Monday 2 June 2014

Childless? About to get married? Be warned!!!

It has been a very long time since I blogged! Apologies for the absence, I've been really busy NOT having kids, read on for a ranty blog....

In these modern times, with feminism firmly on our agendas and equality a given, I find it very disappointing that seemingly it doesn't matter if you have a great career, have just got on the housing ladder, have loads of friends and a packed social life, if you aren't popping out sprogs after a year of marriage, you may as well paint a black cross on your door.

I had a big fat indian wedding just over a year ago, and in our first year of marriage, my husband and I have moved countries, both started brilliant new jobs, I've started a degree, we've bought our first home, been through an extremely intense visa application (him), taken up gardening (me), been on 2 holidays, booked another and enjoyed spending time with friends who we haven't seen for the last few years properly what with being on the other side of the world, we have just got to the point where we can relax a bit after a mental year and just enjoy life, lie ins, and each other.  We're pretty happy as we are so its really odd that all anyone ever asks me is, "when are we going to hear the pitter patter of tiny feet"?? Or even better, as I cart around a few extra honeymoon period pounds, "are you pregnant?" (Clue: until you see a babies head poking out of a woman's vag, never ask that question, I have been and it bloody hurts).

I counted it up at work the other day, I was asked about the status of my womb (completely vacant right now FYI) 4 times. In one day! Its ridiculous, is that the only interesting thing about me? Not that I definitely am enjoying married life, or have begun a fascinating degree I could talk about for hours, nope, far more interesting to ask about the vague possibility of an heir. I get that society sadly expects this but I don't get why its acceptable to ask, and I assume, speculate why I'm not pregnant yet as if its some awful condition (if fulfilment with my current situation is a terrible condition i am rife with it!). For all these people know, I could have been trying since the moment that ring went on my finger, how heartbreaking would that be? What if I'd miscarried? It's just so rude and inappropriate! 

Don't get me wrong, I love kids and I do want to be a mum one day, but this stifling pressure to come up with the goods is absolutely shocking, I never anticipated this for one moment in 2014! My closest friends are equally horrified and also probably feel they're walking on egg shells. I'm trying to lose weight at the moment (another reason now isn't the time for a small thing to stretch me from the inside out) and while talking about a weekend away for her birthday in september, my good friend said, oooh by then you might need a new outfit! Then immediately panicked and said, because you'll be thinner, not pregnant, I didn't mean pregnant! Truth is, I also thought she meant pregnant for a millisecond & the horror was probably plastered over my face! 

It sadly doesn't sound like once you do satisfy everyone by popping out a small thing that the intrusive questions end, I overheard a girl at work on her FIRST day back from maternity leave today being asked when she was having her second! Give the woman a bloody break! Other friends with kids also report the same experience, when will little cutie be getting a brother or sister? You know, cause one just is not enough.....

So dear readers, if you know anyone who recently married, ask them about THEM not their reproductive organs, and if you are about to get married, and haven't had a kid already, be warned your womb from this day forth, is the property of society to discuss and to speculate upon, until you come up with the goods. Enjoy!



Sunday 28 July 2013

Making the most of Maharashtra!

Over the last few weeks which are my last few weeks of living in India I have been on a mission to see and experience as much as I can, in fairly close proximity to Pune. I mean, we went to to Mumbai just for lunch yesterday (WELL worth the 7 hour round trip!). 


I thought I would share with you some of my experiences!

First up, Sula Vineyard.  Now, as I have mentioned previously, being in India and being a wine lover I have had to learn to love Sula wine. I am a huge fan of Sula Brut (very similar to Cava or prosecco) so when I discovered that Sula had vineyards and a resort close by, I nagged at my husband to take me! We went and stayed at the Beyond resort, in Nasik, with our good friends Micky and Liszel. It took us about 5 hours to drive there from Pune.  The resort was beautiful, absolutely stunning views, and gorgeous rooms.  The rooms were all named after different wines, the only booze in the mini bar was wine and there were wine based souvenirs on offer everywhere, from lanterns to ashtrays made from wine bottles! We did the complimentary tour and wine tasting at the vineyard, I was quite disappointed that the vineyard was 3km from the resort, down a dark country lane, and there was no taxi service available, and as it is in the middle of nowhere, no autos either which I think encourages drink driving. Anyway, we managed to bribe a guy to take us! The vineyard tour was a bit rushed but interesting. We had a fab stay, although the food was nothing amazing! We had far too much wine but the beautiful scenery soon made us forget our hangovers the next day! You can read my trip advisor review here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g303883-d2070882-r164155033-Beyond_Vineyard_Resort-Nashik_Maharashtra.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT

