May 2026 favourites list

Welcome to my favourites list for May! 

 

I am writing this at the tail end of a heatwave here in the UK. We have not been coping well with the heat. We have been simultaneously boiling and frying, we have been failing to sleep. We spend all year looking forward to the “better weather” and then when we get some sunny days, complain. Of course, I am not alone in this, and it may well be true that I spent much of the long weekend at the end of this month trying to keep cool in minimum levels of clothing/decency.

This month’s pictures are from a very lovely, relaxed, and delicious dinner I had at one of my favourite restaurants in all of London, the very excellent Babur in Brockley, south east London. Their “Taste of Babur” five course menu was £59.95 for food only (and with matching wine was £90.95). It was my birthday, so I opted for the menu with wine pairings. No regrets, it was a special day! (Him Indoors paid for our meal in full). 

Swordfish tikka and Kasundi king prawn

 

I have written about Babur twice on this blog. My first in depth review can be found here: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2013/09/babur-honor-oak-indian-restaurant-south.html. My second, as their guest, focussing on their Indian Muslim food menu is here: https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2013/11/baburs-indian-muslim-cooking-menu.html. (Babur run frequent themed menus which are worth checking out!).

I hope you will enjoy my photos and selections for this month, and if you are struggling in the heat, you have my sympathies. 

Food articles and writing

This is a highly thought provoking read: is Italian food (as we know it) really about recipes passed down through many, many generations, or is it more recent, and actually shaped by the waves of Italian migration of the last 100 years? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/15/myth-traditional-italian-cuisine-food

 

Tulsi malai chicken tikka

Kavey reviews Ed Smith’s latest cookbook Peckish: An Inspirational Collection of Winning Chicken Dinners, which explores contemporary chicken farming, the different cuts of chicken, cooking whole chickens, recipes, butchery and preparation techniques, plus how to make stocks and deal with leftovers. As ever Kavey tests the recipes as well as casting her careful eye over the book as a reading experience. https://www.kaveyeats.com/peckish-cookbook-ed-smith

Some food and medication clashes are well known by the public, such as grapefruit and statins and angina medication. However, ginger, turmeric and cinnamon are also in danger of interfering with medication including anti-coagulants, antidepressants, blood pressure medications, chemotherapy drugs and certain antibiotics. If you are on any of these, read the article in full, don’t just read my summary: https://theconversation.com/why-eating-too-much-ginger-turmeric-or-cinnamon-could-interfere-with-your-prescription-medication-255527

 

Goat shoulder tikka

There has been comment in MAGA/MAHA quarters that seed oils are bad for you. While a heated extraction process can result in small amounts of hexane remaining in the oil, this can be avoided by buying cold pressed. Here are 14 facts about cooking oils to help sort the fact from the fiction. https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/apr/26/the-truth-about-cooking-oils-14-essential-facts-for-healthier-cheaper-meals  

Masterchef winner Chef Tim Anderson has immersed himself in the food and cooking of Japan. In this helpful article, he suggests that five Japanese ingredients can transform the way you cook: https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/japanese-ingredients-recipes-masterchef-winner-tim-anderson-new-cookbook-b2962415.html

Slow cooked mutton in clay pot with rice

Xueci, a Berlin based food writer with Sichuanese heritage provides a deep dive into Shaoxing rice wine, explaining the manufacture and many culinary uses of this hero ingredient: https://chillcrispbyxueci.substack.com/p/deep-dive-shaoxing-wine

Supermarket sausages taste tested in time for BBQ season, with surprising results, especially for a very popular brand name: https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/food-drink/i-compared-five-supermarket-sausages-37081518

Chicken Chettinad with rice flour pancake

Recipes

Steph and Chris' Chinese cooking videos are full of so much inspiration. Here, very simply cooked fish is served with either hot and spicy or herby and hot dipping sauce. https://youtu.be/qUFFFT_379Y?si=024_ME-8kwUiDO5j

Here is their recipe in written form if you don’t want to cook from a video, Xinping dipping sauce tilapia: https://chinesecookingdemystified.substack.com/p/dipping-sauce-tilapia

