Onion,

great post and really great piccies - thanks !

The base sauce looks really good and I can imagine it stands on its own as a nice dippin' gravy.

I am getting to the end of my last lot of Darth's base (which is superb) and so will give yours a go next time.

No doubt the regulars here will give you some good feedback.

CL_NZ

Hi all,

I have just had my worst ever curry-making weekend, and my biggest failure to date 

I came across a Balti recipe on the web: 'Brett's Balti'. The originator was from Birmingham and the recipe was based on the 'best bits' from a number of balti recipes around the net. I used to love the chicken balti at the 'Balti Walla' in Cheltenham and thought I would give this one a go. Well, - what a disaster!   

From the outset the recipe didn't seem quite right - no base sauce and a very simple list of ingredients. Anyway I gave it a go and consequently wasted an entire pack of meat. Well, not entirely true-  I did manage to make it passable, and bulk up the sauce content somewhat,  by adding a 1/2 litre bag of Darth's base sauce and some extra tomato puree. It still ended up a rather unappetising muddy grey/brown colour and tasted nothing like the Baltis I have ever invested my cash in.

Still, waste not, want not, I will no doubt attempt to do it justice with a chunk of naan later this week. My daughter has already tried a portion and was very polite about it 

So, my question to the forum is this: Is there a good balti recipe that I can use with Darth's base? The one I used to make had a very simple, onion-laden base, not too dissimilar to Darth's.

I love nothing better than a good curry scooped up with lots of naan bread. There are a few balti recipes on the forum, but the feedback is very light.

Your advice would be welcomed.

CL_NZ

I guess the most important thing is to make sure that the cookng 'methods' posted with each recipe explain the sort of heat and technique that is required during the cooking process, i.e high, medium,low?, stir briskly, keep it moving, don't let it burn, stir occasionally etc?

I just try not to let anything burn or stick. I always use my heavy wok - it holds a lot and I like the fact that I can push things up the sides to get a good sizzle action going.

CL_NZ

Andy,

Chicken Tikka Biryani - pleeeez !

The biryani is like risotto down here so I can't even buy one  :-[

CL_NZ

Hi CP,

I no longer have the box - I transferred the masala to a jar. Today I phoned 'The Spice Rack' to see if they have some in stock - they didn't last time - and they still haven't. They said they would order some in for me.

It's an hour return to the shop from Wellington where I work (walk/train/walk). Nearly two hours from home    Once they have some in I will post the ingredients for you.

I also bought some 'All-purpose Seasoning' from the same store. I notice that it is used in some recipes on this site. There were two types so I chose the one with the best looking mix.

This has been said before on this site I know, but as most of these masalas and mixes have the same core ingredients, plus a few others, wouldn't it be possible to put together a recipe that lists all of these ingredients with their cumulative weights/measures, thus doing away with the need to search high and low for the right mix from the right manufacturer?

CL_NZ

The only Patak's pastes I can get here are Mild Curry, Butter chicken, Tikka and Tandoori.

However, I did manage to find a Kashmiri Masala made by MANGAL - 'quality products since 1912'. It is a fairly firm block of red paste sold in a cardboard package (sealed in plastic of course).

I have never used it before and so did not know what form it would/should take and could not compare it with Patak's. Anyway, I mixed it with a couple of tablespoons of oil and now store it in a jar - I assumed this is what the Patak's one would be like?

I only use it in my Tikka marinade and it seems just fine.

CL_NZ

Well done mate 

Well done - looks great...madras is one of my faves, did you follow Darth's recipe ?

Thanks for your answers everyone. It's obviously not quite the science I thought it would be 

Just a quickie....

I want to serve up the full-sized poppadoms with my curries. Poppadoms and pickles are a must - but not the micro-portions you get in restaurants here     To make do, I have been buying the bite-sized Sharwoods ones. Nice, but not as impressive as a huge stack of plain and spiced ones!

Just how long will they stay crisp? It would be good to prepare them a little earlier...but I seem to recall my local BIR take-out ones getting 'less-crisp' very quickly.

Is there a way of keeping them crispy for an hour or so?

CL_NZ