I've been growing coriander, basil and thai basil this year...

Coriander - best thing to do is to lightly crush the seeds before sowing. The thing we think is a seed is actually the fruit, the seeds are inside it so you'll get better germination if you crush the pod slightly.

Sow a few seeds in a small pot with moist compost (multi purpose is fine). Cover with cling film to retain the moisture and leave somewhere warm.

Once the seeds have germinated, move them to a light position...direct sun is ok while they're growing as long as they don't get too hot. Once they're a reasonable size and have some proper leaves, it's best to plant them out.

When you plant them out, put them in well draining soil, grit, compost mix. Ideally in a shaded but warm spot... the morning or afternoon sun directly is great as it's not too hot then. When planting out, don't mess with the roots too much, they don't appreciate being messed with.

Cut regularly to encourage new growth. They tend to bolt (go to seed) quickly if they get too hot or too dry.

Calypso is a cut and come again leafing variety so well suited to what we're after!

Used this recipe on Sunday night to make a King Prawn Korma...absolutely splendid, very impressed. I made double quantities so there was enough for a mixed veg Korma tonight. My wife commented that it was the best Korma she'd ever had!

We paired it with a nice spicy Ceylon (another CA special) which was a great mix of spicy and not spicy!

I confess that I bunged in 1/2 tsp of the CA spice mix in the Korma, to give a little extra depth of flavour...just didn't seem right to not put anything in!!

Great recipe...pretty much restored my liking for it as a dish as the ones I'd had over the last few years were just too bland and sweet. Big thanks to CA for the recipe 

Just thought I'd say a quick hello!

I found this forum after a quick search on BIR curry recipes. The whole BIR thing was mentioned by a chap on another forum I frequent...I had no idea there was a collective term for this style of curry!

Anyway, my curry forays started about 20 years ago when I attempted to recreate that BIR taste using the Kris Dhillon book. I made the base gravy in a wok in my little flat and stunk the place out...my clothes, furniture, everything smelt of garlic for weeks. From that point I hadn't tried again....until recently!

Fuelled by a love of curry and a lack of disposable income, I persuaded myne wyfe to let me have a go (again). This time I had the brain wave of doing the base outside on the bbq, saving the house from the dreaded garlic smell. It worked!!

The base I made was the Dan Toombs recipe...and I've now made:

a CTM (not great)
a Chicken Bhuna (not bad)
a Chicken Pathia (pretty good) - Uncle Buck recipe
a Paneer Tikka Dopiaza (not bad)
a Chicken Ceylon (awesome) - CA recipe

I've still got another couple of nights worth of base so will be attempting a Madras or CTM next (and probably the Chicken Ceylon again).