Fresh ginger

Dum-style biryani: marinated chicken layered with saffron rice and slow-cooked under a sealed dough lid. The steam does the work.

Sichuan mapo tofu: silken tofu in a fiery, numbing sauce of doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorns. Finished with a cloud of ground pork.

Silky spinach sauce, golden-fried paneer cubes. The green is preserved by the ice-bath trick. My mother's version, not the restaurant version.

Brush with oil and bake at 200C until golden. 40% less fat. Surprisingly good. The pastry doesn't quite blister the same way but it works.

Chicken thighs braised directly in the spinach sauce. Not traditional but absolutely delicious. Better macros than the paneer version.

Ground wagyu instead of pork. Richer, more luxurious, slightly less traditional. Worth the upgrade for a special occasion.

Seasonal vegetables: cauliflower, potato, peas, and paneer. Same dum technique. Lighter but just as aromatic.

Flaky pastry shells filled with spiced potato and peas. The fold is the hard part. The eating is the reward. Makes 20.

Extra-firm tofu pressed and pan-fried replaces paneer. Vegan. The spinach sauce is so good you will not miss anything.

Lamb shoulder marinated 8 hours. Slower dum cook. Deeper, richer, more complex than the chicken version.

Shiitake mushrooms replace the pork. Vegetable stock. The doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorns do all the heavy lifting anyway.

Spiced minced lamb filling instead of potato-peas. The original meat version from Lucknow. Better for non-vegetarians.