Now, a lot has happened since September last year. Micro Mini Basu, a little boy, arrived on 29 October 2010. I thought motherhood the first time was difficult. But a quick look back reveals those were the good days – I was still doing my nails!

Manicures are the last thing on the mind right now. I’m the mom of two under two. That’s a lot of nappies, tears and youth rejuvenating serum.

Still, I’m happy to report Micro Mini me is divine and angelic. God knows where he gets that from! Mini Basu, on the other hand, is shaping into a fiesty princess with a penchant for flouncy frocks. (Now, where did she get that from?!) And that I am still sampling the delights of wintry London, with the aid of a lovely Gujarati lady, albeit a little bleary eyed.

As for quick Indian cooking. Did I even know that meaning of “quick” before I had two kids? During the day, quick means whatever I can rustle up while Mini Basu terrorises soft toys or hangs off my skinny jeans, and Micro Mini gets his beauty sleep. In the evenings, it’s a real toss up between cooking and sleeping. Sleeping usually wins.

Makes the 50-slide presentations I put together at work seem easy peasy!

There would be no better to restart this blog than with another version of Dhaniya Murgh, the perfect recipe for the exhausted on a quiet evening. This creamy yet low fat chicken curry is steeped in two of my favourite ingredients – coriander and yoghurt. This version has more curry and cooks quicker with the boneless chicken thighs.

Here’s to everything bigger, better and quicker in 2011. Happy New Year everyone!

Feeds 2:

• 4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs
• 1 small onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 250gm natural Greek (thick) yoghurt
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• Half tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• Half tsp garam masala
• 15 gm fresh coriander
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

Take the yoghurt out of the fridge. Roughly chop the onion and finely mince of puree the garlic ginger. Cube the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

In a medium-sized pan, bring the oil to heat on high. When it starts sizzling, add the onions, ginger and garlic and fry until the mixture is golden brown. The  stir in the all the powders apart from the garam masala.

Fry the masalas for five minutes, adding a serving spoon of hot water if they start getting stuck to the bottom of the pan. Then mix in the chicken and seal on the high heat for about two minutes.

Next, spoon in the yoghurt, lower the heat to medium low and cook, stirring regularly for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked and oil floats to the surface of the curry. Finally stir in the coriander, garam masala and salt to your taste. Serve piping hot with freshly-made Basmati rice.

I know. Shoddy. It’s the only word that accurately sums up the abysmal rate of new posts on this site.

The truth is I ran out of steam. Pregnant for the second time, with mini Basu turning into the Tasmanian Devil. Mega intense book launch in India following a short break with the family. And never mind the PR job.

But let me put the violin away for a moment. There are lots of positives to report. Miss Masala is now up there with “Hot Desi Masala” in Google searches. Summer has been short but brilliant fun. And I’ve been cooking loads.

Just eating it all too quickly and passing out straight after!

This is one of the recipes that proved a hit when a girlfriend came over to discuss urgent love matters. A lightweight, meal-in-one Palak Murgh or chicken curry with spinach. Of course, who thought to take a photograph or, more importantly, make a note of the recipe at the time!

So try two, I rustled it up again for a mid-week dinner ticking all above boxes. Except this time I dived in cooking sans shower cap and eating with fingers, forgetting the big client meeting the next day. I swear his nose twitched as I quickly greeted him with an air kiss. The Palak Murgh emanating from my now truly luscious locks came a close second to the aromatic but turmeric-stained fingernails I was sporting.

Still, this curry was worth every moment. Here’s to more where it came from…

PS = You can use diced chicken thighs in this recipe but the end result will not have the same depth.

Feeds 4

• 8 chicken drumsticks and thighs, skinned (1kg)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 inch ginger
• 2 large onions
• 3 large tomatoes
• 2 tsp tomato puree
• 500g fresh or frozen spinach, cooked
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 inch stick cinnamon
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• Half tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp flavourless oil
• Half tsp white sugar
• Salt to taste

Chop the onions roughly and mince finely the ginger and garlic. In a pan, bring the oil to heat on high and when it starts sizzling when touched with a wooden spoon, add in the bay leaf, cinnamon and sugar.

As the sugar caramelises within seconds, chuck in the chopped onions and stir viciously for five minutes. Next add the ginger garlic and fry for another five minutes until the whole mixture turns a dark shade of gold. Then chuck in all spice powders apart from the garam masala and fry for another five minutes.

If the spices start getting stuck to the bottom of the pot, add a little hot water and scrape off.

Now, roughly chop the tomatoes and add them to the pot along with the puree. As the tomatoes disintegrate, throw in the chicken thighs and drumsticks and mix the whole lot into the masala to brown evenly. Then add half a cup of hot water, lower the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes to half an hour covered, stirring every five minutes, until the chicken is cooked.