Spiced apricot and fig crumble

Georgia Hayden recipe https://theweek.com/culture-life/food-drink/spring-meatballs-pasta-and-peas

Mieke, a Dutch-Indonesian food writer, whose Dorothy Porker site is one I enjoy a quiet moment perusing, shares how to make your own Chai Latte, so you don’t have to go to Starbucks. https://www.dorothy-porker.com/avoid-starbucks-make-your-own-chai-latte/#recipe

What you might have missed at Snig’s Kitchen

I was asked recently about how to sprout lentils, having posted a photo of a chaat dish I had made (a variant of a chana chaat) online. Here is my guide on sprouting seeds which works not only with lentils and other pulses, but with some spices, herbs and vegetables. https://snigskitchen.blogspot.com/2026/05/snigs-guide-to-sprouting-seeds.html

A Taste of Babur menu

 Please note: as with every monthly Favourites List, all of these items have been selected by me simply because I love them. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.

Babur's Indian Muslim Cooking Menu

I have reviewed South East London's Babur Indian restaurant before on my blog. That particular visit coincided with their 28th birthday celebrations, where they featured a Keralan inspired menu. You can find my review here: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/babur-honor-oak-indian-restaurant-south.html

In that review, I said "We just wonder what their latest menu adventure will involve!", after thoroughly enjoying their "Dealer's Choice" anniversary menu. I was therefore delighted to be invited by them to sample their latest special menu, a celebration of Indian Muslim cooking. 

This special menu will be available until 12 December 2013. It reflects the wide diversity of influence Islamic culture has brought to Indian food. Trade between the pre-Islamic Arab nations and India has existed since ancient times. Once Islam was founded, trade and travellers came to India spreading this new faith as they did around the Arabic speaking world and beyond. 

The Mughal empire of the 16th Century to the mid 18th Century is a very famous example of the Muslim influence on India. The Taj Mahal is perhaps the most obvious and dazzling example of the Mughals' achievements, known across the world. However, the earliest Muslim settlements in India date back to the 6th Century and the Delhi, Bahmani and Deccan Sultanates are further examples of Muslim power in India.

Enough history. Back to the Indian Muslim Cooking special menu! You will notice that there are no "haraam" items. Pork, blood products, and any meat from a carnivorous animal are prohibited. Many Muslims in India also refuse seafood.

 
First came a small treat to get us started, a little chunk of boiled potato which had been subsequently fried in herbs and spices. It doesn't sound particularly exotic or special, right? Wrong. It had a kick of heat and fabulous hints of other spices, cumin and garam masala being among them. If it is ever possible to tease the recipe for this out of the chef of Babur, I'd have this with my Sunday roast in place of roast potatoes!

My starter was the Haleem with chilli khasta roti (£7.75). I ordered this because I was intrigued by the description and had no frame of reference for such a dish.

The dish was a thick stew where the lamb neck had been slow cooked for so long it had fallen apart. There were no chunks of meat left, just small strands. The resulting gravy was therefore full of hearty, meaty flavour. Surprisingly, there was not much of the wheat, barley or the lentils, which I had expected to have bulked out the dish. The spicing was bold and had a good balanced heat; not for the chilli novice, but not too hot to blow your head up. The overall effect was of a comforting and satisfying thick and chunky soup. My only criticism is that there was only one piece of the roti. Given the amount of Haleem, at least one other piece, if not an extra two were required to slurp up the goodness.
 
Him Indoors went for the Chicken Malai Tikka (£6.95). 

The presentation of this dish is not done justice by this photograph. The part of the restaurant we sat in was not brightly lit and I refuse to take pictures of food with the flash on as much as possible. The colours never come out right and everything looks dead with the flash. 

The chicken was well flavoured and coated with the marinade, and thankfully the cheese was a taste which registered but did not dominate the dish. I only tried a bite of this dish, which I found lovely. Him Indoors thoroughly enjoyed it, declaring it "brilliant".

We then moved on to the main courses... 


My choice was the Nawabi biryani with salan (£15.50). I often like to order dishes which either are ones I cannot make myself or are sufficiently difficult or time consuming to make at home. True biryani is such a dish which is both difficult and time consuming. The rice cooks essentially by steaming in a sealed container, kept air and watertighted by being sealed with some chapati dough. My biryani arrived in a cute little individual pot....

