EVERYDAY INDIAN

Roughly chop half the onions and thinly slice the remainder. Finely chop the tomatoes and set aside.

Put the chopped onions, diluted tamarind, garlic, salt, sugar, cloves, red chillies, ground cinnamon in a blender or food processor and process until paste forms.

Heat the oil in a heavy in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the sliced onions and stir-fry until they turn brown. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and continue stir-frying until the fat separates.

Stir in the onion paste and continue stir-frying until the fat separates again. Remove from the heat and leave to cool, then and cover and refrigerate for up to 20 days.

Silt the peppers lengthways from one side from the stalk to the tip, to create an opening for the filling. Snip it a little on one side at the broad end to make it easier to fill. Remove the seeds of you do not want these to be too hot.

Put the salt, ground dried mango, ground coriander and fennel seeds in a bowl and mix together. Stir in 60 ml (2 fl oz) of the oil.

Stuff the peppers with the spice mixture, pressing it in firmly.

Heat the remaining oil a heavy-based sauce pan or wok over light heat. When you notice some movement in the oil and its fragrance becomes very strong, add the stuffed peppers. Cook, 5 minutes until the pepper begin to look glossy and slightly cooked. Turn off the heat and leave the peppers and oil to cool.

When the peppers and oil are completely cool, transfer them to sterilized, airtight jar, then screw on the lid. The peppers are then ready to eat but they will tenderer and the flavor will mature of you leave them for a few days.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan or wok over a high heat, then stir in the mustard seeds and dried red chillies.

When the seeds splutter, stir in the cabbage and salt and stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes until the cabbage is just tender.

Turn off the heat and stir in lemon juice, stirring until everything is well blended together. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander. Serve immediately

Stir in the sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Bring the milk to the boil again, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cardamom seeds, them remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.

Pour the mixture into 8 traditional kulfi moulds or individual freeze-proof containers and freeze until solid. It should take 3 to 4 hours.

Remove the mould or the containers from the freezer and use a round-bladed knife to praise out the ice-cream into bowls. Garnish with silver foil, if desired, and the remaining almonds and pistachio nuts. Serve immediately.