hungry. They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day... though in our house every meal is important.

Pancakes and crpes are favourites in our family. I only have to whisper the word pancakes and I will be bound by some unspoken childs law to produce them. If I cannot make good on the promise immediately, I will be bulldozed for days until they get their pancake fix. On a few occasions I have been known to say pancakes late at night to bribe them to sleep, only to realise that I dont have the time or ingredients to follow through. I have then found myself in the car, in my pyjamas, doing a very much unplanned late-night shop. Nothing beats those faces, though, when they get their pancakes. This is a quick and easy recipe that can made the night before, and can easily be turned into a crpe recipe if you add extra milk to loosen the batter. Paired with mixed berry and lemon thyme compote, the combination is sublime. Sometimes I wonder why my children are so unwavering in their quest for pancakes... but I only have to eat one to understand.

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 30 minutes

: Pancakes can be frozen after frying

To make the compote: Put the frozen mixed berries in a medium saucepan along with the caster sugar, lemon thyme leaves and lemon juice.

Cook over a gentle heat for 15 minutes, until the fruit is soft and macerated.

Take off the heat and set the compote aside while you make the pancakes.

To make the pancakes: Sift the flour, cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Stir in the caster sugar and salt.

Make a well in the centre, and add the egg and milk. Give everything a good mix until you get a really nice thick batter. At this point you can just put it in the fridge to use the next day.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over a low to medium heat. Drop a small knob of butter into the pan, and leave it to melt.

Drop 34 tablespoons of the pancake mixture into the pan, leaving space between each for the pancakes to spread as they cook, and leave for 23 minutes until bubbles cover the surface of the pancakes.

Now, using a rounded palette knife turn over and brown the other side for another 23 minutes. Lift on to a warmed plate. Wipe any burnt bits out of the pan with kitchen paper, and add a fresh knob of butter.

Use up all the batter in this way, keeping the cooked pancakes on a plate covered in foil.

To make the sweetened yoghurt: Mix the yoghurt and the honey together. To serve, take a few warm pancakes, and add a large dollop of sweetened yoghurt and a generous serving of compote.

Scotch pancakes with a mixed berry and lemon thyme compote

These scones are such an easy way to get anyone, even the kids, involved in the kitchen the steps to making them are so simple. Dried blueberries are a welcome change from the more standard sultanas, but you can use any dried fruit you have at home. I have also added caraway seeds, which remind me of that medicine Mum would give us for tummy aches. Yeah, you all know which one Im talking about! The one you would secretly sneak a swig of if you happened to be passing the cupboard... or maybe even fake a tummy ache in the hope that she would give you a teaspoon before bed. Im no saint: I would lie through my teeth for some gripe water. Im not saying these will taste of gripe water, you understand, but occasionally biting into one of the seeds in the scone gives a similar explosion of flavour. Buttered generously and eaten warm, these are delightful with a cup of hot tea.

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 12 minutes

: Can be frozen

Preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. To the bowl add the sugar, dried blueberries and crushed caraway seeds. Mix everything together.

Add the milk, and bring the dough roughly together using a rounded spatula. Then bring the dough together more by hand, and put it on a floured surface. Dont be tempted to overwork or knead the dough, as this will result in a bit of a tough scone.

Roll out the dough to about 2cm thick and use a 5cm cutter to cut out rounds, making sure to make straight cuts down and not to twist (this will stop your scones from leaning). Re-roll any leftover scraps and cut out more scones. Place the scones on the baking sheet, brush the tops with egg, and bake for 1215 minutes. They should be lightly golden.

Cool on a wire rack, then serve with lashings of butter or clotted cream and jam.

Tip: If you dont have a pestle and mortar, try my grandmas make-shift version an empty can and the rounded end of a rolling pin.