Bombay Aloo

Here's a dish which again uses baked jackets spuds that you have in you fridge stash. This is originally a side dish but has morphed into a stand-alone veggie meal by adding a selection of other stuff – cauliflower and chick peas to name but two!

Bombay Aloo – aka Bombay Potatoes

2 large jacket spuds from your stash, peeled if you prefer

OR

500g of cooked potatoes – I use Charlottes – whatever you use it should be a waxy potato that holds its shape, so any new potato will be just the job

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

250g passata

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp ginger paste or 1” fresh, grated.

2 cloves of roasted garlic or 2 cloves of fresh, crushed

1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander, garam masala and curry powder. Use a curry powder that best suits your palate and how much heat you like – mild, medium or hot

1 tsp salt or to taste

Use a medium size saucepan (21cms/8”).

Your potatoes should be cut to approximately 6-12 cms/¼” to ½” pieces.

Fry the onions in the oil until soft – 3-4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, spices and salt. Fry so that the spices are released. Add the potatoes and the tomato paste, fry gently so that the potatoes absorb the flavours and the paste cooks too – 3-4 minutes.

Add the passata and sugar and cook on a gentle heat for 10 minutes**. Taste the Bombay Aloo, adjust salt and sugar to personal taste. Cool, box and fridge. The longer you leave this dish the better it will be. It freezes well.

As a guide this recipe will give you 690g of scrumptious Bombay Aloo.

You can add a can of chick peas, drained and rinsed or tiny florets of cauliflower with the passata and sugar marked ** above - or anything that takes your fancy!

Here's a photo guide of the original Bombay Aloo …

A big tip ...

… use a foil tray with 2 tbsp plain flour – it enables you to roll around the koftas to coat with flour without having to “assist” them.

Here's the photo guide :

If you would prefer a larger version then use a dessert spoon of mixture, treated in exactly the same way, like these :

Here's an idea – serve the koftas with Bombay Aloo – both dishes can be frozen, in fact the flavours are enhanced by freezing. An excellent choice for a mid-week supper! A tip – freeze the koftas in amounts that suit you – and again the same with the Aloo in small containers, you can always take out more if you need it!

Bombay Aloo coming up ...

Version two – veggie or not!

How about koftas? These Indian meatballs are a real hit. As you'd expect from me they can be made ahead and frozen.

Koftas - makes 25/30 ish

500g of minced lamb

or Quorn mince

*salt and black pepper

*2 cloves of garlic, crushed or 2 tsps of paste

*1 tsp of ground cumin

*1 tsp of ground coriander

*pinch of garam masala

*pinch of chilli powder

1 heaped tbsp of tomato paste

1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour

kitchen gloves or damp hands

Rapeseed oil for shallow frying

a foil tray 23cms x 23cms

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the ingredients marked * and mix well. Add the tomato paste and the egg and combine. If you find the mixture too wet, then sprinkle a little plain flour into the mixture and fold in gently.

Using either gloves or damp hands your mixture should aim to be the size of a walnut (or 1 heaped teaspoon). Roll the mixture between your hands and when you've 8 or so heat the oil in a large frying pan. Seal the koftas on a low heat and carefully shake the pan to turn them – use tongs if you are accident prone!

At this stage you can continue to cook the koftas in the pan or you can transfer to an oven-proof dish and pop into a pre-heated oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15 minutes.

Alternatively let the koftas cool once sealed, transfer to freezer bags and freeze until required. Defrost and then place in a foil tray and warm in a pre-heated oven as above for 15 minutes.

Easy peasy and really tasty … the photo guide is next up

Warm salady photos!

A step by step chicken tikka guide

The colours are vibrant and stunning – just as they should be.

Next up your salady bag ...

Now for some warm salady stuff

Hope you had a great Easter holiday!

This “salad” is excellent hot or cold and is a great idea to include as part of a mezze or thali as they say in India!

Or it stands perfectly well on its own but better still as part of a party table. It's convenient in that you can marinade overnight and just pop into the oven when you're ready.

Or it's a perfect dish for a Saturday night in front of your favourite tv!

