One sunny morning, I opened our balcony door to let the first seasonal rays of sunshine in. A breath of fresh air. A joy in my step. A view of dead leaves.

Lovely.

My father-in-law took pity on me and decided to lead the charge on the gardening project. I extracted my fluorescent gardening gloves and scissors in preparation.

“Those are kitchen scissors.”

Yes, I know dad.

“When did you last water these plants”

Two weeks ago.

“You know plants need water to survive?”

That’s only a small technical oversight!

We spent the evening clearing up, replanting courgette and tomato plants my sister-in-law had ambitiously donated to me. Dad did, that is. I made every excuse to leap back into the flat: dinner, baby, strange itch in my little finger.

One week of watering later, I have two courgette flowers and a thriving collection of flowers (identity unknown). I won’t swamp you with courgette curries yet, but here’s a winter to summer Gobi Mattar or cauliflower and pea stir fry to celebrate seasonal changes.

Feeds 2:

• 1 small cauliflower
• Half mug green shelled peas (I used freshly frozen one)
• 1 medium potato
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• Half tsp cumin powder
• Half tsp cumin seeds
• Half tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

Cut the cauliflower into large florets. Don’t make them too small or they’ll fall apart when you cook them.

Peel and chop the potato into little pieces. Bring a large frying pan to heat on high with the tablespoon of oil. When it’s hot, add the cumin seeds and as they sizzle up, the potatoes along with all the spice powders.

Stir the potatoes for five minutes until their edges turn translucent and you can insert a fork into them albeit with some difficulty. Now mix in the cauliflower florets, lower the heat to a medium, cover and cook for five minutes.

Lastly, stir in the peas, salt to taste and cook for a final five minutes until the cauliflower is soft.

All blingtastic, I was going to attend the lunchtime launch of Spooning with Rosie, my friend Rosie Lovell’s book. The lovely Rosie runs a deli cafe in trendy Brixton. Vintage dresses and unshaven faces were going to rub shoulders amidst mounds of quality cheese, loafs of bread and stacks of her cupcakes.

The anticipation was immense as I dressed mini Basu in a co-ordinated romper. Rosie’s cookbook is a sensational tome brimming with eclectic recipes that nod to London’s vibrant cafe culture. That aside it featured my Bhapa Doi Bengali cheesecake recipe with a mention of yours truly.

Several glasses of wine and hours of mingling later, I couldn’t wait to get stuck into a semi-complicated recipe that matched the dizzying heights I had reached. It was going to be Kofta Curry, soft spicy meatballs in a tomato base.

I mixed the Kofta or meatballs before going to bed. Cooked the dish the following day. Scooped the finished lot into a bowl. Just in time for my hungry dad’s arrival. This experienced cook was not going to be easy to please. “So how is it”, I asked, waiting for the lavish praise.

“Delicious”, he replied. And just as I was about to mutter a thanks, he added: “You could have cooked the masala a bit more.”

Nothing like family to keep you grounded. Here’s the perfected recipe for when you want to show off. Best served with a pinch of humility.

PS = I made this with beef mince but you could just as easily substitute it with lamb.

Feeds 4:

For the kofta:

• 500gm beef mince
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp salt

For the curry:

• 1 large onion
• 400gm tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 tsp paprika
• Half tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp garam masala
• 10 sprigs fresh coriander
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

Mix all the kofta ingredients together and stick in the fridge. It needs a good hour, but I did this before going to bed and left it in the fridge until I was ready to cook.

When you’re ready to make the curry, halve the mince mixture and fashion it into two large sausages. Then break off equal pieces and roll them into largish balls on a chopping board and leave to sit.

Chop the onion, ginger and garlic finely. Bring the oil to heat on high in a large non-stick pan. When it’s hot, chuck in the bay leaf and cinnamon. As they start sizzling, mix in the onion, ginger and garlic and fry until golden brown. This will take a good 10-15 minutes on a high heat.

If the mixture starts getting stuck to the bottom of the pan, add a little hot water and scrape off.

Next, add the paprika and chilli powders and fry for another two minutes. Then mix in the tin of tomatoes. You could use three large ripe and red chopped tomatoes if you prefer going fresh. Now let this masala mixture start bubbling, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

At this stage, oil will start oozing through little pores in the mixture. When it does, gently lower the koftas into the curry. Cook for 10 minutes and then flip them over to the other side for another 10 minutes.

Alternatively you could grill them for the same amount of time under a medium heat and mix them into the curry. Leave the curry bubbling, just add a bit of water if it dries up.

