I am back at work. Six months with Micro Mini Basu just flew. He is now ready for university. Well. One can hope.

Seriously though, I am really enjoying motherhood.

It’s just that two closely-timed pregnancies later, I was beginning to go funny. You know. Saying things like “Don’t lick the floor”. Swinging from side to side sans baby. Counting the hours until a large glass of ice cold wine…

So how does it feel to be back at work? Wonderful. Monday to Thursday is a long weekend compared to the chaos of home. Uninterrupted cups of tea. Trips to the loo. Adult conversation. Shame it’s so hard to say goodbye to the bundles in the morning!

On the quick Indian cooking front, I haven’t been great have been pathetic on the blogging front. Behind the scenes, however, I have been hard at work perfecting a “quick” version of a tangy chilli Kerala beef fry. My friend Boobie fell in love with this recipe at her last trip to India and we’ve been at it ever since!

The trick to this recipe is to either slice thin beef steaks very finely and stir fry everything in a wok. Or to cook cubes of boneless beef/lamb/goat in a pressure cooker until they are virtually falling apart.

With the coconut, I nabbed a fresh coconut in my local grocer, smashed it open and grated and froze the flesh. Two months ago… I really recommend saving a stash in your freezer if you don’t have access to the fresh stuff. Dessicated coconut is a very poor distant cousin of the real stuff.

So here it is. A fresh new start for a fiery classic. Let’s hope it works for you and me!!

Feeds 2:

• 350gm thin beef steaks
• 50gm fresh grated coconut
• 1 medium onion
• Half tsp fennel powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• Half tsp chilli powder
• 4 whole red chillies
• 20 -30 fresh or freshly frozen curry leaves
• 1 inch ginger
• 4 medium cloves garlic
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

If using frozen coconut, take it out of the freezer first. Slice the beef steaks very thin and chop the onion into small pieces. If using boneless chunks of meat, cut them into small bite-sized pieces. Peel and finely chop the ginger and garlic.

In a medium sized wok, bring the oil to heat over a high heat. When it starts sizzling, add the onions, ginger and garlic, chillies and curry leaves and fry until the mixture turns golden in colour. This will take 5-10 minutes.

Next, toss in the beef with all the spice powders and fry on a high heat until the meat is cooked and turns a rich dark shade. Now stir in the coconut, tamarind and when it’s mixed through with the beef, add 2-3 tablespoons of warm water and simmer until it is absorbed. Add salt to taste and eat straightaway curled into hot rotis.

If using a pressure cooker, pressure cook on high for one whistle and at least 25 minutes on low. Don’t add the coconut or tamarind until after the meat is cooked.

Wonderful. I bought a new pair of four-inchers and the shortest tulip dress I could find.

Hello intellectual emancipation.

Not that I didn’t make the best possible use of maternity leave. I researched the purchase of Mini Basu’s every toy, wardrobe essentials, equipment with the fervour usually reserved for groundbreaking client reports. I shook in my shoe boots as I read the latest baby management techniques. For the third time over. Mostly, I bonded with the little fiend. Wooden spoons, I am proud to report, are her favourite kitchen gadgets.

Six month’s later, I was tripping over myself to get back into the real world. Heartless me! It’s clearly okay to be asked why I don’t want to spend more time at home with mini Basu. It’s clearly not okay to wonder why one would want to embrace soiled nappies instead of a well-deserved promotion. Or am I being unreasonable?

It’s not easy. Racing home to see mini Basu, feeling guilty most of the time, about mostly everything. Still, I think I’m lucky to live in a world where I can make the choice.

I choose rushing around. And moist Aloo Keema, or lean mincement with potatoes, tucked into a pitta bread. Something different to an every day spag bol supper.

Feeds 2:

• 500gm lean mincemeat
• 1 medium onion
• 1 large potato
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 4 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 heaped tbsp Greek/thick yogurt
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Half tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp oil
• Fresh coriander to decorate

Chop the onion into little pieces and peel and cut the potato into little cubes. Bring the oil to heat over high in a large pan. When it’s hot, saute the onion and ginger garlic paste for 5 minutes until soft.

Add the mincemeat, turmeric, chilli, cumin and coriander, and cook, repeatedly bashing with a wooden spoon, until the meat is brown through and through.

Next roughly chop and add the tomatoes, potatoes, yogurt and half a pint of hot water. Lower the heat to medium and cook uncovered for 20 minutes. Stir this every 5 minutes carefully without breaking the potatoes to make sure the meat doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

When the time’s up, stir in the garam masala, black pepper and salt to taste. Sprinkle with fresh coriander if you fancy and eat tucked into a toasted pitta bread with mango pickle.

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.

I learnt how to make these on my recent trip to India. My friend Alka who hates cooking made these for me, which is really saying something. I then got the recipe off my mum’s red-lipstick and kaftan-wearing, chain-smoking friend Litu mashi over a cup of tea and three samosas. Size zero diet has not been going well for a while now…

Shami kebabs are from that staple house of Indian cooking known as Mughlai food. Handed down from the Moghal Emperors who ruled India yonks ago, it is a rich and luxurious style of muslim cooking ever-popular in India.

My recipe made about 12, which hubby and I went through in seconds. The best thing about these is that you can make them in advance and reheat in a microwave when ready to serve. Always have them hot though.

250gms lean beef or chicken mince
Quarter cup chana lentils, soaked in cold water
Half tsp turmeric
Quarter tsp chilli powder
Half tsp garam masala
1 onion, chopped fine
1″ ginger, chopped roughly
1 large bay leaf
1″ cinnamon
3 cloves
3 cardamoms
1 green chilli
3 tsp flavourless oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup hot water
Salt to taste

Soak the chana dhal for at least an hour before you start cooking. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil, and fry the onions, then ginger and all the whole spices (bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon).

When the onion starts going translucent, add the mincemeat, chana dhal and all the other masalas and the chopped green chilli, and stir viciously until the meat is brown all over.

Now add the water and boil until the chana is cooked (you will know when it’s soft and squidgy to taste) and the water completely evaporates.

Leave the mixture to cool slightly. Then add salt to taste and grind it in a food processor. Don’t worry if a few pieces of chana dhal are whole, this will only add character to the kebabs.

Now take meatball size amounts and shape into flat discs. Heat the remaining two teaspoons of oil. Then dip each side of the kebabs in the beaten egg and shallow fry in batches until golden brown on either side.

These are great with mint chutney and tomato ketchup.