Dan Toombs: 'I'm known as The Curry Guy - these are my top recipes for a delicious home-cooked curry'

"You can choose the cuts of lamb you want to use for this recipe. Use only lamb shanks or perhaps go with shanks and some shoulder,” says Dan Toombs, AKA the Curry Guy.

“This is also good made with stewing beef, as it is seared before slow cooking. You will need about one kilogram of meat not including the bones, regardless of what you choose.

"This is a delicious curry that is served at the table with chopped coriander, lemon wedges, julienned ginger and chopped green chillies to taste.”

Serves 4-6. Ingredients: 70ml rapeseed oil or ghee; 2 onions, thinly sliced; 2tbsp garlic and ginger paste; 2 lamb shanks and 500g lamb shoulder, cut into bite-sized pieces; ½tsp sea salt, plus extra to taste

For the spice blend: 1 whole nutmeg, crushed into small pieces; 1 blade of mace; 2tbsp fennel seeds; 3 Indian bay leaves, shredded; 2.5cm real cinnamon stick or cassia bark, broken into small pieces; 1tsp black peppercorns; 1tsp nigella seeds; 1tsp cloves; 2tsp cumin seeds; 1tsp paprika; 1tsp hot chilli powder; 1tsp ground ginger; 2 generous tbsp chapati flour (if you are gluten free, you can substitute 3-4tbsp of cornflour)

To serve: Rice, chapatis or rumali roti; 5cm piece of root ginger, peeled and julienned; 2–3 hot fresh green chillies, finely sliced; 1 handful of coriander leaves; Lemon wedges

For the garlic and ginger paste (makes about 250g): 150g garlic, roughly chopped; 150g root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

For the garlic and ginger paste: Place the garlic and ginger in a food processor or pestle and mortar and blend with just enough water to make a smooth paste.

Some chefs finely chop their garlic and ginger instead, which is a good alternative to making a paste. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days and use as needed.

If you’re planning a curry party, go ahead and get this job ticked off early. The paste can turn a bit blue or green while in the fridge. This is natural and it is not off.

I often make larger batches and freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen, the cubes can be transferred to airtight plastic bags in the freezer, ready for when you get that curry craving.

Be sure to let them defrost a little first.

Place all the whole spices for the blend in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. There is no need to roast them first when making a nihari.

Add the paprika, chilli powder, ginger and chapati flour and blend again to combine. Set aside.

Heat the oil or ghee in your slow cooker using the sauté/searing mode or in a pan over a medium–high heat and add the sliced onions. Fry for about eight minutes or until soft, brown and translucent.

Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and fry for another minute.

Season the meat with the salt and add it to the pot. Stir regularly for about five minutes to brown the meat and then add the nihari spice blend. Stir well so the meat is completely coated with the spice blend and then add 500 millilitres of water.

Cover with the lid and set your slow cooker to the high setting for four hours or low for six to eight hours. Push the meat down as much as you can into the liquid.

The meat will reduce in size as it cooks and there will be more gravy when finished, so don’t be tempted to add more liquid.

When the meat is fall-apart tender, lift the lid. If it is too watery, you can reduce it down using the sauté/searing function of your slow cooker with the lid off, or in a pan.

The sauce should be quite thick thanks to the flour in the spice blend. Season with salt to taste and serve over rice or with chapatis or rumali roti. Serve with the ginger, green chillies, coriander leaves and lemon wedges, which can be added to taste at the table.

The Curry Guy’s dal makhani

“Dal makhani isn’t a dal you can rush, as these lentils need a good long cook – so this recipe is perfect for the slow cooker,” says Dan Toombs, otherwise known as the Curry Guy.

“In fact, I think they are better if you cook on low for eight to 10 hours rather than trying to speed things up by cooking on the high setting. So some forward planning might be a good idea.

"I usually soak the lentils all day on day one, then place them in the slow cooker overnight. Once they are cooked, this is a quick and easy dish.

“This version is quite a lot easier but you still get a very good, if perhaps less authentic, butter chicken.”

Serves 4, or more as part of a multi-course meal. Ingredients: 300g black urad dal, soaked overnight in cold water; 750ml boiling water, plus extra if needed; 5tbsp rapeseed oil; 2 onions, finely chopped; 2tbsp garlic and ginger paste; 2 tomatoes, diced; 2tsp Kashmiri chilli powder; 1tsp ground turmeric; 1tbsp garam masala; 1tsp paprika; 250ml single cream; 2tsp sea salt, or to taste; 3tbsp butter, or to taste; 4tbsp chopped coriander leaves, to garnish

For the garam masala (makes 170g): 6tbsp coriander seeds; 6tbsp cumin seeds; 5tsp black peppercorns; 4tbsp fennel seeds; 3tsp cloves; 7.5cm real cinnamon stick; 5 dried Indian bay leaves; 20 green cardamom pods, lightly bruised; 2 large pieces of mace

For the garlic and ginger paste (makes about 250g): 150g garlic, roughly chopped; 150g root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

For the garam masala: Roast all the spices in a dry frying pan over a medium–high heat until warm to the touch and fragrant, moving them around in the pan as they roast and being careful not to burn them. If they begin to smoke, take them off the heat immediately.

Tip the warm spices onto a plate and leave to cool, then grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place and use within two months for optimal flavour.

For the garlic and ginger paste: Place the garlic and ginger in a food processor or pestle and mortar and blend with just enough water to make a smooth paste.

Some chefs finely chop their garlic and ginger instead, which is a good alternative to making a paste. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days and use as needed.

If you’re planning a curry party, go ahead and get this job ticked off early. The paste can turn a bit blue or green while in the fridge. This is natural and it is not off.

I often make larger batches and freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen, the cubes can be transferred to airtight plastic bags in the freezer, ready for when you get that curry craving. Be sure to let them defrost a little first.

For the dal makhani: For best results, rinse and then soak the urad lentils for eight hours. Rinsing is required but you could get away with not soaking them. It might just take longer for them to cook.

Place the lentils in your slow cooker, pour in the water and cook on low for eight hours. Sometime during the day, when it is convenient, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium–high heat and add the chopped onions.

Fry for 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft, translucent and lightly browned and then add the garlic and ginger paste and fry for a further minute.

Turn off the heat and stir in the tomatoes, chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala and paprika. Stir for a minute into the hot oil, then set aside.

Check the lentils after eight hours to ensure they are fall-apart soft. If not, continue cooking. Once soft, mash them with a potato masher or blend using a stick blender.

Pour in the prepared onion and spice mixture. You want the dal makhani to be good and hot, so if serving later you could reheat it using the sauté/searing mode of your slow cooker or in a pot on your stove.

Just before serving, stir in most of the cream and season with salt to taste. Top with the butter, which will melt into the dal. I usually swirl a little cream on top at the end before garnishing with the chopped coriander.