

Indian cookbooks - then and now
"Books, even cookbooks, are written for a diversity of reasons and it is often more profitable to enquire why they have been written than analyse their contents in an uncritical manner. " Shylashri Shankar/The Peepul Tree I guess this particular post stems from one of those books on my desk - The Food of India - a large beautiful book which I picked up from the op shop for a song. Like it's companions in this series from the Murdoch stable on various world cuisines, it feat
Nov 4, 2025


From the street to Michelin stars - first recipe
"there is no such thing as ‘traditional, authentic cuisine’ anywhere. It’s constantly evolving." Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn - Michelin star chef Bangkok Before I return yesterday's book to a shelf somewhere I thought I should do a first recipe thing on it, as it will be placed on a shelf that has already been given the first recipe treatment. I also decided retrospectively, having researched a bit, to cover two different dishes here - the first and third recipes in the book.
Oct 17, 2025


Matar paneer
The dish above is not matar paneer - it's paneer pasanda - which means favourite paneer. I was about to finish my 'research' on matar...
Aug 15, 2025


Fusion or confusion? - two dinners
"a twisted kind of sense" Jay Rayner This is last night's dinner - simply called Fried beef kerala from my other The Food of ... series...
Jul 27, 2025


BIR - British Indian restaurant food
I wanted not only to learn how to cook Indian food correctly, but also really get to know how all those spices and other ingredients...
May 5, 2025


Chaat
"anything – crisps, samosas, leftover chana masala – can be chaat" Diya Mukherjee/Vittles I have been increasingly aware of late of...
Apr 8, 2025


Punjab - five rivers, five spices
No I haven't jumped from the Caribbean to India on my world tour of food. This is a lucky dip recipe which has led me here and there,...
Mar 18, 2025


Busy, busy, busy, - doing nothing?
"Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings." Jane Austen It's been just over a week since I wrote a post. I have been busy,...
Jul 11, 2024


Last of the butter chicken experiment
Last night was my fifth go at a different recipe for Chicken butter cream - sometimes described as Butter chicken. Above are my version...
Jun 14, 2024


Chicken butter cream - the real deal?
"Who invented the butter chicken? None of them did. It's like asking: Who discovered fire? Butter chicken was probably made at several...
May 6, 2024


Nik Sharma - a new Ottolenghi?
"The goal with recipe writing – and I think this rings true for anyone who works in the food world – is to drive people to try new...
Apr 2, 2024


Variations on a theme - Madhur Jaffrey's butter chicken
"Can someone please explain to me how in the world Madhur Jaffrey doesn't have an online recipe for Butter Chicken, the single most...
Mar 23, 2024


Butter chicken cheats
Spurred on by that article about Cooking as a game I have decided that this month I shall look at Chicken butter cream, or Butter chicken...
Mar 8, 2024


Questions arising - a cookbook present
"Emma Freud: Because you aren’t surrounded by an Indian community in the UK, has your cooking become more anglicised? Chetna Makan:...
Jan 10, 2024


From murgh ka soola to chicken tikka
"There are many variations of this particular dish. The one here happens to be the simplest. I have adapted it so the cooking can be...
Nov 28, 2023


India and potatoes
"Potatoes seem to have become the roots of Indian cuisine, but India's relationship with potatoes is a little over 300 years." Armaan...
Sep 4, 2023


Chapatis - first recipe, first food
"as with all bread-making, this is not the time for guesswork" Bob Granleese/The Guardian I have to say that as I read about chapatis,...
Aug 19, 2023


Cheating with tandoori chicken
"To be truly authentic it should, of course, be cooked in an earthen oven called a tandoor" Charmaine Solomon I chose those particular...
Aug 4, 2023


Biryani extremes
"Essentially, it’s your favourite chicken curry (or vegetable or other protein of choice) buried under a mound of delicately spiced...
Jul 22, 2023


Green herbs, chicken and Madhur Jaffrey
"It is divine: rich, sophisticated, flavourful, ultra-curry but with a delicate complexity unknown to most who have not tried real...
May 11, 2023

