Chicken Ruby

Into a blender put 10 g chopped ginger, 20 g chopped garlic and 5 g sea salt.

Add a teaspoon of Deggi Mirch chili powder, one and a half teaspoons of cumin, half a teaspoon of garam masala, about 75 g of full fat Greek yogurt, two teaspoons of vegetable oil and two teaspoons of lime juice, and blend.

Cut 700 g of boneless skinless chicken thighs into four centimetre chunks, coat them thoroughly in the marinade by hand, cover and refrigerate six to 24 hours; this one went the full 24.

Dice three cloves of garlic.

Pulverise a further six cloves of garlic with 20 g of fresh ginger in a mortar and pestle until it is a fine paste.

Blitz a big can of good quality whole tomatoes until fine.

Heat 175 ml of vegetable oil in a big saucepan over medium high.

Fry the three cloves of diced garlic to a light golden brown and slightly crispy - the book says seven to eight minutes but it took about a minute - then lift it out with a slotted spoon to drain on a paper towel.

Keeping the heat at medium high, add two bay leaves, six green cardamom pods, two black cardamom and two Indian cinnamon sticks and let them crackle for one minute.

Turn the heat down, add the garlic ginger paste and cook until browned but not burnt; the book says five minutes, it took about one.

Add the blitzed tomatoes, two teaspoons of fine sea salt and one and a half teaspoons of Deggi Mirch chili powder.

Bring to a rapid simmer and cook until reduced by half, stirring regularly so it does not catch, about 30 minutes.

For the rice, cover 360 g of basmati with cold water, move your hands through it to release the starch, let it settle and pour off; repeat three or four times until the water is crystal clear, then soak one hour.

Add two tablespoons of butter to the sauce and simmer another five minutes.

Add a teaspoon each of garam masala and cumin, 20 g of sugar, a tablespoon of runny honey, half a teaspoon of torn dill fronds and a teaspoon of crushed dried fenugreek leaves.

Remove the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and cardamom, add the crispy garlic from earlier and cook another 15 minutes.

Fill a large saucepan with three litres of water, add two teaspoons of salt and a generous squeeze of lime juice and bring to a boil.

Add the drained rice and cook uncovered, stirring regularly, four to five minutes until almost done but still slightly firm in the centre.

Tip the rice straight into a sieve without shaking off the excess water, return it to the pan and dot it with around two tablespoons of butter.

Crimp foil over the top of the pan and put it on high heat about a minute until the foil domes, then turn it off, cover and let it stand 15 to 30 minutes.

Heat a grill pan to medium high and brush the inside with clarified butter.

Grill half the marinated chicken at a time 8 to 10 minutes until charred; a small frying pan would have worked as well or better.

Reheat the sauce and stir in 80 ml of heavy cream, then simmer gently five minutes.

Add another 50 ml of heavy cream and the grilled chicken and simmer gently ten minutes.

Serve with the rice, a few ginger matchsticks, chopped cilantro leaves and pomegranate seeds.