Finally, add the garam masala, salt to taste and sprinkle chopped coriander. This was lovely with a hot roti that I bought in a store earlier.

Then an invite arrived for the launch of Iron Maiden’s new boutique hotel in Soho. Champagne? Canapes? Paparazzi? Hallelujiah! Finally, a reason to resurrect the glamour stakes to their original high standards.

I slipped off to the hairdresser. A lovely Spanish gal, who can talk for England. Darling, I said, I have two hours; make me beautiful again.

She set to work with gusto. Clicked her tongue at the disgrace that used to be my lustrous locks. Sat me under an over-sized chrome dryer. Handed over the month’s latest fashion and gossip magazines and said: “You have 40 minutes”.

40 minutes? Forget getting my hair done. I could have slept!

I spent the time bringing myself up to date with the season’s latest fashion trends. Safari. 80s body con. Bright colours. Do they make playsuits for babies?

I came home fabulous, wore a shower cap and cooked Paneer Capsicum, a light and breezy Indian cheese and bell pepper sir fry.

Life is slowly returning back to normal. Or some version of it at least. Just in time for summer.

Feeds 4:

• 225gm paneer
• 3 mixed peppers (capsicum)
• 3 garlic cloves
• Half inch ginger
• Half tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• Half tsp garam masala
• 1 large tomato
• Handful of fresh coriander
• 1 tblsp oil
• Salt to taste

Puree or chop finely the ginger and garlic. Slice the paneer into half-centimetre pieces width-wise and cut the peppers into long strips, discarding the middle.

Heat the oil in a medium wok on high. When it’s hot, stir in the ginger and garlic. As they turn pale brown in a few seconds roughly chop and add the tomato, turmeric and chilli powders.

Fry this for two minutes until the aroma becomes less pungent and then stir in the peppers.

Cook the peppers for five minutes, stirring regularly, until they start going soft. Then mix in the paneer pieces taking care not to break them and half a cup of hot water.

Let this all simmer together for five minutes. Finally, stir in the garam masala, the chopped coriander and add salt to your taste. Serve with warm buttered rotis for maximum pleasure.

Let’s just say motherhood is much like cooking a biryani, naked, on a patio, in the middle of a blizzard.

Still, I’ve had plenty to keep me going. My personal favourite is the card that reads: “When I grow up I wan to be a total bitch, just like my mother”. A close tie with the one featuring a designer-clad mummy whispering “Gucci, Gucci” into her stroller.

Oh and the bottle of yet-to-be-opened gold-encased limited edition Armand De Brignac champagne.

Mini Basu is sampling the delights of Baby Dior, the farmer’s market and the cultural hotspot of South Bank. While I snatch precious moments for a spot of shopping, beauty sleep and cooking.

Thank God for quick Indian cooking.

My first recipe back had to be a light and healthy chicken curry steeped in fresh coriander - Dhaniya Murgh. It took care of dinner. Suitably impressed visitors. And launched my comeback in half an hour.

Here’s to life’s next phase…

PS = Thanks SO much for all the wishes, emails and love you’ve sent my way. Mini Basu will wield a wooden spoon as soon as possible.

Feeds 2:

500gm chicken thighs and drumsticks
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
Half tsp chilli powder
Half tsp turmeric powder
Half tsp coriander powder
2 tbsp natural Greek (thick) yogurt
15gm fresh coriander
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Skin the chicken and marinate it in the yogurt, chilli, turmeric, ginger and garlic pastes. I did this in between painting my nails and baby stuff in the morning and left the chicken out covered with some clear film.

When you’re ready to cook, bring the oil to heat over a high flame in a small pot. When it’s sizzling, fry the chicken with the coriander powder for 10 minutes until evenly brown all over. Add half a cup of hot water, lower the flame to a gentle boil, cover and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until the chicken is well cooked. You’ll know it’s done because the meat will separate from the bone on the drumsticks.

To finish, chop up the coriander leaves and stir into the chicken along with the salt. It should have a light, moist curry. Perfect to mop up with some readymade naan and a serving of thick yogurt.

I got a proper send off with Chanel skin goodies and a bang-on-trend silver cuff bracelet. These girls are after my own heart.

In the meantime, mother arrived.  Armed with new recipes, a suitcase of dubious home cures for indigestion and acne and a life time’s supply of dry roasted whole cumin.

I’ve delegated all manner of housework to her and seized my opportunity to accomplish a flurry of last minute activities. A vegan feature for the next issue of Cook Vegetarian magazine. A stream of beauty treatments, acupuncture massages and a promising performance involving gin-soaked puppets.

