I saw this cooked tonight

Vegetable Dopiaza

A chef?s spoon is about a 4 desertspoon quantity

3 large chunks of green pepper
A third of an onion chunky chopped
Half chefs spoon of tomato puree
Half chefs spoon of spice mix
1 teaspoon garlic/ginger fresh made but stodgy consistency
Precooked veg (cauliflower,cabbage,beans,carrots)
A few sliced mushrooms
1 desertspoon peas
1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh chopped coriander
Curry Gravy
A little extra oil
Half a teaspoon of mixed whole cumin and coriander seeds

Deep fry the onion and pepper for a couple of minutes until there are brown edges on the onion
Transfer to a pan then add the garlic/ginger, tomato puree & spice mix
Stir fry this on a medium heat for about four minutes
This is using the oil already on the deep fried onion/peppers, but it is a very dry frying mixture

(Although they are using these ultra powerful cookers, I notice that nothing ever seems to burn
It?s all done in a very lazy way
If I cook like this at home things DO  burn
So I have recently turned things right down)

Add enough curry gravy to just cover the base of the pan, stir and cook on a couple more minutes
Add the precooked vegetables, mushrooms, peas, a little more curry gravy, a desertspoon more oil then put a lid on the pan and transfer to a low gas ring for about ten minutes
Stir and add the dried fenugreek
Cook another couple of minutes and transfer to a carton
Sprinkle the fresh coriander on top and something NEW
Take the cumin/coriander seeds and crush them between your palms onto the curry

This curry was, once again, absolutely excellent
Amazing aroma, with a full spicy taste

Hi CA
     In response to your questions I think:-

Your deep pan fryer must be set too high a temperature
They cooked me some onion bhajees, and they took about ten minutes
So their heat must be relatively low, because that's a really long time

For the chef spoon question, see the top of the recipe
I've got one myself which I use for stirring my curries

As for how much curry gravy
That's really quite hard to judge
They are using a pan about 9 inches wide and they add enough curry gravy to just cover the base of the pan (omelette thick)
They add more later on too
I reckon about 200 ml
The curry ends up with the vegetables above the sauce
Not covered in it

As for the aroma, I think it's a combination of all you mentioned
But perhaps the most important thing is the spice mixture
I think the curry powder part of the spice mix could be basaar

Guys, I had ago with this last night although used precooked vegetables. It was really tasty,so thanks as ever. On the pan burning. I have recently moved from using my wok to actually cooking with the same pans that the pros use in the Glasgow area. They are easily bought from Asian Stores in Glasgow and I have seen them in Brick Lane in London so I guess they are available throughout the UK.

They come in single meal size or a larger one that does two at once. I paid ?5.50 for the twin size and ?3.60 for the single. They are made in Pakistan and the Brand is Soney. They don't burn at all and retain an even heat, I cant recommend them highly enough. Cheers Panpot

I am not sure Secret Santa but they are used all the time in my local Take Away back in Scotland. I suspect they are made from aluminum but reasonably priced with a wooded handle and work really well with the chef spoon for frying stirring etc. I hope to get back stage in a popular BIR in Glasgow soon so I can make more enquiries.I have given my word that I will not betray any real detail but peripheral stuff like pans and maybe processes if not actual ingredients I should be able to post. Cheers