Anybody who has done business in India will know that the bureaucracy is present in every transaction. The number of permissions we needed to do anything, anywhere were mind boggling. In Calcutta, for example, we had permission to film in the streets but only if we didn’t film cows. Getting permission to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar took months, but when we arrived at the gates they told us we couldn’t bring in our tripod as we had only obtained permission for the camera.

Heat a frying pan over a high heat without oil, add the chopped hazelnuts and toast them for 1- 2 minutes stirring frequently to ensure they do not burn, tip into a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter in the frying pan and fry the dried breadcrumbs until crisp and golden then add three-quarters of the toasted hazelnuts, and the cinnamon stir well to combine. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 25g of sugar.Tonight we also saw another vegetarian treat in the shape of the thoran, a dry vegetable curry from Kerala made from whatever fresh vegetables are available and cooked with mustard seeds, green chillies, ginger and grated coconut. You can look forward to trying some of the dishes from India on our menus – including Pondicherry cod curry, breakfast bhaji, Amritsari fish, pau bhaji, vegetable makhanwala, kachumber salad and more. Choose a restaurant here. Learn to cook the recipes A mini food processor makes light work of turning garlic and ginger, with a splash of water, into pastes, which are used throughout the book. However, for smaller quantities, or if you don’t own a mini processor, you can use a microplane grater to finely grate ginger or garlic. Or you can crush the garlic, either by chopping finely with a sharp knife or using a garlic crusher. I saw the BBC series that launched this book. I loved the colourful photography and production of the films, even though I find Mr Stein to be a bit of a pompous, arrogant prat. This, however, is not unusual in TV chefs of a certain age, and I know from my participation on cooking forums that he appeals to a certain sector of the viewing public. However, despite my dislike of his TV persona (it's obvious in a couple of episodes that he is about to explode at his longsuffering team, and treasures a lot of idiotic memes about the India that never was), the recipes looked good enough to want the book. As a person who lives on a fixed pension, I was wise enough to wait until I could find the book secondhand for a fraction of the original price.

Fast suppers: Sweet potato, chorizo & sweetcorn tacos, Baked portobello mushrooms with Dolcelatte & walnuts Heat the oven to 140°C/gas 1. Process the slices of bread to crumbs in a food processor. Spread over a large baking tray and bake for 12- 15 minutes, stirring halfway through, until uniformly dried but not browned.Add the leek, carrots and oats, season with the salt and pepper and cook for a further 30 minutes. Add the potatoes and swede and simmer for another 30 minutes.