You will know because the chicken will separate from the bone on the drumstick, but it’s always worth cutting a piece up to be doubly sure.

When the chicken is done, mix in the cooked spinach, add garam masala and salt to taste and simmer for a final five minutes until oil floats to the surface. Enjoy with rotis someone else prepared or in my case, a big bowl of steaming hot Basmati rice.

Left my makeup bag and spectacles in the back of a black cab

Burnt mini Basu’s creative casserole and other gourmet offerings to crisp

Conducted a branding workshop for 22 senior corporate executives with my fly undone

Now, there’s Chinese food on an Indian cooking blog.

Bear with me. I’m a big fan of Chinese cooking. We eat Dim Sum every weekend. But Chindian is short for Indian Chinese. Originally from the Hakka Chinese community in India, with a bit of masala thrown in for good measure.

It’s all in honour of a dear friend and fellow blogger Ann Mah, whose literary debut Kitchen Chinese launched this week. The Hakka Noodle and Chilli Chicken combo fed my video guru, man and me last night. I can’t wait to get some brain cells back to read about the real thing!

Feeds 4:

Chilli chicken

• 10 small skinless chicken drumsticks
• 75ml dark soy sauce
• 1 large onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 green finger chillies
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil

Soak the chicken in the soy sauce. Chop the onion into large pieces, the chillies into little ones and slice the garlic.

In a wok or kadai, bring the oil to heat on high. When it’s hot, fry the garlic until golden then add all the other ingredients and stir every few minutes until the chicken is cooked. You’ll know because the chicken will separate from the bone. While it’s cooking make the noodles.

Hakka noodles

• 300gm medium egg noodles
• 1 large tea mug shredded cabbage
• 1 large tea mug shredded carrot
• 1 green pepper
• 5 spring onions
• 1.5 tbsp chilli garlic sauce (any Chinese one will do nicely)
• 1.5 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 garlic clove
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp flavourless white oil

Cook the noodles and set aside. Chop the garlic clove and mix it together with the sauces. Slice the green pepper finely and chop the spring onions.

Next, bring the oil to heat on high in a wok or kadai. When the oil starts sizzling, pour in the sauce mixture and in a few seconds the vegetables, bar one chopped spring onion. Cook for about two minutes until they soften, then mix in the cooked noodles, add salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle the noodles with the remaining chopped spring onion and eat straightaway.

If you develop a taste for this, try also Nags’ Gobi Manchurian or Meenal’s Egg-vegetable Fried Rice.

I mean who knew one shot of vodka was 25ml? Everyone has a tequila glass!

And why would anyone who buys a cookbook written by yours truly expect to find a recipe for home made ghee in it? I’d rather spend the time trimming my hair with a nail clipper, thank you very much.

Meanwhile, the summer barbeque season has truly kicked off. I’ve also been drinking copious amounts of Rose wine, while billowing barbeques blow sausage smoke through my carefully crafted locks.

True to form, I’ve been saving time, effort and precious brain cells these days by making the same kebab for every barbeque I’ve attended. The juicy, skewered Chicken Reshmi Tikka has been reeled out on three occasions causing quite a sensation. It’s dead easy to make with readily-available ingredients.

Look out for the meat tenderiser powder that goes into it at supermarkets. It’s totally natural and works a treat to soften even the hardest pieces of meat. Perfect for quick fix marinades when every second counts.

Makes 15 skewers:

• 1.5 kg chicken breasts (about 15)
• 15 cloves garlic
• 5 inches ginger
• 3 tbsp coriander powder
• 3 tbsp chilli powder
• 3 tbsp meat tenderiser
• 200ml double cream (I know, I know… but this feeds 15)
• 250gm natural Greek yogurt
• 15 bamboo or metal skewers
• Salt to taste

Chop finely or puree the ginger and garlic together. Take a large mixing bowl and mix in all the ingredients. Add salt to your taste. Remember, the marinade needs to be fairly salty as the barbeque will burn some of it away.

Now cut the chicken into large bite-sized chunks. The best way to do this is cut off the tail end of each chicken breast first and then halve lengthwise each piece and chop through the width. Add th chicken pieces into the marinade bowl. Mix together well.

Leave this to sit covered for at least an hour and up to three hours. When you’re ready to eat, thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers (5-6 chicken pieces for each). Then cook on a sizzling but not smoky barbeque for 20 minutes turning regularly to ensure even cooking.

If the weather’s pants or you don’t have a barbeque, you could just cook the lot in two batches under a hot grill for the same amount of time. Serve on a bed of fresh sliced onions drizzled with some chilli powder, lemon juice and salt. Many times.

