COOK'S INSTINCT by @anthonyshock

Hyderabadi Chicken Majestic (चिकन माजेस्टिक)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 19:43:36 GMT

A classic Hyderabadi street food, ‘chicken majestic’ is a tantilising dry chicken curry dish tossed in a tangy yoghurt sauce. It’s not considered a main dish in Hyderabad. Though substantial and packed with flavour, it’s often considered a snack or even a dish for nibbling. It’s great enjoyed cold too. Due to its location in Central India, there are small dashes of Chinese influence in this dish through historic trade with the East, so you can expect to find a nip of soy sauce in here too for extra savoury punch, or even Sichuan pepper. Feel free to deep-fry the battered chicken if preferred, however I find baking or air-frying gives comparable results as the chicken is soothed by a rich yoghurt sauce one way or another. Please eat it with your hands, or use a paratha or roti if you’re precious about it. Let’s go!

INGREDIENTS (serves 2x)

CHICKEN SEASONING

300g sliced boneless chicken (thighs, breast or drumstick fillets)
2x cloves garlic, grated
1x thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tsps vegetable oil

MAJESTIC SAUCE

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1x clove garlic, sliced
1cm piece of ginger, sliced
1x green chilli, sliced
6-8 curry leaves - fresh or dried - optional
2 tsps dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon chilli sauce (Indian Chilli Sauce, Sriracha) or ketchup
3 tablespoons of natural yoghurt
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
To serve: small handful of fresh coriander and/or mint

WALKTHROUGH

First let’s marinate the chicken in its yoghurt batter. Place the 300g boneless, diced chicken thighs into a bowl and add all of the chicken seasoning ingredients. Mix the chicken well until it is coated in a thick paste. Set this aside for 15 minutes.
Place the marinated chicken pieces onto an oven rack and bake/air-fry it at 200C for 15 minutes, turning them over halfway, until the chicken is lightly browned and cooked through. Set this aside.
Now we will make the majestic sauce. Place a frying pan or wok onto medium-low heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of oil followed by the 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp ground turmeric, 1/4 tsp chilli powder and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Gently fry the spices for 30 seconds until foaming and fragrant.
Add the sliced clove of garlic, ginger, green chilli and 6-8 curry leaves, if using. Fry these ingredients on medium heat for 1 minute until softened and fragrant.
Add the 2 tsps dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of chilli sauce/ketchup and fry these into the sauce briefly for 30 seconds.
Turn off the heat and add the 3 tablespoons of yoghurt followed by 1/4 tsp salt. Stir the ingredients together until you form a small amount of sauce.
Add the cooked chicken into the sauce and toss until it is thinly coated. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your taste, using salt, pepper or lemon juice.
Serve the chicken at once with a skiff of coriander and/or mint, or keep it in the fridge and serve as a cold, spicy snack. Enjoy!

Scottish Highland-Style Shortbread (Aran Milis Àrdchreige)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 08:29:19 GMT

Scottish shortbread is a coveted treat for any visitor to Scotland. Proper shortbread is a very simple recipe with no bells and whistles. The butter does most of the heavy lifting, and there’s no vanilla to hide behind either. I use cornflour in this recipe, though some Scots will insist on rice flour. This recipe also picks up some historic details from the last century, particularly in sort of sugar used. Sugar in the last few centuries wasn’t as refined as the white sort we get now, and it would often have traces of flavourful molasses that made the sugar taste…like sugar! In this recipe I capture that essence with a small addition of brown sugar. The highland style shortbread often uses a mixture of oats and wheat flour, as wheat would struggle to ripen in the colder climate of Northern Scotland. Feel encouraged to explore other regional varieties of shortbread too, such as Ayrshire-style shortbread [GET THE RECIPE] which adds eggs and cream, and the classic style which is the pure essence of Scottish shortbread [GET THE RECIPE] which adds milled, toasted oats. Wonderful with a hot cup of tea. Let’s go!

