Who would have thought that the curry chicken salad, that darling of the 80s chic picnic scene, was in need of a makeover? Ham El-Waylly, that’s who. In his brilliant new recipe (above), he swaps the chicken for roasted, charred cauliflower, creating a meatless classic packed with texture: crunchy toasted walnuts, crunchy apple chunks, and sweet, chewy raisins. For the dressing, mayonnaise and yoghurt are colored yellow with curry powder, which also adds the lingering flavour. It’s a delicious spring roll.
Speaking of yellow things, you need mustard oil for bhetki paturi, or Bengali style fish. The pungent, spicy burn — the invigorating kind that zaps your nasal passages and then leaves you begging for more — is an integral part of countless Bangladeshi dishes, as Priya Krishna describes in her recent story for The Times. For this recipe, firm white fish fillets are coated with a blend of shredded coconut, green chili, and mustard oil before wrapping in foil packets and steaming in a hot oven. Serve them with rice to soak up all the earthy, complex juices.
Kay Chun brings us another new recipe that might just as well take care of the sinuses (just in time for allergy season), depending on how much chili you add. Her spicy Thai vegetable salad is a riff on a green papaya salad that uses a variety of sliced veggies fueled by a spicy lime and fish sauce dressing. I’d top it off with some crispy tofu from the air fryer for a crunchy weeknight meal.
Today is my birthday, so of course I dream of cake for dessert. Birthday or not, you can make Nik Sharma’s tangy-sweet no-bake mango cheesecake this afternoon—it uses canned mango and takes just 45 minutes to prep—and serve it tonight, candles optional. And for an easy cheesecake cookie mash-up, try the cinnamon-topped sopapilla cheesecake bars that classical cellist Maria Kitsopoulos made for the New York Philharmonic. Gustavo Dudamel is a fan!
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Tip for preparing a cake tin
This tip comes straight from Nik’s mango cheesecake recipe, but it always works when you need to grease a cake tin. After buttering, put the (still empty) baking tin in the fridge for a few minutes before filling it with batter. The firm, cooled butter will make the finished cake easier to remove from the mold. Also works like a charm on Bundt cakes.
