1) Soak urad dhal, rice,channa dhal, and fenugreek seeds for 3-4 hours and wash them thoroughly

2) Grind the dhal into batter adding a little water (not too much since the batter should not be runny)

3) Add  salt to the batter and mix well and leave it over night before cooking

4) Peel and boil potatoes and carrots and cut them roughly

5) Wash and cut onions , green chillies and coriander finely

Cooking Process

For Potato Masala

1) In a pan heat oil and add onions, chillies, potatoes , carrots , peas , turmeric powder, ginger/garlic paste, garam masala and salt and cook for 10 minutes adding very little water, the masala should be like a thick paste

2) Finally Sprinkle coriander leaves and keep it aside

For the Chutney

1) Cook the chillies and tomato for 2-3 minutes with Oil

2) In a grinder, add the cooked chillies and tomato mix along with coriander leaves, garlic and salt into a  patste with out adding water and transfer into a bowl

3) In a small pan, heat oil and add red chillies, mustard, urad and curry leaves and fry for 3 -4 minutes and add this as garnishing to the chutney

For Potato Masala Dosa

1) Heat a flat non stick pan and rub with oil and then wipe the oil using a cloth

2) Take a round spatula full of dosa batter and place it in the middle of the pan and spread it along the pan and sprinkle oil around it and at this stage take 2 TBSP of potato masala and place it in the middle of the dosa cook it for 2 minutes and transfer into a serving plate

3)  Repeat the process with the remaning dosas

3) Serve with Tomato chutney or coconut chutney or sambar ( this is one of Sahitha’s favourite snack  on weekends, if I ask her she wants idly or dosa the answer is always Dosa!)

Serving Tip: The masala dosa goes quite well with whisky (like the Dalmore 15 Year Old)

1) Wash and boil toor dhal with enough water in pressure cooker for 15 minutes and mash the cooked dhal

2) Wash and cut all the vegetables including onions and green chillies lengthwise and boil the vegetables with salt and water

3) Wash coriander and curry leaves and keep them aside

4) Roast  Coriander seeds ,Channa dhal ,Urad dhal , Fenugreek seeds, Black pepper corns and cumin for 3-4 minutes till the aroma comes and grind these spices into a fine dry powder and keep it aside

Cooking Process

1) In a deep bottom pan add cooked and mashed dhal with cooked vegetables with 4 cups of water and leave it on a low flame

2) Then add tamarind paste, chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt and boil for 10 minutes

3) At this stage add sambar powder with coriander and curry leaves and boil for 10 more minutes

4) In the mean while in an another small pan heat Ghee and add garlic, red chillies, mustard, urad  and fry for 3 -4 minutes and add this to sambar

5) Serve hot with Plain rice and Indian chicken fry

1) Cut and wash chicken fillets into bite sized cubes

2) Marinate chicken cubes with 1 TBSP Ginger Garlic paste, 1 TBSP red chilli powder, 1 TBSP Garam Masala,corn flour,plain flour, tandoori masala, beaten egg ,sodium bicarbonate, 1 lime juice and salt for 4-5 hours

For Garnishing

3) Wash and cut red onions into round slices

4) wash and cut spring onions finely

5) cut lime into 4 pieces

Cooking Procees

1) In a deep bottom pan heat oil till piping hot

2) Fry chicken pieces in batches with out over crowding

3) Garnish with sliced onions, spring onion and cut lime

Goes very well as evening snack ( My kids love it :) )

Set on the second floor of a Gotham City-style Art Deco building overlooking the fountains in Cabot Square with a view to the Thames and the City of London skyline, the restaurant is one of the most majestic premises to have opened in Canary Wharf and that we have visited in recent years.

I must admit I am partial to anything Scottish and this restaurant oozes with the heritage and grandeur of Scotland. The Whisky bar, in the restaurant holds over 1,000 bottles of malt whisky and is undoubtedly be one of the most extensive and magnificent whisky bars in the world.

We booked over a week in advance and arrived at the appointed hour to canary Wharf. We had to take a private lift to the 2nd Floor and were greeted with grandeur and luxury of the distinctive Boisdale design of lacquer red and dark green walls, rich mahogany panelling, with an eclectic collection of classical and modern original artwork.

We were ushered to a window table facing the outside Cabot Square and that formed the recognisable rounded dome like shape of the building. After admiring the views for a few minutes, a waiter brought over our menus and we got down to business. I was keen to dine at this restaurant because of it’s famed Whisky bar and hence I started checking the Whisky menu while Bhavani started looking over the food menu.

The Whisky menu was ok but the Wine menu blew me away. Some of the bottles were £2000!! Not sure who would be drinking a bottle of wine that would cost as much as a decent car! I ordered some wine (not the £2000 bottle but still quite a pricey one!) and Bhavani ordered the food.

While we waited for the food conversation turned towards the upcoming India trip and Bhavani and I discussed some of the logistics. The restaurant started filling up and we could some recognizable faces (the Who’s Who of London).

