Then there are those snacks which everyone loves and are irritatingly addictive: beet shami kebabs (here) and Darjeeling momos (here).

Appetites will vary (so plan accordingly), but as a general rule allocate 4 tablespoons of dry rice per person.Washing and soaking rice is the first thing I do in the kitchen before cooking, so I can have dinner and rice ready at the same time.

The recipes are unpretentious and were immediately promoted by my family of critics into must-makes for the monthly dinner rotation, new staples for a season of chill and damp. To finish, there’s a chapter of luscious puddings like salted peanut and jaggery kulfi alongside carrot halwa and pistachio cake.

As soon as this book arrived, I went through every recipe and put a page sticker on each one I wanted to try - and there were many!