Do I wish the curry house 30 miles away did, probably not. From the taste of the two curries (our own excepted)we've had here, they are bland. We did a very mild Chicken in a Butter Sauce to return a favour our neighbour did, and it had 'em sweating.

Welcome to you too. What you up to Curry wise?

Jerry, first, hello.

Growing our own is an ambition, but our garden is not yet in the sort of state fit for growing, and there is still some pretty heavy work needed, and will not be completed until next year. When that's done, we're up for growing all sorts of stuff. I'll be eagerly searching the Gardeners section for loads of advice...

Re the chillies, I had thought of finely chopping them and sealing them under oil in Kilners, but until I see a proper recipe, I dare not do anything that would get rid of my precious stock. Replacing them here has so far proved impossible. Can anyone help by confirming that chopping and putting in oil will do the job, or doers anyone know a better method?

Only me second post, so I hope I'm in the right place.

I would like to know if anyone has any advice on preserving whole chillies? I have thought about making them into Chilli Paste, but have been totally unsuccessful in finding a recipe. Can anyone help us please?

Cheers, oh, and hello too...

I'm a 59 year old expat, living in the non Curry land of France. Been here for nearly 5 years, and guess what? Very few curry houses, and the few I have seen, have (to what I was used to) a very limited and mild range. Plus the nearest one to us is about 30 miles away. So I don't visit them.

However, I eat Curry almost every week, lovingly prepared by yours truly. We used to live just outside Bradford, so access to both great Curry houses, and Asian shops was excellent. We have brought with us all our stocks of spices, and a large range of recipe books, and authentic recipes from Asian friends.

I will be on here regularly, and look forward to getting to know you regulars.

Cheers...