A few excerpts from a book 'Comfort Food' which we are currently ghostwriting for a cookery writer. We always endeavour to capture the conversational nuances of the author - an important aspect of ghostwriting.

Lunchtime is the perfect time to sit down to a massive plate of steaming hot homemade nachos for example. I firstly make my 'refried' beans by frying an onion, some cumin, oregano and chilli powder together before adding some stock and a can of pinto beans. I let this simmer until the time is right then mash these down to a paste.

Next I would make my guacamole: some fresh coriander, a little chopped onion, garlic and green chilli, some cumin, some paprika and some very finely chopped tomatoes are added to a mashed avocado and finished with a good squeeze of lime and a pinch or two of white pepper. I would now arrange a big bag of nacho chips on the biggest plate I could find such that they are overlapping; the beans are then spooned over the top and spread around so that the outside 'ring' of chips remain uncovered. Now copious amounts of grated cheddar cheese are sprinkled on top and this wonderful plateful is ready for the grill (or microwave) to be warmed through and the cheese melted.

Once done, a dollop of guacamole, some soured cream and some sliced pickled chillies will be arranged on top perhaps with a sprinkle of paprika for good measure…. Now we just tuck in and enjoy. This is phenomenal comfort food of the first order.

Ok that's fine, but what happens on those occasions when we're starving and in desperate need of stuffing ourselves but can't be bothered to cook? Well what better in those circumstances than a good takeaway. I personally prefer Indian whenever those pangs strike but as you can see from the list above, there are many options - all excellent. Let's talk a little about each one in turn:

CURRY
Ah, the classic takeaway curry…
The first 'curry' I ever tasted was my Gran's Anglo-Indian Raj Style curry (as I call it): basically a mild chicken stew complete with apples, sultanas and curry powder. Mum would make a similar dish and serve it with Mango chutney, thin slices of banana and (I think) grated coconut. Although not a bad tasting dish in itself, this was far removed from today's takeaway dishes.

That's not to say that it wasn't authentic; Colonial Raj types probably enjoyed this dish in their India days - a toned down anglicised version of the local fare. Furthermore, many of the now standard dishes on a typical Indian menu are actually inventions conjured up by English restaurantaurs to appease the bravado of late-night lager louts anxious to sample 'the hottest you've got mate'. enter dishes like the Chicken Phaal.

Whatever your views about the origins of Indian restaurant dishes there's no dispute about one thing: They taste and look fantastic. There really is very little that can touch an Indian meal for flavour, texture, colour and value for money (compare to chinese and you'll see what I mean). This is comfort food at it's absolute best.

Let's dream up some imaginary scenarios : a winter's evening; it's cold outside and pouring down with rain. What you need is a hearty and warming meal; besides, you're tired and can't really be bothered to cook tonight. So it's down to the 'Taj Mahal' for a glance through their menu. Chilli Chicken Massala with Pilau Rice, a Keema Naan bread and some Bombay Aloo. Perfect… Don't forget the poppadoms.

I thought I'd stumbled across a little goldmine of a place recently and what's more it was conveniently situated just around the corner from work; a tiny little place (take-away only) that advertised itself as the best Indian takeaway in the South of England ! No small boast. Apparently this claim was founded on a competition in the local paper which their chef had won (cooking a dish that wasn't actually on their menu of course). A workmate who lives in the area also recommended the place so I thought I'd best give it a try. It was disappointing; the Vindaloo I had was hot yes, but had little in the way of subtle spice flavours. Furthermore they'd been incredibly tight with the portions: there were less than 8 pieces of chicken in the dish and too much potato...

CHILLI

The first Chilli I ever tasted was my Mum's homemade which used a 'Lowry's' chilli spice mix (you can't get this one anymore). It was good - not particularly hot - but well-flavoured; it ALWAYS contained red kidney beans and would ALWAYS be served with rice. It soon became a firm suppertime favourite in our house where we believed the dish to be of Mexican origin. In truth, Chilli is a Texan dish (albeit originating from the Tex-Mex border areas) and a true Texan would rather die than entertain the notion of adding beans to his chilli. And as for serving it with rice - don't even think about mentioning it.