Tandoori chicken tikka salad

Serves 4

700g (1lb 8oz) chicken breast, cut

into chunks

Marinade

1½ tbsps ginger and garlic paste

½ tsp salt

1½ tsps green chilli paste

2½ tbsps white vinegar

5 tbsps vegetable oil

1½ tsps turmeric

1½ tsps red chilli powder

1½ tsps cumin powder

2 tsps garam masala

160g (5½ oz) Greek yoghurt

or low fat version

For the dressing

4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

1½ tbsps balsamic vinegar

1½ tsps brown sugar

¼ tsp coarse black pepper

¼ tsp cumin powder

pinch of salt

In a bowl mix the chicken pieces with the ginger and garlic paste, salt, green chilli paste and the white vinegar and leave to one side.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the oil and turmeric. Add the red chilli powder, cumin poweder and garam masala to the bowl then mix well before adding the yoghurt. Combine the mixture thoroughly.

Add the chicken pieces to the yoghurt mixture. Use your hands to ensure the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the yoghurt marinade. Leave the chicken to marinade for at least an hour. You can leave it in the marinade overnight, this way the chicken will absorb all the flavours thoroughly.

Once the chicken has been marinated, place the pieces on an oven tray. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 20-25 minutes.

If you prefer a vegetarian or vegan version you can use Quorn pieces.

You'll not be disappointed!

Now for the marinade et al photos ...

The extras!

Of course you will need submarine rolls – you can buy them from most supermarkets – I recommend Marks & Spencer's – they seem to keep their freshness.

I should say that “a recipe” is not appropriate because it's a matter of how many rolls you're assembling and the ingredients are entirely personal – it's a “fly by the seat of your pants” thing!

Now for the extras – who likes what? Here are my suggestions and it is not an exhaustive list!

Avocado, sliced or mashed to suit, with lemon

juice

Crispy bacon – and bits are better!

Hard boiled eggs, sliced

Beef tomatoes, sliced thinly

Beetroot relish or slices if you prefer

Any salad item you love – spring onions, shredded

iceberg lettuce

capers, cornichons

A slaw of your choice – an Asian

recipe follows

For the Italian meatball version

Good quality mayo

Mozzarella cheese – either grated or a torn

ball of buffalo mozzarella

For the Indian Kofta version

Mango chutney

Small cubes of paneer submerged in the

rendang curry sauce

Asian Coleslaw

110g white cabbage, finely sliced – approximately

one third of a medium size cabbage

1 carrot – peeled and sliced with a

julienne peeler

1 spring onion – 15g finely sliced

if you want to create a basic slaw stash then

double the amounts given above

3-4 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp caster sugar

Half tbsp rice wine

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp peanut butter

Half tsp chilli powder

4 tbsp fresh coriander

Combine all the above ingredients except the fresh coriander.

Marinade for at least an hour – 2-3 is better still!

Just before serving strain off the excess liquid, stir in the coriander and serve.

Now for assembly and leftovers!

Bombay Aloo – photos!

 Here's a photo guide of the original Bombay Aloo :

the beginning

the middle

the end

in an individual pot, ready to roll!

It's a win win – you use up any potatoes and produce a dish that will go down a storm – an added bonus - if you cook it on purpose it doesn't break the bank – I love it when a thrifty plan comes together especially when it tastes so good!

The final side ...

Bombay side … or main!

Although this is used as a very popular “side” it can morph into a stand-alone veggie meal by adding a selection of other stuff – cauliflower and chick peas to name but two!

Back to the recipe – for those of you who follow the blog you'll know I always have baked, jacket spuds in my fridge, so you could use two of them.

Bombay Aloo – aka Bombay Potatoes

2 large jacket spuds from your stash, peeled if you prefer

OR

500g of cooked potatoes – I use Charlottes – whatever you use it should be a waxy potato that holds its shape, so any new potato will be just the job

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

250g passata

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp ginger paste or 1” fresh, grated.

2 cloves of roasted garlic or 2 cloves of fresh, crushed

1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander, garam masala and curry powder. Use a curry powder that best suits your palate and how much heat you like – mild, medium or hot

1 tsp salt or to taste

Use a medium size saucepan (21cms/8”).

Your potatoes should be cut to approximately 6-12 cms/¼” to ½” pieces.

Fry the onions in the oil until soft – 3-4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, spices and salt. Fry so that the spices are released. Add the potatoes and the tomato paste, fry gently so that the potatoes absorb the flavours and the paste cooks too – 3-4 minutes.

