I usually use spices of india for my deliveries of spices but having recently run out of black salt and also needing to try Indian bay, which unfortunately spices of india don't stock i thought i would try a different site.
http://www.theasiancookshop.co.uk/index.asp
Its a uk site and fortunately has both the above ingredients in stock. Plus all the usual suspects. I thought i would post the addy here for like minded people who wanted to get there harder to find ingredients under one roof.

What do you think of this..............
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12011868
:=)

Hiya, Whilst i've been away from home Jen has been getting together with a guitar player and putting some stuff together, she's already got a few gigs lined up.
Anyway here's the link if anybody wants to have a listen.....
http://soundcloud.com/jimmy-and-jen
And if you need chearing up afterwards, here's a link to a online free game called Bauns, which is excellent and makes your eyes bleed.
http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/bauns.htm

I think we all have a memory or memories of the best meal of our lives so far, where did you go and what was the meal?
Mine was a night out with family and friends about 10 years ago to an Italian restaurant called Sophia's in Wolverhampton, the whole event from entering and being seated, the environment, busy but relaxed, being able to see into the kitchen over the counter and watch the food prepared, the drinks, jd and ice for me, and then the food.
Table salads that were so fresh, with chick peas in and a simple dressing but you could quite happily have sat and ate nothing else all evening.
For me though it was the main courses, my family you see like to try everybodies food lol, we all dip a fork into each others plates and have a taste, comparing each others to our own.
It was all gorgeous, the lasagna, the spaghetti sauces, fresh pasta, garlic breads, even the friend of the families steak and chips(always one whinger who dont like galic pah).
But my meal, wow i can still taste it after all these years, Clam Carbonara, even typing this it makes my mouth water lol, it was amazing, i cant describe it it was that nice.
So thats mine what was yours?

I was just reading my tv licence application form and noticed this part ill quote....
"TV equipment means television recieving equipment, such as a tv set, computer, mobile phone, games console, digital set top box or dvd/vhs recorder."
It also includes streamed over the net live or recorded tv programmes in or outside the uk.
Shocking really.

Everything ive read says that you can heat Ghee up to a higher temperature than cooking oil, yet, having just switched to it myself i notice it starts smoking long before it would if i was using oil, or maybe its higher temp than butter...
never mind im thick.
Bloody nice stuff either way. Im getting fat.

Its fairly simple and makes a fine Bhaji:-

serves 2
1 spanish onion finely sliced
50g chick pea flour/gram flour
0.5tsp ground cumin
0.5tsp ground corriander
0.25tsp turmeric
pinch of cayenne pepper
0.25tsp baking powder(leave out if you suffer from heart-burn)
15g fresh chopped corriander
0.5tsp salt

Mix all ingrediants together in a bowl and place in fridge for half an hour.
Remove from fridge, shape into balls and throw gently in a deep fat fryer until golden brown
Remove and drain.
Scoff.
Well worth trying and it really is good.
Recipe taken from 100 great Indian recipes by Jaqueline Bellafontaine.

I was wondering if anybody remembers the thing that me and the lads used to say years ago before going for a curry, "im not going till chucking out time because the curry tastes better"
I think its true, if you go to your favourite curry house at opening time and buy your favourite meal, then go back at midnight and buy the identical same meal ill bet you a tenner the second curry tastes a load better.
If you think about it i bet you'll all say the same, the best curries i have ever had have been after a good night out and pouring into the restaurant at chucking out time.
Some people put it down to the ale, but its not, its obvious, the curry pots been on for longer.
Here's another question for you, what time does your local curry house actually close on a friday or saturday night? 11:30- 12:30- 1/2am?...None of mine ever did, mine closed when the last piss head had stumbled out the door (me on a few occasions)

We are trying to recreate a bir flavour in an almost clinical way, some of us have even bought hotter cookers and special chefy spoons lol. We have the recipes, the spices the methods, but were arent doing the one thing our curry houses are, we cook our sauces for an hour and thats it done.

Curry houses leave theres on the go all night from 4 till-chucking out time.
And another thing, when we finish our last batch from the freezer, we just start a new one the next day.
Curry houses are constantly making fresh but using it to top-up the original, thus theres an original sauce all the time getting better in there. Like a vintage wine.

What do you think? its a thought but i am going to use my last pot of frozen sauce from now on to start off my next batch, thus over time i will have myself a Vintage 2010 ruby murry base.
;D

I have a curry base i use for balti's thats very close to the bir flavour i love, and it is very close, only i reduce it down so its approaching almost a finished curry texture.

Ive noticed that on finishing the curry, the stir fry stage, thats when things start going downhill, i either lose its original flavours or they become too intense and overpowering, do you think this is because of my over reduction of base?

Also I have noticed on the video links here that your gravies are quite runny compared to mine, would you say that your gravies have a deep good flavour as they stand alone or do they have a background flavour?
The reason i ask is that if i water down a sauce then obviously the flavours become less pronounced, Im trying to make a comparison on taste with words its difficult...

In essence do you think that too much emphasis is placed on the base stage of the curry when the real problems could be with the stir frying stage?

Hi, im Peter and as a Brummie now living in the Scottish Borders im on that age old Brummie search for a return to the ladypool rd:-).
Ive been trying for about 10 years now to find that authentic curryhouse flavour i miss so much.
Ahhh friday night, a skin full of bitter and a nice greasy King prawn balti madras and a naan bread .........sigh. the good old days.
Anyways gf forces sale and all that i moved oop north, left behind the lads:( and the proper taste of a decent curry.
Ive been trying to make my own. done quite well but there's still that, just that special, something missing, im sure you know what i mean.
Ive been on the "secret missing ingredient" tour, its the onions, its the way you cook em, its the ghee, oil, about to start on the mustard oil to try and find the right fix lol.

Anyway ill be knocking around the forums and trying out some recipes, probably asking stupid questions along the way so thought id say hello.