If I’m going down, I’m going down in style.

Sadly, this blog and blogging have had to take a back seat for a bit. I can’t promise how regular I’ll be in the next few weeks. But in the immortal words of The Terminator - “I’ll be back”.

Meanwhile, here’s a very simple Mixed Bean Palya, stir fried pulses with coconut, from the collection of recipes I contributed to the mag.

Feeds 2:

• 1 tin mixed cooked beans
• 2 tsp channa lentils
• 2 small carrots
• 2 tbsp unsweetened dessicated coconut
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 dry red chillies
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 tsp brown cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Salt to taste

Sauté a teaspoon of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, two teaspoons of channa lentils, two dry red chillies and 10 curry leaves in 1 tablespoon of hot oil until light brown.

Mix in two small chopped carrots and one teaspoon of brown cane sugar. Cook for five minutes on a medium flame. Then mix in a washed and drained tin of cooked mixed beans.

Stir-fry for five minutes, making sure the ingredients don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Finally, stir in two tablespoons of unsweetened desiccated coconut, 1 teaspoon of fresh lime juice and salt to taste.

I am improving every week.

As I handed it over to the manager with instructions about when to bring it out for the birthday girl, she dropped the bombshell. The bar has a cakeage charge of £1.50 per person.

Or I could buy their birthday cake at the bargain basement price of £45 for 6 portions.

I tried every trick imaginable:

• That’s more than what it cost me to bake the damn thing.
• But the cake isn’t worth the charge!

And finally, when my long face wouldn’t melt their cold hearts. I pulled the ace card: I spent all day baking that over eight months pregnant.

Cakeage cancelled. Job done.

Shame I have only three weeks more of this fantastic opportunity. Like me, my social life is now slowly grinding to a halt. London Fashion Week - decline. Award-winning theatre - pass. All replaced by cosy nights in with friends and wholesome one-pot meals.

Like this Lamb Pulao. The biggest difference between a pulao and biryani is complexity. So I cooked the dish quickly like a pulao but with a number of biryani-style spices for added oomph.  It was just what a friend and I needed with a glass of quality red vino on a Wednesday night.

PS= This took a good 1.5 hours to make. But I ate it for three meals so it was highly time-effective

PPS= You could use a pressure cooker to stew the lamb. One whistle and then 10 minutes. Then lid off to dry up the curry
Feeds 6:

• 1kg lamb chunks (I used a mix of chops and diced lamb on the bone)
• 500gm Basmati rice
• 1 medium onion

For the lamb:

• 2 large onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 inches ginger
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• Half tsp mace powder
• Half tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• One inch stick cinnamon
• 2 tbsp thick yogurt
• 2 green finger chillies
• 10 sprigs fresh coriander
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil

For the rice:

• 2 black cardamoms
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 star anise
• 1 tbsp ghee
• Salt to taste

First cook the lamb. Slice the two onions and puree together the ginger, garlic, cinnamon with a tablespoon of water. Better still you could just use ginger garlic paste and some cinnamon powder to save time.

Fry the onions until pale golden in hot oil over a high flame. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for another 5 minutes until the masala turns a darker shade of gold. Chope up the chillies and coriander.

Next, go in with all the spices and the lamb. Stir vigorously for five minutes until the meat darkens.  Mix in the yogurt, half a cup of hot water and cook covered on a medium flame for 45 minutes stirring regularly until the lamb softens. Then take the lid off and let the curry dry up.

Now get the rice going by washing it thoroughly under cold running water. In a large pot, bring the ghee to heat over a high flame. When it’s hot, chuck in the whole spices and let them sizzle for a few seconds. Then measure the washed rice in a cup, add it to the pot and saute for a minute until it turns bright white.

Then stir in the meat, 1.5 cups of hot water, bring to a boil and then simmer on a low flame for 15 minutes until the rice absorbs all the liquids. That fluffy texture is all important, so don’t stir the rice more than two times when it’s cooking and don’t add water unless your rice remains uncooked.

Serve with the remaining onion sliced and fried on top and a raita on the side.

It has not been pleasant for the East Indian in me. I normally get cold opening the fridge door and handling ice buckets.

Imagine my horror at having to make it to work in six inches of snow?

This was nothing compared to the tremor felt by the Mayor of London. He declared profoundly, “There’s just too much snow!”

As the snow turned to slippery ice, the local government street cleaning service casually informed me that Spring would arrive before their next supply of grit and salt. And that if I was so worried about slipping, I should buy some salt and save my frozen street myself.

