Main courses

Chicken curry

This is just a basic chicken curry using curry powder for the spice and brown stuff for the sauce. Quick and easy – just like looking cooking from a jar but better!

Chicken jalfrezi

Jalfrezi, or jhal frezi, means dry fry and as such this deliciously hot dish does not have much of a gravy. Instead the thick sauce tantalisingly clings to spicy chunks of chicken and pepper.

Lamb dhansak

Dhansaks are probably the most satisfying of curries. Nice and hot with a fruity sweetness absorbed by the lentils. My ‘secret’ ingredient in this recipe is probably a surprise, but its origins are from colonial India.

Quick Curry Sauce

This delicious curry sauce is for when you have run out of brown stuff and don’t have time to make a fresh batch.

Rogan josh

Rogan josh came initially from Kashmir in Northern India. In this recipe extra spices are used, which are tempered with a generous helping of cream.

Sides & snacks

Brinjal bhaji

Chargrilled aubergine (egg plant) combined with spices to create a juicy side dish; the smoky aubergine tempered by tangy tomato.

Kachumber

Tomatoes, cucumber, fresh coriander and citrus juice combine to cleanse the palette. Goes particularly well with rich curries such as Rogan Josh.

Lamb samosas

Delicious chunks of lamb in crisp filo pastry. Serve them as a side dish or starter. You could also have them for breakfast (I do).

Luxury dhal

Two sorts of lentils are luxuriously cooked in coconut milk with the addition of freshly fried onions, tomatoes and spices to provide an uplifting freshness.

Desserts

Fruit compote with mascarpone creams

This dessert doesn’t pretend to be the slightest bit Asian, but does cleanse the palette and leave you with a lovely sweet taste with succulent red fruit drizzled over melt-in-the-mouth creams.

Essentials

Brown stuff

What I rather unappealingly call brown stuff is the basic sauce for almost all the curry recipes on p5f9fb8a_cuzza.com. It will ensure your curries are rich and silky smooth. Make a big batch to save time when you next cook a curry.

Curry powder

A home-made curry powder that will easily rival your favourite factory made tub. Medium heat and nicely aromatic. Make little and often for absolute freshness.

Garam masala

An aromatic blend of roasted and ground spices to add to heat to your curries (garam means hot; masala means spice mixture).