the Mogul Bagshot are interesting for the method - adding in whole spice at the start. it's something that i've never tried knowing it's more akin to the traditional method.

certainly not TA food.

that "Mogal-e-Azam on Taste Nottingham food show" is a real tease. the food looks to die for yet the speed beats the eye and it ends up being very frustrating not being able to pickout the ingredients.

the comment on "burn the spices" is something that's cropped up a few times. despite my efforts i still feel it means "cook out the spices". any other thoughts or experience being very welcome.

Dalpuri,

i think it's possibly a general misconception by us all - ie if no one replies no one's interested - it's probably the complete opposite - really top notch info needs nothing other than a thankyou. i guess the increase in no off views tells but you don't see the stats as headlines.

as you've guessed i view all the video you post - it's my kind of TV.

the "chef" reminded me of the owner of my local restaurant. he like them all gives very little away. one thing that did surprise me is that everyone in the firm knows (and does when needed) everyone else's job - very strange to western "union" membership of course. you can tell who's cooking though given the vast difference in abilities across BIR land chefs.

the spice fry "residue" is something i'd not connected with - many thanks. when frying in free water (watered puree, 1 chef of base in my case) i get the residue that you refer to (my end point).

assuming this to be the case - logic would suggest no difference in using either technique ie hot fry in oil or hot fry in free water as long as the end point is same.

so far i'd always pictured spice being added to the hot oil and potentially physically burning before reaching the pan bottom. i guess with the pan off the heat in moving to the spice containers there is protection against physical burn yet time for the spice to settle in readiness for a quick stir and heat before the quench.

i'm sticking to my current method but always have a nagging doubt that more flavour might be there - despite lots of attempts "test hot oil fry's" i've never been able to rule it out as inconsistency far outweighs any perception of flavour improvement. 

ps missed the garlic tarka - will have to watch it again  ;D

Hey i'm cool, dont expect any thanks or anything. As long as someone gets something out of them, im happy. 

Made a curry round a friends over the weekend.  :-X
He's a vegetarian that doesnt cook so No frying pans and just a couple of stainless saucepans. I KNEW i should've brought pots n pans too!  :
Stainless steel just wont give you a good curry no matter how good a cook you are. It doesnt reduce down properly and too high a heat will just burn. Its happened twice now cooking for other people with the wrong pans. Its embarrassing and you just know from the smell its not going to be right.
Still perfectly edible but the burning/browning of spices into the pan and the various reductions is one of the most important aspects of BIR cookery and the difference between a restaurant curry and a homestyle curry.

had opportunity to make my norm parker21 CTM side by side with the Nottingham azam recipe.

the main difference being addition of tom puree, mango chutney (used 1 htsp of both) and almond powder (used 1 htbsp) in the azam.

going to repeat again but leaving the tom puree out of the azam recipe - felt it took away from the taste of the coconut flour. i liked the addition of a little almond powder.

i'm not sure on the mango chutney - it did not have any negative effect. the dish is quite complex to start with (mainly the red masala). it was the effect of hot frying the mango that i was interested in and perhaps just need to give it a few more goes.

this is my best guess on the Ctm (mogal-e-azam)

Oil
Garlic
Onion
Mango chutney
Tom puree
coconut flour
Almond powder
Little mix pwdr
Little sugar
Sauce ?red masala
Base
Cream