• Put the lentils, eggplant, pumpkin, onions, salt, chopped coriander and mint into a pan with 500ml of water. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils have softened. Set aside.
• Put the cumin and coriander seeds, the cassia stick, cardamon pods, peppercorns and the star anise into a small pan on medium heat. Toss the spices will toasting until they become more aromatic. Remove from the heat, set aside and allow to cool.
• Once cooled, add the dried fenugreek leaves and grind to a fine powder.
• Place the spice powder into a blender with the garlic, ginger and chillies and blend, adding as little water as possible to make a thick paste.
• Heat the mustard oil on medium heat and fry the chopped onions for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, or until they are golden brown.
• Add the spice paste and turmeric and fry for a few minutes until golden.
• Add the tomatoes and tamarind then stir for about five minutes until the masala is thick and glossy. The oil should be separating from the paste.
• Add the lamb and coat with the masala. Fry for two minutes, stirring often. Reduce the heat and simmer the lamb, uncovered and stirring often, for 40 minutes or until cooked through and tender.
• Puree or mash the reserved lentil and vegetable mix and add to the lamb. Bring the mixture up to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to stop lentils sticking to bottom of the pan. Taste and add salt, if required.

to serve

• Remove from heat, place in warmed serving dish, sprinkle with coriander and mint leaves and serve.

• Wash the rice in several changes of cold water until the water remains clear.
• Cover the rice with luke-warm water and set it aside to soak for 30 minutes. Drain when ready to start preparing the dish.
• Using a thick-bottomed pot with a tight lid, heat the ghee over medium-low heat. Add the cassia, cardamom, cloves, black peppercorns, star anise and bay leaf. Fry until they become fragrant.
• Reduce the heat to low. Add the sliced onions and sprinkle with the salt. Stir and fry the onions until they are golden brown. This may take twenty minutes or longer. Increase the heat and fry until the onions turn a deep brown. Stir frequently as you do not want the onions to burn.
• Add the jaggery and stir. Continue frying and stirring the onions and jaggery to ensure even browning. The sugar and onions will caramelise and turn a deep brown.
• Once the onions have browned, remove a tablespoon of them and set these aside on absorbent paper. They will become crisp by the time you use them to garnish the completed dish.
• Add the drained rice and gently stir to cover the grains with the ghee, onions, and spices. Add the water and stir. Bring the water to a boil, cover tightly, then reduce heat to very low. Cook for 25 minutes.
• Turn the heat off. Uncover the pot and quickly fluff rice with a fork. Cover the pot with a tea towel and replace the lid. Do this as quickly as possible because you do not want to lose heat or steam. Leave the rice to finish cooking in its own heat for a further ten minutes.

to serve

• Uncover the pot and fluff the rice if needed. Remove the whole star anise and cassia stick. Garnish with the reserved onions and serve.

• Combine onion, jaggery, salt, vinegar and coriander stalks in a sealed bowl and briskly shake to separate onion layers and coat with vinegar. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Drain excess vinegar.
• Add tomatoes and cucumber, stir gently, and refrigerate for one hour or until ready to serve.

to serve

• Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve.

• Preheat oven to 175C
• Warm ¼ cup of the milk and add the saffron threads to infuse. Set aside for 5 minutes.
• Grease a small baking pan with ghee.
• Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and crush.
• Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl.
• Add the remaining milk, the saffron-infused milk, the evaporated milk, cream, jaggery, rose water, half of the almonds and half of the nutmeg and cardamom. Mix well.
• Transfer to the greased baking pan, sprinkle with the rest of the almonds, nutmeg and cardamom, the raisins, charoli nuts, cashews and small ghee pieces.
• Place baking pan into a larger pan or tray and fill the larger pan with hot water. Place into the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top of the custard has browned and a skewer comes out clean from the middle.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool. If serving cold, refrigerate for at least one hour.

to serve

• Carefully remove from pan and cut into squares or diamonds.