I took the lid off and found, to my surprise, not rose petals, but the sight and scent of a whole rose! It felt like unwrapping a very nice present.

In many Indian restaurants, biryani is served with a vegetable curry. This is actually not traditional. The veggie curry is served for its gravy, to provide something wet to mitigate the slightly dry biryani. However, the curry accompaniment has become so ubiquitous, people have come to think of this as the real McCoy.

Babur do their best to be authentic, but clearly recognised that serving the biryani by itself might disappoint western diners used to having something moist to go with it. They solved this problem by serving the biryani with a cute little pot of spiced chicken broth.

The biryani was a real treat for me. The rice was fluffy and flavourful. There were scrumptious chunks of perfectly steamed chicken. The broth brought an intensity of chicken flavours with a touch of spice. This was a great dish which hopefully might one day make it to the main menu.

Him Indoors opted for the Lamb Rezala with steamed rice (£14.95) which he chose because it was a traditional Bengali dish. I should explain: my family's roots are Bengali and many years ago, before the Partition of India, they lived in what is now Bangladesh. Hence, the choice of a Bengali dish.

The lamb had been slow cooked until it was beautifully tender. This meant that the sauce was not only creamy and full of delicate spicing, as is typical of Bengali food, but it had that slight sweetness which is a tradition and quirk of the region. The green chilli garnish particularly pleased Him Indoors who likes his curries nice and hot, and often gets treated to some extra green chilli by my mum when he visits for dinner.

The Muslim cooking menu is a very interesting exploration of a particular influence on Indian food. I think that Babur have worked hard to bring authenticity to the dishes they have selected for the menu. We enjoyed everything we had, and received the same good service and atmosphere that we do on every visit. 

My only criticism, which is not a major issue, is that this special menu felt a little restricted. Other than lamb and chicken, there was little variety. There were no vegetarian options. No other meats, which could have been halal were available. However, what was on the menu if you like lamb and chicken was excellent. And this was a temporary menu for which I was ordering for one visit alone.

For an innovative exploration of Indian food and food culture, I would say try to catch this menu before it disappears. You can always save more adventurous meat choices for another day.
 
Snigdha and Him Indoors ate as guests of Babur.

Babur, Honor Oak, Indian Restaurant, South East London

For 28 years, Babur Restaurant in Honor Oak (Brockley, South East London) has had a reputation among locals for excellent Indian food. More recently, it has attracted the attention of Harden's restaurant guide, the AA Good Restaurant Guide and The Good Food Guide. The received wisdom is that it is "worth travelling to" because clearly, no self respecting person from anywhere north of the river would brave the trek to where the tube doesn't go unless the food is "pukka". 

Never mind that north and central London have as many lukewarm and barely adequate restaurants as any other place in the world, somehow restaurants which are south of the river have to reach what seem to me to be far higher standards to be worthy of a journey than anywhere else. Whatever, say I. That just leaves the good South London restaurants to the people of South London. We don't need to worry quite as much about securing a table as a result. We'll live with that!

A few years ago, Babur underwent a radical refurbishment, resulting in its current mainly brick decor with some very interesting Indian influenced art and the timber bar/staff area. It's classy, contemporary and a world away from the flock wallpaper of the "curry houses" of the 1980s. This is a place for sophisticated nights out with dates, friends or family members. This is not a place for a drunken Friday night curry session after a pub visit.

We didn't opt for the poppadoms and pickles on this visit, but they are available for £ per person. This was only because I didn't want to do my age old silly trick of filling up on the poppadoms and then not finishing my meal. I would recommend them, particularly for the homemade chutneys. Tasty, spicy, beautiful!

We started by sampling the new selection of Summer cocktails. 

Him Indoors chose the Roasted Pineapple Mojito £7.95

Made with Bacardi white rum, homemade spiced pineapple puree, pineapple syrup, mint leaves, this was a refreshing and Summery long cocktail. The spicy pineapple brought it head and shoulders above the regular mojito, which is quickly becoming ubiquitous and bland.

