Stephen,
i'll park the tarragon for the moment. not for being batty but i want to get to ball park 1st. there could well be something like a herb in the dish.
interesting thought - many thanks.
Secret Santa,
the variety of bassar ie mustard oil version is something i was not aware of. i have, "King of Spice" - it just lists mustard as ingredient. i can't work out if it is mustard oil as it lists edible oil too and which is confusing as the powder does feel greasy to the touch and looks sort of lumpy/sticky together. ps the King of Spice is the extra hot version although it's not really hot (marketing ploy).
i will look out for the mustard oil bassar version but i doubt it can be bought inside the EU.
i have not tried bassar in vindaloo. in fact upto trying it in Phil's Bombay i had only really used it in the 976bar Kashmiri dish.
i too do think it is the mix powder of the past - or if not remarkably close.
the list of must haves is much appreciated. the asofotida is out for me having tried it once before. i like the idea of lots of g/g and black pepper. i think the chilli powder may not be used - i'm leaning towards ashoka green chilli paste.
the missing part of the recipe for me is - i think there must be a sauce which is where the magic is done in terms of getting that depth of flavour. i'm going to start with the ashoka south Indian garlic sauce as a starting point. call it a green chilli sauce.
the only real question i have is whether there is the dreaded vinegar in the dish. going on nothing more than recollection i think not. if it is then it's a very small player.
i'm going to get vindaloo from my local TA in the hope of getting some further clues. not purchased a vindaloo for a very long time. i will need to ask before purchase how it differs from a madras (of course).
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3908.msg35388;topicseen#msg35388