Having said that Darth, I chose yours, and it was pretty good.

A8

Hmm, see what you mean CK. I thought the chef lookled a bit like Mr 'T' from the 'A' team as well so, all things considered, I think I'll pass on the book.

A8

I've just bought the two pans needed for Andy's base! He did mention starting something though, obviously, this would take time.

A8

Hmm, it reminds more me of the KD book where you tend to boil things.

Andy and CP have both stressed that technique plays a big part in achieving the taste and smell we're looking for. I have to confess that, in my haste to try this, I've attempted Andy's recipes with out having all the right stuff: Instead of the spice mix, I used curry powder; instead of the tomato paste I used (to my shame) a squirt of ketchup.

Even with these ingredients, I was able to  get very close to to what I'm after. If you could have smelled this place I'm certain you would have been in no doubt that the recipes are the real deal. I always thought, because it was so strong, that smoky smell was a secret ingredient, or, the tandoor. When I made my last curry, there was nothing out of the ordinary in there, and yet the smell just appeared from nowhere. Now, getting rid of it's my main concern. 

Things like the paste and the spice mix are the things that make one curry house the same as or different from another, but all the good curry houses seem to have something common to thier flovour, and I think this is down to the methods

After getting so close, I won't be trying the Nacto method.

A8

Yeah D&B, just to add to what CK said, making a curry for yourself is a 10-minute job when you have all the stuff ready. Its no more bother to make things in large amounts, as the bulk of the work is in washing up and hanging around when it cooks.

I do 1kg of rice at a time. When I have a curry, I just defrost a bag and 'ping', job done!

A8