Maunika Gowardhan’s recipes for Indian pea curries

The sweetness of fresh green peas works so well with Indian curries and spices, and June is the month to make the most of them, because they’re now at their peak. Even the empty pods have so much flavour and sweetness, which makes them perfect for a quick salad on the side (toss thinly sliced raw, blanched or even griddled pods with chopped tomato, sliced onion and coriander, drizzle over some fresh mint raita and sprinkle with chaat masala). Blanch the fresh peas without any seasoning before you make the curry, then add them to the simmering gravy near the end. You can swap them for frozen peas, too, if you like.AKA Maharashtrian ambat vatana rassa, this is a family recipe from our home in Mumbai

Australian supermarket tahini taste test: one of the worst is ‘thick enough to build a sandcastle’

From bitter and gritty to one that pours ‘like warm honey’, Nicholas Jordan finds surprising variety in 18 jars of paste made with the same single ingredientGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailIf you value our independent journalism, we hope you’ll consider supporting us todayThis morning I made myself a tahini latte. The morning before, I mixed tahini with yoghurt and powdered ginger and poured it over my muesli. I use tahini in salad dressings, in sauces for spicy noodles, I’ve even put it in pesto. But until a few weeks ago, I only had the most vague idea of which tahini I liked or not (I just knew to avoid any brands in the health aisle) and I suspect I’m not the only picnic-attending hummus-maker that needs an education.I gathered 18 supermarket aisle tahinis and four reviewers (including Syrian Australian author and chef Sharon Salloum, and Tuli Keidar, a friend who came close to dedicating their life to hummus before joining the coffee industry) for a blind taste test

The secret to crisp tofu | Kitchen aide

I want to like tofu, but I don’t because of its rubbery texture. How do I make it nice and crisp? Anne, by email “Moisture is the enemy of crisp tofu,” says Emma Chung, author of Easy Chinese Food Anyone Can Make, so the quest for cubes of bean curd that are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside starts by getting rid of as much excess water as possible (and choosing a tofu labelled “firm” or “extra-firm” in the first place). “I usually do this by wrapping the tofu in tea towels, placing it between two large plates and putting a heavy pot or pan on top,” Chung says. After 10 minutes, you “should have a nice and firm tofu that will have a lovely texture, and it will be a lot easier to crisp up”.Guardian columnist Ravinder Bhogal, meanwhile, pops her tofu on a wire rack set over a tray and covers it with kitchen paper or a clean cloth: “Put a weight on top and leave it for a couple of hours, and ideally overnight – that will squeeze out the excess moisture

José Pizarro’s recipe for broad bean and mint tortilla with a manchego crust

In Spain we say, “Habas en abril empiezan y en abril se acaban” – that is, broad beans begin in April and end in April. In the UK, the season starts a bit later, around June, so we’ve got a bit more time yet to enjoy them. Still, the season is short, so I use these wonderful beans as much as I can, while I can. This is the kind of dish I’d make on a quiet afternoon: simple, full of flavour, nothing fancy. Just a nice way to enjoy what the season gives you, before it disappears again for another year

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for tandoori chicken skewers with coriander chutney | Quick and easy

I’ve been on a quest for the perfect tandoori marinade (without the E numbers or red food colouring) for years, and tweak my recipe on every repeat. This one is easily my favourite so far: the cloves lend a wonderful smokiness, and if you can pop the chicken in the marinade in the morning, it will have taken on an amazing depth of flavour by the evening. This would work just as well on a barbecue – just scale up the amount of chicken and the marinade ingredients as needed.You will need four large metal or bamboo skewers (if using the latter, soak them in water for half an hour first). Serve with flatbreads or naan, and shredded lettuce, if you wish

Pastry perfection: Anna Higham’s recipes for chicken and herb pie and foldover pissaladière

Warmer weather always has me dreaming of elaborate picnics, just like the ones my mum used to take us on as kids. She made superlative chicken pies, and I always think of them at this time of year. Mum would use shop-bought pastry, but here I’ve made a herby rough puff to up the summery feeling. The onion and anchovy turnovers, meanwhile, are the perfect pocket savouries to keep you going on a long walk or day out. You could always make one batch of pastry and halve the amount of both fillings, so you can have some of each