Keith Floyd has laid claim to vast tracts of the culinary world. Now he is making India all his own. TONY MCKINSTRY tries out one of his curry recipes

FIFTY three years ago India shook off the yoke of British imperialism and became independent. Last year celebrity TV cook Keith Floyd made it 'his' with a film crew and a few pots and pans.

His previous cookery books have been less-egocentrically titled such as Floyd On Oz, Floyd on Spain etc. Note the word 'on'. Perhaps, next it will be Floyd's Fulford...

But Floyd's India, the latest book from the slurping chef, seems like an exercise in "gumboat diplomacy," as he cooks his way from Kerala in the South, through Gujarat, up to the Punjab then east to the teeming city of Calcutta.

Floyd is a show-off. Of the 189 or so colourful, and interesting pictures, he appears in 76.

His introduction to the recipes is A Letter From India. I got as far as his call to bring back Maggie Thatcher as President of Great Britain, got a bad taste in my mouth and skipped to the recipes.

He dragoons leading chefs in top hotels to reveal the secrets of Indian cuisine. But even here you get the impression of a celebrated cook skimming the gilded veneer at what is essentially a very poor country.

He exhorts us to wash one-and-a-half cups of long grain rice under running water for "at least 15 minutes" to prepare Fragrant Lemon Rice, and images of women walking for miles to a well spring to my mind. But the recipes are bigger than Floyd and I look forward to trying more.

Recipe:

Chicken Curry Murgh Masala

Serves 4

A simple curry favoured by the Parsi community. For curry addicts in a hurry it is authentic and quite quick. Use mutton or lamb if you prefer.

Ingredients

vegetable oil or ghee

2 red onions, finely sliced

4 or 5 red tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 whole chicken, weighing about 1kg/2 lb on the bone, chopped into morsels, or 500-600g/1lb 2oz-1lb boneless chicken, cut into morsels (remember chicken on the bone will taste better but is more fiddly to eat)

salt

1 teaspoon brown sugar

small handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves

1 teaspoon garam masala

For the masala

1 or 2 green chillies, coarsely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2.5cm/1 inch piece of root ginger, peeled and finely chopped

teaspoon ground turmeric

teaspoon chilli powder

1 Mix masala ingredients together in a bowl without any liquid.

2 Heat the oil or ghee and saut the onions until they are golden brown.

3 Stir in the tomatoes and cook gently until you have a rich onion and tomato gravy. Add the masala and stir well.

4 Stir in the chicken and cook gently until any liquid that comes from the meat is absorbed into the gravy. Continue cooking until the mixture is quite dry.

5 Season to taste with salt, add the sugar and cover the chicken with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently until the chicken is cooked and the oil floats to the top of the gravy.

6 Before serving, sprinkle the curry with the chopped coriander leaves and a good pinch of garam masala.

Book fact file:

Floyd's India,

Keith Floyd, HarperCollins, £15.99, published on Monday

Presentation: Excellent, 84 recipes, great pictures but too many of the man himself.

Ingredients: Most spices and herbs available from supermarkets some vegetables a bit more specialist.

Recipe chosen: Chicken Curry Murgh Masala. (Served with my boiled pilau rice)

Ready, steady, cook: As promised: quick and easy.

Taste test: Going by the book the curry sauce was too thin. Thickened up with a little potato flour and water - delicious! Chicken too bland.

Verdict: My three guests agreed the chicken breast morsels needed to have been sealed and marinaded first. But Floyd does advise: do your own thing! All enjoyed the spicy but fiery curry.