The purest form of Texas chilli is a basic dish consisting of ground chuck steak, onions, suet and vast quantities of chilli - dried or fresh or both in varying combinations. Even tomatoes are considered a frivolous addition in many recipes. There are at least as many different chilli recipes as there are days in the year and there is continuous heated debate about the 'beans' issue. (However ALL Texans will agree on one thing : NO RICE). My own view is this : If I like beans in my chilli then I'll have beans ; If I want finely chopped peppers fried along with the onions then that's what I'll have; If I want to use Caribbean Habenero chillies (not native to Texas) for their unique flavour then I'll add those too. I'm not a purist - all I want to do is end up with a dish that tastes exactly how I want it to taste, that's all.

So over the years I've honed my chilli recipe down to 2 essential versions which I'll give you here. One is a simple, relatively quick dish; the other uses hot caribbean chilli peppers and involves more preparation but is superior in both flavour and texture (although purists would disagree I suspect). I do have one strong view when it comes to chilli and it's this: It Must Be Hot. If it ain't hot, then it ain't chilli - it's just a mildly spicy beef and tomato stew. This is very important to keep in mind: unlike curries, where delicate aromatic spicing can make a mild dish exciting and flavoursome, chilli needs it's hotness to be any good. At one chilli 'cookoff' competition in Texas an Indian tribe commenced preparation of their dish by filling their pan a third-full with chopped Jalapeno chillies and frying these off before adding the other ingredients ! I don't necessarily recommend you take such an extreme approach as this but you get the idea - hotness is all-important otherwise it's just not chilli.

ROAST CHICKEN

Maybe not the first thing that would spring to most people's mind when they hear the term 'comfort food' perhaps but a nicely roasted chicken sitting in its pan of juices with crispy browned skin and moist succulent meat makes an impressive and wholesome feast. To put this idea across, let's think of an imaginary scenario… It's late Sunday morning, you had a late night Saturday and you're feeling a bit worse for wear and incredibly tired. You're feeling quite hungry but you can't face the thought of anything too 'junky' - pizza, burgers, KFC all too greasy. You want something wholesome, tasty and healthy (to make up for some of the excesses of the night before) and although you don't need to eat straightaway, you don't want to spend ages faffing around with preparation. The best thing to do in this case is roast yourself a chicken.

Do it like this: Put one or two tablespoons of butter in a bowl and add some chopped garlic and some fresh herbs from your garden (you do have fresh herbs in your garden don't you ?). Spoon this mixture UNDER the skin of each breast and gradually work it down so that it coats the breast meat in a more or less even layer. This will help baste the meat and specifically help to keep the often dry (and bland) breast meat tender and flavoursome. Cut a lemon in half and squeeze the juice over the bird (most of it will run off into the pan) before popping the lemon pieces inside the cavity of the bird along with 2 or 3 whole garlic cloves (you don't even need to peel these). Sprinkle the whole bird with salt n pepper then slam it in the oven to cook. It will be done when the juices run clear from the thigh when pierced with a sharp knife or skewer (if in doubt, cut right into the meat at the thigh to check).

Now here's where we get to the real piggy part: you eat this chicken with your fingers. What you have to do is transfer the cooked chicken to a large plate to 'rest' for 10 or 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make some gravy with the pan juices - you can use the whole garlic cloves which you placed inside the chicken before cooking; simply slip the skins off these and mash the soft cooked garlic into the gravy. Carve the 2 breast portions from the bird: you won't be needing these so either save them for a pie tomorrow and give them to the cat as a treat. Tuck into the remaining meat, dipping each morsel into the gravy. Do not stop until the carcass is stripped bare and don't forget the delicious 'oyster' pieces on the chicken's back.