Hi all, not been on here for a long time been busy starting a new life in Perth, Australia. Anyway in desperation for a really good curry i have been in touch with my ex local Indian takeaway in Bolton. He reminded me of what he told and showed me before we left for OZ. The head chef there was fantastic and before we came over here, he showed me how to make a good Indian curry.
    The curry gravy was nothing extravagant, virtually the same as the curry secret but without exact measurements, just done by eye and no doubt 20 yrs experience. He did add a small amount of sugar and vegetable stock powder though. He explained that the gravy was nothing more than a filler, and the real flavour comes from cooking this gravy really hard in the first five minutes to extract the natural sugars from the onions. Also you have to fry the garlic and spices really hard as well, because this changes the flavour completely. He explained that his curries tasted so good because he had spent years altering his curry paste which was his secret. He never gave me his recipe but said to go and try some from Indian books that have at least 10 spices in them.
    Anyway without boring you all to death he explained that it?s the experience of cooking curries that gives it that distinctive flavour and smell. To prove it he cooked a chicken garlic balti and his right hand man also cooked the same dish, using the same ingredients the taste difference was obvious, the head chefs was fantastic his mates was mediocre.
    Somehow I had forgotten what he had showed me and explained how to do it, hence the desperate phone call to the UK. I can?t thank Chef Lal Miah enough or express how helpful this guy was to go over it again for me and to remember who I was, amazing.
   So with this now remembered information I set about making a curry gravy and a chicken jalfrezi for friends. The results were nothing more than amazing, it looked like an Indian, it tasted like an Indian, and it had the smell, everyone was so amazed how good it was. The only problem I found was getting the heat high enough this was solved by using the Barbie Wok burner and a wok.
    Hope this info is useful to the folks on here, I hope to be giving much more info on the outcome of my next curries and finding the holy grail of curry making. My own personnel opinion on it is it comes down to practice and experience of cooking curries. The more you practice, the better you get. Have a good one Therozziziofoz.

Hi rozzi,  a warm welcome back. A new life in OZ you lucky thing you. However, it does have its drawbacks, not many BIR`s just up the road I think. Looks like you have a good friend in the chef from Bolton. Look forward to hearing more from you, and maybe a picture or two of your results...... regards.....mike.  ;D

Quote from: rozzi on September 11, 2007, 02:25 PM
the real flavour comes from cooking this gravy really hard in the first five minutes to extract the natural sugars from the onions. Also you have to fry the garlic and spices really hard as well, because this changes the flavour completely.

I guess without this extra heat, we can't get the same results
I have recently seen a few more curries cooked, in a takeaway
There is nothing complicated that couldn't be done at home, except this lack of "cooking heat"
All the meals they cook, revolve around a very simple few ingredients
Oil (from a deep fat fryer this time)
Finely chopped garlic
Chopped onion
Chopped pepper
Garlic/ginger puree
Spice mix/chilli powder
Fresh coriander
Curry gravy
Dried fenugreek
Sugar
Salt
Precooked meat/chicken/veg
Canned veg or frozen too!

Hi roz,

I know how you are feeling about getting a decent BIR or even a decent curry in oz. I recently arrived in Brisbane about 12 wks ago from Glasgow and I have given up the ghost of ever getting a a palatable restaurant curry until I go back to the UK. I was staying with family for about 6mths b4 I emigrated as the house had been sold so I had limited access to internet and haven't been regular on cr0 and not able to experiment with the recipes 

Anyway an owner of a takeaway I frequented sometimes in Glasgow confirmed it's about the heat, cooking the garlic, ginger and chili 'til it had the right smell that takes practise to recognise b4 adding tomato paste, peppers and spices unfortunately he wouldn't divulge to much. The garlic, ginger and chili mix was as he told me 1 cup of garlic, 1.5 cups of ginger and roughly 6-8 green chilies blended together, (obviously he reduced the quantity for the house). He would put roughly a tablespoon of the mix into the hot oil at the start of cooking a few seconds later he would start adding other ingredients. He wouldn't elaborate on the other pastes he used    But the high heat with the garlic,ginger and chili mix in the hot oil really smelled like the start of the curry.
They also told me they only used red chili powder.
He did give me a lamb recipe the chef had made that I had the privilege of eating with them in the kitchen. It's really easy to make but more of an authentic dish.
Will post it soon.

Good luck in oz