Discover everyday recipes using easy to find ingredients, delicious showstoppers and luscious puddings including: Appetites will vary (so plan accordingly), but as a general rule allocate 4 tablespoons of dry rice per person. As for legumes, allow ¼ pound of the dried variety per person, or a generous ¾ cup of cooked.

Ingredients vary in size and potency, but this is a good rough guide if you're substituting whole spices for ground, scaling up recipes, or don't have a pair of scales on hand. The rice requires some cooking before the biryani is assembled, although cook it completely, as the recipe in Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Veg recommends, and it will be overdone in the finished dish. Leaving it al dente, as Sodha and Dishoom suggest, is a far better idea. In general, I favour the absorption method for the fluffiest rice, but in this case simple boiling is fine as long as you drain it well, as it will fluff up in the oven. Dishoom uses butter, cream and saffron. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for The Guardian Spices and aromaticsWhile the lentils are cooking, mix the ginger, garlic, chillies and dry spices together with the yoghurt, lemon juice and chopped coriander and season well. Whizz with a hand blender or in a food processor if you have one, then toss with the vegetables. Leave to marinate. Mix together the melted butter, milk and saffron. Add the crushed coriander and cumin, followed by the potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes, turning every now and then until crispy. Add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover with the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and no longer resist the point of a knife. There's no better gift to give or receive than a great cookbook, and this collection of tasty, meat-free Indian dishes is the ultimate present for foodies! Soak the rice in water for 45 minutes, then drain and rinse until the water runs clear. Meanwhile, put the dal in a large pan of water and bring to the boil, skim and then turn down the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until just tender, then drain. Put a tablespoon of oil into a large lidded frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add the cubes of paneer. Fry for a couple of minutes until golden on all sides, turning regularly, then remove to a plate.

Meanwhile, put 2 tablespoons of oil into a large lidded frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the slit green chillies and the onion. Cook for 12 minutes, or until the onion is soft and golden, then add the garlic. Cook for another couple of minutes, then add the drained beans and stir to mix together. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few more minutes until soft and jammy around the edges. But my aim with this book is not to preach or to write only for vegetarians: it is to inspire you to cook a different, fresher, vegetable-led type of Indian food. To honor the seasons and what grows in our fields, and also to celebrate the way that hundreds of millions of Indians eat, and the Gujarati way of thinking. Sodha is a former vegetarian, and more than half the 60-million population who live in Gujarat eat a meat-free diet. “As a result, this incredible cuisine evolved that was very innovative.” Agricultural Lincolnshire was also an inspiration: “It’s like a giant larder.” Chiles and ground chile vary hugely in potency. I (almost) always use the same slim Indian green chiles and buy the same brand of Kashmiri ground red chile too. I've got to know my chiles and spices intimately so there are never any nasty surprises and I can judge how much to use. This is a beautiful book to look through! I love looking at great food, this has lots of very attractive pictures of vegetables and bright images of Indian art and illustrations. If you enjoy looking through cookery books for fun this is highly recommended.

In Gujarat, cabbages and potatoes are near deities. In Lincolnshire, where they are the main crops, the same is true. With Indian food, if you go too far with one ingredient or another, you can usually recover. Too much chile or salt? Add tomatoes or coconut or double the recipe to dilute it. Or embrace messing up: chefs say this a lot, but it is true-don't worry if you mess up, as you'll learn from it. Traditionally, this dish would be made with a few large slabs of golden butter, but for the sake of decency I’ve toned things down a bit. It’s still an extravagant dish, but channel India and enjoy yourself.

Spicewise, biryani tends to be a fairly delicate dish: sweet garam masala is common, along with a little turmeric for colour, cumin and a bit of chilli powder. Fearnley-Whittinstall adds ground coriander and cinnamon, but I’m going to keep it fairly simple. However, I do like the saffron used in both his and the Dishoom recipe, which makes the dish feel gratifyingly regal, as well as taste wonderful. Dishoom infuses butter and cream with it and then pours it over the top of the rice before cooking, which adds an extra touch of decadence, although I think in a non-restaurant context, milk will do the same job just fine. The smell of roasted pumpkin, and curry leaves sizzling in coconut oil, is enough to make anyone want to go to Kerala, which is where a variation of this dish, known as “olan”, originates. To serve, place the papadums on large plates and use a slotted spoon to spoon over the tomato masala, leaving the liquid behind. Or serve the masala in a bowl next to the papadums. Put the oil into a large lidded pan over a medium heat and, when hot, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Stir for a minute, or until they pop, then throw in the onions.Serve the biryani with the crispy onions, flaked almonds, sultanas and coriander or mint scattered on top. Taste as you go, from beginning to middle to end. This is the simplest but best piece of advice my mother ever gave me. That way you'll learn what you like and what you don't. It will also give you a better understanding of the personalities of the ingredients you're dealing with and how they change with time, heat, and when mixed with other things. Soon you'll be able to create great food without a recipe. Use the additional contents to find First-Timer Recipes, 30-Minute Midweek Meals or Freezer and Store-Cupboard Cooking and follow the seasons with dishes that use ingredients in their prime. There's no greater joy than to eat around a crowded table with friends and family at home.CHAPTER 3

All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. My second book, Fresh India, was published in July 2016 and is a celebration of India’s love of vegetables. It won The Observer Food Monthly’s Best New Cookbook.

Mix together the flour with just enough cold water to make a dough. Line the rim of the casserole dish with it and then put the lid on top to make an airtight seal. Bake for 30 minutes. Heat up the sauce and add the paneer to the pan. When both are hot, add the vegetables and stir to mix. Sprinkle over the sliced red chili. Step 5 Some of the dishes in Fresh India have been passed down the generations in my family and haven’t seen the light of day outside our home until now. Many have come from my travels all over India and the people I have met along the way, from home cooks to street stall vendors, temple cooks to chefs in top restaurants.