Curry Night at Home

Pat 500 g boneless chicken thighs dry and toss it in a bowl with 11 to 15 ml lemon juice, 2.5 to 3.5 ml Kashmiri chili powder and 1 to 1.5 ml salt. Cover and leave for 20 min.

Add 78 ml Greek yogurt or hung curd, 11 ml ginger garlic paste, 0.6 ml ground turmeric, 3.5 to 5 ml garam masala, 2.5 ml ground cumin, 5 ml ground coriander, 5 ml kasuri methi and 11 to 15 ml neutral oil. Mix until every piece is coated.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 min, or overnight for the most tender result.

Take the chicken out of the fridge while you make the gravy so it loses its chill.

Heat 15 ml butter or ghee, for searing on a griddle or cast iron pan until hot. Lay the chicken in with space between the pieces and cook over medium heat for 2 min, then turn and cook the other side. Work in two or three batches.

If using 130 g onion, fry it in 15 ml neutral oil, for the onion over medium heat until lightly golden, then let it cool.

Blend 600 g ripe tomatoes, the fried onion, 42 g whole raw cashews (about 28) and 120 ml water, for blending to a completely smooth puree.

Melt 15 to 30 ml butter or ghee in a heavy pan over medium heat and add 1 cinnamon stick (5 cm piece), 2 to 4 pods green cardamom pods and 2 to 4 whole cloves.

Stir in 11 ml ginger garlic paste and 1 to 2 green chilies. Fry on low heat for 1 min to 2 min.

Turn off the heat and stir in 5 to 10 ml Kashmiri chili powder, half of 5 to 7.5 ml garam masala, 5 to 7.5 ml ground coriander and 2.5 ml ground cumin, so the ground spices toast in the residual heat without burning.

Pour in the tomato and cashew puree, passing it through a sieve if it is not perfectly smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat with the lid partly on, then lower the heat and cook, stirring now and then.

Add 235 ml hot water and simmer for 10 min. Fish out and discard the whole spices.

Add the seared chicken to the gravy. If it looks too thick, loosen it with a splash of hot water. Cover and simmer gently until the chicken is tender.

Stir in 2.5 to 3.5 ml salt, 5 ml sugar, 7.5 ml kasuri methi and the rest of the garam masala. Taste; add another knob of butter if you like.

Turn off the heat and stir in most of 80 to 100 ml heavy cream. Drizzle the rest on top and scatter with 30 ml coriander leaves. Serve with naan, jeera rice or plain basmati.

Put 200 g whole black urad dal and 55 g red kidney beans (rajma) in a large bowl and rinse them, rubbing well between your hands. Drain and repeat twice more.

Cover with 945 ml water, for soaking and soak overnight. Drain, rinse again and drain.

Put the lentils in a pressure cooker with 960 ml fresh water, for cooking and cook over medium heat for about ten whistles (or 20 min at high pressure in an Instant Pot). Let the pressure drop by itself.

If any rajma is still firm, add half a cup of hot water and cook for another three or four whistles. Keep all the cooking liquid.

Heat 30 ml ghee in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add 1 leaf bay leaf, 2 pods green cardamom pods and 1 pod black cardamom pod and let them sizzle for 1 min.

Add 65 g onion (1 small to medium) and fry until golden, about 7 min. Stir in 18 g ginger garlic paste and fry for 1 min.

Pour in 220 g tomato puree or passata and cook for 3 min to 4 min. Add 5 ml salt, 3.5 to 7.5 ml Kashmiri chili powder and 5 ml garam masala and keep cooking, stirring, until thick.

Lightly mash the cooked lentils and add them to the pot with all their cooking liquid and half of 480 ml hot water, added in stages. Stir well.

Simmer on the lowest heat for about 1 h, stirring often and scraping the bottom so it does not catch.

Add the rest of the hot water and keep simmering gently for another 30 min, or longer if you have time.

Crush 15 ml kasuri methi between your palms over the pot and stir in 60 to 80 ml heavy cream. Cook for 6 min to 8 min. Taste for salt and garam masala, then stir in 42 g unsalted butter, cultured if you can find it.

Set a small foil cup on the surface of the dal. Hold a small piece of natural wood charcoal over a gas flame with tongs until it glows red, then drop it in the cup. Pour 1 to 2.5 ml ghee, for the charcoal over the coal and immediately cover the pot. Leave for 3 min to 4 min; repeat once for a stronger flavour.

Remove the cup and coal. Serve topped with extra butter or a swirl of cream, with basmati rice or naan.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it lightly. Add 350 g spinach leaves and blanch for 2 min to 3 min.

Lift the spinach out with a slotted spoon straight into ice water. Once cold, drain well.

Blend the spinach with 1 tomato, 3 cloves large garlic cloves, 1 fresh ginger (2.5 cm piece), 1 green chili, or more to taste and 3 raw unsalted cashews to a smooth paste.

Heat a wide, heavy pan over medium heat, add 22 ml neutral oil and then 2 cloves large garlic cloves. Fry for a couple of minutes.

Add 1 onion and cook for 2 min to 3 min.

Stir in the spinach puree with 120 ml water, or as needed. Cover and cook over medium heat for 10 min, stirring regularly because it spatters and can stick.

Add 3.5 to 5 ml garam masala, 1 ml ground turmeric, 1 ml red chili powder and 3.5 ml salt. Mix and cook for 1 min.

Stir in 30 to 44 ml heavy cream, then 225 g paneer. Simmer on medium-low heat for 3 min.

Turn off the heat, stir in 7.5 ml kasuri methi and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve hot with naan, roti or rice.

Whisk 425 g all-purpose flour with 5 ml salt in a bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir 12 g granulated sugar and 10 ml active dry yeast into 235 ml lukewarm water. Leave for 5 min to 10 min.

Add 80 ml whole milk, lukewarm, 30 ml plain whole milk yogurt and 45 ml neutral oil, then the flour mixture and 2 cloves large garlic cloves. Mix with the paddle until combined.

Add 27 to 36 g extra all-purpose flour, as needed a spoonful at a time, only until the dough stops being very sticky. It should still feel a little tacky.

Knead with the dough hook or by hand for 1 min to 2 min, until smooth. Put it in an oiled bowl.

Cover with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place to rise.

Punch the dough down gently. With oiled hands, divide it into 8 equal balls. Cover and rest for 10 min to 15 min.

Melt 44 ml unsalted butter and stir in 10 ml garlic and 44 ml coriander leaves. Keep it warm by the stove.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until very hot.

Rub a ball and the rolling pin with a little 15 ml oil, for shaping. Stretch the dough lengthwise, then widthwise, into an oval about 27 cm (10 ⅔ in) long and 15 cm (6 in) wide. Do not roll it hard like a roti. Wet a fingertip and dot the top with nigella seeds (kalonji).

Lay the naan in the hot skillet and cook for 1 min to 2 min. Brush the top with garlic butter.

Lift the naan with tongs, flip it and hold it directly over a gas flame for about 15 s to 20 s, moving it around.

Brush with more garlic butter and keep wrapped in a towel while you cook the rest. Serve warm with dal makhani, butter chicken or paneer.