Hi
I agree with CA-my method is much the same, Use a big frying pan with around 1/2-3/4 inch good quality oil(I use groundnut oil).
Heat oil till nearly smoking-dip edge of poppadom in oil and if it Fizzes its hot enough.
Put poopadum in-couple of secs it should expand, then flip-I use cheap pair of metal kitchen tongs which work a treat.
I then have ready by the pan a side plate with kitchen paper on it, onto which I put a toast rack.
I then transfer poppadum to toast rack which allows any oil to run off onto kitchen paper.
I cook a weeks supply at once and keep them in a round cake tin which keeps them nice n fresh.

Hi
All the BIRs round my way (North west lancs) serve a red sauce with poppadoms,its sort of translucent  and has an appearance of Chinese sweet and sour sauce.
was in my local BIR last week and got the basic ingredients off the owner:-

Mango puree(they sell it in big tins in the Asian shops)
tamarind paste
coriander leaf
chili powder
Mint
red food colour

I don't know the quantities- but i had a go at making some tonight, and got reasonably close.
Like i said- it seems particular to this area, and I've never seen a recipe on here or anywhere else for it- the pakora sauce that a lot of recipes i see on here have yogurt in them.
Its great on onion bharjis too.
PS- the mango juice in the tins is great in some recepies as a replacement for Mango chutney I've found- I freeze it into ice cube trys- plus it tastes fantastic in a milk shake(with a little vodka)

this is a more comprehensive spice list-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_spices

phil

I found this on wiki-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilingual_list_of_edible_plants_used_in_Indian_cuisine#Spices

Phil

I think the whole cooking of the spices issue is one of the keys to replicating the BIR taste experience.
I've tried everything- dry frying, frying in oil- making a paste etc etc.
I'm usually always happy with the results- but I'm never quite sure if I'm doing it right(A bit like sex really).
I guess that handling  and cooking spices is second nature to a BIR Chef- and because us Brits are brought up on fairly bland food- spices are a weird new thing to us.

By way of a comparison, I've travelled north America extensively(USA & Canada), and whilst Ive had some excellent coffee(Indeed the average north American has probably never tasted nescafe instant, he would be disgusted by it!)I have never once had a decent cup of tea over there.
The reason for this (In my opinion) is that Brits learn how to make tea when we are kids.
They make it with warm water, and often use coffee machines  to make it.
Apologies to our friends from across the ocean- but you guys probably think the same about our coffee.

In other words its second nature to a BIR chef to know how long to cook the spices.

I firmly believe, that  cooking good food,of any genre, is 70% technique, and 30% ingredients.
just a thought.
Phil

Moreish sounds good to me-I think we all know what it means!
As far as I'm aware, Moorish means something from Morocco and applies to a style of building usually found in southern Spain-I think the moors were a tribe that originally came from Morocco.
So for example, if I were Moroccan and looking at this site- I may inadvertently confuse a Moorish curry with Moroccan food- or worse still, I may attempt to make a building out of curry, which would be a bad(yet tasty)idea.
In conclusion I think Moreish works best.
Phil

How about making a chilli paste- using fresh chillies of your choice- much the same as the onion/ garlic paste.
personally, I'm a big fan of fresh chillies in curries- my reasoning being that if its too hot you leave the chillies on the side of the plate, but if its too hot from a chilli powder point of view you are up the creek.
a home made chilli paste could be added at the end of the cooking process, and also help to avoid the problem when cooking for 4 people of achieving the desired head for each victim oops guest.
Phil
PS I like the taste of fresh chillies which helps I guess

I made this over the weekend-at first i was dubious about not adding yoghurt- but the end result was truly impressive- better than the tikka I've been making the 'traditional way with yoghurt for the last 20 yrs!
which makes me wonder- what does the yoghurt do anyway?
I used to think it tenderized the chicken- but this recipe was moist and juicy.
Maybe the yoghurt protects the chicken from burning in the tandoor?
In which case the majority of us are using a domestic cooker grill so we don't need it?
Just a thought.
Phil

easy way of testing if tandoor is hot enough- throw a pice of zinc in-it has a melting point of around 420c, which is about right temp for a tandoor.
phil

The reason I think a proper tandoor get so hot is that it works the same way as a jet engine- the base where the charcoal is is wider than the neck- the heated air moves up the tandoor and accelerates, this causes a draw on the coals an the bottom and a superheating effect- hence it just gets hotter and hotter (400-500c).
Combine with this the radiant effect of the clay and bricks.
If you google how a jet engine works and imagine it stood on its end- the similarities are striking.
I may write to Richard branson and suggest he straps Tandoors to the wings of his planes.
Phil