Livo commented about the price of almonds vs cashews, and this got me thinking about ingredients costs in general.
If you look at price inflation of raw ingredients as against the prices on our high street curry menus, the last ten years have been shocking: oil, rice, lamb and chicken have risen steeply in price. But restaurants find it very hard to pass this on to their customers, so they have been slashing margins and cutting back on ingredients. This might explain why I find so many t/a curries disappointing now. One chef I know in Woking complained bitterly that there was a list of ingredients that had been banned by the manager, so he had resorted to bringing his own cardamom pods to work.
Our margins are pretty good because we face so little competition here in France. But they were definitely better 3 years ago, not least because we are not shielded here by the fiercely competitive supply market that exists in the UK.
I'd be interested in your thoughts on the cost of ingredients a whether you think that this might have driven down quality in the high street BIR.

Try this -

SERVES 2
2 soft-boiled eggs (or you could poach them)
1 portion korma sauce

Cook the korma sauce as per usual, but add:
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
50g butter
1 tsp finely-shredded lemon zest
1 tsp finely-shredded fresh ginger

Combine the eggs and the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaf and finely-sliced red chilli to serve.

This is actually a Moroccan snack, but it's essentially mini stuffed parathas. These are so good that I need to cook twice as many as required, because they have a way of disappearing on the way to the table. And they are a doddle to make.

Reghaif (pronounced "Mini Stuffed Parathas")

Note:you could substitute keema for the filling

SERVES 12 as a snack

1 fist-size portion of naan dough, ready to use (or a white bread dough would work fine)

For the filling:
250g mince (I used 50:50 beef and lamb)
1 chef's spoon finely-chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin (grind it fresh - it makes a huge difference)
2 tsp ground coriander
Salt to taste (I used quite a lot - about 1 tsp)
? tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. In a saucepan, fry the filling ingredients in a little oil until brown. Add 200ml water and cook down, stirring, until dry. Blitz to a rough paste. Chill in fridge.
2. Make a snake of the dough and chop it into small rounds - enough to make a ball no bigger than a squash ball.
3. Pin out the balls of dough into thin circles.
4. Put a generous spoon of the filling in each circle, leaving enough free edge to fold over the sides so they overlap. Then fold over the ends. The filling should be completely encased - no holes.
5. Turn over the parcels and flatten gently, taking care not to break them open. They should be rough rectangles.
6. Fry in oil - either shallow fry in 1 cm turning a few times, or deep fry at 175C. They should be golden and bubbly, not black.

Slice each parcel into two and serve.

Does anyone know where I can get one of those naan cushions you see tandoori chefs using? I can't find one online and I'm fed up wrapping up old T-shirts and then having to wash them.  The ideal would be a waterproof stuffed pad with a removable and washable outer covering.
Cheers,
Tim

Hi,
I joined a while back but haven't been active.
I have worked in Indian restaurants and now run a catering business in France. Our style is BIR Bangladeshi rather than Punjabi, so we cook the sort of curry you get in the southern part of the UK, rather than say Glasgow.
This looks like an interesting site with plenty of activity and plenty to chat about. And with any luck I'll learn some new tricks!
Cheers,
MacFerret