One Saturday morning last month I got a surprise package from Amazon. It was a pretty weighty package. As I hadn’t ordered anything it was with interest and then delight that I opened it to find a lovely fabric-bound hardback … Continued
curry
A rich Thai mallard and coconut curry
After the pungent fishiness of last week, this is at the other end of scale entirely. Rich, thick and luscious, it’s a Thai curry that proudly trumpets its Indian influence. I think this is a southern style dish and is … Continued
Butter pheasant curry
Before Xmas, I was sat on the sofa, totally worn out from another evening of painting, or possibly sanding. Still, the physical exhaustion feels kind of good. It’s that thoughtless ache laced with satisfaction you get when you’ve achieved something. … Continued
Lamb and plum curry
Lamb with plums? Isn’t that a bit of an odd combination? Well yes, it is a bit different, but it works. Hell, it doesn’t just work, it works brilliantly. Stepping back from my initial surprise, it struck me as slightly … Continued
Egg, aubergine and chickpea curry
Mid week dinners. The ones where you’ve been out of the house for 12 hours, are dog tired and the motivation to cook is low. They can sometimes feel like a real drag. The antidote – for me at least … Continued
Columbo chicken
When the weather is as good as it has been I really start to crave spiced food, dishes redolent of tropical heat and dusty markets. It feels like it should be a holiday and I want meals to match. This … Continued
Thai style vegetable curry, with added zing! And kerpow!
I don’t tend to mess too much with Thai curries, at least not with their spicing. The rest of the ingredients are usually fair game though. But this time I decided to go one step further. It probably helped that … Continued
Pheasant Chitermee: a spicy game bird
Looking back at that sepia toned period, “when I was growing up”, I realise I had a pretty privileged time when it came to food. Every autumn we’d start eating game – usually pheasant – for dinner every week or … Continued
Aromatic lamb pilaf and dreaming of distant lands
I’ve always loved tales of travel and far off places, adventures under a burning sun, crumbling desert fortresses and high mountain passes. Travellers like William Dalrymple, Bruce Chatwin and Robert Byron have long captured my imagination with tales of Afghan … Continued
Saag gosht: a tender lamb and spinach curry
This is one of those curries where if you throw it a hard stare, the lamb just kind of sighs and falls to pieces. There’s nothing tender about about the taste however, a meaty, earthy spicy hit that floods your … Continued