Notes about Recipes in this book

• Goan chicken chilli fry

  • anya_sf on November 15, 2024

    Really tasty. Served with sauteed cabbage. Next time I might just mix the cabbage in. I'd also try this in a wrap with sweet chili sauce as suggested.

• Harissa prawn spaghetti

  • anya_sf on April 14, 2026

    Made 1/3 recipe just for me, which was a good dinner portion, using (slightly more) precooked shrimp, and adding sauteed baby spinach. The crumbs needed a pinch of salt and there were more crumbs than needed. Using TJ's harissa, this definitely had a kick and I'd use a little less next time for my taste. The sauce turned out nice and creamy. I added extra lime. Pretty quick and easy, would definitely make again.

• Spanakopita-inspired mac 'n' cheese

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2024

    I used 12 oz baby spinach plus the optional marinated artichoke hearts and was happy for the extra vegetables to balance the rich cheese sauce. Lacking phyllo, I mixed panko, sesame seeds, and artichoke oil for the topping. Very good.

• 'Nduja, kale & mascarpone rigatoni

  • gootenbeez on May 17, 2026

    This was an instant favorite. I bought mascarpone with no real plan, so I made this twice. I would make this with maybe ricotta too. Seriously delicious

• Miso butter mushroom tagliatelle

  • anya_sf on January 07, 2025

    I doubled the mushrooms and was happy with that generous amount. Don't salt the pasta water too heavily or the dish will be too salty, although the lemon juice helps balance it. The sauce was creamy and delicious even without cheese, but I topped mine with grated parmesan anyway since I love cheese.

• Chickpea & potato curry

  • anya_sf on November 10, 2023

    I only had dried curry leaves - not sure how much that affected the flavor. My "medium" potatoes (Yukon Gold) were probably twice the size, but I was happy with that amount. Simmered with the lid ajar so the liquid was mostly absorbed. The curry was heavily spiced (but not spicy) and pretty tasty; definitely don't skip the red onion and cilantro.

• Soy & herb roast chicken

  • anya_sf on September 25, 2023

    The chicken marinated 4 hours. Using an oval Dutch oven, I had trouble securing the parchment, so I put the lid on over the parchment, which was probably a mistake. The skin was pretty soft and the breast got slightly overcooked (the bird was falling apart tender). The juices with the marinade were super delicious, so I will try again the proper way using a different pan.

• Lily Nana's pickle chicken curry

  • anya_sf on August 16, 2023

    Sweet, sour, spicy, and tangy, my family really liked this over rice with green beans on the side; there were no leftovers.

  • Beth891 on February 03, 2025

    I made a few changes - no chilli as my son's still getting used to spice (I added some mild curry powder instead) and I used leftover roast chicken so added it and some frozen peas right at the end when it says to take the lid off (so about 8 mins before it was finished cooking). I followed the recipe otherwise but I did find I needed to add quite a bit of water, otherwise it was way too dry and the sweet potato was taking ages to cook. It was really tasty though and I'd make it again. I think it would have been really good spicy but it was still really nice as a mild sweet and sour curry.

• Red Thai chicken pie

  • anya_sf on January 03, 2025

    Really delicious. Glad I put the pie dish on a lined baking sheet as it bubbled over a lot; it took 40 min to bake. Next time I won't bother with the layer of curry butter in the pastry, as then I had a rectangular pastry sheet rather than square, which was impossible to roll into a circle; I had to cut it in pieces to fit. The edges puffed beautifully, but the underside of the center pastry (i.e., most of it) remained soggy and underbaked and the butter seemed to melt into the filling. That's a common issue with pies such as this one, which I'm not sure how to fix, except to bake the pastry lid separately.

• Garlic green beans with crispy chickpeas

  • anya_sf on April 12, 2024

    Delicious! Like 2 recipes in 1, as both green beans and chickpeas were tasty on their own. The green beans didn't need the full 15 min to cook. Roasted a couple hours ahead and left on the pan, the chickpeas were nice and crisp, although they softened after being mixed with the green beans, though not immediately.