Essencially Orange £7.50

This is Babur's first wine based cocktail. Made with Orange Muscat Essencia, orange peel, sweet red vermouth, dry white vermouth, Absolut vodka and Fee Brothers' orange bitters. This is a very pleasant aperitif, particular if you are a fan of aperol cocktails. It has a sophisticated if slightly bitter flavour to get the tummy rumbling and tastebuds tingling.

When we visited, Babur was running one of its specialist menus. This is one of the real strengths of the restaurant. The A La Carte menu is run all year round, but there are occasionally special menus showcasing regional Indian cuisine and other special menus. 

This year, Babur were running a special 28th anniversary menu, one taking its inspiration from a Keralan card game of "28" (Irupathiyettu), which I was informed is  a trick-taking game similar to bridge. This special menu, running until 8th September is called "The Dealer’s Choice Menu" which features seven items, six of which will be available as both small and large plates. although the dessert only comes in one size. This gives people the chance to sample smaller dishes to share. 

We therefore decided to mix and match between the Anniversary menu and the A La Carte.

Assamese duck steamed in banana leaf, bamboo shoot sticky rice £6.50 for a small portion (Anniversary menu)

Aromatically seasoned with cumin, coriander, black pepper, turmeric

The duck was tender, moist and not fatty at all. The banana leaf presentation was very appealing, like opening a special present! A dish which had nuanced and pleasant spicing without being too hot. This could have been a very nice main course, had it not been ordered as a starter. The small portion could equally be ordered among a selection of small mains to create a meal for sharing. 

Tempura battered courgette blossom, cumin mint summer vegetable ragout (Vegetarian) £6.50 for a small portion (Anniversary menu)

Stuffed with seasoned yoghurt, ragout of broad beans, asparagus, peas

Reminiscent of Italian cooking, here the young courgette is at the end of the flower, the whole thing being fried in a light batter. It was the vegetable ragout which made this dish Indian with its use of authentic flavours and spicing. A great Summer starter with a twist.

Crispy soft-shell crab, green papaya and hazelnut crab salad £7.95 for a small portion (Anniversary menu)

Served with lemon rice cakes

I'll confess, I love soft shell crab. Hence the chances of not liking this were small. So, yes, I really enjoyed the crispy outer and soft toothsome inside. Green papaya is another favourite ingredient; Thai Som Tam is one of the dishes I crave frequently. This was always a dish to meet with my seal of approval!

Coconut lamb, tomato rice (Hot dish) £14.95  (A La Carte menu)

Well-spiced, handi-cooked to a rich, sticking consistency, from Kerala

Tomatoey rice cooked like a pulao (by the absorption method), this was a world away from the rice that many Westerners describe as bland. I appreciated the presentation, where the rice was served in a cone of grilled poppadom. The difference between grilled and fried poppadoms is quite pronounced. Jim Indoors chose this main course, mainly because he loves the way Indian cooking treats lamb and mutton. Here he was not disappointed, the lamb was tender, hot but not incendiary, and altogether balanced and enjoyable. 

Vegetarian thali (Vegetarian)  £14.50 (A La Carte menu)

Paneer makai tawa masala, Green bean fogath, Dal makhni, Gobi capsicum, boondi raita, pulao and mini nan bread

This was my choice. Why? Because I couldn't make my mind up and wanted to try as many small dishes as I possibly could! Was I disappointed? No! The paneer tasted like a traditional homemade dish, with spicy masala. The dal makhi was creamy, rich and comforting. The gobi capsicum was in a light sauce with lots of garam masala flavours. The bean fogath reminded me a little of a thoran, and were pleasantly studded with kalo jeera to lend a deep and earthy spiciness, without heat. The raita was light and fresh, with the boondi introducing a novel texture and slight crunch. The pulao and nan made with the high standards and technique I would expect of a restaurant with this level of pride in their output. 

All in all, we had a wonderful lunch at Babur. We just wonder what their latest menu adventure will involve!

Babur Restaurant

119 Brockley Rise, London, SE23 1JP. 

020 8291 2400 

mail@babur.info

Open from noon until 2:30 (except Sunday: noon-4pm) and every evening from 6pm until 11:30pm.

 

Him Indoors and I paid for our lunch ourselves. Money well spent!