Wow Livo, Christmas did come early!  Looks a very nice piece of kit.  I loved our simple smoker down in the Carolina's but after we moved north, we got this baby.


Digital temperature control, uses wood chips, no bagged charcoal to mess about with.
Results so far with chillies, pork butt, salmon have been great. Going to leave it outside this winter and try my hand at low temperature cheese smoking.

I'll ask the missis if she has a documented recipe for her smoked brisket and report back.
Looking forward to your pics Livo...

Robbo

Wow, he roasts those whole spices way longer and hotter than I do.  I'm clearly under-doing mine, so will have to try that.  I've never grown Kashmiri chillies. I wonder if I can get seeds here. Something to check.

Robbo

I'm sure some of you will have seen Latif's Inspired YouTube channel.  This week I made one of his 'One Pot' curries, where no base gravy is needed. Just for a change.
https://youtu.be/-GR7ElV5WeE

I made a slight variation, as was cooking for the missis too - leaving out the chilli powder, adding a single dried red chilli and added 2 tsp of the excellent balti paste shared by our man Livo. 

https://www.kidspot.com.au/kitchen/recipes/balti-paste-scratch/n805h9rv

Also to finish, added 1 tsp mango chutney.  It made for an excellent curry. Not BIR by any means, but very, very tasty.

Latif has a few dishes on his channel using this method.  Nothing particularly new about it, we've all seen more traditional curries where onions are cooked down, but I have to say, this worked well for me.
Interestingly, he seems to use the same spice mix across different dishes, varying only the chilli powder.

2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
x tsp chilli powder

He also adds the kasuri methi and garam masala near the end. Not sure of the significance.

The vindaloo will be my next cook.

This is well worth a bash if you're out of Mick's base.

Robbo

Hey thanks Ghoulie, sorry for the delay, missed your post while traveling.
I will definitely give her a look up.  My birthday this week, so will be treating me and the missis to a local Indian restaurant night out.

Hmm....USA stockist....now there's something I hadn't considered. Maybe when I retire.

Cheers
Robbo

Those look excellent Rob.  I'd always take lamb over chicken but will try both once you get the recipe up. Get a move on, you've retired and I'm jealous!

Robbo

Oh good lord that looks amazing. Nice work Livo.  Smoking is one of my favorite things with meat. Our new digitally controlled smoker allows fine temp control too, so fish and hopefully cheese will get the treatment now the cooler temps are coming.

Robbo

Agreed, it really didn't make any difference, but had to try it.  Still makes for a great base though.

Robbo

On the very infrequent times I get back to the uk, I've occasionally tried such things, be it from Asda or Sainsburys, Morrison etc.  They serve a purpose, no doubt, fast, easy microwave / oven cook, but ultimately for me, never satisfactory.  I've tried a few frozen and refrigerated versions here in the US too but meh.  I'm going to see if we have an option for 'onion masala' in our local Indian grocers, see if I can find a pre-made base gravy.

Robbo

Yeah, yeah go rub it in. Some of us don't live in the UK any more and home made BIR attempts or traditional Indian restaurants are the only option. 😂 OK, not the end of the world, but after 8 years in the US, I miss my old vindaloo more each day.

Robbo

Very satisfying Phil.  I've yet to find a store-bought simmer sauce / curry I'm happy with, so sticking to what I know. For the times I have no base gravy I can always rely on the Instant Pot for a quick 'dump and cook' meal.
Singapore noodles was my go-to lunch on the many times I was in that beautiful little country. Not as often as I ate my absolute favorite Nasi Goreng though...

Robbo