I thought I would discuss this as I'm sure I may not be the only one who gets Gout and others who may be interested in this age old so called "Rich Mans Disease" brought on by diet etc.

Not exactly curry related but in some cases it can be triggered by the rich tomato puree sauces in curries(As in my case).

I am suffering quite painful right now with an attack on my left ankle whereby I cannot walk at all.

I knew that I might be risking an attack earlier this week as I've eaten 2 curries and a large helping of spaghetti bolenaise(I added tons of tomato pur?e). Sure enough, yesterday I felt the recognisable ache in my ankle and I was hoping it would disappear as it can sometimes do but BANG....this morning I was in severe pain!!!

I inherited this condition from my dad and is caused by an enzyme deficiency that regulates the amount of uric acid in our blood. Normal folk will simply release excess uric acid via urine but in gout sufferers the huge amount of uric acid cannot be disposed of so the body puts it elsewhere in the body...typically the bone joints, big toe, ankles and even your knees, elbows etc. The pain is caused by the bodies defence inflaming the tissues in between the bone joints trying to protect it from the crystals of uric acid and its this swelling that is extremely painful. Eventually the bone joint itself can become destroyed by this!!

To ease this pain, may I advise fellow sufferers to place the foot into cold tap water to deal with the internal swelling....it works wonders and is pure relief. DO NOT, DO NOT put your foot into hot water as my dad used to do.......makes it worse. My dad wasn't wiser about it in those days, poor man.

I have medication for this that replaces this enzyme but I have heard of diabetes originating from these medicines so instead of taking the medicine, I have found that careful diet control keeps it at bay for me(Silly me got carried away last week and took the chance).

I can eat lots of curries etc but must try and limit what else I eat with them during the week ie tomato sauces, red meats and red wines.

Does anyone else have the same problem??

Breaking Curry News Flash!!
One of Glasgow's best loved BIR's and winner of Best curry house in Britain 7 times has been destroyed  by a fire.

I had the privilege to eat there only twice and besides having ME as a customer, Keanu Reeves, Billy Connolly and Tom Jones have also graced its tables.

Will be sadly missed 

Oh....I passed by soon after the flames were extinguished to see if I could have a peek for a recipe book but no success.......the "quest" continues!!!!!!!
On a lighter note, the entire west end of Glasgow now smells of curry and before any of you ask......no.....it doesn't have "the smell" anymore.

See the links for more info on this tragic story......

http://www.bestglasgowrestaurants.com/restaurants/?cafeindia

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6188325.stm

Man...I'm happy but annoyed at the same time. 

I decided to get a vindaloo from a little kebab shop close by as it was highly convenient for me just to pop in quickly, get a vindaloo, get home eat it then head out. NO WAY did I expect a decent taste from this as it was from the local KEBAB takeaway and not a proper BIR.

When I took the lid off the alum tray, I nearly died, it had "The Smell", lovely colour, nice texture. 

I dipped the fork in the tray immediately and sampled a piece of chicken......my god......"The Taste".

Yes I'm delighted with this find as the curries out of this place are really cheap.... a set meal for one included the vindaloo, fried rice, poppadoms, nan bread, veggie pakora all for ?7....yes....?7.......bargain of the year......AND "The Taste"

BUT....I'm also annoyed that if this so called nothing more than a chippie that sells Kebabs can achieve what WE are searching for....then what is going on.....why can't we make them like this too.....we are surely missing something really obvious....ahhhhhrrrrrr 

I am now going to be a regular customer of theirs and get to know the chef. 

OK as promised I took photo's of a few pages from the Shish Mahal cook book. This recipe was derived from the original restaurant vindaloo and condensed to make it easier to cook at home.

As I said....i took photos(sorry for the crudeness) as I don't have a scanner.

I took a few photos of the introduction, a summary of spices and ghee preperation then the last links are the recipe for chicken vindaloo itself.

The purpose here is to see if any of you guys/girls can spot something in this recipe that will make the sought after "taste" and or "smell"

Hope one of you spots something  :

Here it is....(If these picts are to much for some PC's to load, let me know and I will change them to links instead).....

Was wondering what the hottest curry you've scoffed from start to finish??

One of my first creations nearly killed me.

I was ill adviced and in my quest cooked 5 scotch bonnet chilli's (with seeds) and a further 5 green birdeye chilli's with a spoonful of red chilli powder just to compliment and let it simmer for 50 mins.

Because I was so proud of my achievements.....hot.....smelled like curry etc.....i refused to let my brain tell me it was far too HOT and proceeded to scoff the lot to prove how lovely it was.

Needless to say that even after losing 3 stones in body fluids, the worst was still to come.

I ended up lying on the bathroom floor...next to the pan....doubled up with SEVERE stomach pains.......i think my other end was suffering too but the gut pain was so bad I contemplated getting the old stomach pumped  :-X

All done in the name of "curry science" lol

Anyone interested in some curry at my place
Ive learned my lesson.

Hi everyone,

I just joined the quest too.

I was reading some of the posts & you guys and girls are almost as obsessed as me on our discovery for "the taste" and "the smell"

I was in stitches with laughter as I've been reading your posts regarding this matter and I too NEED to know how to "perfect" and achieve this taste....its a matter of life or death lol

I have a little book somewhere at home that has the "original" Glasgow Shish Mahal restaurant recipe dated  back in 1964 but I cant find it arghhhhh  The hunt is back on now Ive found this forum.

Anyway, I must try to find it and post it here ASAP 

- NairB