Add the passata and sugar and cook on a gentle heat for 10 minutes**. Taste the Bombay Aloo, adjust salt and sugar to personal taste. Cool, box and fridge. The longer you leave this dish the better it will be. It freezes well.

As a guide this recipe will give you 690g of scrumptious Bombay Aloo.

You can add a can of chick peas, drained and rinsed or tiny florets of cauliflower with the passata and sugar marked ** above - or anything that takes your fancy!

A photo-guide ...

The Thrift Guide - With taste!

It's that time again – New Year and after all the festivities it's back to the economical nay thrifty – here's a few ideas using that boring ingredient – mince!

This recipe hits the spot. Koftas are small Indian meatballs and as you'd expect from me they can be made ahead and frozen – in fact they improve with freezing. Versatility is the key!

Koftas - makes 25/30 ish

500g of minced lamb

or Quorn mince

*salt and black pepper

*2 cloves of garlic, crushed or 2 tsps of paste

*1 tsp of ground cumin

*1 tsp of ground coriander

*pinch of garam masala

*pinch of chilli powder

1 heaped tbsp of tomato paste

1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour

kitchen gloves or damp hands

Rapeseed oil for shallow frying

a foil tray 23cms x 23cms

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the ingredients marked * and mix well. Add the tomato paste and the egg and combine. If you find the mixture too wet, then sprinkle a little plain flour into the mixture and fold in gently.

Using either gloves or damp hands your mixture should aim to be the size of a walnut (or 1 heaped teaspoon). Roll the mixture between your hands and when you've 8 or so heat the oil in a large frying pan. Seal the koftas on a low heat and carefully shake the pan to turn them – use tongs if you are accident prone!

At this stage you can continue to cook the koftas in the pan or you can transfer to an oven-proof dish and pop into a pre-heated oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15 minutes.

Alternatively let the koftas cool once sealed, transfer to freezer bags and freeze until required. Defrost and then place in a foil tray and warm in a pre-heated oven as above for 15 minutes.

Easy peasy, economical and really tasty … the photo guide

Take two … the Indian version

If your preference is for an Indian version then try these little beauties with a rendang sauce and paneer! Both recipes create a superior “submarine slob”. Again the cooking ahead will be well worth while.

Koftas

makes 25/30 ish

500g of minced lamb or Quorn

*salt and black pepper

*2 cloves of garlic, crushed or 2 tsps of paste

*1 tsp of ground cumin

*1 tsp of ground coriander

*pinch of garam masala

*pinch of chilli powder

1 heaped tbsp of tomato paste

1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour

kitchen gloves or damp hands

Rapeseed oil for shallow frying

a foil tray 23cms x 23cms

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the ingredients marked * and mix well. Add the tomato paste and the egg and combine. If you find the mixture too wet, then sprinkle a little plain flour into the mixture and fold in gently.

Using either gloves or damp hands your mixture should aim to be the size of a walnut (or 1 heaped teaspoon). Roll the mixture between your hands and when you've 8 or so heat the oil in a large frying pan. Seal the koftas on a low heat and carefully shake the pan to turn them – use tongs if you are accident prone!

At this stage you can continue to cook the koftas in the pan or you can transfer to an oven-proof dish and pop into a pre-heated oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15 minutes.

Cool and fridge until you're ready to assemble the sub.

For the curry sauce ...

Chapter V Economy Drive – Koftas

How about koftas? These Indian meatballs are a real hit. As you'd expect from me they can be made ahead and frozen. These little beauties are versatile!

Koftas - makes 25/30 ish

500g of minced lamb

or Quorn mince

*salt and black pepper

*2 cloves of garlic, crushed or 2 tsps of paste

*1 tsp of ground cumin

*1 tsp of ground coriander

*pinch of garam masala

*pinch of chilli powder

1 heaped tbsp of tomato paste

1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour

kitchen gloves or damp hands

Rapeseed oil for shallow frying

a foil tray 23cms x 23cms

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the ingredients marked * and mix well. Add the tomato paste and the egg and combine. If you find the mixture too wet, then sprinkle a little plain flour into the mixture and fold in gently.

