Hi Stephen. I've been growing chillies for around 10 years now and used to start sowing my seeds around March-time. The problem with that was that, with the low cloud base enjoyed (?!) here in the shadow of the Campsies, strong sunshine isn't always guaranteed. The short growing season (Mar-Sep) doesn't allow the hotter chillies such as Scotch Bonnets, Habaneros etc. to thrive long enough to provide a decent crop.

I've found, in recent years, that sowing indoors in mid-January gives the seedlings a better run at it and, with the growing season extending (for me anyway) into November over the past couple of years, allows for 3 or more good crops from the same plant. I start my seedlings off in a seed tray filled with John Innes seed compost and covered with a clear propagator cover. They are kept the windowsill of a warm, east-facing room and remain there, after potting up, throughout the season.

I can only speak for my own experience, of course, and sunnier parts of Scotland will undoubtedly fare better.

Quote from: Naga on November 21, 2012, 07:17 AM...I get Tesco frozen chicken breast at GBP3.99/kilo...

Well, good old Tesco hiked the price of frozen chicken breast from

Quote from: Sainty62 on January 24, 2013, 12:53 PM
I'm just starting out in the Chilli growing from seeds but have grown plants before, when's the best time to plant seeds? I'll be growing them indoors

Get them into a propagator now, mate! Nothing fancy needed - just a covered tray full of seed compost kept on a windowsill in a warm room. Prick the seedlings out to small pots once the seed leaves are fully developed and you'll be well on your way.

I sowed the seeds from 3 dried Kashmiri chillies on the 14th of this month and I've already got a number of small, inch-long seedlings showing. I love it when a plan comes together!

Quote from: meggeth on January 24, 2013, 08:58 AM...Did you have platforms to go with that? 

I will admit only to spending my adolescence in an era when long hair and platforms were de rigueur...

Oh! And the "V" was due to the influence of Andy Powell and Wishbone Ash, may their music last forever!

Just sold my Gibson Les Paul Standard, but still have my Marshall amps and other sound gear. I'll probably pickup (geddit?) a Fender Tele once I've finished restoring my K100RT bike (which I haven't even started yet!). I've always had Gibsons - Flying-V, SG Standard and Les Paul - but the only Fender I've owned was a blonde Jazz bass, so a Tele will be a bit of a change for me.

I'm getting by with my Epiphone PR5E-SV electro-acoustic and my Epiphone Dove acoustic for now.

Quote from: Axe on January 23, 2013, 11:27 AM...Let us know how your dilemma pans out. 

The Stroganoff won!

Flambeed with brandy




Done Cooking



Plated Up





Looks suspiciously like a peely-wally Chasni in the photos as the moby camera failed to pick up the smoked paprika's deep, rich red colour , but it was delicious nevertheless!

Axe, you're tempting me towards making another curry for dinner tonight with your talk of restaurant dishes! Chicken stroganoff was on the menu for tonight, but I'm starting to weaken!

Quote from: RubyDoo on January 23, 2013, 10:45 AM...Thanks for that. However, just spotted in the link etc that he uses ( optional ) sugar in the rice and not just a little bit either!!!!  Never heard of this one. Sweet rice?    and 6 tbs ghee is not exactly minimal either 

The link leads to his full method for pilau rice. I was just quoting the parts pertinent to making plain boiled basmati rice.

As I said, I DO make his pilau rice too, but I roll back on the sugar. If you look at CA's recipes, you'll see from the ingredients lists that he has a bit of a sweet tooth. I'm sure he wouldn't be offended by that inference as it's been mentioned previously, but I prefer to reduce, if not completely eliminate, the sugar from his otherwise excellent recipes.

Thanks for your positive comments, lads. As I said, it's a recipe that I really enjoy, and the absence of additional chilli makes it a favourite with my good lady wife too. That's not to say that I DIDN'T add a generous helping of chilli jam towards the end of the cooking time as my other half was having something else for dinner both nights.

I think it worked very well considering that it might have been unbalanced by the use of some non-Ashoka ingredients, and the additional of the Zaal red masala sauce definitely lifted what was already a good recipe to another level.

Re the thick sauce, Axe: I do like a thicker sauce myself, and it took a bit of cooking down on my puny standard gas stove between the 450ml base gravy, the bunjarra and the Zaal red sauce! Still, I managed 2 mega-curries out of the pan, so it was well worth it to reduce the gravy.

Quote from: RubyDoo on January 23, 2013, 07:54 AMLooks good. V. Good.
What rice 'method' do you use?

Hi RD. I've used the absorption method for nearly 40 years and it was only when I made CA's Perfect Pilau Rice that I realised I'd been wasting my time and energy on an inferior technique! Well, his method for plain, boiled basmati rice works for me, anyway, and I also use the full method for my pilau rice.

With apologies to CA for tinkering with his words, this is the boiled-down (ouch!) version of his method which I use. It makes 2/3 generous servings.

Ingredients

1 half-pint/240ml mug of basmati rice
1 tsp salt
Approx. 2 litres of water

Method

1. Put the rice in a sieve and thoroughly rinse in cold running water.
2. Leave rice, for at least five minutes, to drain and for the grains to elongate.
3. Bring the water to boil in a large saucepan.
3. Add the rice, cover the pan, and bring back to the boil.
4. Remove the lid and stir to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
5. Cook the rice on a rolling boil for 5 minutes or so (exactly 5 minutes works for me).
6. Drain the rice well in a sieve and serve.

Gives perfect fluffy rice every time and freezes and microwaves well.