Madhur Jaffrey’s baked beef curry • Wagamama’s chargrilled pineapple slices

Can you guess who it is yet?

Family feasting time

Is there a better way to spend a grey and dreary weekend than at home  tucking into a mama-made curry and snuggling on the sofa watching IT Crowd boxsets? I think not.

The apple mango hasn’t fallen far from the tree in our case – my mum is also a first-class curry fiend. I bought her a copy of Curry Easy for Christmas as I’ve been really impressed by its simplicity and the depth of flavour in the recipes. This Saturday we sat down to an aromatic dinner of home-made “baked beef” and “okra with shallots”– both were very rich and tasty. Mum also made some fresh naan breads using dough from her bread maker – superior skills.

The undoubted highlight of the meal, however, was pudding. A little ray on sunshine on a wet, grey February day, this tasted like caramelized piña colada on a plate – moreishly sweet and exotic – and I liked it a lot. I think it’s time to dust off my Wagamama’s cookbook… Here’s the gist of things if you’d like to give it a try:

Wagamama’s chargrilled pineapple & coconut broth

(serves 2-4)

• Put a can of coconut milk in a pan with 50g white sugar, the zest of half a lime and juice of a whole one. Add 5cm of lemongrass (outer leaves removed) finely sliced.

• Simmer ingredients on a  medium heat for 5 minutes then set aside to cool.

• Heat a griddle pan till almost smoking. Sprinkle 25g sugar over 6 pineapple rings (fresh or tinned) and cook for 1 minute on each side.

• Strain and reheat the sauce and pour over the pineapple to serve.

Marks: 9/10 all-round