Using either gloves or damp hands your mixture should aim to be the size of a walnut (or 1 heaped teaspoon). Roll the mixture between your hands and when you've 8 or so heat the oil in a large frying pan. Seal the koftas on a low heat and carefully shake the pan to turn them – use tongs if you are accident prone!

At this stage you can continue to cook the koftas in the pan or you can transfer to an oven-proof dish and pop into a pre-heated oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15 minutes.

Alternatively let the koftas cool once sealed, transfer to freezer bags and freeze until required. Defrost and then place in a foil tray and warm in a pre-heated oven as above for 15 minutes.

Easy peasy and really tasty … the photo guide

Use a foil tray with 2 tbsp plain flour – it enables you to roll around the koftas to coat with flour without having to “assist” them.

If you would prefer a larger version then use a dessert spoon of mixture, treated in exactly the same way, like these :

Here's an idea – serve the koftas with the Bombay Aloo – both dishes can be frozen, in fact the flavours are enhanced by freezing. An excellent choice for a mid-week supper! A tip – freeze the koftas in amounts that suit you – and again the same with the Aloo in small containers, you can always take out more if you need it!

Fancy a sandwich - how about a kofta sub?

If you want a something different to tempt the tastebuds take a bag of koftas out of the freezer – defrost in the fridge.

Make a batch of Rendang Sauce.

Take four submarine rolls, spread liberally with mango chutney whilst your koftas and sauce are warming – how many koftas you use is a matter of appetite! Place the koftas on top of the mango and drizzle the Rendang Sauce on top. If you've got the onion salad too this will sit nicely to complete the sub.

Ta dah!

Note:

You can freeze Quorn mince once it has been cooked – make sure your meal is cold before freezing – use within a month. For use, defrost fully in the fridge and cook within 24 hours ensuring it's piping hot.

Rocket Science and Light Bulbs - Part 3: Next on the thrift list

Here's a dish using your baked jackets spuds. This is originally a side dish but has morphed into a stand-alone veggie meal by adding a selection of other stuff – cauliflower and chick peas to name but two!

Bombay Aloo – aka Bombay Potatoes

2 large jacket spuds from your stash, peeled if you prefer

OR

500g of cooked potatoes – I use Charlottes – whatever you use it should be a waxy potato that holds its shape, so any new potato will be just the job

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

250g passata

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp ginger paste or 1” fresh, grated.

2 cloves of roasted garlic or 2 cloves of fresh, crushed

1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander, garam masala and curry powder. Use a curry powder that best suits your palate and how much heat you like – mild, medium or hot

1 tsp salt or to taste

Use a medium size saucepan (21cms/8”).

Your potatoes should be cut to approximately 6-12 cms/¼” to ½” pieces.

Fry the onions in the oil until soft – 3-4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, spices and salt. Fry so that the spices are released. Add the potatoes and the tomato paste, fry gently so that the potatoes absorb the flavours and the paste cooks too – 3-4 minutes.

Add the passata and sugar and cook on a gentle heat for 10 minutes**. Taste the Bombay Aloo, adjust salt and sugar to personal taste. Cool, box and fridge. The longer you leave this dish the better it will be. It freezes well.

As a guide this recipe will give you 690g of scrumptious Bombay Aloo.

You can add a can of chick peas, drained and rinsed or tiny florets of cauliflower with the passata and sugar marked ** above - or anything that takes your fancy!

Here's a photo guide of the original Bombay Aloo :

the beginning

the middle

the end

in an individual pot, ready to roll!

It's a win win – you use up any potatoes and produce a dish that will go down a storm – an added bonus - if you cook it on purpose it doesn't break the bank – I love it when an economical plan comes together especially when it tastes so good!

P.s. Have you ever wondered how they make the “onion salad” served with the poppadoms? I know that it varies from restaurant to restaurant but, many moons ago I was given a recipe which, to this day I've never committed to paper.

Here goes :

2 medium onions, finely chopped -

weight 150g per onion approximately

salt and black pepper

2 tbsp fresh orange juice

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp tomato paste

pinch of chill powder

Place the onions in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Place the salad in sealed airtight containers and store in a cool place.

