A hint of spice will help warm you up; food & drink.

Byline: Sheila & Sean

TO COMBAT the miserable, freezing cold weather we've experienced of late, these spicy dishes should jazz up your meal times and give a defiant brush-off to any impending winter blues. There is something exquisite about a hint of spice in our food at this time of year. Not only does it ward off colds, but it also has a magical cheering effect, lifting our mood after a long day at work.

All of these dishes are prepared using different fish, which make for a pleasant alternative to the traditional chicken and beef curries we're all so accustomed to.

Try serving with steamed basmati or jasmine rice and some robust naan bread.

Finally the best element of these dishes is their ease of preparation, particularly if you keep a store of spices to hand. And, I don't know about you, but we find that an effortless dish certainly takes precedence over a difficult one at this time of year.

This Goan-style salmon curry is a dry one but this complements the fleshy salmon perfectly For the spice mix, take: 6 dried chillies, ltbsp cumin seeds, ltsp coriander seeds, ltsp mustard seeds, Vt tsp garam masala, y2 tsp ground turmeric. And for the remainder of the recipe use: 3 tbsp oil, 1 onion finely sliced, 1 ripe chopped tomato, 2 finely chopped onions, 8 chopped garlic cloves, 6 chopped green chillies, 5cm (2 in) piece of grated ginger, 100ml (3Va fl oz) tamarind paste, 3 tbsp coconut cream and lkg (21b 3oz) salmon cutlets.

Prepare the spice mix by grinding the chilli, cumin, coriander and mustard seeds to a fine powder using a spice grinder or pestle and mortar, then mix with the garam masala and turmeric.

Heat the oil over a low heat in a heavy-based frying pan large enough to hold the pieces offish in a single layer. Add the tomato, chopped onion, garlic, green chilli and ginger then fry stirring occasionally for 20 minutes or until the oil separates from the sauce.

Add the spice mix and the tamarind to the pan and bring to the boil. Add the coconut cream and stir until well mixed. Season with salt to taste. Add the fish and bring slowly to the boil. Keep this sauce very hot in order to cook the fish. Simmer for five minutes then turn the fish over and simmer for another five minutes until the fish is cooked through and the sauce is thick.

For a Bengali fried fish dish take 600g (lib 5oz) rainbow trout, iy2 tbsp lemon juice, y2 tsp ground turmeric, y2 tsp salt, 3 green chillies, chopped, 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped, 5cm (2inch) ginger, chopped, 4tbsp mustard oil, y2 tsp garam masala, 2tsp panch pharam (see recipe below).

Sprinkle the fish with the lemon juice and leave for 10 minutes. Wash in cold water and pat dry Rub the fish with the combined turmeric and salt.

Put the chilli, tomato and ginger in a food processor and whizz until smooth.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a low heat and fry the fish a few pieces at a time until brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Add more oil if necessary then add the panch pharam and fry for 1 minute until aromatic. Add the tomato mixture and fry for another two minutes. Add 200ml (7 fl oz) of water and bring to the boil slowly Simmer for three minutes, add the fish and slowly return to the boil, then simmer for another three minutes. Sprinkle with the garam masala and season with salt to taste.

To make this dry spice rub known as Panch Pharam, take: ltsp nigella seeds, ltsp cumin seeds, ltsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp fenugreek seeds, ltsp brown mustard seeds. Grind all the spices to a fine powder in a spice grinder or a pestle and mortar and then store in an airtight container.

SHEILA BENSON and Sean Millar are at The Side Door, 29a Hope Street, Liverpool. Tel: [phone].