An attempt to emulate the Chicken Pasanda from Sarada in Tolworth Broadway in Surrey circa. 1985

Heat 3 tbsp of oil

Add 1 tsp ginger/garlic paste

Then 2 tbsp of tomato paste. This is 1 tbsp tom puree mixed with 1 tbsp of water

Follow with 1 tbsp of mix powder of your choice, 1 tsp of chilli powder

Add a little base gravy to loosen the mix

2 tbsp of red wine, Rioja works well but whatever you have

Pre cooked chicken now goes in, I used 5 pieces

Now add 2 tbsp of ground almonds

Add more base gravy according to how much sauce you want

2 tbsp of cream, half a tsp of salt & 1 tbsp of sugar

Reduce the heat & simmer to the consistency you like.

Sarada used to serve it with potato chips , really.

The pullao rice had a tbsp of rose water added to it & it made a lovely improvement. Thanks CA & Aussie Mick.

I went to the freezer to get my last tub of base gravy only to find it was cooked lentils, problem.

So, in desperation really, I finely diced half an onion, fried it gently until lightly golden brown, added a heaped teaspoon of ginger/garlic paste, then a tablespoon of tomato puree , a tablespoon of mix powder, a teaspoon of chilli powder, two finely chopped green chillies & a couple of cherry tomatoes cut in half.

I loosened the mix with a little juice from some tinned tomatoes, now what to do for some sauce. I dissolved half a chicken oxo cube in less than half a pint of water & added it to the pan along with my pre cooked chicken. Simmered until the oil lifted to the surface, then a pinch of sugar & some salt.

Time for tasting. Amazed myself, it was really a very tasty curry, something of a hybrid between BIR & home cooked, delicious.

A restaurant has changed hands in a town near us & we tried it for my birthday, got a shock at the prices though.

In Euros, I'm in Ireland :

Chicken Pathia  ?13.95
Chicken Biriani  ?10.95
Chicken Dhansak  ?11.95
Bombay Aloo  ?5.95
Pilau Rice  ?2.25

You get the idea. I was over in England in February & my brother took me to a scruffy little take away in Southampton & the average price was ?5 for a curry, Bombay Aloo  ?1.75 & very good it was too.

When you read the menu & it says " made with exotic spices & herbs " it has a bit of a hollow ring really.

I think BIR's have got very expensive over here for what you get & the quality is hardly great.

My wife & I got a take away last night, she had chicken biriani & I had chicken pathia. Wasn't great but not bad either, to be honest most of mine are better, but woken at one & again at five with thirst.

I thought that had stopped in the eighties, what causes it ? Monosodium glutamate ?  Pat Chapman in his appallingly bad, Indian Restaurant Cookbook of 1989 says powdered garlic contains sulphur dioxide which causes this.

The salt levels didn't seem high but something was doing it.

I'm in south west Ireland so maybe things are different here.