Spiced Okra Ratatouille

Serves 4
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 red onions, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
large knob of ginger, shredded
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
8 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 tsp garam marsala
8 baby aubergines, thickly sliced or 2 regular, cubes
400g okra, topped tailed and halved if long
squeeze of lemon juice
naan bread, to serve

Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onions and pepper for 10 minutes, adding the ginger and garlic once you've chopped them, along with the seeds. Once the peppers have softened stir in the tomatoes, garam marsala and some salt (add a little sugar too, if you like) and cook for 10 minutes until the tomatoes are pulpy.
Add the aubergines and a splash of water then cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the okra, cover again and carry on cooking for another 10 minutes or so until both the aubergine and okra are tender. Taste and balance with a squeeze of lemon.

The Best Restaurant in London

According to Gary Rhodes, for Indian food it's The Painted Heron. In fact he likes it so much, he takes his wife and kids there every other Saturday night! 

Anyone been?

Crispy Onion Bhajis

Last night’s dinner had an Indian theme. The main course was a Lamb Shank Dhansak, roughly based on an old Nigella Lawson stew recipe and for starters, hot little onion bhajis with raita and chutneys. After turning the house upside down looking for the scrap of paper with my ancient recipe on it, I ended up following the one on the side of the Natco Gram Flour bag. And they were great. Eat them as soon as they come out of the pan.

Makes about 24
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves
2 green chilles, seeded and thinly sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp salt
½ tsp hot chilli powder
1 -2 teacups gram flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
lemon wedges, to serve

Heat a few centimeters of sunflower oil in a wok.

Mix together the onions, coriander, chillies, cumin, salt, chilli, gram flour and bicarb, making sure the onions are well coated. Stir in some cold water to make a thick batter then leave to rest for 5 minutes or so until the oil is hot enough.

Drop small spoonfuls into the pan (I cooked mine in batches of 4 and put them straight onto the table where they disappeared just as the next batch was ready) – and cook until crisp and golden - they should take about 3 minutes, if they’re taking longer, let the oil get a bit hotter to ensure they cook crisply. Drain on kitchen paper and serve with wedges of lemon.

Rice To Meet You, To Meet You, Rice

I was in my favourite Peckham restaurant Ganapati last night when who should walk in with a gang of media mates but Rob's old pal Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. We had a fantastic meal, I chose the Andhra Spicy Lamb with Paratha which was thrillingly hot and spicy. Hugh and his lot were making a bit of a racket and seemed to be having a jolly time though they drank Champagne with their curries which I thought was a bit wrong. What was he doing so far from home, do you think?

Chicken Biriyani

When I think of making a quick curry, a biriyani is one of the first things that comes to mind. I love all one-pot dishes and a biriyani can always be made from ingredients I've already got in and it's on the table in under half an hour. It owes it success to a decent curry paste of which there are now loads, my current favouite is Veeraswamy's Hot Madras.

Serves 4
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 carrots, peeled and diced or frozen peas
2 red onions, peeled and sliced
600g cubed chicken or lamb
600 g basmati rice
1.2 litres hot chicken stock
2 tbsp good curry paste.
juice of 1 lime
handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the carrots, onions and chicken (or lamb) and cook for 10 minutes until the onions are softened and golden.

2 Stir in the rice then pour over the stock. Mix in the curry paste then bring to the boil, reduce the heat then cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes until the rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed. Check the seasoning and add lime juice to taste.

3 Stir in the chopped coriander then divide between serving bowls. Serve with poppadoms and chutney.

Curry up!

We’ve got Bert and Heidi coming over for dinner tonight. They've gone to the expense of a babysitter so I can't palm them off with my usual mid-week pasta bake or shepherds pie. I have instead, decided on a classic Indian menu. Nothing clever but everyone loves a good curry and I get to just about hang on to my new healthy eating regime if I don't eat any pudding.

Poppodoms (only 40 kcals each!) with lime pickle
Tandoori chicken with mint raita
Lamb rogan josh and spinach dhal with brown basmati rice.

I’ve bought the pudding. But of course I won't be eating any.

Tandoori chicken
150g carton low fat natural yogurt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
pinch of ground turmeric
4 small chicken breasts, cubed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Raita
bunch of fresh mint
1 small garlic clove
5cm piece cucumber, peeled and cubed
150g carton low fat natural yogurt
squeeze of fresh lemon juice

In a large shallow dish stir together the yogurt, garlic, cumin, chilli, turmeric and some salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces and marinade for 30 – 60 minutes.

Grill as indvidual pieces or on small bamboo skewers for 8 – 12 minutes until cooked through and nicely browned.

Whiz together the mint, garlic and cucumber in mini chopper or food processor and until finely blended. Add the yogurt and whiz again then season with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve chilled.