Hi,

I discovered this site two days ago when I was looking for something and since then I've spent a lot of time reading threads from all over the forum. I like cooking, and can cook a pretty good curry. I prefer dry korahi style dishes. btw I'm half Indian and my Mum's family heritage is Gujerati, she taught me to cook and all of her family cook Indian food all the time.

I'm amazed by your (as a group) obsession with the perfect bir curry, at times it appears that you're literally sending yourselves mad searching for the missing "1%", arguing over how much is in a ladle, modifying an LPG gas ring to double the flow etc. all chasing after this illusive philosophers stone.

You're mostly well past the stage of enjoying the nicest and most lovely food you can with friends and family and ended up with a destructive obsession.

Apart from one or two (curryqueen basically is the only one that comes to mind) you're basically totally missing the point anyway. First of all: yes of course you can make a curry at home which is the same as one from the bangladeshi 'indian takeaway' on the high road! Okay you need to: use fresh green chillis. This has come up on the forum in 2006 and still it sounds like some of you are not using them. That classic takeaway taste is just a combination of that turmericky garam masalaey sauce and fresh green chillis fried in veg oil (sometimes without seeds, sometimes with). Unless you're using lots of green chilli you're literally chasing your own backside tweaking minor things here and there like the number of mls in a ladle or the amount of heat you can provide to the pan etc. because it won't give you that taste. Wise up, curryqueen has been modestly mentioning this on this site for 2+ years and still some of the hard of thinking haven't caught on.

The real point though is that the standard madras, vindaloo, biriyani and tandoori chicken standard british indian is very good to soak up a bit of booze and satisfy your hunger but the dishes you are mentioning are just not that delicious!

The majority of uk restaurants will be run by sylhetis, and even if the chef has been in the uk 20 years (most likely he will have been here a lot less than that) the type of dish he is most adept at and can really excel at his craft is not going to be a chicken tikka balti bhuna!

If its a bangladeshi owner and chef, then the sefood will be shit hot, why not ask for a bengali potato and fish curry, its what they'll be cooking for themeselves and they will def be happy to dish this up for you.. Will be less oily, bigger pieces of veg and yeah a different type of food really but 30 times as delicious and probably cooked with twice as much love.

If you really want to experience something that lives up to that title curry then head to a lahori karahi house - giftos in southall, london.. tasty's in roundhay, leeds for example.. In Giftos you can watch him cook it, and ask him about the spices he's putting in - because its open plan - then you can start making some really amazing stuff at home.. Start by imitating these guys and then develop your own style! This is what I just don't get about the site. The joy of cooking is being able to create.. If you're not inventing and making and then perfecting your own dishes and your own personal style, your own signature then you're not really cooking, you're just chopping, mixing, boiling, frying.

Go to the indian shop get half a kilo of small green chillis (if you want to know exactly which ones ask in your local restaurant when you have a meal for 'a few fresh chillis' - I always do this, and they always bring a plate with about 5 of the things). Don't try using the slightly bigger ones in a 59p bag from tesco - got to get the real thing. Then go to the off license and get 6 beers or your preference of booze, go home and learn how to chill out and enjoy cooking, eating, and living: -ve bir obsession free!!


Of course these things are all about personal preference and yeah I could be chatting shit to deceive you or wind you up or whatever else you paranoid lot want to think so before you flame me I'm just airing my views, others may disagree.. your mileage may vary

I think that you are correct in saying that there is too much of an obsession with the base sauce....but I think that the search for the elusive holy grail is an enjoyable one for most on here......so maybe no real harm done.

I went and did a Thai Cookery course a few weeks ago....just 3 dishes.  It's the first I have ever been on.  I watched the lady cook and taste and modify.....and I realised then that it's more of an art than a science.

I hope you continue to contribute gazza91

 ;D I feel pretty sad... On with the quest, point about chilies noted.

I'm sure you made many valid points, but "the dishes you are mentioning are just not that delicious!" isn't one of them.

I have made, many authentic home Indian dishes  and delicious they were. I was fortunate to date an Indian girl for some time and learnt allot about home Indian cooking. This forum is about creating the British Indian Restaurant taste and aroma, that the majority on this forum experienced during the 70's and 80's. That said, we may all be mad, but that's what makes this an interesting hobby/obsession. At the end of the day, The high street take away and Restaurant serve dishes such as Phall , Onion Bhaji's specifically for British tastes. My obsession is trying to recreate this taste and smell,
Knowing this, it's  was probably our first real taste of Indian food, that got us hooked, and that was after a skinfull on a Friday night. ;D