As the evenings get cold and winter isnt far I’m always thinking of curries to cook that will warm up the senses and bring much needed comfort. Not all Indian dishes are heavy, stodgy and take forever to cook. One of the beauties of Indian vegetarian recipes is the versatility of the cuisine and also the variety of spices you can pair with vegetables, beans and pulses. Give me a lamb or chicken curry any day but I’m never far from cooking or testing recipes from Indian communities that celebrate the food eaten in regions with so much flavour, diversity and use of spices.

Shorshe Begun from the east of India is one such dish thats creamy, light and full of flavour. Shorshe meaning mustard seeds are a prevalent part of Bengali cuisine along with poppy seeds. The pungent flavour of mustard works brilliantly in curries with seafood or vegetables. Here I’ve used aubergines, not only a delicious addition to Indian recipes they also hold their shape well soaking in all the flavour of the spices in the gravy. I use yellow mustard seeds although black mustard seeds are great too. Also reduce the chilli if you prefer a milder curry.