A selection of the lentils Anjula Devi used in her dish for the Food Forever Experience London. Photo: Michael Major for Crop Trust. Anjula Devi, Chef, […]

I have written before on the dynamics of the curry industry, sharing some of my personal views on the UK’s great restaurant and take-away trade, which […]

During my childhood, my father and I spent endless hours honing the long list of spices used to make good Indian food. Almost all of the […]

The key spices will hold their pungency and flavour for much longer than warming spices, also known as finishing spices, which will only fully hold their […]

It is really important when heating your spices, that you don't burn them. Some cookery books will ask you to toast or roast your spices for […]

It is important to buy whole spices, and then grind them whenever you need them. I love using a pestle and mortar, but I understand that […]

Like green cardamom, cloves, black cardamom, cassia bark and star anise. It is best just to use these whole, although the cardamoms should be lightly bashed […]

One of the significant differences you will discover is that I never ask you to add garam masala at the end of cooking each dish. By […]

Chillies are a critical component of Indian savoury food. When cooking with green chillies I never remove the seeds or the membrane. At my cookery school […]

The best onions for Indian food are brown onions, or yellow onions. They have a strong and robust flavour. White inside, they deliver a rich onion […]

The best way to peel ginger is to use the edge of a spoon. I have developed a special ginger scraper with Lakeland for this purpose. […]

You will have noticed that some of my recipes contain ‘pulped’ garlic and ‘pulped’ ginger. This is something that I would really encourage you to do. By […]

A great way to prepare spinach is to buy it fresh, remove it from the bag, and place it in a zip sealed freezer bag. When it […]

Put a whole carrot in with the mince and it will absorb the excess fat from the meat. Remove the carrot when cooked, and discard it.

To keep coriander, mint and curry leaves fresh for longer, wrap them in a muslin cloth, place this inside a sealable fridge bag, and store in […]

If you add too much salt by mistake, then do not throw the entire dish away. Just add a peeled and thickly diced half-cooked potato, cook […]

To make melt in the mouth paneer curry, soak the paneer cubes in hot water for 10 minutes, and drain them well before frying.

One the best tenderisers for red meat. The skin of the papaya contains an enzyme called papain, which breaks down the connective tissue of the meat. […]

A thick extract made from tamarind. To make tamarind pulp at home, soak the tamarind in a bowl with just enough hot water for it to […]

We have an obesity crisis in the UK and I think that we need to go back to basics and encourage people to make tasty, simple […]