Gordon Ramsay’s Great Escape: 100 of my favourite Indian recipes

Coriander and chilli raita (see page 202)

Vegetable wraps are typical street foods in India, particularly in busy cities like Calcutta where the notion of grabbing a cheap, nutritious, convenient snack is always appealing. If you prefer a non-vegetarian version or a more substantial filling, add cooked mince or spicy chicken pieces. This would also make a lovely lunch with a fresh and zingy salad.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the spinach and blanch for 30 seconds to 1 minute until wilted. Drain well and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic, chilli and onion and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the red pepper and carrots and stir well. After a few minutes, add the salt, garam masala, chilli powder and cumin. Continue to fry until the vegetables have slightly softened yet still retain some bite. Lastly, stir through the strips of paneer, chopped coriander and lemon juice and cook for a few minutes. Remove the pan from the hob.

Warm the chapattis in a wide, dry frying pan to soften them a little. (This makes them easier to wrap with.) Spread a tablespoon of Coriander and chilli raita on each warmed chapatti and cover with a layer of blanched spinach. Spoon the vegetable and paneer filling on top and roll up the chapatti to enclose the filling, as you would a parcel.

Wrap each spicy vegetable wrap in baking parchment and foil (or old newspaper) and serve warm. If you find the wraps have gone cold, warm them through in a hot oven for a few minutes before serving.

Aloo dahi puri

SERVES 4

12 ready-made pani puri shells (also known as golgappa)

150ml natural yoghurt

6-8 tbsp Sweet tamarind chutney (see page 217)

handful of coriander, leaves chopped, and handful of sev mamra (or plain sev), to garnish

POTATO FILLING

1 large waxy potato, about 250–300g

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tsp red chilli powder

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tsp ground cumin

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tsp garam masala

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tsp dried mango powder

1 small onion, peeled and finely diced

200ml natural yoghurt, mixed with 2–3 tbsp water

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

These little crispy filled puris are what I consider to be the ultimate chaat – a Hindi word that describes the various savoury delicacies that tempt passers-by to the roadside food carts found in every Indian city. You will need to make a trip to your nearest Indian grocer to secure a box of ready-made mini pani puri shells and a bag of sev mamra (crispy snacks consisting of a mixture of puffed rice, fried yellow gram noodles and spiced peanuts). Thereafter, it will only take minutes to assemble these delicious bite-sized treats.

First, prepare the potato filling. Peel and cut the potato into large chunks then boil in a pan of salted water for 10–15 minutes until tender. Drain well, then chop the potato into a small dice. Place in a bowl and mix with the chilli powder, cumin, garam masala, dried mango powder, onion, yoghurt and seasoning to taste.

When you are about ready to eat, carefully break the top of each puri to make a small hole that is big enough to add the potato filling through. (The puris are very delicate so you do need to be gentle with them.) Fill each puri with some potato mixture and a drizzle each of yoghurt and tamarind chutney. Garnish with the chopped coriander and sev mamra or sev. Serve immediately.

Fish (#ulink_b12f1664-10ec-5b09-8775-84ac1836c125)

Bengali prawn curry

Hyderabadi squid tamatar

Spiced fish wrapped in banana leaves

Fish tenga

Baked whole sea bass with green masala paste

Majuli fishcakes with tomato relish

Monkfish moilee

Tuna vattichathu

Goan fish ambotik

Dry crab curry

Grilled snapper with dry spices

Crispy battered fish with spiced okra and aubergine

Mackerel masala

Pan-fried John Dory with hot-spiced red curry sauce

Bengali prawn curry

SERVES 4

400g large raw prawns, shell on

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tsp ground turmeric sea salt

2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped

2cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped