With Simon Rhodes, of the Lobster Pot Fishmongers in Wood Street Food Hall

Watching Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey I was inspired by some of the fish curries that were being shown in different regions of India – mouth-watering recipes that were simple but had me salivating like a dribbling dog!

I started to wonder what could be better on a cold January night than a delicious fish curry?

Once upon a time when I started to take an interest in cooking Asian food I tried and tried to make a great curry but failed miserably each time.

In the end I went and saw a friend of mine, Peter Patel, who owns this fantastic Indian club in East London called the Century Club. He showed me how to cook the most amazing curries. He told me that basically all curries start with the same ingredients and are then enhanced along the way with different flavours such as coconut, tomatoes, onions, peppers, chillies etc.

The combination of different spices used in curries is fascinating and I often find myself trying different variations of quantities of spices.

So, how do you start a curry? First, into a pan or wok add a good glug of oil (sunflower or vegetable), heat the oil but not too hot, add some finely chopped onions or shallots (optional), then add about a dessert spoon of cumin seeds or ground cumin, a teaspoon of tumeric, half a teaspoon of ground coriander and fry these spices until they release their rich aroma. Do not burn them or it will taste bitter.

Add combined chopped garlic and ginger, experimenting with the different quantities is half the fun. If you like your curries with a kick add some hot chillies. Stir and cook for about two minutes.

Add about a tablespoon of tomato puree or a tin of chopped tomatoes and cook down until you have a rich sauce. This season with a good quantity of salt and some ground white pepper. Taste the sauce and if it requires it add a little sugar.

Add your fish, preferably a good firm white fish like cod or hake or perhaps prawns.

Once cooked, sprinkle with plenty of freshly chopped coriander and add a tiny amount of garam masala. The wonderful thing about curries is that you can add whatever you fancy... try some dried coconut, or ground almonds, some bell peppers, or just extra onion or tomatoes.

Now tell me that you are not salivating like a dribbling dog!