Ghanna
Thank you for reminding me of your Dhansak / Tarka Dall recipes, which I look forward to trying, together with your Korma recipe, for sure. It's not a question of if, but when.
Regarding the restaurant smell, it might be easier to get a helpful response to the question of smell from restaurant staff, than any question on recipes or ingredients. I assume these guys arrive at a 'cold' restaurant at perhaps 4pm, with only a musty 'night before' smell in the air. They turn on the lights, don their overalls and get down to work. At some point 'that smell' starts to build up. Is it after the tarka dall is started, or the basic curry sauce is warmed up, or only after they cook the first 'finished dish'? I'd guess it must come from something in a frying pan on high heat - not just steam eminating from a basic curry sauce, gently bubbling away.
These guys must know the main dish which produces 'that smell'. Let's ask them.
Regards
George