Here are some snaps of our weekend at Sula:


The weekend after Sula, we decided to go to Lonavala to visit the Karla and Bhaja caves.  Lonavala is a hill station between Mumbai and Pune. Lonely Planet says the town isn't really a nice place to visit but the caves are awesome.  As a devotee of LP (my India guide has been like a bible) we took their advice and headed straight for the caves. WOW. we were not disappointed. The main cave at Karla is an incredible sight, almost 2000 year old Buddhist cave. Now, I have been to the Taj Mahal 5, yes, FIVE times and while it is an incredible structure, and very beautiful, I was shocked that these caves have been kept so quiet. An absolute must for anyone staying in Maharashtra. We went during the rainy season so the views were awesome, everything is such a bright chlorophyll green at the moment, and there is no shortage of pretty waterfalls! There is a bit of a steep uphill climb at both caves, but you won't be disappointed when you reach the top! 


After the amazing caves at Lonavala, we wanted more! I had read about Ajanta and Ellora caves (no prizes for guessing where!) so we set off for a weekend of exploring. We drove to Ajanta, which was about 6 hours from Pune. Again, WOW! There were so many caves, buddhist caves, built again 2000 years ago. Some had beautiful carvings, some had amazing paintings too. This was even more incredible than Karla and Bhaja! You need to give yourself a good few hours to visit as it is a pretty large site and there is a lot to see.  We were persuaded to pay a guy 200rs to come with us and watch our shoes (you have to remove them to enter the caves) but I don't really think anyone would have stolen them so we didn't really need him, although he was pretty knowledgeable so served as a guide, though he didn't speak english. We left Ajanta after a lovely meal at the government run canteen, and drove to Ellora where we stayed at Hotel Kailas which claims to be a boutique hotel.... I wouldn't go that far although the grasshoppers and bugs in our room may disagree, but it was fine for one night and was nice and close to Ellora caves, as in, you could see the caves from the hotel. It was a nice surprise to see a group of Langur monkeys outside our room before breakfast! Ellora caves were even more incredible than Ajanta.  There are Buddhist, Jain and Hindu caves in the same complex. Cave number 16 opened out to a massive Hindu temple complex, this was stunning, beautiful, fascinating! The workmanship was amazing, it was like something out of Tomb Raider or Indiana Jones. The history was just awesome, and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting India.


The following weekend we went to Mulshi with our colleagues where we stayed at the Green Gate Resort.  A beautiful resort, we even had a Jacuzzi in our room! Sadly the hot water didn't stay on long enough to fill it properly! Mulshi is about an hour from Pune and a beautiful place to go and relax in the Western Ghats, check out my photos!



The sights I have seen over the last few weeks have been amazing and just a lovely way to spend my last few weekends.  Thank you Maharashtra, and India! It's been amazing!

Here you go, proof of my five Taj visits!

Tuesday 23 July 2013

Baby Fever



Well it has certainly been an exciting couple of days in the UK, and I for one am absolutely overjoyed at the news of the latest addition to the royal family! I was awake late last night waiting to hear all the details of the new royal and got completely swept up in it! And then I went on facebook.

What is wrong with the Great British public? So many people were complaining, "It's just a baby" "who cares?" I've seen tweets insinuating your life is quite empty if you are obsessed about the future heirs name, jeez guys, cheer up!!! He isn't JUST a baby, he is a future King, and kind of a big deal. No baby is JUST a baby, they are the whole world to it's parents.  I hope to start a family in a few years, and I hope for a healthy kid too just like Wills and Kate, and I would be livid if anyone described my offspring as JUST a baby, I'd probably go for them if my hormones were a raging (be warned)!

I think yesterdays events were wonderful for our country, our royal family are something to be extremely proud of. I can understand people not being happy our taxes go towards their upkeep but the amount they do for charity, and for our country is incredible.  Great Britain is a tiny island, compare it to the US, Australia, India, China and it is pathetically small, yet so well known.  Here in India, everyone knows about the royal baby, and all over the world people know about England and our royal family. 

