My own experience would have been when I was about 16, so 1986. It was a dhansak, and it was lush. It wasn't as mild as the dhansaks of today.
But before that, I remember walking home from a fair that I'd been to with my older sister, and we called into an Indian takeaway. It was a milion miles away from the neon lit affairs that we see today. It was nothing more than a doorway with a counter approx 3 foot away from the door. There was no menu on the wall, and the walls was covered with real wood looking plywood.
Behind the counter was a little Asian lady, with little or no English. My sister ordered a seekh kebab, which was served wrapped in some sort of edible leaves, with a sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of an old lemon. Served in a small type chippy tray.
It was absolutely wonderful and very different from the seekh kebabs of today. I was 9 yrs old, at the time. I remember it very well, because I arrived home to watch United get beat 3-2 off Arsenal, in the 1979 FA cup final (god damn it) which was a couple of days after my ninth birthday (gutted.com)
Ray
