AS the chilly nights draw in there are few dishes more comforting than a rich and spicy curry.

But for many people the long list of ingredients is enough to put them off cooking Indian food.

Personally, I’ve always worried that cooking a curry must involve shopping at specialist markets, and then pouring over a cookery book for days.

But the alternative of buying a sauce in a jar is cheating, isn’t it?

These days, cooking dishes from scratch is not only trendy, but a matter of pride.

If it’s not fresh from the farmers market or picked from your carefully nurtured garden, amateur chefs can feel that they’re letting the side down.

But visiting Munish Manocha’s workshop at food manufacturer Premier Foods, makes you realise how wrong your assumptions can be.

Munish is one of the creative brains behind Sharwoods cooking sauces.

He regularly travels across India to discover and source new spices for the UK range.

Under his expert supervision, I prepare two dishes with his newly designed Biryani Sharwoods sauces - a vegetable coconut and curry leaf biryani and a haddock and scallop biryani, made with a tomato and cumin sauce.

Munish explains that each jar is split into two. The bottom section consists of garlic, tomatoes, onions, pepper and spices - "the base for any Indian cook" - and the top is a compartment for dry spices: three parts coriander, two parts cumin and another depending on the particular dish.

So far, so straightforward. But what I hadn’t appreciated until now is how much you can add to a cooking sauce to make your dish really sing.

We’re working with scallops, fresh coriander and ginger to help this sauce come to life.

Munish explains that his love of cooking started when he was at university.

"I’m really doing my hobby as a job, I’m so passionate about it," he says. "It all began when I backpacked around India for two years as a student. I discovered so many new tastes and flavours that I returned with a cookbook of more than 900 handwritten recipes that I could never just buy in a shop."

Having never cooked with scallops before, I’m surprised just how easy it is.

"The French love to cook with scallops," says Munish.

"Except they say it is easy to ruin them. I find pan-frying them in oil and lime juice, which caramelises them, works a treat. I flip them after a few minutes when they’re just golden."

I admire his attention to detail. We chop coriander to dress the dish, and by the time we’ve finished cooking, I am quite taken aback by our handiwork.

Indian food never looks this pretty in restaurants, I think. And we only used four pans.

Interestingly, Munish tells me that more than 80% of curry houses in the UK are run by Bangladeshi chefs, whose cuisine is very different to that in India.

"For a start, dishes like Balti don’t exist in India," he says. "It literally translates as ’bucket’ - commonly associated with toilets. You’d get some funny looks if you ordered a balti in India," he smiles wryly.

Similarly, chicken tikka massala literally translates as chicken off the bone, in a gravy.

"When we created the Sharwoods sauce for tikka massala, we knew we couldn’t look to India for inspiration," he says.

"We went to its real birthplace - the curry houses of Birmingham."

Munish is sceptical about English food.

"English food is so unforgiving," he exclaims. "You give yourselves a hard time! If your meat or vegetables aren’t cooked perfectly, it’s easy to tell because there are so few added flavours."

I look back to the beautifully prepared biryanis, which are delicious and know that next time I’m thinking of way to impress my dinner party guests, I might find myself buying a jar or two of cooking sauces.

Why not try these recipes ...

TOMATO AND CUMIN NAVRATTAN BIRYANI

’Navrattan’ means nine jewels. The biryani uses a total of nine different vegetables, nuts and dried fruits.

50g green beans cut in half and blanched

50g carrots cut into 15mm cubes and blanched

50g cauliflower cut into florets and blanched

20g frozen garden peas

1 potato boiled and quartered

50g paneer cheese cut into 15mm cubes and fried until golden

15-20 unsalted Cashew Nuts

10-15 raisins/Sultanas

A few toasted flaked almonds

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 Jar Sharwood’s Tomato and Cumin Biryani 2 step sauce

150g basmati rice

150ml water

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add all the ingredients except the toasted flaked almonds. Add the spice blend from the topper and mix gently. Pour in the jar of sauce and mix again, making sure the vegetables don’t not break up.

Sprinkle the rice on top, followed by the water. Make sure all the rice grains are immersed in the water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to minimum, cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes without disturbing the dish. Remove from heat after 20 minutes and rest the pan covered for 10 minutes. Mix the dish gently in the pan and remove to a serving bowl. Sprinkle the toasted flaked almonds on top as garnish and serve hot with yogurt

COCONUT AND CURRY LEAF HALIBUT AND PAN-SEARED SCALLOP BIRYANI

1 tbsp oil

200g Halibut loin diced into 2" chunks

1 Jar Sharwood’s Coconut and Curry Leaf 2 step Biryani sauce

150g basmati rice

150ml water

4 queen scallops

Knob of butter

Salt and pepper to season the scallops

Heat oil in a non stick pan. Add the spice blend from the topper and pour in the jar of the sauce. Add the halibut and mix gently. Sprinkle the rice on top, followed by the water. Make sure all the rice grains are immersed in the water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to minimum, cover the pan and simmer for 20 minutes without disturbing the dish. Remove from heat after 20 minutes and rest the pan covered for 10 minutes. While the dish is resting, heat the butter in a pan and add the scallops. Fry for 2 minutes on each side and season. Serve the biryani topped with the scallops (in their shells if possible).

PRAWN PINEAPPLE AND COCONUT CURRY SALAD WITH CRISPY POPPADUM TOPPING

1 tbsp oil

400g Raw King prawns peeled and deveined

1 Jar Sharwood’s pineapple and coconut curry

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

1 mango diced into 1 inch chunks

2 bags rocket, spinach and watercress salad

1 pack plain poppadums

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the prawns and cook until they turn pink. Pour in the jar of the Sharwood’s pineapple and coconut curry sauce and cook for 5 minutes until the prawns are cook through. Remove from heat add the lime juice and coriander and mix well. Set aside to cool down (it should get to room temperature). Add the salad and mango in a large bowl. Add the prawns and the sauce. Crush a few poppadums on top. Serve immediately.