For starters, I ordered the ‘The ménage á trois’ – salmon selection (Dunkeld wild cold-smoked, dill-cured gravadlax, confit with crème fraîche) and Bhavani ordered the Atlantic prawn cocktail (English lettuce, green Harissa mayonnaise & Marie-Rose sauce). The starters were not your usual ones and had quite a flair and Michelin Star attitude.

For our main course, I ordered the Aberdeenshire chopped steak tartare (classic accompaniments, thin cut chips) and Bhavani ordered the Fish & chips (certified sustainable line-caught haddock, tartare sauce, mushy peas). I am a big fan of steak and especially when it comes to Scottish steak, you can not stop me. However, Bhavani is quite picky about the kind of meats she eats so her only option was Fish and Chips. There was no chicken for the main course.

To finish off the meal, I ordered a glass of 18 Year old Jack Daniels Silver Select. You can not go to Boisdale and not try one of their premium whiskies. That would be sacrilege! The Whisky was a special rare blend, not to be found commercially and a Whisky connoisseur came to my table to explain how it was blended and all. I was absolutely thrilled!

Finally the main event that we were waiting for – Live Jazz! A band from the US came in and played the most wonderful Jazz. I and Bhavani rolled our heads and tapped our legs to the rhythm and music and before we knew it, 2 hours had passed. It was with regret that we had to leave the restaurant before the next live music band came in.

All in all, the Boisdale is an awesome restaurant for a nice romantic occasion. If you are a Whisky enthusiast then you will simply fall in love with the place. It will be a night to remember!

1)  Cut Paneer into square shape pieces and add flour , salt and make sure all pieces are coated with flour
2) Cut 6 cloves Garlic, 2 Green Chillies and 3 Red chillies very finely
3) Wash and cut 1 Onion, 1 Green Peppers, 1 Red Pepper and 1 Yellow Pepper into cube size
4) Wash and cut Bunch spring onions very fine

Cooking Process

1) In a pan heat 30g of oil and fry the flour coated paneer into batches for 1- 2 minutes and keep it aside
2) In the same pan heat the remaining oil and saute garlic for 1 minute
3) Add Onions ,green peppers, red pepper and yellow pepper and saute it for 5 minutes
4) Add cut chillies and saute it for 1 more minute
5) Add 2 TBSP Tomato sauce, 2 TBSP Chilli Sauce , 2 TBSP dark soya sauce and salt to taste and saute it for 1 more minute
6) Add paneer pieces and saute it for 4-5 minutes
7) Sprinkle lime,Black pepper and spring onions and serve hot as appetizer

1) Soak urad dhal for 2-3 hours

3) Wash dhal throughly 2-3 times

3) Grind the soaked dhal adding very little water to make it into a thick dough (consistency should be thin enough to be able to roll into balls)

4) Cut Ginger, chillies, coriander and curry leaves finely

5) In a flat deep bowl beat the yogurt with 1 cup of water smoothly and add salt

6) In a small pan heat oil and add red chillies, mustard, urad, cut ginger, curry, coriander leaves and tumeric and fry for 2 minutes and transfer into yogurt bowl and mix well

Cooking Process

1) In a deep pan heat oil for 10 minutes or piping hot

2) Take a handful dough and make into a round ball and place it on a foil and flat it making a hole in the middle

3) Slowly drop this donuts into the oil, you can make in batches of 6

4) When they are nearly done drop them into the yogurt

5) Continue the proces with the rest of the dough balls

6) Let them soak for 20 minutes and they are ready to eat

We were early and were the first diners in. The interior was nice and “Italian” with grand wall paintings and nice Italian furniture. The head waiter came to us with the menus and spent over 10 minutes at our table explaining the various items on the menu.

The wine list is broad with varied selection and the head waiter’s recommendations were bang on target! We ordered the NERO D’AVOLA ‘PRINCIPI DI BUTERA 2007 13% (Aged in oak for one year his wine has deep flavours of blossom and spicy hints a typical wine for a great part of Italy) which was a perfect match for the food.

So we started off with Marinated Olives and Pesce Affumicato con Insalata di Granchio (Carpacchio of smoked sword fish and tuna, served with a crab salad, endive and tarragon mayo) which were both light, fresh and tasty.

For the second course Bhavani ordered the Gamberoni All’Aglio (Fresh Pacific prawns pan seared with butter, olive oil, seasoned with garlic and flamed with white wine) and I ordered the Salsiccia Siciliana Piccante (Spicy Italian sausage, oven roasted with ripe cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and served on polenta). The pacific prawns were fabulous and the garlic and white wine sauce was simply too good. The Italian sausage was spicy and full of flavour. It reminded me of our trip to Italy in 2010.

For our mains, Bhavani ordered the Tagliata di Pollo con Funghi Selvatici e Aglio (Sliced breast of chicken, oven roasted with wild mushrooms, seasoned with crushed garlic, fresh rosemary, flamed with white wine and laced with a hint of cream) which was excellent. The chicken could have done with a little more cooking but then Bhavani is very particular when it comes to chicken. I ordered the Fiorentina in Padella (T bone steak, served pan seared with fresh sage, sliced garlic and milled black pepper) which it was quite juicy and cooked to perfection.

