Hello everyone - I joined a few days ago and have spent quite some time trawling through the various sections, picking up hints and tips.

I'm fond of many things but my holy grail is Chicken Jalfrezi and have been trying for ages to come up with the 'perfect' result. It's a major task since my favourite local BIR, on a good day, produces a sublime one. Even on a so-so day, it's still good. A bit on the expensive side, though.

They tend to use tikka and the dish just oozes fresh, vibrant tastes (not cooked to death with everything tasting the same). High heat and speed are obviously essentials and I'm having to make do with my 3KW(ish) gas ring. Not to mention that ever-elusive 'taste and smell' (out of desperation I had even dabbled briefly with 'liquid smoke' - useless!).

My efforts have gradually become 'enjoyable' but nowhere near a fair comparison to my goal. I can hopefully learn a lot more from the wide membership and pick up some gems of wisdom. For starters, when my current stock of base sauce is used, I will certainly try Darth's one, since it appears to receive quite a few accolades. I'm certainly reviewing some of my spices also and have added/changed others as recommended.

For the time being, many thanks for the much appreciated advice and support that is generously shared.   

Hi Graham,  welcome along chap. What base sauce have you been using? I can recommend Darth`s Base. Look forward to hearing more from you soon..  ;D

Welcome to cr0 Graham! 

Hi Mike - I've tried quite a few base sauces over time (sometimes pre-frying the onions and/or the garlic/ginger) so it sort of evolves as I go - often influenced by little snippets of information gained here and there. My latest batch is quite like a modified Kris Dhillon base (a lot of them seem to be), with the addition of celery and carrots which I thought I'd give a try.

It's often pretty frustrating. It would appear from reports that the quest for the 'magic formula' does not lay with the base sauce (in fact I remember a chef referring to a most boring, basic sauce that I'd never believe could produce a decent curry). Why is it then that my local take-aways and restaurants can produce the strongest of that much-sought-after 'aroma' so early in the afternoon/evening when, presumably, they are still in the preparation stages? It's baffling and confusing! 

But the game must go on, so when I finish off the remainder of my current stock from the freezer I'll certainly give Darth's base a try next time round.