Seeing images in the media of people celebrating made me immensely proud to be a brit, and have a country which unites and comes together to celebrate times like this.... Well most of us!




Anyhow, if a royal baby wasn't enough, the miserable folk on that tiny island had plenty more to complain about over the last week as the temperature soared to dizzy heights of... Erm, 32 degrees.... So many people complained they couldn't sleep, it was too hot. I'd bloody love for them to come and stay here in the summer, with the frequent power cuts its a true delight trying to sleep with no fan or AC in 40+ degrees.  I heard it started raining last night, brilliant, I thought, cool them down a bit.... Nope! Now everyone is complaining they couldn't sleep because of the scary thunder.

Wasn't it just a few weeks ago everyone complained that there was never going to be a summer, winter was never going to end? You can't control the weather so why even bother wasting your energy moaning about it? 

Living in India has shown me how people embrace the seasons, when it rains people go crazy with excitement - more of that in the UK please!



Another bugbear of mine at the moment is friends with kids moaning on facebook, a friends little girl chopped her hair off the other day so she posted it on FB, absolutely traumatised, I couldn't help but comment, at least she's happy and healthy!!! Another was going mad as she couldn't find an ipod that was just perfect for her little princess about to turn 6.... A lot of kids here live in such poverty they'd be happy with a rubber ball for their birthdays!

Seeing the way people live here, focusing on looking after one another and being happy and healthy and embracing life has really changed me, I just hope the grumpy bums in the UK don't suck it out of me when I move back!

Wednesday 26 June 2013

Incredible India


As i near the end of my time living in India, I wanted to reflect, and talk about my experience of being a british woman in a foreign country. 

I think living in a different country, and culture is something everyone should experience.  It broadens the mind, it pushes you out of your comfort zone and gives you a plethora of amusing anecdotes!

There are many things I love about life here, and many things I'm looking forward to leaving behind.

Shopping is a good place to start, while my excess baggage may tell a different story, I hate shopping here! From the pathetic, invasive security checks (you have your bag checked very vaguely and a bit of a pat down with a metal detector if a female security guard is about, if not you walk in unchecked) to the store assistants who will not leave you alone, it really irks me. Everyone is a thief in the eyes of indian malls and supermarkets, you have to leave your shopping bag with a security guard (and queue for the pleasure, i'll get on to queuing later) and have your hand bag searched and quite often tied shut. I could save these companies millions of rupees, sack the "security" staff and get some cctv! You also have to show your receipt to another security guard on the way out so he can check you've not nicked anything..... It's so annoying! I avoid supermarkets as much as I can, the migraine inducing lights and constant loud announcements aside, it annoys me they don't have conveyor belts so the long line of customers can get out of there a bit faster. I am a typical ex pat and go to the overpriced luxury foreign food stores, not to buy marmite, weetabix, dairy milk or any other home comforts, but just to not have to deal with queues! Ok and their wine and cheese selection is pretty good!


So queuing, well that kind of thing hasn't really caught on here. My husband jokes that I am from the QK! I quickly learned in India that everyone is more important than everyone else, manners get you nowhere and personal space doesn't exist.


I do believe the whole personal space issue is one of my brit hang ups.  Families here are so close, this is something I love about India. Entire families sleeping in one room is not uncommon, so personal space is often an unknown, and in general people are very close to (physically and emotionally) and respectful of their families.  The way some of my friends in the UK speak to their parents horrifies me now after spending so much time here.  You don't really see old folks homes in India because families stick together and care for their elderly parents at home, how amazing is that?

I have even changed my mind on arranged marriage since spending time here. India has a very low divorce rate, and yes, there will be an element of pride and fear there, with some awful marriages where one half of the couple is too scared to end things, and obviously I am very much against child marriage, but i do believe when you reach a certain age, your parents probably have a good idea of who would be a good match for you.  I know a lot of very happily married couples who had arranged marriages 


I love the fact I see crazy things like goats, camels and cows in the street all the time, but the lack of organisation and structure also annoys me! And one creature i do not love has to be the mosquito, they love me but the feeling sure isn't mutual.



