Yes, a curry paste from scratch, but hear us out. This curry is delicious, but not if you shortcut things. It’s our take on a Nonya curry; the Nonyas (also called the Peranakans) are communities descended from Chinese immigrants who settled in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, intermarried with locals, and blended their heritage with Malay influences. Their food is a true fusion cuisine…

Right. It’s roll-your-sleeves-up time. This dish has a few (very easy) components, so set yourself some time to create an Indian-inspired feast that will fully knock socks off. Fans of rice, spice, lamb and spuds will be in heaven...

There’s a new way to cook lamb shanks in town; trussed up in paper. The idea is, the baking paper packaging traps all the juices and steam inside, keeping the shanks super-succulent and tasty as they cook. We don’t think you could possibly over-cook these as there is no way they can possibly dry out...

We’ve yet to meet a dhal we disliked and, as the Subcontinent is filled with variations on the theme of spicy, soupy lentils, we’re far from done with this pulse-based dish. Dahl is dependably easy, filling and delicious, and a dish you can generally whip up using affordable pantry staples. It’s quick too…

Bonus recipe, people! As you can see, we really got into semolina this week. There are tons of version of this Middle Eastern/Turkish/Greek-style cake, some use coarse semolina, some a finer one or even a mixture of the two; others include some wheat flour in the mix…

‘Proper’ rendang is a dry curry from the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra in Indonesia and it’s a touch labour-intensive to make. Once you’ve toasted coconut, ground a spice paste, then braised the beef with all of this goodness in a rich coconut gravy, you simmer until the liquid pretty much evaporates and the beef chunks fry…

Got a crowd to feed? Here’s your gig. We figure it’s not worth cooking up this style of a long-braised beefy storm for the average nuclear family but if 2.7 diners is all you’re mustering, just halve everything and be prepared for leftovers. No biggie. The cooked meat will freeze…

Calm your farm if you’re up in arms over the thought of syrupy, sweet tomatoes. They’re a fruit, doh! If rhubarb can be a vegetable that masquerades as a fruit, then tomatoes can reclaim their fruitiness and appear in dessert situations. So there…

Yeah. It’s actually Christmas time. So no need to panic or anything. How is it here already? What happened to 2024? Who pushed the accelerator button on the year? WDK. But one thing we do know is it’s not too late to make these sweet, citrus pickles to go with your…