Every so often, the question gets asked "How close are we to re-creating a fully authentic BIR dish ?", and in general people seem to feel that we are within 10 to 5%; few suggest that we are already there.  Well, being banned from cooking curries at the moment (we are expecting a house valuation any day now), I ordered a takeaway this evening, not from my local restaurant (the Taj of Kent) but from a pure takeaway a little further away.  I ordered Reshmi kebab & chapatti for starter, then Chicken Madras with pilau rice and Sag Aloo for the main course (desert will be Cornish ice-cream covered in Camp coffee). 
    The Reshmi kebab was seriously under-spiced (almost no spicing evident at all), the Chicken Madras & Sag Aloo mediocre.  The pulau rice was fine.  On that basis, I am willing to assert that my chicken Madras is more than equal to theirs, and Axe's Sag Aloo is far better than theirs.  I've never tried making Reshmi kebab.  So, I think that in some respects, we are already there : some of our dishes are equal to, or better than, those prepared in genuine BIR takeways.  Almost certainly there are some restaurants/takeaways that we cannot yet equal (any more than we could hope to equal the Fat Duck, or the Waterside, or the Tour d'Argent, or Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saison); but I think that we can be satisfied that we are definitely better than the run of the mill.

** Phil.

101% agreed phil.  I think we sometimes ignore our friends/family who tell us 'that is the best curry i have had'.  We are never going to better our favourite curry house but I am happy that only one takeaway in my area can make better curries than I do and that I will never match theirs.  Yet I will still strive for perfection!!!!!!!

regards

Barry

Phil
I never quite got the missing 5 or 10% and it seemed to become the orthodoxy on this site to the extent that I thought it sometimes attained the status of being somewhat mythical.

Notwithstanding this, I have found the last few Indian meals I have had (sit in and takeaway) to be somewhat of an anti climax. I agree with your point exactly - I came away thinking they were no better than my curries and some were inferior. I think the difference for me is that I have probably cooked more curries this year than I have done in any previous year and I think that this has moved on my ability to replicate a BIR curry to the extent that I have internalised the method.

I'm not saying that I am a curry genius but I know I am a pretty good cook and am regularly turning out good quality curries. Not the best in the world but very satisfying and that adds to my enjoyment of cooking as opposed to it being frustrating.

I agree completely and have said so before. I also believe some of the recipes here are ta clones and perfectly sound ie, taz's, Dips, also a new convert to the abc book. Im sorry i still have not tried some of CA's recipes and other very well received recipe's from the site but do not doubt that they are good also.
I don't believe any more that there is a holy grail or missing ingredient. I think in some cases technique is important, but only in so far as frying spices and or gg paste.
My friends and family have all said the same as your friends and family, our currries are as good as or better than...blah blah. I have bought a meal and thought that it wasn't as good as my home made efforts.
And i concede that some restaurants are just as you say, better than our home made efforts.
Confidence is a major factor for me. The way i quite literally throw a curry together now when compared to my early efforts is something else.
The problem is it makes me/us sound arrogant to say these things.
The next step for me, is to use the recipes i am familiar with and make them more subtle, i actually want to move a little towards the top restaurants flavours and more away from the local ta flavour, if you know what i mean.
Yes i agree 101%. 

Having gorged myself on quite a few take-away curries this week, I am still fairly sure that I have not yet been able to produce at home, a dish that has that unmistakable aroma. I also feel that I am still missing an underlying flavour somewhere too. I can't put my finger on it but there is definitely something still missing.

That is not to say that the dishes I do cook at home are not as good and in some cases better, than that available from some of the local TA's near me. There is one TA specifically near me that I would say if it were not for the fact that they have a Tandoor and I don't, that I could better most of thier dishes. I know what your thinking, but it really is a poor outlet for food.

Just yesterday, while I awaited my Chicken Dhansak at the Shanaz, I asked Ali the owner, what it was that gave that specific aroma and taste to a good BIR dish. Unforunately, we didn't conclude this as by the time we had beaten around the bush, my order arrived for me to take home. But I noticed distinctly when I got in the car with the food, there it was, that unmistakable aroma.

Axe doesn't your home have that aroma after you have made a few portions of curry?
Try my method. I make the curry in advance, fry the gg, add the spice mix add the base but don't reduce it, turn off the heat. I don't add pre-cooked meat yet either.
Then i have a bath and wash my hair. The second i open the bathroom door i can smell that curry house aroma. Its even more pronounced if i leave the house for a while then return.
To finish the meal i just add the meat and reduce it, season it to taste whilst the rice is cooking. I don't honk of fried spices and it only takes 15 mins to finish off, most of which im sat in front of the goggle box with a timer on my mobile counting out the rice.

Yes, the house certainly does have an aroma floating about after making a few curries and what a fine aroma it is. But I am never able to note that aroma from the food. Of course I realise that ones senses become climatised to the aroma so without stepping out from an hour and returning as you suggest, it will always be hard to gauge. But I am happy with this and it makes the experience of visiting my favourite restaurants all the more enjoyable.

I've never quite understood what "that aroma" is? It's a pity we don't have smell-a-forum cause descriptions only go so far. I do however recognise that at times my kitchen has smelled like walking into a takeaway. Is that what is meant by this phrase?

It's the smell of the food as you open the TA bag when you get it in the kitchen to serve it up. I couldn't explain it but I have always thought it is underlined with the aroma of ghee amongst other things.

Next time I have a takeaway I'll make a conscious effort take in that aroma Axe!