This is a tangy yet creamy salad that makes the most of any apples and oranges which could be lying in the fruit bowl. You can replace them with pineapples and mangoes for a more exotic flavour.

This flat salty bread is produced all over Italy with a number of variations. It is usually eaten warm as a midmorning snack, and you’re lucky if you manage to find it in any bakery after midday.
This focaccia recipe is easy to make and easy to adapt. Try adding herbs such as rosemary or thyme, or perhaps some chopped chilli.

Traditionally Cranachan (apparently pronounced Krana-can) is a Scottish dish that is generally made with local or seasonal ingredients. This indulgent dessert used to be eaten during the time of harvest.

This is a spicy cake treat to cheer up any gloomy day. What I like about this recipe is that you don’t have to do much mixing and the cake tastes delicious with the combination of cinnamon and chocolate.

Good chocolate should generally contain at least 50 percent cocoa solids. This should be mentioned on the wrapper. The cocoa solids in chocolate include the cocoa butter along with other ingredients such as flavourings, lecithin, sugar, milk and vanilla.

This is one of the recipes that my mum used to make when we were kids. I would come home from school and in order to encourage me to eat veg, she would come up with this tasty version including cumin and green chilli.

During the summer months, you don't always have to have a bowl of cereal or an English breakfast every morning to kickstart the day. This recipe felt like an all round breakfast

This is a hearty dish which tastes wholesome and spicy. Make sure you soak the mince in hot water for ten minutes, then squeeze out the water before adding to the pan.

I've been doing a bit of recipe testing lately and have come up with an interesting combination of British stout with a hint of cinnamon spice. These cup cakes are great and can be stored in an airtight container for a week. My mum likes them without the icing.

Cooking for the guests at the British High Commission appeared to be a daunting task but it was comforting to know that everyone loved 'naughty' foods such as these potato wedges with a smattering of chilli. Just like pakoras or onion bhajis, it is advised not to eat these everyday.

Manju's Spicy Pasta Sauce with penne (Desi Pasta)
While I was filming the forty part series for NDTV Goodtimes - all about making British and other European cuisines, I noticed that there were many types of pasta on sale in the shops indicating that cooking pasta has become a popular pastime.

Masala Shepherds Pie

Spicy tuna Fishcakes

What better way to start the New Year than with an indulgent breakfast combining spicy and smoky flavours. Indians call scrambled eggs, anda bhurji and often add fresh green coriander leaves to their mixture.

There are many versions of houmous available in stores, but nothing beats a homemade version of his gorgeous dip which can be freshly prepared and stored in an airtight container for 2 days in the fridge.

This makes a great dip with prawn crackers or can be used as a marinade for chicken. If you're planning to use it as a marinade, make sure that you do not use the leftover sauce mixture that was marinating the chicken to come into contact with any cooked foods.

India is famous for finding an excuse to break for a tasty snack.

This is one way of eating a light chicken dish packed with the indulgence of cheese and cream.

I love anything sweet at this time of year. Come to think of it, I love sweet things anytime of the year!

Awadhi is considered India’s most subtle cuisine and is typical of Uttar Pradesh. There are hundreds of varieties of kebabs also spelt kabab, such as kakori kebabs, galawat kebabs, shami kebabs, and seekh kebabs. ‘Galouti’ means ‘melt in the mouth’.

Sprouted beans are easy to digest and are frequently used in dishes from the western and southern parts of India. They impart a crisp, nutty flavour to dishes like this one.

South Indian food is largely non-greasy, roasted and steamed. Rice is the staple grain and forms the basis of every meal. It is often served with

Paneer is made from whole cow’s or buffalo’s milk curdled with lemon juice. It is pressed until its texture is firm and similar to tofu.
It’s an essential protein source in many vegetarian diets.

The Maharashtrian salad from Western India, can also be made with various other vegetables, such as radish or cabbage. More often than not,

The subtle heat of the green chillies, the nuttiness of the gram flour and the cool, refreshing taste of coriander makes these fritters a delightful opening to a meal.

Aloo Bondas are a streetfood from Mumbai (Bombay), sold around beaches and in fast-food restaurants. However, my mother has always made them at home. Batata vadas or Aloo bondas are the Southern and Western Indian versions of the North's samosas, but they are made with gram flour (besan) rather than wheat flour.

Samosas are either stuffed with minced meat or potatoes which is the more popular of the two. They do take time to prepare with several stages involved so if you are planning to make some for a special event, they can be filled and shaped the night before, covered and placed in a refrigerator, then baked on the day

Indian salads are refreshing complements to elaborate dishes that are loaded with spices and flavours. This sharp tangy recipe is remarkably simple and pairs well with meat or chicken.

Kela Chip. Across the Cochin region in Southern India, roadside vendors deep-fry thousands of banana slices in large black vessels filled with coconut oil. You'll also find jackfruit, tapioca and yam chips. Often the bananas are cut into chunks, fried, dipped in jaggery or sugar syrup, then dried and sold as sweets.

North Indian appetisers or snacks, pakoras are batter-fried vegetables or fish. The batter is usually made of chickpea flour known as besan that's mixed with water and a few select spices such as coriander and chilli.

My mother used to make this when we couldn't be bothered to go shopping. It's one way of using ingredients in the store cupboard and makes a change from eggs and soldiers in the morning.

At the crack of dawn in India's railway stations men and women armed with eggs and frying pans are to be found preparing these omelettes outside carriage windows.
It's a great spectacle to watch and makes travelling on India's railway network all the more fun.

