I will add to this as it seems to have evolved into a Vindaloo post but there are recent comments in some others as well... I didn't want to start another though.

I was looking for a Vindaloo recipe, prompted by putting items away 4 months ago (we moved house...for the last time, ever again!) and as I was putting the cider Vinegar away in it's new home, remembered that I used to really like the Vindaloo I made with it.. but I can't remember how or where I saw the recipe.  That was another reason for my posting a few days ago, to see if I can find the recipe here maybe, as I used to read every recipe or near as.

Anyway, no luck but I did find this recipe, which I tried once but I can't remember if I really liked it or not (chicken on the bone is not really my thing).
https://niksharmacooks.com/chicken-vindaloo/

What struck me earlier today was a post in the Vindaloo forum: Instant Pot and paneer vindaloo, once again discounting that 'missing ingredient' and about potato.  I seem to remember someone suggesting that the Potato was an addition to the dish so that a server could distinguish the dish from other similar ones.  As for the 'missing ingredient', it made me remember the above recipe and the 'Cooks comments' at the end, re stainless steel, which I don't really understand but maybe others do?

Having rechecked it today, I also delved into the comments and the author replies about the use of Cardamom which I also found interesting.

Consequently, I will have to retry his recipe again at some point and see if how it compares to other Vindaloo dishes I have made.

BAJ

P.S. Feel free to spilt this comment off it should have posted somewhere else - I may be a bit rusty.

I am not one with a deep palate, I cannot tell 4,000... 400.. or even 40 teas from each other.. I try some and like what I like, I go no further.
Similarly with Curry.. there are some I like, some I REALLY like (CurryHell!) and others that just don't even warrant a second try... it is my 'taste', so to speak.  We are all different!

I have resisted the recent Balti threads because I just don't have the experience of what they are trying to reproduce and more likely the palate to tell the difference (fantastic effort Livo to overcome the former and with your experimentation and ability of the later).

I have nothing valid left to contribute.
I wish everyone the very best in your continued search for... whatever it is you are looking for.

BAJ.

Great crop there...

Seconded.

I have 9 plants at the moment (that I had to seed this year), 4 Caribbean blend, all around 3ft (1m) tall and with varying amounts of fruit so far... some were neglected and left in direct sunlight during our recent hot spells, they burnt and are now recovering but with less fruit compared to the others.  The other 5 are Habanero, like the Yellow's in your picture.  They are enjoying being in the greenhouse where the atmosphere is warmer, more humid but the sunlight is diffused (they have not burnt) but are much slower growing and have not fruited yet although they are flowering quite optimistically.

I will take some pics when there is something more to show than a few green chilli and lots of flowers, respectively.

BAJ.

P.S.
I still have some 'Cherry Bombs' left from a couple of years ago, frozen.  I use them mainly in Chilli-con-carne (I make it in a large 5 Litre/9 Pint pan), although I only make around 10 portions at a time, they are much too strong for a Curry even if I am batch cooking.  I wonder how the potency would compare if I could have dehydrated and ground them as you have done Robbo and then kept airtight for up to 2 years. Intriguing!

I think next time I'll remove all whole spices and I believe it will benefit from this.

That part is always confusing to me.. often omitted from any descriptive method, as if it is obvious.  I remove large items, such as bay leaf when I think it has 'done it's bit' and Cassia before I think it will overpower any other spices.  That in itself is why I am 'resistant' to making MDB's.. grinding up 55g of bark (no mention of removing it)... I would want to 'cook' it for a lot longer than just 1 hour before I risk putting it in a blender???  Maybe I have missed a trick/step about removing it?

BAJ

I'm going to conduct an experiment today.

Despite and given your recent admission.. your continued experimentation to try a dish that barely any of us has eaten the original of, and even if we had, could barely remember it, is EXEMPLARY!

Your research, methods and comparisons are most enlightening.

Thank you!