Notes about Recipes in this book

• Green masala roast chicken breasts

  • Ro_ on March 16, 2020

    Delicious flavours. I did these in the oven, but would try on a barbecue too, maybe would be best to cook mostly in the oven and finish off on the BBQ for a crispy exterior.

• Simple boneless chicken

  • Ro_ on August 30, 2020

    As the recipe states, this is a very simple curry. Nice but not mind blowing, and not one I'd go out of my way to repeat, but I was looking for a curry recipe I could make with what I had to hand without needing to go out to buy more stuff, and this one fit the bill. I didn't have quite enough chicken so I added some dried split peas just to bulk it out slightly.

• Hot chickpea salad

  • Ro_ on March 19, 2020

    Nice enough, but not special enough to repeat. The predominant taste was cinnamon: I'd hold back on that next time, and up the chilli and lemon juice.

• Lemon and lime rice

  • Ro_ on August 30, 2020

    I'm often disappointed with flavoured rice recipes, but I really loved this one. Thanks to the quantity of lemons and limes used, and the fact that it incorporates both the zest and the juice, it actually TASTED of lemons and limes for once, unlike similar recipes I've tried where the citrus flavour barely comes through at all. An unexpected side effect of cooking the rice in the citrus juice was that it came out with a slightly sticky texture - almost like Thai sticky rice but not quite as sticky - which again, I really enjoyed, as did my partner. Definitely on my make-again list!

• Bangladeshi fish chop (Sumi's mas bura)

  • Ro_ on March 19, 2020

    For something mostly made from storecupboard ingredients, these were great! They crisped up really nicely and held together well. Would make again.

• Balti lamb

  • Ro_ on January 15, 2023

    I made this with stewing veal, as the supermarket had it on special offer and I don't really have any stewing-veal recipes other than blanquette de veau. It worked really well, and was tasty and delicious. I chickened out and used fewer green chillies than specified, but with hindsight I could have used the full amount (or nearly) and it would have been fine. My one negative note is that I am not sure that the specified half cup of oil isn't an error - I used less and it still seemed like way too much.

• Black pepper and double coriander lamb

  • Ro_ on November 01, 2022

    Delicious! I used cubed lamb shoulder and cooked in the oven for an hour, instead of on the hob for 25 minutes as per the recipe, because I wanted it to be really tender (and it was). I also chickened out of using whole black peppercorns and just added a lot of ground black pepper. Overall this was unctious and delicious. The recipe description talks about the sauce being extremely powerful: maybe because I didn't use the whole peppercorns, this wasn't exactly "powerful" but it was extremely delicious.

• Chicken biryani

  • Ro_ on March 20, 2023

    Very nice biryani recipe. I put more chopped tomato in than called for because I wanted my meat layer to be quite saucy, and I'd do this again. I also took the time to pick out as many of the whole spices as I could before assembling/baking, which again I think was worth doing. The recipe isn't clear, but I think you are meant to reuse the whole spices used in cooking the rice, again in the meat part.

• Karahi chicken

  • Ro_ on August 27, 2022

    I really liked this curry: fresh and tomatoe-y with the onions and peppers left quite chunky and crunchy. The lime and coriander at the end enhanced that fresh zinginess. Unfortunately although I enjoyed this, it's not my partner's favourite type of curry so I probably won't repeat it very often.

• Spicy sprouts with cumin and mango

  • Ro_ on February 21, 2023

    This was a great recipe, such a great way to cook sprouts. I let mine fry a little before adding the liquid, and got a nice slightly crunchy exterior. Would definitely make this again, it's a nice and unusual side for a meatier Indian dish.

• Garlic masala mushrooms

  • Ro_ on March 02, 2023

    I enjoyed the soft mushroom and the crispy batter, but the batter lost its crunch quite quickly, and I didn't get a whole lot of other flavours coming through. I'd make this again to use up mushrooms, but maybe add more of the seasonings.

• Naan bread

  • Ro_ on August 30, 2020

    I was pretty pleased with the result I got from this very simple, easy recipe. I made the naan dough at lunchtime and left it for 8 hours before shaping and cooking. The result was very decent, very good texture - ideally they'd be slightly more supple and soft, but I think I could acheive that if I had taken them out from under the grill a fraction sooner, and remembered to drizzle them with some oil or melted butter/ghee.