Asma Khan

Asma Khan · Ammu

Biryani was always made for big celebratory occasions. In my mother’s family, it was usually made with khasi, or goat, and cooked in a giant pot with layers of rice, meat and potatoes infused with spices and saffron. This recipe is a very personal one. This was the biryani that was made just for the five of us – my parents, my two siblings and me. On days when there was some good news, or more typically on days when something had gone wrong – from my brother losing a cricket match or me not doing so well in my exams – Ammu would get this biryani on the table and suddenly everything seemed okay! This is also usually the last dish I eat at home before I make the five-hour car journey from my parents’ home to the airport to catch my flight to London. I always felt that layered in that biryani were things my mother couldn’t say. When the biryani arrived on the table, it felt like Ammu’s secret code, telling me that she loved me.

Asma Khan · Monsoon

You may be surprised at the lack of spices and chillies in this dish. This is a traditional Anglo-Indian potato chop, which many of us grew up eating in Calcutta. The only seasoning used was salt and pepper. I have had versions of this dish where some chilli powder was added to the stuffing – so you could add ½ teaspoon of chilli powder while cooking the meat. In our house, aloo chop was always served with buttered toast. I would dip it into tomato ketchup, while my sister would add chilli sauce as a condiment. Leftovers were mashed and used as a sandwich filling and put into our tiffin box the next day. The oval shape of this chop seems to be an important part of its culinary heritage. Most other chops we ate in Bengal were either cylindrical croquettes or flat like a patty. Once you are confident with the recipe, feel free to experiment and add more things.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

This classic Indian-street food inspired dish is perfect for serving as a snack or as part of a larger spread.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Asma Khan's classic chicken biryani recipe combines the warming flavours of saffron-infused milk, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Asma Khan's quick Bengali shredded cabbage is fragrant with ginger, turmeric and cumin and features contrasting textures and flavours.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

In this recipe from Asma Khan, cinnamon, bay, cumin and chilli infuse the batter to create moreish deep-fried chicken pieces.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

A failsafe authentic recipe for chapati, a small wholemeal flatbread eaten every day across India, by Asma Khan.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Asma Khan presents her take on an autumnal classic. This easy pumpkin soup is entirely vegan, delicately spiced and enriched with coconut.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Asma Khan's no-fuss prawn curry is fragrant with cumin and coriander and made hot with fresh chillies. Perfect for weeknight cooking.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Only a handful of ingredients are needed to create this simple and quick fish omelette from Asma Khan’s Ammu.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Known as a nine-jewel korma, this creamy vegetarian curry gets its name from the colourful array of vegetables used to make it.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Asma Khan's recipe for pakora combines the zesty flavours of lemon and chilli with turmeric to create a moreish batter.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

This easy, five-ingredient Indian dessert is a thick and creamy set milk delicately scented with rose water and topped with pistachio.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Heavily spiced with the flavours of ginger, cumin and garlic, this roast lamb recipe is well worth the time. Serve with roti or pulao rice.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Asma Khan's sweet rice dessert is cooked in saffron-infused milk, studded with nuts and dried fruit and served with thick clotted cream.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Asma Khan's delightful prawn croquettes are the perfect snack or starter to serve a crowd at occasions like Eid.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

This easy chicken kebab recipe from Asma Khan is marinated the day before for plump, juicy meat. Serve with raita and khaas aloo.

Asma Khan · Monsoon

The combination of pumpkin, garlic, roasted cumin seeds, and yogurt is one of my favourite combinations in a raita. The sourness of the yogurt is a great foil for the pungent garlic. Garlic is often called the destroyer of diseases, and this is a great autumnal dish to make to boost immunity before the cold winter months arrive.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Deep-fried in ghee, these two-ingredient pancakes are drizzled with cardamom-infused syrup and garnished with rose petals.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

Asma Khan's paratha are stuffed with a verdant pea filling. Serve with yoghurt and chutney as a snack for a crowd or a side to your curry.

Asma Khan · Ammu: Indian Home-Cooking To Nourish Your Soul

This warming, sweet milky dessert recipe from Asma Khan is traditionally served on the morning of Eid as the first breakfast after Ramadan.