Prepare the spices. With a pestle and mortar gently crush the cardamom pods, cumin and coriander seeds until they "pop". Do not grind the seeds, just break the shells gently.

Prepare any meat, poultry or vegetables. Have your meat ready and cubed in the fridge. Chop any vegetables ready to be added to the pot. Otherwise, you can simply make the base and freeze it for another day.

In a large pot melt the ghee and oil. Add all the spices except the chilli powder for now. Let the spices gently sizzle for 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and onion and sweat until softened. Add half the chilli powder, the sugar and salt to taste.

If you want to freeze it, let it cool and place it in a container; your curry base is ready.

Otherwise at this stage, if you are adding meat or poultry only, add it now and gently stir until its thoroughly cooked through. For a vegetable curry add your vegetables in the order they take to cook, ie add sweet peppers first and then courgette.

Remove the cinammon bark. See footnote.

When your meat is cooked and/or your vegetables are softening you can now add the tomatoes, tomato puree and water. Stir well and continue to let it simmer gently with a lid for around 1 hour to reduce. Remember to add more water if it gets too dry.

Taste your curry. Add more chilli if you want it. The longer you cook it the more mellow the spices become and the better the flavour. Season to taste with salt. Add a little more sugar if it is too bitter for your liking.

Serve your curry with some fragrant basmati rice. Remember to rinse the rice thoroughly in cold water first until the water runs clear unless you particularly want a sticky rice. Add 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds and 1 teaspoon of turmeric to the rice pot for lovely yellow, fragrant rice.