Comfort cook

Quick, easy and full of flavour: chilli cheese toast

An old favourite gets a spicy makeover

The tomato topping here is a modern addition to one of Britain and India’s great culinary collaborations – chilli cheese toast. Serve with a cumin-dusted poached egg, if you’re feeling extra-peckish.

SERVES 6-8

– 8 slices of white bread – 50g unsalted butter

– 175g mature Cheddar, grated

– 1 small red onion, diced – 1-2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

– 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander

– 1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds

– ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

– ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

For the tomato topping – 2 tbsp sunflower oil

– ½ tsp black mustard seeds

– 200g cherry tomatoes, halved

– pinch of caster sugar – juice of ½ lime

Heat the grill to high. Put the bread slices on the grill pan and toast them on one side. Remove from the grill and butter the untoasted side of each slice.

Mix the grated cheese with the onion, green chillies and chopped coriander. Season the cheese mixture with cumin, black pepper and chilli powder, and thickly spread the mixture over the buttered side of each slice of bread.

Cook the slices under a hot grill for about two minutes, until the cheese has melted and is golden and bubbling.

While the bread is under the grill, prepare the tomato topping. Heat the oil in a small karahi, wok or frying pan over a medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and fry for about 30 seconds, or until they stop sizzling. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and cook over a high heat for a further 30 seconds, then stir in the lime juice.

Spoon a few tomatoes and the mustard-seeds-peckled oil over each cheese toast and serve immediately.

Recipe from India: The World Vegetarian by Roopa Gulati; Bloomsbury Absolute, £20