Hi Folks - haven't been on for a while but I'm still using all the tips and am really pleased with the results.

I'm throwing out a question today and it is this:-

I'm off work, I can't go out - I've no base sauce - and I haven't got the ingredients to make any. I have, however, found a nice bag of prawns, an onion, some fresh garlic and a tin of tomatoes - and all my usual spices are available. Shall I just throw it all together and say "it's ok, but it's not restaurant style" or is there anything I could do to do a cheat's restaurant curry. Advice welcomed.

Harry

Tonight I made the classic beginner's error - I made a great curry - which was the nearest I've got to a "Chicken Tikka Balti" as made by the Hilal Balti House in Formby. I used Chewy's base recipe and Mickdabass's Ultimate Tikka recipe (both tried and tested by myself). I put a ladle of the Tikka marinade in the base sauce and mixed it - that I can remember - but the rest of it was just a mixture of all the usual suspects - but I didn't make a note of the amounts!!! Let that be a lesson.

... why?

I can understand it from a restaurant perspective but if you're cooking at home why can't it be cooked with, or at the same time as the curry? As a newbie, I've no idea - it just seems that re-cooking pre-cooked chicken (for quite a while, it seems) is going to make it less tender than if cooked for just the length of time it takes to cook.

... I've made my first base sauce (I went with Chewy's) and tonight I'm using it tonight for the first time. I might be stretching myself (there's no might about it!) but I'm going to try and do three different curries for tonight - Prawn Korma for the kids - Prawn Jalfrezi for my wife and Chicken Madras for me. Wish me luck.

... I've been exiled in Munich for over a year and I'm really missing my favourite UK curry houses. Via YouTube, I found this site and it looks like my prayers have been answered. Can't wait for this weekend when I'm going to do my first base!

Harry