Chris that stuff in a jar isn't good due to the preservatives. Go for frozen blocks with nothing added (as Chewytikka has directed you too). Good luck in the kitchen

Hi haldi

Have you ever thought of asking the takeaway if you can buy some of their spicy oil? Then you could test your hypothesis by seeing what effect it has on your home cooked efforts.

Ali is still there as pabda20. Recipe repo appear to be content thieves.

Good grief  :

Thanks chewy. When you run that into the ground the asda "professional" DF300 fryer at

Quote from: chewytikka on August 31, 2013, 11:39 AM
Hi NJ
I just use a cheap deep fat fryer, don't trust the temp gauge, where it says 160, I go for 180.

Up to temp - chips in, close lid, to trap the moisture. Leave as is and cook for 4mins.
Lift basket out of oil, shake, chips should have a bit colour, but be still hard.

Important bit - leave the basket on the rest above the oil and cover with the half closed lid
I usually use a dishcloth as a weight, to keep the hinged lid half closed.

Let the chips sit there and soften for 5mins or until your finishing up cooking your curry.

To finish, chips back in, no lid this time, cook in the hot oil for 3mins or until the chips start to
brown and crisp and importantly all float on the top of the oil.

You will know there good by the look of them, or just test one by squeezing it between finger and thumb.

N.B. The final 3min cooking needs your attention, many times I've been distracted and gone back to a basket of
completely browned chips, which is not good.

cheers Chewy

Thanks chewy, being able to cook good chips from potatoes is one of those valuable but elusive skills which sometimes does elude me. I've had good results with potatoes microwaved for 6 mins then rested for 2 mins and sliced into wedges, then deep fried for 4 mins on 180 or so, but very variable according to the type of spud (which varies so much from the supermarket, even for identically marked bags).

But can I clarify - when you said "where it says 160, I go for 180." Does that mean you are setting the thermostat on your fryer to 160 but you actually think it's probably heating the oil to 180 C, or vice versa? Also, you're starting with peeled and sliced potatoes with no pre soaking, patting dry, etc? And both fryings are carried out at the same temp.?

There are many website and YouTube videos claiming a definitive method to cook "the perfect chip" but I've had disappointing results with most.

How does your base taste? Should be quite mild but I'm wondering if you have over spiced it and thus the flavour from the base dominates whatever spicing you add to each dish?

What kind of frying temps and durations did you use for the chips chewy, or was it a bit less scientific than that? Also how long do you wait between fryings?

It's just they look spot on so I assume you have your technique down

Nice looking curry there chewy but also nice chips, were they from the chippy or have you mastered the black arts of the double fried chip at home? Biggest problem I have is finding the right variety of potato as the results of home made chips seem so influenced by the spud itself.

I really really rate this recipe - today I polished off one of my frozen portions from when I made a batch in early July, served over chips with some nice grated cheese on top. Lovely grub!