I love the bright colours and noise everywhere, the smells of cooking and incense. The first thing i notice when flying home is that England is dull and many shades of grey and beige. And so quiet!!! Although i do miss the silence at 2am when theres a dog pack fighting outside, a security guard blowing his whistle, horns honking and a load of nocturnal birds chirping away at my window.....

I could talk about the food for hours, as a vegetarian, India is paradise. It really is home to the best food in the world, from chole battura to vada pav, sweet lassi to warm chai, aloo gobi to rajma, biryanis and pakoras, juicy mangoes and sweet chickoos, i am spoilt for choice! I am constantly learning new recipes and the thought of boiled vegetables us brits love makes me angry! Do that cauliflower some justice and cook it in some delicious jeera!


I love the history and culture here. Last weekend we visited some beautiful caves, over 2000 years of history surrounded me and I felt humbled. India really is beautiful and I have been extremely fortunate in that I have travelled a lot.  From the beaches of Goa, to the majestic beauty of the taj mahal, the deserts of Rajasthan, the snowy peaks in Manali, the madness of old Delhi, to the quiet serenity of Pondicherry, the backwaters of Kerala, the hustle bustle of Mumbai, the incredible golden temple in Amritsar, the blue city of Jodhpur, i have seen a lot of amazing places, and met some fascinating people.  I am always struck by how enormous India is and now I think nothing of travelling 7 hours to visit somewhere for a few hours.  In the UK we think we've travelled a long way if we go from Derby to London, the time it takes for that journey (1.5 hours) is about how long it takes us to get out of Pune on a weekend! I hope I never lose this attitude and continue to travel and make the most of every moment when I'm back in the UK.
Karla caves, near pune

Jodhpur

A goan sunset
 A waterfall in Manali
Old Delhi

I find the mix of religions here really interesting. Hindu's, Sikh's, Muslim's, Catholic's, live side by side and generally seem to get on. Everyone in India has a faith and I am often struck by their devotion to their religions, this is the main drive behind me starting a degree in international studies where i will spend a year studying religion. The beauty of the gurdwaras, mosques, temples and churches is fascinating. I recommend the book Holy Cow to anyone interested in religion or India!


A mosque

Varanasi

My last few frustrations with India start with corruption, the police are feared because they rape and steal. Allegedly. The government just seems a mess to me, sorting out my husbands passport was done in such a backwards way, they issued his passport weeks ago and are now carrying out his background checks.... Reassuring! 

I also hate the way I get stared at all the time, this probably adds to why I hate shopping so much! I've constantly got Eminem in my head "y'all act like you've never seen a white person before"! It still freaks me out and scares me now, I'm forever pulling up my top or making sure my skirt is long enough to draw as little attention as possible. Young men whipping out their mobiles to "click my picture" very obviously is so weird, i'm not Katrina Kaif! what do you want with my photo-photo? 

And its the language barrier that really gets me, nothing like being stood in a lift with 4 people blatantly staring and talking about you in another language to make the blood boil! The language barrier is obviously a frustration anyone in a foreign country faces, if someone comes to the door or the phone rings and my husband isn't in i just ignore it now. Ive had hindi lessons, i have really tried to communicate but still get nowhere. I cant even order a diet coke properly, its diet coooooke apparently.

So I end my ramblings on my experience. Lessons learned? So many! While I get angry and frustrated with life in this incredible place I wouldn't change my experiences. I've learned to swallow my pride, respect others and I have patience in truckloads! The world is a beautiful, fascinating place and we need to get off our asses and see as much of it as we can.  I'm proud to be a Goyal and always be connected to Incredible India. I sure have some intereating stories for my kids about their roots! And finally, if you're indian, please don't stare at the next gauri you see, you're doing yourselves and her no favours!


Sunday 9 June 2013

Al fresco food, glorious food!

