Hi All,
The house next door has been converted to three flats and for the last couple of years has been occupied by three Asian guys and other than the odd ' good morning ' and the once I asked him to move his car down a bit so I could get my car out of my drive  we haven't really spoke to one another, but every week or two someone in the House cooks what smelt like a Curry but better than anything I've ever cooked and I said to my Mrs ' one day I'll knock on their door and ask what their cooking'.
Today I came back from doing a bit of shopping and when I got out of the car the aroma was stunning  my Wife opened the front door and said ' next doors cooking ' ' yes I said and I'm going to find out what it is ' ( with a shocked look on her face ).
I rang the door bell and one of the guys answered , I said ' sorry to trouble you but can you tell me what your cooking ' he said ' sorry is it something you do not like ' I answered ' No !  it smells wonderful !' to a shocked look on his face ! Looking through to his galley kitchen I could see one guy at the cooker stirring the contents of a large frying pan and another guy preparing veg , the guy at the door asked me in and I kid you not this was the most wonderful aroma of Indian cooking I have ever smelt 
The two guys greeted me and were initially puzzled at my interest in their cooking so I had to explain that I was a bit of a Curry nut and have been trying to perfect my Chicken Madras .
Simmering on their Gas Hob was a Prawn Madras and a Lamb Curry in a second pan ' would you like to taste' one of them said ' Oh yes ' I replied and I sampled a small serving of both Curries ,  this was by far the best tasting Curries i have ever tasted , difficult to describe but  clean fresh hot n spicy absolutely delicious , compared to my Curries which I thought were excellent mine now taste poor 
I questioned them for about half an hour and the Lamb Curry was simmering all the time , to cut a long story short  ;D these were Curries cooked the traditional way by frying Onions , then Garlic/Ginger , Tomato , Garam Masala . Chili Powder, Cloves , and Cinnamon . This is all added gradually and then water is added and left to simmer for quite some time but the end result is well worth waiting for !
They are only in the house for one more month and then moving on but I asked for a recipe before they leave so fingers crossed 
Sorry this was so drawn out just wanted to set the scene 

Hi emin

I often make baseless or "from scratch" curries and you're right - they do taste much better than curries with a base, trouble is I love the taste of BIR curries too - I've never been able to make a decent pathia without a base lol There are some good links at the bottom of the homepage for authentic home recipes.

here's a link to my baseless dopiaza: https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3470.0 I'd be chuffed if you gave it a go

Hi Emin-j,

Well done matey, result!  I think the trouble with traditional cooking is, you have got to be bang on or it just isn't right.  These guy's obviously know what they are doing judging by your praise of their food.

The closest I ever came was to slow cook, what I thought was a lamb madras at the time.  I also added cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, green cardamom, mace and star anise.  It was a delight, and the meat was a soft as butter but, every now and then, you bit down into a hard spice and it was really off putting.  With hindsight, I would have place the whole spices in a muslin cloth or spice ball but alas, youthfull enthusiasm is a foolish trait, lol.

Ray

Thanks' Guys, I too love my BIR Curries especially for the convenience factor of having a pre-made base so intend to carry on the quest for BIR perfection but got to admit defeat on the flavour and aroma issue 

Fantastic post emin-j! I also like the convenience and speed of cooking a curry using base, but more than willing to try anything, regardless of effort, to attain curry heaven.  ;D

Looking forward to the recipe!

I did ask about ingredients and only 1 Red Onion and 1 Tomato ( plus spices etc ) per portion which I thought was economical 

Nice post emin-j. Funny enough my wife prefers my traditional style Keema peas to my BIR dishes made with a base sauce. Much to my frustration!

It would be good if you could watch them cook it next time..... and post the details on here please.

Cheers,

Paul

Hi emin-j

I work around around walsall quite allot and have to go into the houses in mainly Asian based areas and i walk in and get the aroma that you are talking about its usually the wife in the kitchen cooking but I've never had the guts to ask what they were cooking but i think next time you have inspired me to ask. I have noticed that most of the houses keep allot of lentils so i thought maybe they were mainly vegetarian dishes slow cooked but i shall now ask whenever i go into a house and they are cooking.

Jamie

I have read on other theads that BIR Curries of the 1970's were much more flavoursome and fragrant to a level not found in today's BIR's, I have often thought that perhaps the first BIR's cooked the ' Traditional ' way and only developed the ' Curry Base ' at a later date when Indian T/A became more popular and had to be able to cook a Curry quickly to cope with demand .

The closest I ever came was to slow cook, what I thought was a lamb madras at the time.  I also added cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, green cardamom, mace and star anise.  It was a delight, and the meat was a soft as butter but, every now and then, you bit down into a hard spice and it was really off putting.  With hindsight, I would have place the whole spices in a muslin cloth or spice ball but alas, youthfull enthusiasm is a foolish trait, lol.

Ray
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LOL Razor!!

I too now use my slow cooker for making curries quite a lot and yes the meat comes and wonderful and tender. I know what you mean about biting into one of those spices, it does give a shocked look on your face.

I remember my son once bit on a whole green cardamom and the look on his face, he looked like a bulldog chewing a wasp!!! lol

So, yes I use a muslim cloth, or I actually have one of those stainless steel balls which looks like a tea strainer. I just put the spices into it, close it up and just chuck it in the pot.