Kedgeree

What we eat and drink is so much more than what we put in our mouths. Food is memory, identity, history and heritage. It is a cultural artefact: a piece of us, shaped by the ups, downs and roundabouts

Share the load with your guests and ask each to make one of these delicious dishes for your next alfresco gathering

Bring all the beloved flavours of the classic tart together into a showstopping cake. Almond-rich sponges are sandwiched with black cherry conserve and finished with silky buttercream – just the thing

Biryani is my favourite dish. I love rice. There’s a recipe in Monsoon – it’s a spicy beef pulao with green chilies, made with mustard oil – that I could eat at any time [p104]. Wake me up at midnight

Full of colour and flavour, these fresh but warming plates are perfect for lunch or supper on September days

1 Food that speaks of home When guests arrive I like to welcome them with something that evokes the comfort and welcome of a Sri Lankan home — roast paan still warm from the bakery, a punchy pol sambo