The secret to this salad is that you should not serve it for at least a day, preferably two after making it. It's important that the orange and lemon juice and the tomato paste are allowed to “mature” - leaving it to infuse takes away any harshness from the onion and the tomato paste.

This is a perfect accompaniment for any curry.

Here it is :

If you are a lover of all things spicy then this onion salad is excellent with cold meats or, best of all, with a strong mature cheddar cheese.

Enjoy!

Editor’s August Pick #2: What to cook in hot weather - Butter Chicken

Editor's note: Butter chicken is something that I'd often heard of but avoided - it sounded odd somehow - curiosity got the better of me when I saw this post. Obviously my culinary IQ would be quicker to count to than to crack an egg but still thought I'd share that tidbit! There may be someone (I hope!) out there like me that had just glossed over what's involved and would like reassurance that it's a delicious sounding meal full of flavour and isn't just Lurpak and chicken!

What to cook in hot weather - Butter Chicken method and other choices

The simplest recipes are the best and this is no exception.

Butter Chicken Method

Put the tomato paste in a clear measuring jug. Add water slowly, mixing as you go, to make up 8fl oz (225ml) of tomato sauce.

Add the ginger, cream, garam masala, salt, sugar, green chilli, cayenne, green coriander, lemon juice and ground roasted cumin seeds. Mix well. At this stage you can box and fridge until the finishing touch below completing the sauce.

**Heat the butter in a wide sauté pan or a large frying pan. When the butter has melted, add all the ingredients in the measuring jug. Bring to a simmer and cook on a medium heat for a minute, mixing in the butter as you do so.

Now you're ready to add your chicken.

Once again you have chicken choices. I slow cooked chicken breast ahead – one per person plus an extra two for good luck, and then froze. All that remained was to pull it all together and finish off on the day – not forgetting to defrost the chicken in the fridge overnight.

Madhur Jaffrey has another suggestion and that is to add tandoori chicken.

That suggestion gave me an idea for a spot of fusion – of culinary minds that is.

Dipna Anand is co-owner of “Brilliant” restaurant in London. The tandoori chicken is taken from a larger Tandoori Chicken Tikka Salad recipe from Dipna. This is an hommage to Madhur Jaffrey and Dipna Anand. It also proves that recipes that are 40 years old work just as well with “now”!

Editor’s August Pick #1: What to cook in hot weather – the curry choices

Editor's note: You may or may not know that this blog started way back in 2015. Over the years there have been a great many posts and a shed-load of surprises. I am not at all shocked when I find the exact thing I'm looking for - or usually something miles better! It also comes as no surprise that I can waffle on about what to cook during the recent heatwave and the next week run into a post about exactly that! Have a read if you're still dealing with the heat like I am!

What to cook in hot weather – the curry choices

Before I begin a small tip you may find helpful. I have this habit of re-visiting a menu plan the following day, which again might sound strange, sometimes I miss an element or there'll be an element that doesn't quite fit. In this case I didn't make any tweaks at all so I'm good to go.

I chose Butter Chicken because quite simply it's very popular and always seems to disappear. The Rendang choice is personal to me because I'm a huge fan of sweet and sour flavours. Rendang is Indonesian in origin although it has spread to Malaysia, among other countries in Southeast Asia. It's perfect to put with veggies.

It might seem pointless talking about the intense heat and what to cook after the event but I have a feeling that it will not be the last time we experience it and it's good to have an idea or two in reserve or, you might just fancy a curry in the summer.

There are heaps of Butter Chicken recipes out there – the one I use comes from my favourite Indian cookery book Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery – there was a television series too. I can't believe it's 39 years old!

Here it is :

Chicken in a butter sauce

Makkhani murghi

The sauce in this dish should be folded into butter at the very last minute as it tends to separate otherwise. However, you can combine all the ingredients except the butter up to a day ahead of time and refrigerate them until they are needed.

This is a wonderfully simple but spectacular sauce to which you add chicken.

Serves 4-6

4 tbsp of tomato purée

water to mix

1” (2.5cms) cube of fresh ginger, peeled

and grated very finely to a pulp

½ pint (275ml) single cream

1 tsp garam masala

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp sugar

1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp very finely chopped fresh green coriander

4 tsps lemon juice

1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds

4oz (110g) unsalted butter

Coming up – the method and your chicken choices continued

More salady stuff

Back to the warm salads …

This “salad” is excellent hot or cold and is a great idea to include as part of a mezze or thali as they say in India!