Swedish Chocolate Balls (Chokladbollar)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:02:55 GMT

These chocolate balls are commonly served in cafés up and down Sweden and are regularly enjoyed within the ‘fika’ afternoon coffee tradition. They’re made with oats, once the staple Swedish grain, wh…

Persian Crispy Rice with Barberries (ته‌دیگ با زرشک)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 09:29:38 GMT

This traditional rice dish, often referred to as ‘tahdiig’ or ‘bottom of the pot, is a common fixture of Persian celebrations and feasts. The rice is par-cooked and combined with a golden mixture of saffron and butter, before being steamed to perfection in a separate pot. The addition of barberries at the end adds a pop of sourness, a favoured taste to many Iranians. You may find barberries in many Middle-Eastern supermarkets, or you can use regular currants, or frankly use nothing at all. The key to a good, crispy tahdiig is the temperature control. This takes practice. Use a good, solid-based pot and you will get a consistently gold crust across the base of your tahdiig. Don’t worry if it doesn’t release from the pot in one perfectly-moulded swoop, this is greatly determined by the doneness of your rice and the sort of pot you use. If you need to remove the crust in sections - like many Iranians actually do - it is just as good. Enjoy this with any other dishes as part of a wider feast, but honestly some days this dish is good enough to make and eat all on its own! Let’s go!

Persian Saffron Chicken (مرغ زعفرانی)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 16:53:17 GMT

This dish is one of the simplest shortcuts to Persian flavour, as well as framing one of Iran’s finest items of produce: saffron. Worth more than its weight in gold, saffron is a labour of love, harv…

Turkish Stuffed Onions (Soğan Dolmasi)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 09:04:25 GMT

The idea of stuffing vegetables with meat and rice was very fashionable to the Ottomans, and as a result you will find some version of this dish eaten in many former Ottoman countries, and even a bit beyond. ‘Dolma’ involves stuffing the season’s vegetables and cooking them in a sauce. In this case, we are using onions. Large onions require a short boil to render them tender, making layers upon layers of edible wrapping paper for a juicy dolma mixture. This mixture uses a combination of beef/lamb and rice, with a slight sweetness from the addition of currants. Once wrapped, the onions are cooked in a rich tomato sauce until tender. Depending on the freshness of your onions, they’re ready to eat in under an hour. Let’s go!

Turkish Scrambled Eggs (Menemen)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:54:22 GMT

This traditional breakfast dish is just part of the grand Turkish breakfast spread, which is known called ‘serpme kahvaltı’. It not always practical to put this whole spread together just for yoursel…

Turkish Caramelised Rice Pilaf (Şehriyeli Pilav)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:54:39 GMT

Türkiye is home to a special rice variety known as ‘baldo’. This rice is adored by Turks for its slightly stickier, chewier bite and ability to absorb flavour incredibly well. For this reason, you wi…

Moroccan Meatball Tagine (كفتة مكورة)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 12:49:36 GMT

Known as ‘kafta mkoura’, this traditional Moroccan tagine dish combines flavourful meatballs with a spiced tomato-pepper sauce. Unlike most tagines that require low-and-slow cooking to coax moisture …

Norwegian Cinnamon Buns (Skillingsboller)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 16:42:56 GMT

Scandinavia is well-known for their interpretation of the cinnamon bun, an idea originally brought to the region by German bakers. Cinnamon however, coming from the tropics, had no business being in the Nordic countries. The first supply of cinnamon to Nordics came via the city of Bergen. Bergen was the first city in the region to the join the Hanseatic League, a historic union of key trading cities such as Hamburg, London and Bruges. Bergen had its own valuable delicacies in the form of dried cod, and in return they would sometimes receive spices like cinnamon and cardamom from the tropics, now thoroughly popular in Nordic baking. This cinnamon bun, known as the ‘skillingsbolle’ (they used to cost one shilling), is originally from Bergen, and boasts a simple filling of cinnamon and dark sugar. The buns are baked free-form, not huddled together, giving each one a golden crust and a fluffy interior. Unlike most modern cinnamon buns, skillingboller are not tightly wound into attractive spirals. In fact, the simpler the spiral the better, as the bread is able to bloom fully into a fluffy, moist bun. I’ve taught this recipe for many years in my Nordic baking classes and dare I suggest it might be the best cinnamon bun you will eat. Ever. Let’s go!