Tapioca is an important product of the American plant cassava, but the main producers are now in Asia and Africa. Tapioca is usually used for making milk puddings in the West, but in South India it is found in various savoury preparations, such as these spicy patties of tapioca pearls and potato.

This is the definitive Indian biscuit. Countless recipes have all sorts of different ingredients but they all contain semolina and plain flour. Many decades ago, women would prepare their biscuit dough at home and take it to a communal oven or bakery for the baker to bake. The cooked biscuits would then be delivered back to them.

North Indian appetizers or snacks, Pakoras are batter fried vegetables or fish. The batter is usually made of gram flour or besan mixed with water and a few select spices such as coriander and chilli.

Tipsy Chicken with Beer

My mother is quite particular when it comes to food, but she was delighed with this snack. The tortillas are smothered with melting chesse, tangy tomatoes, hot chillies and crunchy onion.

This is a northern Indian street snack but makes a great starter. There are all kinds of chaat recipes but this is served simply with a couple of chutneys.

If you head off into the dusty streets of old Delhi, you’ll come across countless formica table topped eateries serving Mughlai cuisine or dishes from an era when Muslim emperors ruled most of India.

Murgh Tikka Masala or Chicken Tikka Masala has now replaced Tandoori chicken as the most popular Indian dish in the world. It is believed that Chicken Tikka Masala originated from the kitchens of Bangladeshi chefs in the UK. It is a great way to introduce a first time ‘curry eater’ to Indian food as the strong flavours of the warming spic

I once went for a two-hour cooking lesson in a remote village in Bali. It was great fun, and as I was the only student I had one-to-one teaching and managed to follow all the recipes. This was my favourite.

Here’s an extremely simple recipe for even the most novice of cooks to make. It needs very little preparation and just a bit of stirring – that’s all!
It's Manju's Football Vindaloo, the perfect side-dish.

Curry leaves are extensively used in southern India, less so in the North.

They were introduced to Malaysia by the many South Indians (mostly Tamil) immigrants during the British colonial era. Rumour has it that the word “curry” came from the Indian name for theses leaves which is “kari patta”.

Dish that takeaway! The first time I made this in ten minutes I did it to win a bet! However, I had all the ingredients and utensils laid out in front of me, which saved a lot of time - and I chopped the chicken into very small pieces. You can use leftover cooked chicken or turkey, which is even quicker.

Chettinad is a town in Chennai, formerly known as Madras, where most of the curries are hot but deliciously flavoured with whole and ground spices.

A mouthwatering recipe with spicy potatoes and coriander chutney.

This is a fabulously flavoured tangy curry which is packed with spice. It is worth investing in a food processor or a blender. You can make your sauces at the weekend and use them throughout the week. As an alternative to chicken, use parboiled mixed vegetables.

Karahi Chicken is yummy! Make your own karahi curry sauce or use Manju's delicious homemade recipe.

East Indians have added a few Chinese touches to this traditional dish to create Chilli Chicken. This recipe is taken from Classic Indian Recipes by Manju Malhi published by Hamlyn.

The cuisine of Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh, ranges from the Hyderabadi style, with its strong Islamic influence, to a pure Andhra hot and spicy style. The cooking of Hyderabad is rich and aromatic and uses many exotic spices, as well as ghee, nuts, dried fruit and lamb. Hyderabad is also famous for its biryanis – rice di

Taken from India with Passion published by Mitchell Beazley

Although Chinese food is popular throughout India, it is nowhere more evident than in the city of Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta). There are large Chinese communities situated near the Eastern Metropolitan bypass Road and in the north of the city. This cosmopolitan city has

Korma just means a mild curry. Yet it is actually a very rich stew in which the meat, chicken or vegetables and nuts are braised in cream, yogurt or coconut milk.

In Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) in East India, kathi rolls are a staple food. Pancakes or parathas are filled with vegetables, cooked chicken or meat. Watching a kathi roll being made is fascinating.

A ball of dough is picked up and put onto the fat on the hot tawa or griddle. It is flipped over and quickly spread wit

This is another fast idea I’ve come up with to make use of five basic spices. I’ve made a simple curry paste mixture which can be used with turkey breasts also.

Generally a crumble is a British oven-baked sweet pudding that’s made with stewed fruit such as apples or peaches and then with a crumble-like mixture consisting of flour, butter and sugar. This is a spicy and savoury version using gram flour as the topping. If you cannot get hold of gram flour, replace the same quantity with plain flour.

Butter Chicken
Butter chicken is a rich and indulgent dish from the northern Indian region of Punjab. Delhi can also be classed as the home of murgh makhani.

There are several variations of this dish and more often than not, there are no onions.

It's the UK's favourite Indian curry and something which introduces you to 5 spices in the Manju repertoire.

This is a quick way of jazzing up chicken when you're in a hurry or tired after a hard day. Make sure the chicken is cooked through by cutting the pieces in half to check that it is white on the inside.

This recipe contains no creamy sauce whatsoever and skinless chicken which contains the least fat. You can use chicken on the bone too.

All the ingredients mentioned are used generally in most Indian curry bases although the tomato puree can be replaced with a fresh chopped tomato. The garam masala adds the finishing touch and a bit of w

This is a great way of turning a British classic into something special.

Chatpata means quick in Hindi and its a simple approach to a recipe which does taste good when all the ingredients are combined at just the right quantities. This makes a great sandwich filling too and the whisky can be omitted.