Hi Guys. Cranked out Chef Din's madras this afternoon. Made it pretty much as he did but I had no red pepper and had to substitute curry leaves instead of bay leaves because I was out of those too.

Cooked it slightly different to him though in order to save time and energy (electrical energy, not mine). Started it off in the deep pan from my pressure cooker until the onions and tomatoes had released all their water, then put the lid on without the need for extra water and gave it 25mins. Used high pressure on the cooker and the lowest stetting on my induction hob.

After 25mins the meat was beautifully tender and the onions had more or less disintegrated. Next I reduced the remaining water until there was just oil visible then added the spices and cooked those through followed by adding water to make the sauce. The end result was a very nice madras, then I asked myself my usual questions..."If I'd paid for it would I have had any complaints"  no. "Would I revisit the same establishment"  yes. Can't say fairer than that.

My partner hails from Birmingham (UK, not Alabama) the curry centre of Britain and she had her favourite restaurants. Now, when I was getting to know her I said that I made a decent curry, and that's all I said leaving her thinking it would be a jar of Pataks or similar. So when I made her one for the first time, from a base I'd prepared days before, I wouldn't let her in the kitchen to see  what I was doing.

Anyway the inevitable "that smells good" could be heard as I carried on in the kitchen and when I served it up her first words were "it looks like it came from a restaurant". Then, after she'd finished mopping up her plate she swore it was as good as any restaurant/take away she'd visited in Birmingham. Now, in no way shape or form is she a fan of cooking, however, both she and one of her sons are cranking out BIR curries on a weekly basis.

Furthermore I got her to bring a curry from her favourite restaurant for a side by side taste test when she once came to stay, and to be honest guys, I couldn't say one was better than the other. Both had a slightly different taste, but there was no stand out winner.

 I knew this was coming so I stocked up on oil a few months back.  So if there's no oil on the shelves it's probably down to me. Farmfoods seems to be the cheapest. I bake my own bread so I stocked up with flour, too.

And things are only going to get worse if governments are hell bent on reducing the use of fertilisers for the production of crops. Crazy. Anyway if cooking oil gets too expensive I'll start using Shell V Power, or perhaps red diesel if I can get my hands on it. Then as a last resort used engine oil.

Hi Guys. Have been looking for the secret ingredient for that authentic 70's/80's curry taste for years. Tried many different bases, spices and other ingredients without any real success. I've racked my brain trying to think what it could possibly be but finally I think I've nailed it. It was pretty obvious really, and that missing ingredient is, wait for it...beer, lots of beer. About 10 pints actually, and a few glasses of wine from Yates Wine Lodge for good measure.


Well those are the only ingredients that are missing from my time spent eating 70's/80's curries. But aged 68 I'm just not brave enough or stupid  enough to include them any more to confirm my suspicions, but do let me know if you are. Have fun.   

Great post and well done.

From on Stephen to another....thanks.