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.