• Spiced squash & Puy lentil salad

  • anya_sf on November 16, 2023

    My squash weighed 2 lbs and my packet of lentils (Trader Joe's) was over 1 lb (500 g), so I doubled the seasonings for those components, except used much less garlic powder in the lentils, as everything else seemed quite garlicky (the dressing did mellow over time, so I recommend making it ahead). Tasted on their own, the squash and onions were way overseasoned, but when everything was served together, the flavors were very good. Still, if I made this again, I would use less spice on the squash and onions.

• Dhokla-inspired cornbread muffins

  • anya_sf on April 12, 2024

    Very tasty and moist, rather rich from the coconut oil, so they did not need butter. Dried curry leaves worked okay; I thought they might be too chewy in the muffins, but they weren't. I substituted 1 small jalapeno (seeded) for the Indian finger chilis. Check them early - mine may have been slightly overdone after 18 min.

• Carrot cake cinnamon buns

  • anya_sf on September 05, 2023

    The carrots hardly exuded any liquid in the colander, but some came out in the towel. However, once the carrots were mixed with the butter and sugar, a whole lot more liquid came out, making spreading the filling and rolling the buns rather challenging. As the buns proofed, more liquid pooled onto the bottom of the pan. Nevertheless, they baked up fine and the carrot liquid formed a yummy caramel layer on the bottom. The buns were delicious! There was more cream cheese frosting than we needed. Note: the U.S. edition of this book hasn't been converted completely successfully IMHO. It's unclear whether ounces are meant to be weight or volume - in some cases, those are the same, but not in all cases. The pan size specified here is 16in square - is that supposed to be 8"x8"? I used a 10"x10" pan, which worked well; 9"x9" would be fine, but 8"x8" might be tight.

• Coconut & yuzu shortbread

  • anya_sf on May 23, 2024

    Very nice. Rolled out to an 8.5" circle, the dough was closer to 1/2-5/8" thick, not 3/4". I baked the shortbread 5 minutes longer for a little more color. They were still tender. The yuzu icing tasted quite sharp on its own, but a lot mellower when eaten on the shortbread; I wouldn't have minded more tang.

• Miso tahini oat cookies

  • anya_sf on June 27, 2023

    Don't wait until the butter has completely cooled before adding the coconut oil or it will be difficult to incorporate. The U.S. edition has an error in the amount of miso - 3 Tbsp or 3 oz - I went with 3 Tbsp. The chilled dough balls did not actually spread that much while baking, even when flattened somewhat. Texture was nicely crunchy/chewy. With all that white chocolate (could use less), the cookies were of course quite sweet, but tempered by the sesame and miso. Quite enjoyable. I weighed the dough and got 28 cookies.

• Amaretto coffee Basque cheesecake

  • anya_sf on November 16, 2023

    I made 3/4 recipe in a 7" pan, substituting granulated white sugar for golden superfine. My oven doesn't get quite that hot, so baking time was 35 min. Maybe it's the coffee I used, but I tasted the coffee batter prior to baking and it was so strong and bitter, I added 2 Tbsp extra sugar, which helped some, but the baked cheesecake was still so intensely flavored, we served it with sweetened whipped cream to balance the flavor. The batters didn't remain distinct in the baked cake, and while the amaretto batter was strongly flavored on its own, we couldn't taste it in the end. I'd consider making this again with half the coffee, and not swirling the batters together, as drizzling the thinner amaretto batter seemed sufficient.

• Spiced ginger sticky toffee pudding

  • anya_sf on April 08, 2024

    Nice variation on sticky toffee pudding - definitely for ginger lovers. I used the stand mixer to mix the entire batter, rather than switching to a spatula. Recipe calls for 4-5 bulbs (3.5 oz) stem ginger, 2 Tbsp minced, but 4-5 bulbs was closer to 6 Tbsp minced; I ended up using 4 Tbsp minced, but in hindsight would use less as the flavor was too sharp for me. It's just a mix-in, so add to your taste. We enjoyed this topped with vanilla ice cream to cut the heat and the delicious spiced toffee sauce.

• Yuzu & white chocolate mousse

  • anya_sf on September 25, 2023

    Hard to believe this mousse had no cream, the only dairy coming from the white chocolate. Texture was light and airy. Loved the yuzu.