Hi folks, Taff from Cardiff calling in with a not so brief, potted history.

Had my first curry made for me by my father, an ex-Royal Navy bloke that was REALLY finicky about his food - but he did like curry.  And he would throw chilli powder into most things, including tinned tomatoes and beans (an inherited trait I'm afraid  ).  But he wasn't particularly adventurous so we would eat pre-made foods that he would toss chilli powder into, or he would use ready-made curry powder.  And I loved it all!

So, I go zipping off to join the RAF when i was 16 years old and as a new recruit with all sorts of new found freedoms I started sampling the delights of various restaurants in the locale - mainly chinese.  And discovered that I liked these different oriental flavours...my only previous culinary experiences had been Vesta foods made by my mother.  However, Indian cuisine had not made an entry into my life yet.

At the end of my RAF apprenticeship I was posted to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, the year 1971, the aircraft Vulcan Bombers. I'm 18 years of age, my whole life in front of me and I found myself being posted to one of the best bunches of people I could possibly imagine.  Anyway, I'm new and I start to settle into my new life at Waddington....still no Indian food.  Then, one late night, some of the lads come wandering into the room after an evening out in Lincoln.  And one of them had a small parcel in his hands out of which he was eating something.  And I could smell these incredible aromas.....and I wanted to know more.  And I talked to Mick about exactly what he was eating and he said drunkenly "curry".  I asked what curry, he said "Vindaloo".  He was eating Chicken Vindaloo on the bone from a newspaper, like chips, and I was drooling.

So, I persuaded him to let me try it and I was HOOKED!!  It was FANTASTIC.  Blistering hot, thick, dark, sour, spicy....I had never tasted anything like it, never! It was love at first bite.

And so began a love affair with curry which has lasted all these years over many different continents.  I love all sorts of Asian food, cooked every which way, but my first love was, and still is, Chicken Vindaloo.  But oh, how it has changed over the years.  So my quest is to find the recipe that equates back to a few fabulous years between 1969 to 1974, when Chicken Vindaloo was supreme - and had potato in it! I have tried ALL sorts of recipes along the way, but that flavour still eludes me.  So come on guys, help me out, point me in the right direction and help me discover that fabulous Vindaloo of the 70?s?.not the current day sloppy stuff, but the thick, dark, rich sauce that ignited me all those years ago.