It’s a historic tragedy that for years, decades even, the notion of Indian food has been relegated to the ‘chicken tikka masala’ ilk. But you can forgive the balti-cuisine-blinders: it’s almost impossible in one breath to acknowledge the myriad methods of preparation, cooking, tempering, marinating, presentation. There are south-indian

Tom DeLonge has been very busy post Blink-182 (though they have regrouped and are planning a release). The former guitarist and vocalist of the cheeky punk band created two clothing labels, has two bands and even had time to create a social networking site that links fans with bands, businesses and bloggers, Modlife. While the

Forgive me for loving it when it says ‘Various Artists’ on the cover. It’s so not cool but there’s something intriguing about albums that feature re-workings of favourite producers or artists. The Bob Dylan tribute I’m Not There was a wonderful case in point. Tori Amos singing Smells Like Teen Spirit was not. But anyway, the album in

Admit it. You haven’t been able to resist making a few resolutions and I’m willing to bet that most of them have to do with losing weight, being healthy, keeping your temper...

Sufjan Stevens has a new album out (and a new EP, but one thing at a time). If you came to his party late (I did) you’d be forgiven for thinking he was a shoe-gazing, folksy boy with a slight moroseness. This would be because you will have heard his album Ilinois and you missed his electronica-infused offerings and some of his other inventiveness.

As the local markets get more exciting because farmers and agro-types are experimenting, there is often that moment — you look at an ingredient bought with great enthusiasm, sitting there on your kitc

No no no no. It’s not too late to throw your kids a Halloween party. Really. Get some jelly, some cheese, crackers, pasta, noodles —all it takes is creative assembly and some cheeky, cheesy re-naming of existing meals to make it all fit the theme. Channel your inner ‘bugs and snails and puppy dog tails’ eight-year-old boy for inspiration.

I’m having a conversation with my five-year-old about whether pizza and pasta are junk food. She’s been told in school that school snacks should be healthy “like roti and subzee” she says, warning me not to stuff her snack box with the stuff that made Sophia Loren so delicioussima. We’ve gone back and forth over this a couple of times

IIf the genre ‘grime’ was a child, it would just be learning how to spell. So without irony, it’s worth mentioning that it originated in East London and was first publicised on mainstream radio etc., by Dizzee Rascal and his album Boy in Da Corner and Wiley’s Treddin’ on Thin Ice. People sat up and took notice when Dizzee’s album won the Mercury Music Prize in ‘03.

Despite being part of an extremely carnivorous family (hear them roar!) immediate and extended, I’ve always been a secret veggie-sympathiser. Some of my best friends are vegetarians. There’re the spiritually inclined ones — with the glow and litheness of flesh nourished largely by chlorophyll. The ascetic ones — slightly bent, naturally averse to even the more meaty vegetarian offerings (‘please not baingan, I hate baingan’).