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.

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.

There are three good reasons for this. One, the festive season is about to start. Trying to get dates in diaries amidst Christmas parties, drunkenness, hangovers and more parties is virtually impossible. Two, I am fast growing into the female Hulk. Three, it’s no fun watching people get pissed.

I invited the group of Tuscany friends over, which included two of the grumpiest Scotsmen alive. One will eat what he’s served. The other will inspect it closely to make sure it’s worthy of consumption.

Initially, I toyed with the idea of serving the rainbow trout presented by our builder that was still tucked away in the freezer. I can clean fish, I convinced myself. Then I considered fishy fingernails. A kitchen smelling of the fish stall at the farmers market. Finally, a vision of the grumpy Scotsman unraveling my botched cleaning job flashed before my eyes.

Chicken curry it was. I picked a classic Kerala-style chicken curry that I knew would impress – coconut milk, curry leaves, baby onions and tender cubes of chicken. It was a huge success. His four helpings meant I had to cook it again to photograph it for this site.

A grand way to start a short but well-deserved break from entertaining large groups…

Feeds 4:

• 500 gm chicken thigh fillets
• 1 large onion
• 1 medium tomato
• 10-12 curry leaves
• 4 baby onions or small shallots
• 4 new potatoes
• 200gm reduced fat coconut milk (half tin)
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 4 black peppercorns
• 2 green finger chillies
• 4 tsp coriander powder
• Half tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• Half tsp garam masala
• 3 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

Chop the large onion finely, slice the tomato and cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. In a medium pan, bring the oil to heat over a high flame.

When it’s hot, add the fennel seeds and peppercorns and as they splutter mix in the onion, ginger and garlic. Fry this whole mixture for about five minutes until it starts going golden brown. Then chuck in all the spice powders apart from the garam masala.

Stir this vigorously for another five minutes and then mix in the chicken pieces. Brown the chicken on all sides, add the tomatoes, chillies and new potatoes in. Next pour in the coconut milk, lower the flame to a medium and let the chicken cook through.

In the meantime, peel the shallots or small onions. In a small pot, bring the remaining tablespoon of oil to heat on a high flame. When it’s hot, fry the curry leaves and shallots for a few seconds and mix into the chicken curry.

To finish, stir in the garam masala and some salt to taste and simmer the curry for two minutes until oil floats to the top.

A scene from Outbreak, the virus blockbuster, greeted me. Large sheets of green PVC everywhere. Rooms sealed with thick masking tape with strategic openings to allow entrance and departure.

Our building work had commenced. I was going to live in my own horror production for the next two weeks.

On the plus side I found two HUGE trouts in our freezer.  The wonderful project manager brought them from his fly fishing trip. But these had to be safely frozen until I found a friendly fishmonger to clean them for me.

And until the kitchen had been restored to its original splendor. Now it was a particular danger zone with our computer equipment all over the dining table and worktop. Dinner was going to be an exercise in new spatial orientation.

But quick Indian cooking is always alive and kicking. I turned to a box of Khanum goodies I got sent to trial. It had an excellent minced ginger and garlic paste, a saviour of sorts if you get a potent-enough substitute for the real thing. I set to work on Kadai Chicken (pronounced Ker-Hai), a blindingly simple stir fry.

So simple in fact that I felt guilty and made my own curry powder for it. I normally never recommend using ready blended curry powder. But some messy situations call for alternative action.
PS = Just don’t use chicken breasts. That’s one compromise too far.
Feeds 2:

• 400gm chicken thigh, skinless and boneless
• 1 large onion
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp whole cumin
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 dry red chilli
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Handful of fresh coriander
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil

Chop the onion and tomatoes into little pieces and cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks.

In a wok, bring the oil to heat over a high flame. When it starts sizzling, throw in the chopped onion and stir on a high heat for two minutes until it turns soft and golden brown.

In the meantime, powder the whole cumin, coriander and chilli in a small coffee grinder to make your own curry powder. Or just use a ready curry powder.

Now add in the ginger and garlic paste and stir for another minute. Then mix in the curry powder and fry for a minute quickly adding the chopped tomatoes before they start sticking to the bottom of the wok.

Keep stirring for another two minutes until they disintegrate and then stir in the chicken. Let the chicken cook, stirring from time to time for five minutes. Then lower the flame, mix in the garam masala and cover for another two minutes to finish off and add salt.

Sprinkle with the fresh coriander and eat with some toasted wholemeal pitta bread.

I sat at work with double vision, editing draft 25 of a report that was once interesting. Contemplating professional suicide by staging an untimely walk out.

There were two options. I could tell my line manager where to shove her Earth-shatteringly important document. Or I could vent my frustration through a reassuringly fiddly Methi Murgh at home.

