Sept cari

Step 1: Before you light a burner, pound the garlic and ginger to a coarse paste, slice the onions, and set out seven small bowls, one per curry, so you are not chopping while things catch. Cook in this order: dholl, butter beans, cabbage, aubergine, chayote, green banana, then pumpkin with the rice. The first four sit happily off the heat; the last three are best fresh.

Step 2: Put 9 oz toor dal (split pigeon peas) in a pot with 1.2 litres of water and 1 tsp ground turmeric. Bring to the boil, skim the foam, then simmer on a low heat, half covered, until the grains collapse when stirred.

Step 3: Whisk the dholl hard for a minute to make it smooth and pourable, like thin custard, adding hot water if it is thick. Stir in ⅝ tsp salt.

Step 4: For the tempering, heat 1 ½ tbsp sunflower oil in a small pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tsp cumin seeds, 5 curry leaves, ⅜ onions and 1 ¼ cloves garlic and fry until the onion is golden at the edges, then pour the sizzling oil into the dholl and cover.

Step 5: Butter beans: heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and fry ⅝ onions until soft and pale gold.

Step 6: Add 1 ¾ cloves garlic, ⅓ oz fresh ginger and 1 tbsp Mauritian curry powder with 2 tablespoons of water. Fry, stirring, until the paste darkens and the oil separates at the edges, about 2 minutes. This step is what keeps the curry from tasting raw.

Step 7: Add 2 tomatoes, 1 lb cooked butter beans, 1 green chillies, 5 curry leaves, ⅝ tsp salt and 200 ml of water. Simmer on a low heat until the sauce clings to the beans and a few have crushed into it.

Step 8: Cabbage: in a second pan, heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil over a medium heat and fry ⅝ onions until soft, then add 1 ¾ cloves garlic, ⅓ oz fresh ginger, 1 tbsp Mauritian curry powder and 5 curry leaves with a splash of water and fry until fragrant and the oil separates.

Step 9: Add 2 potatoes and 150 ml of water, cover and cook on a low heat until a knife meets a little resistance in the centre.

Step 10: Stir in 1 ⅛ lb white cabbage, 1 green chillies and ⅝ tsp salt. Cook uncovered on a medium heat, stirring now and then, until the cabbage is tender but still slightly bright and the potatoes are soft.

Step 11: Aubergine: heat 2 ½ tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry 2 aubergines in two batches until golden on most sides and soft. Lift onto a plate.

Step 12: In the same pan, fry ⅝ onions until soft, then add 1 ¾ cloves garlic, ⅓ oz fresh ginger and 1 tbsp Mauritian curry powder with a splash of water and fry until the oil separates.

Step 13: Return the aubergine with 1 tbsp tamarind paste, ⅝ tsp salt and 100 ml of water. Simmer gently, turning the pieces, until they are silky and glossy and the sauce has almost gone.

Step 14: Chayote: wipe a drop of oil on your hands if you have not prepared the chayote yet, as the sap leaves a tight film on the skin. Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil over a medium heat and fry ⅝ onions until soft, then add 1 ¾ cloves garlic, ⅓ oz fresh ginger, 1 tbsp Mauritian curry powder and 5 curry leaves and fry until the oil separates.

Step 15: Add 3 chayotes, 1 tomato, 1 green chillies and ⅝ tsp salt. Cover and cook on a low heat, stirring once or twice, until the chayote turns translucent and a knife slides in easily. Chayote gives off its own water, so add none unless it catches.

Step 16: Green banana: oil your hands, top and tail 4 green cooking bananas, slit the skins lengthwise and peel them off. Cut into 2 cm chunks and drop straight into a pan of boiling water. Simmer until just tender, then drain.

Step 17: Heat 1 ½ tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add 1 tsp black mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add 5 curry leaves, ⅝ onions, 1 ¾ cloves garlic, ⅓ oz fresh ginger and 1 tsp ground turmeric and fry for 2 minutes.

Step 18: Add the drained banana and ⅜ tsp salt and toss over a medium heat until every piece is yellow and lightly crisp at the edges.

Step 19: Rice: rinse 1 ⅓ lb long-grain white rice three times, put it in a pot with 900 ml of water, bring to the boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat. Turn off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes more.

Step 20: Pumpkin, while the rice cooks: heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a wide pan over a medium heat and fry ⅝ onions, 1 ¾ cloves garlic, 4 sprigs fresh thyme and 1 green chillies until the onion is soft.

Step 21: Add 1 ¾ lb pumpkin and ⅝ tsp salt, cover and cook on a low heat until the edges of the pumpkin collapse. Crush about a third of the pieces with the back of a spoon so it is half chunky, half purée, and sweet.

Step 22: Reheat the dholl, beans, cabbage and aubergine until steaming. Lay a piece of 8 banana leaves on each plate or tray, put a mound of rice in the middle and spoon a small heap of each of the seven curries around it, with the dholl in a cup or poured over the rice. Scatter 1 handful fresh coriander over the curries if you like.