Barbeque season is officially here, in India anyway as it is COOL enough to sit out! We just had a yummy mini BBQ on our balcony, i'm vegetarian and I loved it! My ingredients for a brilliant BBQ are as follows....
- some pretty lights, i love my lanterns from Dubai 
- somebody very patient who can get those coals a'smokin (HI HUSBAND!)
- a nice sauvignon blanc or indus pride beer (lager infused with cardamom, coriander or fennel)
- corn on the cob as a v easy starter, just remove the leaves and silk and chuck on the bbq, serve with salt, pepper, lemon and a bit of butter
- homemade coleslaw as a side dish (grate half a white cabbage, 2 carrots and stir in 2 dessert spoons of mayo, use red cabbage and raisins too if you feel fancy!)
- sausages and burgers are so retro, if you fancy a (healthy) change try my kebabs!:
- chop a couple of green peppers, 2 red onions into 1/8's and throw in a big bowl with some mushrooms and a good amount of paneer or chicken chunks (we do half and half), you can use any veggies that bbq well but just be mindful they should all take the same amount of time to cook, cremated tomatoes are not a good look! Make a marinade of 1 tsp chilli flakes, half tsp turmeric, 1 tsp kitchen king masala (or garam masala), 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 2 tsps chicken seasoning (the one i use is paprika, dry garlic, chilli, dry onion and pepper), juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tbsp veg oil and 3 tbsp yogurt. Mix well and marinade your veggies and paneer/chicken for an hour... 
- while your kebabs are soaking up those spices, throw some wooden skewers in a load of water so they don't burn on the bbq
- after one hour stick your veggoes and paneer or chicken on skewers and bbq til cooked!
- serve with coleslaw! You could also do some jacket potatoes if you have the patience (scrub clean large potatoes, dry, rub in olive oil and salt, wrap in foil, thrown on bbq for an hour)
Yum!
Of course if its too hot/cold to sit out you could make all of these in the oven!

Thursday 6 June 2013

Falling out of love..... With FaceBook

We live in an ever changing, increasingly connected world, I live in India and rarely get homesick, i saw my best friends baby take his first steps two weeks ago, whilst none of my hometown friends made it to my wedding they all saw it almost immediately, I chat face to face with my sister in law and mother in law every sunday and I no longer have to wait until tuesday to find out all the celeb gossip, yet I can't help but wonder, are all these advances a good thing?

Facebook, in particular, is a really difficult one for me. A forum for morons to air their views and recruit more morons to their spiteful causes (yes EDL I mean you) and cause angry debates to rage, yet I think it is good people at least talk about the news and have the chance to stand up for themselves, I was so proud of many of my Muslim friends during recent events for standing up for themselves and their religion.

Then we have the issue of deleting people, totes awkward, the adult equivalent of crossing someone off your party list! I don't want to hear about the mundane lives of some of the people I went to school with, we weren't friends then and probably never will be, but then what if I delete them and then bump into them in the supermarket.... Difficult. What about when someone from the office who you don't really like adds you, you don't want to be rude and ignore them but then, do I really want the office weirdo knowing where me and my husband went at the weekend?

Facebook also seems to have bred a lot of attention seeking parents, if your kid is sick, get off facebook and look after it! I don't want to see photos of your snotty child and I am pretty sure when it is old enough to operate facebook (probably about 6 in the case of a lot of my schoolmates kids) they won't thank you for plastering their snotty sleepy face all over the net. One of my best mates kids has been born with actual problems and is at hospital a lot, she doesn't go on about it! If your kid has a weird rash and you're worried I can understand it, otherwise, shut up!

At the same time I love that I can chat to people I've met all over the world at any time, but then I am a total victim of social paranoia... I uploaded a photo on my wedding night and immediately thought No!!! I am meant to be having fun! What must people think??? But my best friends weren't there and the quickest way to show everyone was sadly, FB!

We then have the "like if you agree this horrendous photo of an abused child is wrong, ignore if you are a heartless bastard" photos, I mean, really??? Why would you do that?

Another pet hate of mine is "PMA" updates..... "I had a really awful day, doing my boring job, but you know, I'm SUCH a positive person, tomorrow will be a good day, PMA!!!" Then the next day is the same, and the next, i think thats Positively Mental Attitude there.

Checking in at the hospital.... See my point about sick kids. Only acceptable if you're having a kid!

Speaking of which, baby scan photos! Why would you want everyone you've ever met seeing the contents of your womb? It's SO weird! Keep something back please people!!! People say it's the easiest way of announcing it, erm, I've heard of baby brain but surely the easiest way of announcing it is saying "I'm pregnant!"?

Candy crush. If you are that bored, read a book. If you really insist on playing it, keep me out of it!

Peoples updates about TV also grind my gears! Once upon a drunk sunday night, some unfortunate soul announced on fb he did not want to know the result of the apprentice final. Even though we weren't watching, and were in India, me and my friends knew the results pretty much as soon as Sir Alan had announced them and my good friend M Ball then informed said unfortunate individual of this.... Much hilarity for us, that sad tv addict deserved it!

