This simple antipasti is bursting with flavour and looks beautiful, yet is totally effortless
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A punchy sweet-and-hot chilli sauce blended in minutes, with no cooking. Serve it with spring rolls, samosas, bhajias and nacho chips, or stir a spoonful into noodles. It keeps for up to 2 weeks in a clean jar in the fridge.
A soaked, Bircher-style muesli you stir together the night before. The oats soften in the yogurt overnight and the grated apple keeps it fresh and juicy. In the morning, add the strawberries and breakfast is ready. Any berries work in place of the strawberries.
Sugar syrup (chashni) is the base of many Indian sweets, and recipes ask for it at different stages. A light syrup is for soaking sweets and sweetening drinks. One-thread and two-thread syrups are boiled longer so the sweet sets. You can make it with milk instead of water for some sweets.
Home-made paneer is softer and creamier than shop-bought, and it takes just milk and a little citric acid. Hot milk is curdled, the whey drained off and the curds pressed into a block that slices cleanly into cubes. Use it in curries such as paneer makhani and mutter paneer, in parathas or in tikka.
Fresh tomato puree tastes brighter than tinned, and you need only tomatoes and boiling water. The tomatoes are scalded so their skins slip off, then blended smooth. Use it in curries, pasta sauces, soups and the home-made tomato ketchup.
This is home-made yogurt hung in muslin until all the whey drips away, leaving a thick, spreadable cheese a little like labneh. Use it for dips, sandwich spreads, shrikhand and cheesecakes. Pressing it through a sieve before you use it makes it silky-smooth.
A rich, egg-free mayonnaise whisked from fresh cream, mustard and oil and sharpened with vinegar. It's thick enough to dress coleslaw, potato salad and sandwiches. Keep it covered in the fridge and use within 3 days.
Fresh coconut milk is sweeter and richer than tinned, and it's easy to make with a blender. The first soak gives a thick milk for finishing curries and desserts. The second soak gives a thinner milk for simmering vegetables, rice and dals.
Draining yogurt on muslin over a thick towel turns it into a thick, tangy sour cream. Use it plain, or stir in garlic, coriander and seasoning for a spicy dip. Serve the dip with crackers, tortilla chips or hard toast.
Vegan
Gluten free
Spicy
