A spicy dish based on coconut milk, chillies and spices, the flavors of this curry will be familiar to those who have experienced Sri Lankan and South Indian food.

Each country has its own special method of cooking rice. In North India, the most prized rice is basmati, a fragrant, long-grain rice that is cooked on its own (namkin chawal), or with lentils (kitchri), or in spicy stock (yakhni pilau). It is always cooked by the absorption method. If basmati rice is not available, use any long-grain rice.

Featuring the same main ingredient as the recipe for dhal, but the result is sufficiently different and worth a try so you can decide which is your favorite. Instead of water, coconut milk is the cooking medium. The flavors are different because distinctively flavored ingredients are added to the frying onions and cooked along with the lentils.

This is a cross between a curry and a pickle, and high in acidity. Cook it in a non-reactive pan. In India this would be an earthenware pot, but enamel or heavy stainless steel would be a suitable substitute.

Remove the skin and any excess fat from the lamb. With the point of a small knife make deep slits all over the lamb. To make the Marinade, crush the garlic with salt to form a smooth paste. Combine with the ginger, ground spices and lemon juice. Rub the marinade over the lamb and press some into each slit. Put the lamb in a deep bowl.

One of my favorite Indian dishes, since there is so much flavors in every bite. Minced lamb is combined with onion, garlic, ginger, chillies and fresh coriander or mint, formed into koftas (balls), browned and simmered in a spicy gravy that echoes similar flavors.

Here we have the traditional recipe, which is fairly labour intensive if you make it from start to finish. A much easier modern way to achieve the same result is to make the Korma Paste beforehand and store it in the refrigerator in a clean glass jar, or to use my Charmaine Solomon's Korma Curry Paste. You save so much preparation time that this recipe becomes easy Lamb Korma. The details of this alternative method appear on page 99. Once it is cooked, this dish improves with keeping (in the refrigerator), and o is ideal for preparing ahead. It is delicious in its own right, sprinkled with fresh coriander leaves just before serving. It is also the savoury lamb for Biriyani.

For this dish, you are supposed to first prepare tandoori chicken and make sure there is enough left over for this equally popular chicken cooked in a saffron scented creamy sauce. This is a simple method and just as good.

Simple to prepare and with such superb flavor, this is one of my favorite chicken dishes. It is typical of North Indian cooking. Be sure you purchase the saffron from a reputable supplier, since there are many yellow powders and bright orange strands labeled saffron which are not. Some cooks soak the saffron strands in hot milk or hot water and add them whole, but I think the method I have described below diffuses the flavor more evenly.

In Indian restaurants the chicken comes out bright orange-red. No artificial coloring is used in my recipe.