To think a large slice of my income funds these people…

I had to cheer myself up. First, I acquired a hideously expensive, impractically large, black leather Italian designer tote.  Second, I cooked Murgh Masala for a cosy night in.

Murgh Masala is basically the generic Hindi name for chicken curry. Cooked in a myriad different ways, it always hits a spot. I’d bookmarked a great version of it by Maninas. With readily available fridge and cupboard ingredients, I gave this a go in the comfort of central heating.

Bring on the next Arctic blast.

PS= This recipe was made for chicken on the bone.

PPS= I only needed to add one green chilli to set my belly on fire, but please add more if you are a) brave, b) unimpressed by the potency of your stash.

PPPS= Maninas stresses the importance of frying the onions properly. I whack the flame up high and stir viciously for 15 minutes to brown them quickly without burning them.

Feeds 4-6:

• 6 large chicken thighs and drumsticks (850gm)
• 3 medium onions
• 200gm tinned tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 1-3 green finger chillies
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 black cardamoms
• 2 green cardamoms
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• Half tsp chilli powder
• One tbsp whole cumin
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• 3 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

Slice the onions finely and saute in a large pot with the oil over a high flame. If you stir viciously they should go the perfect shade of pale gold in about 15 minutes.

In between stirring, puree or finely mince the ginger and garlic. Add this to the onions along with the chopped green chilli and fry for another five minutes. If at any stage the ingredients start getting stuck to the bottom of the pot, just add a bit of hot water and scrape off.

Next, chuck in the cinnamon and cardamoms stirring for two minutes and then mix in the turmeric and chilli powders.

Now add the chicken and fry for a few minutes until it goes white all over. Add in the tomatoes, half a cup of hot water and leave to cook on a medium flame stirring every five minutes. The gravy will turn pulpy and dark red while the chicken softens in all those beatiful spices.

In about 30 minutes, the chicken on the drumsticks will start separating from the bone. Open a piece to make sure it is cooked through. If it is, stick the cumin seeds under a medium grill for 10 seconds until you can smell it. Then grind it and stir in the roasted cumin powder and chopped fresh coriander into the curry to finish.

Maninas makes an important point here. The curry will taste much better if you leave it for a few hours and preferably overnight. That goes for most curries. I made enough to feed a friend and then my sister the next day. And boy, is this one recipe that’s going to be a firm favourite in my home.

Serve with hot, freshly made Basmatic rice. It doesn’t need anything else.

Now curries I can cook. Sweets I can make. Cocktails I can mix. But baking is one art that has so far escaped me.

Still, I have a collection of cake trays from my efforts over the years. I even bought a retro black lacquer cake stand in the recent winter sales. One divine-looking recipe on the internet later I was ready for yet another attempt.

The warning bells went off when the chocolate orange cake batter didn’t taste remotely orangey. It failed to rise and go fluffy in the oven. And promptly collapsed into a biscuit on the wire rack when left to cook.

I bravely ganached the top and took it to the party anyway. The birthday girl hurt her elbow trying to cut the darn thing. The elderly uncles nearly chipped their teeth trying to eat it. And then, the bottom fell off the cake stand.

I might throw the rest of the cake at the next person who calls me a domestic goddess.

It was time to reinstate my faith in sweet things by trying my hand at something more in my comfort zone. I made a batch of Nariyal Burfis, soft and delicately-sweetened little coconut bites that are perfect for any occasion. They were divine. A few candles and perhaps it’ll be the perfect present for next week’s birthday girl.

Makes 16:

175gm dessicated coconut (unsweetened)
1 tin (397ml) condensed milk
10 cardamoms
2 tbsp ghee
Hot water

Soak the dessicated coconut in just about enough hot water to cover it. Bash the cardamoms with the flat side of a knife and crush the seeds.

In a medium pot, bring the ghee to heat over a high flame. When it’s hot, stir in the dessicated coconut and roast for 10 minutes until very pale cream in colour.

Then stir in the condensed milk, the cardamom powder and stir violently for another 10-15 minutes until all the mixture is dry. You need to make sure it doesn’t get stuck on the bottom of the pot.

Tip the whole mixture into a shallow square oven safe dish and leave to cool for a bit. Then stick the whole lot in the freezer to set for about half an hour. When the time’s up, loosen the edges and the bottom with a sharp knife, tip into a flat plate and cut into even-ish squares.

Refridgerate for later or eat immediately. If you’re feeling fancy, decorate with almond slivers and more crushed cardamoms.