It stands perfectly well on its own but better still as part of a party table. It's convenient in that you can marinade overnight and just pop into the oven when you're ready.

Tandoori chicken tikka salad

Serves 4

700g (1lb 8oz) chicken breast, cut

into chunks

Marinade

1½ tbsps ginger and garlic paste

½ tsp salt

1½ tsps green chilli paste

2½ tbsps white vinegar

5 tbsps vegetable oil

1½ tsps turmeric

1½ tsps red chilli powder

1½ tsps cumin powder

2 tsps garam masala

160g (5½ oz) Greek yoghurt

or low fat version

For the dressing

4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

1½ tbsps balsamic vinegar

1½ tsps brown sugar

¼ tsp coarse black pepper

¼ tsp cumin powder

pinch of salt

In a bowl mix the chicken pieces with the ginger and garlic paste, salt, green chilli paste and the white vinegar and leave to one side.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the oil and turmeric. Add the red chilli powder, cumin poweder and garam masala to the bowl then mix well before adding the yoghurt. Combine the mixture thoroughly.

Add the chicken pieces to the yoghurt mixture. Use your hands to ensure the chicken pieces are evenly coated in the yoghurt marinade. Leave the chicken to marinade for at least an hour. You can leave it in the marinade overnight, this way the chicken will absorb all the flavours thoroughly.

Once the chicken has been marinated, place the pieces on an oven tray. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 20-25 minutes.

If you prefer a vegetarian or vegan version you can use Quorn pieces.

You'll not be disappointed!

A step by step chicken tikka guide

The colours are vibrant and stunning – just as they should be.

What's your salad bag?

For this dish mine was a forage in the fridge and I rescued :

Half a bag of baby new potatoes

(if you can get Cornish so much the better)

cooked, peeled and then cubed – approximately

8 potatoes

Iceberg lettuce – broked into small pieces

small sweet mixed peppers, de-seeded and sliced

finely

cherry tomatoes, halved

one medium sweet variety onion, sliced

finely

I chose a large white bowl for the salad and began with the lettuce and then sprinkled the remaining salad ingredients, topping with the chicken pieces and finally drizzling with the dressing.

Think about scaling up your salad - as it is it's a lunch and in particular easy to transport so would be great if you're on the move or just to take to the office.

Add more ingredients to the salad and serve with a flat bread of your choice for a supper – you don't have to make them if it's too much pressure!

Step by step salad photos

Experiment with colours – have a look at the small sweet peppers!

Now it's complete with the dressing drizzled!

Now it's looking even better - there are some dishes that just scream “eat me I'm delicious!”

The dressing … to go with the chicken salad

Who would have thought you'd be drizzling a quintessential Italian combination of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar – a marriage we already know is made in heaven – with another Indian classic – tandoori chicken tikka.

The dressing

4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

1½ tbsps balsamic vinegar

1½ tsps brown sugar

¼ tsp coarse black pepper

¼ tsp cumin powder

pinch of salt

Whilst the chicken is cooking, with a whisk mix together all the dressing ingredients and leave to one side.

A few thoughts so far :

I'd wear gloves when you coat the chicken – turmeric and chilli will stain your hands as well as equipment.

Make sure your “oven tray” has sides – unless you have a burning desire to clean your oven!

I used soft dark muscovado sugar in the dressing.

I marinaded the chicken from 11am – 7.30pm. It's very important that you cover the chicken marinade and keep it in a cold place. If you keep it in your fridge then bear in mind it's raw chicken and as such should be kept on the bottom shelf and more importantly that it is kept away from cooked food.

When the chicken is cooked I know you'll want to taste it – cook's privilege after all – a lot depends on your palate and that of your guests but tasted on its own you may find it a tad hot. I'd suggest that before you rush to judgement wait until you've assembled and tasted the completed salad.

A word about the “heat” of the spices. Remember recipes are meant to be a guide they are not set in stone. If you find the spices too powerful don't let it put you off – try reducing the green chilli paste, turmeric and red chilli powder from 1½ tsps to 1 tsp each.

It's personal taste after all – it's whatever suits you.

More salady ideas to come!