Scottish Shortbread (Aran Milis)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 09:57:41 GMT

Scottish shortbread is a coveted treat for any visitor to Scotland. Proper shortbread is a very simple recipe with no bells and whistles. The butter does most of the heavy lifting, and there’s no vanilla to hide behind either. I use cornflour in this recipe, though some Scots will insist on rice flour. This recipe also picks up some historic details from the last century, particularly in sort of sugar used. Sugar in the last few centuries wasn’t as refined as the white sort we get now, and it would often have traces of flavourful molasses that made the sugar taste…like sugar! In this recipe I capture that essence with a small addition of brown sugar. Feel encouraged to explore other regional varieties of shortbread too, such as Ayrshire-style shortbread [GET THE RECIPE] which adds eggs and cream, and the Highland-style shortbread which adds milled, toasted oats. Wonderful with a hot cup of tea. Let’s go!

Flemish Beef Stew (Stoofvlees)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 12:41:38 GMT

This dish is the purest essence of beef stew. Besides a few caramelised onions, there are no vegetables or gap-fillers in this dish; it’s all meat and plenty of proper gravy. This stew has two names …

Irish Leek and Potato Soup (Brotchán Foltchep)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 10:19:39 GMT

This style of soup has been eaten in Ireland for hundreds of years. The English had the ‘pottage’, the Irish had the ‘brotchán’. This ‘blueprint’ dish formed the daily diet for most Irish people, and…

American Grape Jelly

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 10:03:07 GMT

Grape jelly is an all-American preserve, traditionally made from concord grapes. Because this grape variety was inferior for traditional wine-making, concord grapes never really took off in Europe, but in the United States they became known as the ultimate ‘jelly grape’ due to their sweet-sour flavour and pectin quality. You can use any grapes to make this jelly, just make sure they’re as fresh and firm as possible to ensure lots of natural pectin, which will help the jelly set. We will be using a jam sugar for insurance either way. A few bunches of grapes will yield a surprising quantity of juice for this jelly, which is cooked until wrinkling-set. As for its use, grape jelly is sublime as a breakfast table preserve, it pairs very well with tangy goat cheese or blue cheese and of course it makes the real-deal peanut butter & jelly sandwich! Once jarred, allow grape jelly about 10 days to fully set. I promise it’s worth the wait! Let’s go!

Jamaican Curry Chicken

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 13:45:45 GMT

‘Curry chicken’ and ‘curry goat’ have its origins in Jamaica, particularly through indentured Indian labourers that were brought to the island during the British administration. Black Jamaicans had already established a cuisine on the island, but they adapted some of the Indian methods and for preserving food with spices, especially turmeric. Turmeric changed the colour of Caribbean cuisine, quite literally, and you’ll find various versions of ‘curry’ throughout the region. This Jamaican style curry combines a traditional ‘green seasoning’ which you can buy in jars [BEST BUY] or make fresh [GET THE RECIPE]. Alongside that you have Jamaican curry powder, which can purchased or can be made at home using very simple spices; the recipe will be included here also. You’ll appreciate the complexity of this dish, with layers of seasoning and ingredients, and a medley of fresh, colourful vegetables at the end makes this a vibrant and cheerful dish. They’ll be begging for more! Let’s go!

Jamaican Chicken in Green Seasoning

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 14:20:22 GMT

The Caribbean islands offer one of the richest and most eclectic fusions of culinary traditions in the world. Although most of the islands will have their own produce, influences and forged culinary …

Irish Coffee Trifle (Tráifil Caife)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 14:50:30 GMT

This indulgent trifle was inspired by a gorgeous dessert I ate on a cruise ship last year. It combined a coffee custard with chocolate cake and crunchy chocolate-coated coffee beans. It was superb! I…

Filipino Spring Rolls (Lumpia)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:58:36 GMT

Lumpia is the ultimate party treat for many Pinoys, rolled out for birthdays, weddings, Christmas and even funerals. Lumpia originated with Chinese migrants that settled in the Philippines and as suc…

Chicken Tikka Kebabs (ਮੁਰਗ ਟਿੱਕਾ)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 11:55:44 GMT

Chicken tikka kebab is a delectable opening to South Asian feast, a lean and flavourful snack and a great base for a chicken tikka masala [GET THE RECIPE]. This style of chicken kebab has its origins…

Welsh Rarebit (Caws Pobi)

Anthony O'Shaughnessy — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 12:43:59 GMT

Much more than just cheese on toast, Welsh rarebit is a classic light dish to enjoy as a Springtime lunch. When I lived in Wales, a lot of cafés would serve rarebit with a light salad or chips, treat…