I'll have to give that a go. I tried them once using Rick Stein's taste of India recipe and was a bit disappointed, as they didn't taste of anything.
5h cooking, I feel your pain! I've just made Green curry paste, now I'm moving onto Cornbeef hash. Tomorrow I'm doing two Thai green curries (no spice/ atomic) 2 beef salad starters (same), plus a Jamaican goat curry for Sunday. And rice an' pea.