Lovember: 'Indian' food

My first memory of eating curry was at the age of 10, however it had been on our menu for years by then.
A simple packet mix if I remember, mixed with water heated until thickened with leftover cooked chicken and sultanas added to make it exotic! Mam served it with boil in the bag rice and chips - it was out of this world!
Gawd only knows what the neighbours thought… the smell lingered for days and if you splashed anything it would be stained FOREVER!
I now know that turmeric was the culprit!
Now I'm not knocking her cooking skills, she did her best, many of their friends called it foreign muck and you couldn't find fresh garlic or ginger in your local Presto back in those days! It was better than a Vespa boxed meal! (remember them?)
A lamb chop with boil potatoes and fresh green beans were acceptable things to eat if your parents were traditional, a tin of meat balls and instant 'smash' potato if you had the more trendier parents. I wasn't in either of those camps… I do have fond memories of sitting with my cousins friends in a north London flat eating Indian sweets with the strong smell of spices and cooking going on in the back ground and really wishing I could stay for tea and not have to eat my Aunties offerings!

Indian food has always fascinated me - its so diverse, I've tried so many styles, all different, all lovely in their own way but you can't clump them all together and say 'Indian' Food - get a map, take a look… My favourite takeaway 'Indian' food is Nepalese, great food but not Indian, my old school friend is from Pakistan , she shares some fantastic recipes but is quite adamant that they are not Indian curries. Bangladesh cooking differs too - I find it all so interesting…

Once I got my own kitchen I started to experiment, my first love is Madhur Jaffery
This recipe is from The curry Guy who has great British Indian Restaurant recipes too - the sort of dishes we get in our takeaways but to be honest have probably never been served up in an Indian home!
Then there's Atul Kochhar the first Indian chef to receive two Michelin stars. His Chicken Vindaloo is next on my menu… and contrary to popular belief its not supposed to be so hot it blows yer bloody socks off - Vindaloo is an aromatic spice mix from Goa

They never look much are terrible dishes to photograph but the flavours are amazing!