I'm not too comfortable with facebook & Instagram owning my photo's and collating so much information on me either. When will this intrusiveness end?

The ever evolving world we live in has some great creations, I particularly love ibooks. Ok so i can no longer pass a book on to a friend to read but that app has saved me soooo much baggage allowance its unreal, plus I can buy a new book from my sofa, amazing! The same goes for newsstand, I can read my favourite magazines every week in India and save a few trees!

My best friend sent me a photo of a note i passed her in class 14 years ago... I loved that reminder of days gone by. What do kids do now? Whats app under their desks? They'll never be able to look back on those! Although she did send me the photo on whats app.... 

Like i said before, I really like skyping my husbands family in the states, but there are downsides to skype, you have to look decent for a start and can't sneakily have a wee (come on, we've all done it) or look away at our phones, probably at some mundane PMA/babies got a fever update....

We're also constantly connected now, everywhere has wi fi, it is so rare to have a holiday and escape the world now, which is a shame. No one sends postcards anymore, even the last one i sent was from an app! I promise this post isn't sponsored by Apple!

In the last few days my favourite author has tweeted me and the lead singer of the band I loved as a teenager did too, that would not have happened a few years ago and I think its wonderful that people in the public eye can connect to their fans. It can get out of hand though, Amanda Bynes and Charlie Sheen, I mean you! And when I was a kid the only trolls I came across were naked with neon spiky hair. 

I think the thing I find most annoying about the social media obsessed, constantly connected world we live in is that I am well and truly hooked, could I come off facebook? No. Though I have to sift through a lot of crap, I can see what my friends are up to and they can catch up on my news too. Go without twitter for a week? Absolutely not. I need my news and entertainment. Leave my iphone at home while on holiday, who does that??

I'd love to get a postcard though!


Mushroom Curry

I love food, and I love finding new ways of serving up my faourite foods, i remember tasting aloo gobi for the first time years ago and realising there was so much more to cauliflower than cheese! 

A few weeks ago i had a lot of mushrooms looking a bit sad in my fridge and i really didn't fancy a stodgy risotto or pasta dish, I had a little look online and found an amazing, quick, and very easy recipe for mushroom curry on madhur jaffreys website! I have adapted it slightly, I hope you like it, this is a firm favourite in our house now!

The recipe uses ginger and garlic, I happily admit i am a lazy chef and can't be bothered fiddling about peeling garlic cloves and cutting the skin off ginger, never mind the stink on your hands when done! I always use ginger garlic paste, or frozen ginger and garlic, a god send!

The recipe also uses yoghurt, i didnt have any in when i made this last week so used milk instead, it worked just as well.

I think the secret ingredient that makes this dish so awesome is  the lemon juice!
 
Try it and let me know what you think! We had it as a light dinner with papads and curd!





Mushroom Curry
Ingredients
4cm (1½in) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (or use 1 heaped tsp ginger garlic paste)
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped in quarters
450g (1lb) mushrooms
4 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee
3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon tomato purée
2 teaspoons ground coriander
¼ teaspoon salt 
¼ - 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp lemon juice

Step One
Put the ginger, onion and garlic into the container of an electric blender along with 3 tablespoons water and blend until smooth. Clean the mushrooms and cut them into halves or quarters, depending upon size.


Step Two
Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in a non-stick frying pan and set over high heat.When hot, put in the mushrooms. Stir and fry for 2–3 minutes or until the mushrooms have lost their raw look. Empty the contents of the pan into a bowl.Wipe the pan.


Step Three
Put the remaining oil into the pan and set over high heat. When hot, add the paste from the blender. Stir and fry for 3–5 minutes until it starts turning brown. Lower heat &  Add 1 tablespoon of the yoghurt and fry for 30 seconds. Add another tablespoon of the yoghurt and fry for 30 seconds. Do this a third time. Now add the tomato purée and fry for 30 seconds. Add the ground coriander and stir once or twice. Now put in 300ml (10fl oz) water, the mushrooms and their juices, salt and chilli powder. Stir and bring to a simmer. Squeeze in a load of lemon juice and adjust salt. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the green coriander over the top before serving.