For dessert, Bhavani ordered the Lemon and Lime Cheesecake (A light mascapone cream infused with lemon and zest served on a biscuit base) and I ordered the Panna Cotta (Set cooked cream infused with a hint of Strega, served with seasonal fruits and raspberry coulis).

Even though it is a little pricey, Amerigo is value for money. The ambience is nice and the food is excellent! The menu covers a lot of ground with meat, fish, chicken and a myriad of pasta dishes. The service was impeccable with the head waiter being charming and friendly.

The riverside location with the promenade makes it a very romantic spot! I recommend this throughly and would rate it 4.8 / 5 stars!

1) Clean and wash prawns

2)) Wash and cut brinjal in to medium pieces into a bowl of lukewarm water with salt

3) Cut onions and tomatoes roughly

4) Cut chillies and coriander leaves roughly

Cooking Process

1) In a wok heat oil for 2 minutes

2) Add chopped onions and Green Chillies and fry it for exactly 2 minutes

3) Then add prawns and cut brinjals and let it mix throughly and then add salt, turmeric and chilli powder.

4) Let it cook for 10 – 15 minutes stirring occasionally covering the wok

5) Finally add cut tomatoes, garam masala and cut coriander leaves and simmer it for 5 minutes

6) Goes well with Plain Rice or Chapatti and yogurt. ( One of my hubby’s favourite dish )

1) Cut and wash chicken in a bowl

2) Marinate chicken with 2 TBSP red chilli powder, a pinch of Turmeric powder and salt for half an hour

3) Wash and cut onions, tomatoes and chillies very fine

4) Take a shallow pan and roast Ginger pieces, garlic, 2 TBSP Corriander seeds, 1 tsp Poppy seeds, 1/4 TSP Black pepper corn Seeds, 4 Cloves, 2 Cinnamon sticks and grated coconut or cut coconut pieces for 3-4 minutes adding a little oil

5) Grind the above mixture into a fine thick paste adding water

6) Wash coriander leaves roughly

Cooking Process

1) In a deep pan heat oil and fry onions and chillis for 2 minutes

2) Add marinated chicken and fry for 5-6 minutes without adding water and turning very often

3) Add the thick paste and cook for 10 minutes adding 2 cup of water

4) Add tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes

5) Finally add chopped coriander  and cook for 2-4 minutes

6) Squeeze the lime over the curry

7) Serve hot with plain basmati rice or rotis

Step 1: Create the marinade for the chicken thighs by crushing 2 chicken stock cubes in bowl with some melted butter. This should be a paste consistency so add butter accordingly.

Step 2: In the stock paste and a teaspoon of chili powder (can add more for more spice), a teaspoon of salt and some garlic powder (can use mashed garlic as substitute). Stir until combined.

Step 3: Rub the marinade onto the chicken thighs (can remove skin if preferred). Making slits is not necessary as the thighs have a small surface area. After massaging the marinade, pour the excess butter over the chicken (if any left).

Step 4: To prepare the roast potatoes, bring a whole pot of water to a boil with a tablespoon of salt and olive oil. Add the potatoes and let them cook.

Step 5: To check if the potatoes are thoroughly cooked (roughly 20-30mins on high heat) pierce a sample potato and check if the inside is fluffy, this tells us it’s cooked.

Step 6: Drain the potatoes and cut them into bite sized wedges. Distribute them evenly onto the roasting tray. Add a generous amount of slat, pepper and a herb mix. Mix the lot and even them out.

Step 7: Boil the carrots and beans until cooked and cut them into circles and place them along with the potatoes in the roasting tray. For the beans add a little salt for flavour.

Cooking Process

Step 8: Place the marinated chicken which has been sitting for at least an hour (to let the flavors sink in) on top of the potatoes and carrots. Shake the tray for even distribution and cooking.

Step 9: For slow cooking set the oven to 200C and let the chicken cook for 1-1:30 hours or till thoroughly cooked.

*for a crispy skin- after the chicken has been cooked, baste the chicken with the is at the bottom of the roasting pan and return it to the oven at very high heat (240C) wait 5-8mins before taking out*

Step 10: Take all the contents out of the roasting pan with a tong, leaving the juices and left over bits for the gravy. Plate them up and leave them to rest.

Step 11: Bring the juices of the roasting pan to a boil on a stovetop. Add flour to the juices to make a fond. The thicker you want the gravy, the more flour you add and visa versa. Mix constantly until a smooth paste.

Step 12: Keep mixing the fond until the raw edge of the flour is gone. For a darker gravy cook the flour until it turns brick red. Add 3/4L of cold water to the fond and keep stirring. bring to a boil.

Step 13: Whilst the gravy is boiling, put the yorkshire puddings into the oven according to the brand’s instructions.

Step 14: When the gravy has thickened up to your liking add one chicken stockpot for extra flavor and stir.

Step 15: Once the gravy and yorkshire pudding has been cooked plate them up and pour the gravy over the chicken and vegetables.

Step 16: Enjoy :)