Zafar's recipes

Indian cuisine is a vast myriad of spices often combined into a unique mix. The most common of these is termed garam masala. The term...

Sandwiches are perfect for road trips, but they need not be fussy with too many small ingredients and dry without loads of mayo and...

Combining flavours is an art. It brings the perfect balance of the essential flavours: sweet, sour, spice, salt, and umami. Understanding...

I grew up enjoying this dish prepared by my grandmother and then my mother. It was a dish cooked on special occasions, and you will see why below, and one the family always looked forward to. The lovely, creamy curry, with chunks of meat, potatoes, shallots, and fresh tomatoes, was greedily sopped up with naan or sheermal until we were stuffed. This dish has a history and a long journey, with the original recipe adapted along the way. The origins of this dish are thought to be in the...

The art of mole is complex and old. Mole is originally thought to have been created in either the Oaxaca or Puebla regions of Mexico. The...

I do love tuna especially if it is made well. A chef highlights his creativity and skill with a well-cooked tuna dish, and here is a dish...

My recent trip to Georgia opened my eyes, and palate to both Svanetian salt and adjika powder. These are freely available in the...

During mango season I try and use mangoes in as many dishes as I can. Here is a new recipe that I use as a pre-dessert. A pre-dessert is...

One of the most common street-food snacks in India is green mangoes with chili powder and salt. I have also had this combination around...

I love tuna salad but have learned to make my own over the decades. The main reason for this is that commercial tuna salads are loaded...

Core to Georgian cuisine is khmeli-suneli, an aromatic spice blend that brings beautiful aromas and flavour to any dish it is added to....

What d you do with extra mashed potatoes, mustard greens and some eggs that seem to be languishing at the back of the fridge? Here is the...

I often get recipes from friends and nothing makes me happier. I am always impressed by the creativity and foresight in putting very...

Banana alkali is one of the magic ingredients from the Northeast it is a mild liquid derived from the stems of specific banan tree stems...

I love making and serving cheese boards, and I love seeing one when I enter someone's house as a guest. The first thing a cheese board...

I was asked to make sandwiches for a road trip so we did not have to stop multiple times. This is one of the sandwiches that I created....

A friend presented me with a pack of Smoked pastrami, which is how I learned about Smoked Charcuterie by Dianora. I was bowled over by...

The history of apricots is ancient. The fruit was thought to have originated in China in 2000 BC, and the Roman emperor Julius Caesar loved them. The fruit was brought to him, dried via the Silk Route, and it established itself along the way in various regions, including the slopes of the lower Himalayas in Northern India. When the Uzbek king Babur invaded India, he was very pleasantly surprised to discover the fruit was already established in India, so he could enjoy them. I had the...

I was introduced to the concept of pre-dessert during my days in San Francisco. The better restaurants would bring a small bite of...

I had no idea kalettes existed till a few days ago when my generous and kind neighbour, Anisha, introduced me to this vegetable and gave...