Turns out a passenger aboard a Virgin Mumbai to London flight wrote an impassioned complaint to Sir Richard Branson himself about the Indian food he was served.

The excruciatingly hilarious letter went global in no time. Prompting the maverick entrepreneur to personally apologise and invite the disgruntled one to test food at Virgin’s catering house.

Can I come along too?

For years, I have suffered partly-heated yellow gloop parading as curry on flights back to London from India. The desserts taste worryingly like their plastic packaging. Salads are either freezing cold or brown edged. The dry bread roll devoured with lime pickle would easily qualify as the highlight of the mile-high culinary experience.

No wonder families resort to clicking open tupperware tiffin boxes of parathas and dry palyas and sabzis. Give them cutlery and dinnerware while they’re at it, I say!

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Now we have a vocal champion for our cause. Who didn’t stomach the insult sitting down. May this be a lesson to other airlines. In an age of internet connectivity, food awareness and high consumerism, even the smallest gripes could become a stick to beat your brand with.

Digest this with my bitter sweet offering of Gajar Methi, a North Indian winter favourite of sauteed carrots and fresh fenugreek leaves.

Feeds 4:

• 4 large carrots
• 250gm fresh fenugreek leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Half tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp oil
• Salt to taste

Peel and slice the raw carrots into hald centimetre discs. Wash and chop roughly the bunches of fenugreek discarding the hard stalks towards the ends.

In a large frying pan, bring the oil to heat over a high flame. When it’s hot, add in the cumin seeds and as they splutter, chuck in the carrots and the spices. Saute for about five minutes until you can see the carrots softening, then mix in the leaves. Lower the hat to a medium, cover and cook for another five to 10 minutes untilt he leaves wlt and the carrots just fallt apart when probed with a fork.

Add salt to taste and enjoy with a paratha. Preferably in the comfort of your own home.

The trip had been avoided for ages. Both my local supermarkets now sport “Asian” sections. The joy of being able to buy bags of green finger chillies with a case of French wine has been life changing. I save the special trip for when I really need to restock most of my supplies. Also buy meat on the bone for rich, flavoursome curries.

I jumped out of the car narrowly avoiding being run over. Mentally derided myself for wearing a floor length pure Angora coat to this monument to dust, exposed vegetables and spices. Apologised a thousand times for bumping into a hundred auntyjis.

And ended up buying overpriced “best quality” lamb. Thanks, I croaked, as I contemplated how best to transfer the meagre, meat-coated change from my £10 (for 1 kg) into my beautiful leather purse. While my man looked on in disgust.

This lamb needed a recipe worth the pain and the pleasure. I came across one while researching birthday cakes on a certified inspirational passionate baker. It’s Deeba’s Gosht Do Piaza, a North Indian lamb stew cooked with double onions. The sweetness of the onions and tomatoes was out of this world with the hearty meat and whole spices.

But never mind what I think. This is Deeba’s mom’s favourite recipe. Moms know best. My man summed it up eloquently with “this kicks arse”. He has also forgiven me for dragging him to the spice shop and offered to make it a weekly treat.

For this recipe, I might even agree.

PS= Deeba advocates the addition of green chillies, but her original recipe was spicy enough to clear our collective sinuses and heads. Proceed with caution

PPS = The garam masala powder was my addition to balance the flavours and can be omitted altogether

Feeds 4:

• 500gm quality lamb shoulder, diced with bone
• 2 large tomatoes
• 4 large onions
• 250gm thick natural yogurt (Greek works best)
• Half teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• Half tsp garam masala
• 5 whole dry red chillies
• 5 black cardamoms
• 5 cloves
• 5 whole black peppers
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 inch ginger
• 4 tbsp sunflower oil

Slice two onions finely and fry in the oil on a high heat in a large pan. In the meantime, peel and mince / puree the ginger and garlic. As the onions turn golden, add in the lamb and fry for another five minutes sealing them well.

Now add the yogurt and keep sauteing for another five minutes. Stir from time to time and chop the remaining onions and the tomatoes into one-inch pieces . Next, mix in the whole masalas, paprika and chilli powder and mix through. Then stir in the ginger, garlic and onion pieces.

I next added half a cup of hot water and left the lamb to cook covered on a medium high flame for half an hour stirring viciously every few minutes. Finally, I took the cover off and let it dry up and keep softening for another half an hour. If you have a pressure cooker, this will take no more than one whistle plus 25 minutes on a low flame.

Stir in the garam masala when the lamb just melts in your mouth. Spoon into bowls and attack with ready made naan.