Sweet and sour chicken curry

Sometimes you just want a take-away style chicken curry, preferably one you can pull together very quickly from just a handful of ingredients. Voila!

Corn curry

Being that I have a massive sweet tooth, I have a real fondness for corn. Sweet, crisp, and tasting of summer, it's one of my favourite vegetables. This recipe from India is traditionally made with corn cobs, but I usually use frozen kernel corn instead - it's a lot easier to find, and cheaper too!

Vegetables in a hot red sauce

This is an adaption of a chicken recipe from one of my trusty old cookbooks. Don't let the secret ingredient (ketchup) put you off, because it actually tastes pretty good! I don't know about you, but sometimes I just crave a big bowl of vegetables. On those days, a nice, quick and easy curry is the perfect way to go.

Black pepper lamb

Pepper can be a funny spice. A little can warm you, or bring out the taste of sweet dishes. Too much of it can make the dish fiery and harsh. But just the right amount? Therein lies heaven (or as close to heaven as lamb curry gets).

Cardamon chicken curry

This Northern Indian dish blends cardamon and cinnamon to delicious effect and makes a very thick sauce, perfect for scooping up with hunks of warm naan bread. Serve with a vegetable dish or two for a perfect better-than-take-away meal.

Traditionally this sort of dish would be made with diced chicken, but I prefer the extra flavour of meat cooked on the bone. If you want to use diced chicken, reduce the cooking time and the amount of water added by half.

Kali dhal

Dhal (also spelled dal or daal) dishes are eaten as a daily staple throughout India. This particular recipe uses black lentils, hence the name (black lentils is the literal translation). Like most lentil dishes, this one doesn't look too pretty. But the creamy taste of this dish elevates it above your garden-variety dhal.

Eggplant curry

Confession time: aubergine has never been my favourite vegetable. So my preferred recipes for aubergines are those that add lots of strong flavours, like garlic, or Parmesan cheese. This north Indian recipe uses plenty of garlic. ginger and tomato, with added chili to up the punch.