If you are walking up the stretch of Piccadilly from Green Park tube station to the Anteros statue, you are likely to go past One Eagle Place without noticing it. After all, you are in one of the world's great city streets. Such is the brand name oversupply competing for your eyeline that you have neither time nor reason to look above the shop fronts. But this is a mistake, because One Eagle Place manages to pull off what new constructions struggle to do in historic city centres – stand out but not stick out.
The award-winning building's ceramic façade was designed to reflect the night-time neon of Piccadilly Circus. The edges of the windows are spray painted in red, drawing the eye to the more colourful cornice further up. I had 
come from a Milton Avery exhibition at the RA a few blocks away, my polychromatic appetite already whetted by the artist's colour fields.
The South Indian vegetable kurma is colours on a plate. Way more charismatic than the vapid "curry for people who don't like curry" korma at the local Indian, it feints and punches with warmth and heat.
I soaked a heaping spoon of poppy seeds in water for a few hours and tipped them into a blender. I followed with grated coconut, raw cashews and fennel seeds. I added a splash of water and blitzed to a paste.
I heated a glug of oil in a deep pan. I added a few mustard seeds into the oil. When they started to fizz and pop, I added a bay leaf, cardamom pods, cloves, a star anise, a cinnamon stick and fennel seeds. I stirred for a minute, then added a chopped shallot and six green chillies. When the shallot started to brown, I added ginger garlic paste and tomato paste. I stirred and mixed, then added the veg – carrots, green beans and peas – and a heap of finely chopped coriander. I mixed and added coriander and cumin powders. I added water until the veg were submerged, closed the pan and left it to bubble way until the veg were fully cooked. Then I added the paste, more water and cooked until the water had reduced. I sprinkled some garam masala, cooked a final 1-2 minutes and shut the heat. I served the kurma with chapatis. Njam njam!
Krishnan
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