My Aunt Dina always has a batch of these tucked away in a stainless-steel tin in the kitchen. There’s a considerable amount of tense anticipation around the table at teatime until she opens it and hands them out, and then it feels as though the world is put to rights...
This recipe is based on my mum’s go-to dinner party classic, which she’s been serving in the same crystal bowl for decades. It’s never once let her down. It’s made by poaching roasted wheat vermicelli in milk and cardamom, which creates something as comforting but not...
Mum talks fondly about a cake that was made by an Ismaili Gujarati friend of hers back in Uganda. Neither her friends nor she had ovens, so they used to take the mixture down to a baker in the East Nile District and go for a swim or play with baby crocodiles while it...
This is a rich cake for a celebration. Serves 6 1 cup ground pistachios1 cup ground almonds¾ cup self-rising flour½ teaspoon baking soda¾ cup sugar½ teaspoon ground cardamom (or finely ground seeds from 6 pods)½ teaspoon ground cinnamonzest of 1 lemon2 tablespoons...
Diwali is great for two reasons. It’s a celebration of good over evil, and it’s the one time of the year that dentists and doctors in the Indian community keep quiet while the rest of us wade thigh-deep into our sugar-spun fantasies, eating googras, cham chams, kaju...
My dad’s favorite dessert is cheesecake. While the rest of us plan our meals around mains, he’s already sidled up to the dessert trolley. American style, Italian, and even Greens Original (the packet stuff): he loves them all. But this year, I thought I’d create a...
Jaggery is one of my special weapons in the kitchen. It’s a gorgeous, deeply toffee-flavored, fudge-like sugar made from the unrefined sap of date palms or sugar cane. It also lends itself well to a little salt, which brings out an inexplicable deliciousness. NOTE:...
The joy of this dessert is in the beautiful contrast of the spiced, hot, tropical pineapple with the cold, sweet, exotic cardamom ice cream. I tend to whip this up after dinner when friends come over, because the ice cream can be made in advance and the fried...
You can serve this rhubarb in a few different ways. I prefer to eat it with yogurt, sometimes with some “nankatai”, or shortbread, crumbled over the top. Or, if I want something a bit more special, I whip up some heavy cream and add a drop or two of rose water and...
This beet raita is loud and proud in color and flavor. I like to eat it just by itself with a little naan, or as an accompaniment to kebabs, dals, or greens. Serves 4 as a side (and can be doubled easily) 2 tablespoons canola oil1 clove of garlic, sliced wafer thin½...
A new pretender to the raita throne is this sweet, hot, earthy number. Sunshine in a bowl. Serves 4 as a side 1 tablespoon canola oil1 teaspoon black mustard seeds¾ cup fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks2–3 teaspoons sugar1 tablespoon lemon juice1/3 teaspoon...
Serves 4 as a side (and can be doubled easily) 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, plus extra to serve½ cucumber, plus extra to serve (about 4 ounces)1 generous cup plain Greek yogurtlarge handful fresh mint leaves, shredded1/3 teaspoon salt Place a frying pan over medium heat...