My first time at trying to grow chillies from seed. Sowed a fair number of seeds collected from the bottom of two different bags of kashmiri type chillies, bought at my local Asian Grocers. They've been under an unheated propagator in the conservatory for the last three weeks, and to my surprise nearly all of them have sprouted.

The early sprouters are now on a tray in the open air, and are just starting to develop proper leaves, so will pot them on into individual pots in the next few days. All good so far, no idea of the actual type, and I assume thay came from Asia, so hoping they will do OK in the conservatory.

Going to check on my babies now  ;D

They are a bit fiddly to make, but you need to get in to a rhythm, rolling out and oiling while another is cooking. I'll pass on the way my grandmother made them, tried other methods but always come back to this one.

Once you have a nice springy dough, a ball a bit bigger than a golf ball, and roll quite thinly into a circle. Spread a thin layer of ghee or oil onto the disc, then cut a line from the centre to the outside edge, like the radius of the circle. Put your finger over the centre and roll  the dough up from the outside edge, pivoting from the centre. You should end up with a cone shape.

Squidge the cone down flat vertically, twisting as you go, pat down to a squishy circular shape, then dust in flour and roll out, a little thicker this time.

Cook on a hot pan, but not too hot until done. Secret is not to cook for too long or they go a bit stiff and hard. I sometime add a little milk when making the dough. Brush with ghee or oil whilst cooking. Use the same technique for stuffed paratha.

I find this way very quick and easy, and will make twenty or so in a session, then freeze in bags for later. 

Had an early meal at Zaals..Went for the Achari and the Mint chicken dishes, with Tarka Dhal, breads etc. The dhal, paratha and naan were great, thought that both meat courses were a bit too runny, with no real substance to the gravy.

Maybe I've been spoiled by my local restaurant in Yateley (Kismet) that seems to have  a more authentic menu. I had never seen BIR (the acronym) before yesterday, and still not really sure what it means, but I'm here to learn.

Not sure I'd bother going back to Zaal, we are rather spoilt for choice hereabouts. About to dive in to the utensils thread, may be some time before I surface. Many thanks for the warm welcome.

What a fab resource guys. Just found the forum on a random bit of surfing, so haven't really scratched the surface yet.

Always had an interest in curries, having been brought up on my grandmothers cooking many decades ago. My mother was born in India, although English through and through, so I have fond memories of making paratha and alloo chat at a very young age.

I have enjoyed playing with Asian cuisine, although have tended to use Pataks pastes and play around with them. My daughter bought us a cooking lesson at a restaurant in Redhill recently, and it has sparked an interest in doing some proper cooking. She has now gone to Nepal for a few months, and I am hoping she will be sending back a few spices.  Hence the curry surfing....

Live on the Surrey Hampshire borders, and just seen a thread on the Zaal restaurant in Fleet, Hampshire. Looks good, so about to give them a ring and see if we can get a seat tonight.

Looking forward to learning some techniques and developing my cooking.

Cheers - Bob