I chose the second option. You may wonder why I didn’t choose to order a takeaway. Vegetate in front of the TV. Dream about my next holiday in bright sunshine.

But there is something strangely therapeutic about hacking an onion into little bits, skinning chicken pieces and beating tomatoes into pulp. Violent, moi?

One hour of no thinking about work and the result was a thick and delicious Punjabi Dhaba-style Chicken curry, packed with the wholesome goodness of sweet fresh tomatoes and bitter fenugreek.

Next time you want to tell your boss where to go…

PS = Just as I finished licking my plate clean a terrific recipe for Methi Murgh popped up on Zaika. Great minds think alike. Although her’s was in a more positive frame.

Feeds 2:

• 4 skinned chicken thighs or drumsticks (600-700gm)
• 2 ripe medium tomatoes
• 1 large onion
• 1 inch ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp thick yogurt (Greek works best)
• 4 cardamoms
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 1 tsp whole cumin
• Half tsp chilli powder
• Half tsp turmeric powder
• 50 gm fresh fenugreek leaves or methi
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

Chop the onion into little pieces. Peel the ginger and garlic. In a small food processor, puree the tomatoes together with the ginger and garlic.

Next, dry roast the whole spices in an oven for a five seconds or on a flat frying pan. Grind them into a fine powder. I used a coffee grinder.

Wash the fenugreek throughly under a cold tap and remove any hard stalks. Then set a large pot with one tablespoon to heat over a high flame. When the oil is hot, add the onions and fry for five minutes stirring constantly until it turns pale brown.

Then add the spice powder and stir for another two minutes. If it starts getting stuck on the bottom of the pan, just add a little bit of hot water and scrape off.

Now add the pureed tomatoes mixture and cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, then mix in the yogurt. The masala with thicken and start to get stuck on the sides of the pot. No panic, just add a little more hot water. When the masala darkens and it’s pungent smell goes, add salt to taste and then go in with a hand blender to puree it to a smooth mixture. This isn’t absolutely necessary but it gives you that restaurant finish.

In goes the chicken next, which you need to brown on either side mixing in the masala well. Then add hot water next to submerge the chicken, lower the flame slightly to a medium high and cook until it’s cooked. This takes a good 20-25 minutes. Just make sure you keep stirring from time to time so it doesn’t burn.

When you feel the chicken is almost ready, fry the fenugreek leaves in a small saucepan with the remaining tablespoon of oil until wilted and a darker shade of green. Then mix them into the chicken curry, lower the heat and simmer for two minutes. When oil floats to the top, your Methi Murgh is ready.

This dish is perfect with a simple dal and steaming hot basmati rice.

Now provocative, champagne-soaked dancing I can handle. Husky rendition of Fever I can enjoy. But was it really necessary to expose dimply bottoms and orange peel thighs in the middle of my dinner?

I focused on the thigh on my plate.

Chicken has been having its own issues lately. Since the revered Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall started his campaign to raise the plight of the ill treated, factory-farmed birds, I have been spurred into action.

Gone are the days of BOGOF packs of chicken thighs and drumsticks. I now stick to the free-range variety at the very least and organic if I haven’t blown my salary on alcohol and cabaret shows.

Thankfully, chicken thighs and drumsticks are cheaper than breast meat and infinitely more tasty in a curry. So give a chicken a chance with this herbed, light and fresh Hariyali Murgh recipe. I used Waitrose organic free range chicken and it rocked.

This is my entry to A Merrier World’s fantastic effort to raise awareness of the chicken we eat.

Feeds 4:

• 6 chicken thighs and drumsticks, skinned
• 2 tbsp of fresh ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 3 salad onions
• 90gm fresh spinach
• 20gm fresh coriander
• 20gm fresh mint
• 1 green finger chilli
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

Chop up the full length of the salad onions. Bring a large pot to heat over a high flame with the oil.

When it starts sizzling, throw in the salad onions and the ginger garlic. Stir it for about a minute until the ginger and garlic goes pale golden brown.

Now add in the chicken pieces and the coriander and cumin powders and brown for about five minutes, turning over from time to time.

In the meantime, wash and cook the spinach covered for about three minutes in a microwave. Take the mint of the hard stalks and cut the thick ends of the stalks off the coriander.

In a blender, puree the cooked spinach with the mint, coriander, lemon juice and green chilli. Pour this fresh green sauce onto the chicken, lower the flame to a medium and cook covered for half an hour until the chicken is cooked.

You may need to add half a cup of water to help the chicken cook. When the chicken separates from the bone and the curry is mist but not watery, serve with some steaming hot Basmati rice and a content smile.