Quick after work curries" Pat Chapman.

When it comes to satisfying BIR style curry (ie about as authentic as a Bombay Bad Boy) this fella knows his stuff. Usually I have to fuck around with recipes to make them taste nice, but every one I've made out of this book has been cracking right off the bat. Does use odd stuff like pesto, mint jelly, horseradish and dijon. The Pathia is great

I've eaten some shit curries in my time. There was a company round my way selling "authentic" curry kits that comprised a handful of the exact same four spices whichever recipe you bought (pre-dessicated and left out in the sun for months beforehand, apparently) with a packet of red salt. In the interests of avoiding such simulcra I bought this, since it doesn't even purport to be faithful. It's my favourite book.

"Kitchen Heaven" Gordon Ramsay

Usually books will dumb down recipes, healthify them or fail to be sufficiently explicit in their instruction in order to appeal to the broad swathes of lazy readers who are invariably trying to watch their weight. And this usually that means I have to fuck about with the recipes to make them good (by adding butter). This book is pretty helpful and the recipes within are joyfully unhealthy, by and large. Ramsay also appears to have the pallate of a meths fuelled 40 a dayer, which equates to entire bottles of Worcester sauce flying in and tomato sauce with everything. This I like.

I really liked "The Wiseguy Cookbook" by Henry Hill.

Now, I have to qualify this. It's more useful for it's tips than it's recipes. The ones I've made have been average, but I suspect I know why.

I think that it's the shit quality of the core ingredients that I source that has the effect of debasing the recipes, since they seem delightfully provincial. For instance, I can't get San Marzano or La Valle varieties from fucking Asda, Morrisons et al and when you're making a sauce with a tomato base that's pretty much the defining factor.

Soon as I can get nearer a Waitrose, Marks or a decent deli I'll retry. Stuck in Stinckley though I've no chance. Oh, and the guy writing the book is Henry Hill. You think Floyd is an engaging narrator? Who the fuck has he ever whacked?

I also have "Classic Conran" which is fucking ace