IN THIS cold weather, spicy food is ideal to warm you up, so these Indian dishes using winter pulses are great for the time of year.

Black-eyed Peas with Mushrooms makes an excellent vegetarian main course or goes very well with meat dishes.

To serve six, you need: 200g black eyed peas; 400g ripe tomatoes; 1tsp cumin seeds; 3cm piece of cinnamon stick; 150g chopped onion; four finely chopped garlic cloves; 250g mushrooms; 2tsp ground coriander; 1tsp ground cumin; ½ tsp ground turmeric; ½ tsp cayenne pepper; 2tbsp chopped fresh coriander.

Put the peas into a large saucepan, cover with water, bring to the boil, simmer for five minutes and then leave to stand for an hour. Score a cross in the top of each tomato, plunge them into boiling water for 20 seconds, then drain and peel the skin away. Roughly chop the tomatoes, discarding the cores and seeds but reserving any juices.

Bring the peas back to the boil and simmer for a further 30 minutes, then drain well. Meanwhile, heat about 100ml of olive oil in a large heavy- bottomed saucepan, add the cumin seeds and cinnamon stick and let them sizzle for 20 seconds to release their flavours. Add the onion and garlic, stir over a medium heat until starting to brown, add the mushrooms and fry for 5 minutes. Add the tomato, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and cayenne pepper, cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Combine the black eyed peas with the tomato and mushroom mixture and season with salt, stir in the coriander and simmer again for another 30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt.

Masala Kidney Beans is a spicy dish so remove the chillies if you prefer a tamer flavour. To serve four, you need 300g dried kidney beans; 3tbsp olive oil; one onion, finely chopped; three bay leaves; one piece cinnamon stick; two finely chopped cloves of garlic; ½ tsp ground turmeric; ½ tsp ground coriander; ½ tsp ground cumin; 1tsp garam masala paste; three small dried chillies; 2cm fresh, finely grated ginger.

Soak the kidney beans overnight in 1.5 litres water, in a large saucepan. The next day drain the beans and return to the saucepan with another 1.5 litres of fresh water and boil for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer for one hour, drain but keep the liquid.

Heat the oil in the heavy- based saucepan over a low heat, add the onion, bay leaves, cinnamon and garlic and cook until the onion starts to brown. Add the turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala, chillies and ginger, and stir really well.

Add the beans with enough of their liquid to make a sauce. Bring to the boil and cook for five minutes, stirring constantly, season with salt and serve.

This Spicy Tomato and Cucumber Salad is an excellent side dish and to serve six you need one red onion, very finely sliced into rings; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp cumin seeds; ¼ tsp chilli powder; three very thinly sliced tomatoes; two cucumbers peeled and thinly sliced; and 3tbsp lemon juice.

Mix the onion with the salt and leave in a sieve or colander to drain for 10 minutes, rinse under cold water and drain well. Place a small frying pan over a low heat and dry fry the cumin seeds until aromatic. Grind to a fine powder, then add to the onion and mix well. Arrange the tomato slices on a large serving plate and top with a layer of cucumber and onion, sprinkle over the lemon juice, and season with the salt and pepper.