Is this a charcoal tandoor or a gas one?

I have these "coals", that I never take out, in my gas tandoor
They heat up with the flames, along with the clay walls
I never have to clean them
Any dirt just burns off

My gas tandoor takes an hour and a half to heat up properly

Maybe I misunderstood and you mean clean the actual insides of the tandoor
If you do, then I use a damp cloth to clean any soot of the walls
When you properly fire it up, a lot of dirt will burn away
It will be sterilised even if it looks a bit mucky

I would leave that heating for a couple of hours, it is a bit black, isn't it?

Yes, I did
They were quite impressed with my efforts
They cooked with it, but unfortunately they used their own reclaimed oil and precooked ingredients.
So although the curry tasted great, I couldn't tell what part my base played in it

I always buy onions from the Asian shops
I normally buy the 4kg bag and that's about ?2
If I buy the bigger bags, they are better value, but they sprout before I finish them all

I've been down this road so many times.
Like you two, I've bought (or been given) base gravy
And it's nothing like we can make at home
It has a more "rounded" flavour
There is a smell to it, and yes, an extra taste which is "I have no idea what"

I have spent days trying to match my gravy with theirs
My gravies looked the same, and contained many of the charactaristics of the original
But a dead match?
No way

I still believe the difference, is the oil they use in the base
After all our collective experience, it is truly amazing there is anything unknown
But there is
And it's the most important thing
If you haven't got the base right, the curry won't taste right

Only once did I get what I wanted
That was using old oil from a kebab shop, and copying a base recipe I had watched at a takeaway.
That particular takeaway used old oil too
The oil on it's own had very little character about it
But as soon as it was added to the boiling onions:-
Wow!
Instant BIR aroma
Just like the takeaway bag smells
or the aroma that fill your car, as you drive home with it

Quote from: Secret Santa on April 22, 2014, 08:58 PM
we're seeing a huge rift between one person's expectations and experience of BIR curries and another's.

I think that statement hits the nail squarely on the head
I liked Chewy's madras, but it's not what I buy round here

Quote from: namtin on April 22, 2014, 05:58 PM
Thanks lads I think I'll get it, is the Madras as good as Chewtikkas in your opinion? And do you think it really makes much difference using a different base? I use Curry2Go's one and did with Chewys Madras + his Mix powder

If we are talking about the glasgow recipes, I prefer this to Chewys
But you MUST use the glasgow base
It won't taste the same if you don't
You can mix & match recipes, but what you get will be something new
The main flavour of the glasgow madras recipe, comes from the base

I wanted the Chris Book so much
I would have bought it half finished, quarter finished or whatever (I still would, as long as it gave the missing base ingredient)
I don't think it will ever come out
And I am really saddened, by that thought
Something is wrong, somewhere along the line
It would be out by now
It's a pdf so he could give any added info, with a new emailed pdf, like Alex Wilkie did

he finished posting years ago
I don't think anyone knows what happened to him
I wonder if he died

He had such an interest in showing people his cooking
Even if he lost his current job, I think he would have still answered youtube questions

All these places are the same, and it is a VERY messy business
Splashes of sauce & oil everywhere

Just watch this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4CtjLCL9Ok
how many times is the pan stirred?
Hardly at all
This technique gives an awful lot of the BIR flavour
That, a simple base and the correct frying pan