Inspired by a recent trip to Jaipur, my current obsession is Indian cuisine. The food in the vast country is far more complex, delicate, varied and delicious than anything you'll find at the average Indian restaurant in Hong Kong. I returned from the trip with moulds to make the steamed, soft, fermented bread known as idli (which I have yet to use), and an appreciation for goat's brain masala and aloo bonda (spiced potato dipped in chickpea batter and deep-fried).

It was my curiosity about aloo bonda that led me to Niya's World (niyasworld.blogspot.com). By eating this delicious snack at least four times in six days in Jaipur, I figured out the technique used to make the dish, but had no idea which spices to use, apart from the mustard seeds, turmeric and chillies I could distinguish in each of the servings. Niya writes that the potatoes should also be flavoured with curry leaf, cumin seeds, asafoetida and ginger.

It looks like I'll need to make a trip to an Indian spice shop to buy asafoetida and other specialised ingredients used in Niya's dishes. Her recipes include Kerala beef fry, keema mutter (below; mutton or lamb with spices and fresh green peas), gobi Manchurian (a Chinese-Indian dish of cauliflower cooked with ginger, chilli sauce, tomato sauce and soy sauce), coconut chutney with curry leaves, Malvani chicken curry, snake gourd curry and cashew nut idli with coconut chutney.