Thanks guys Anyone would have done the same in that situation and there are thousands in far worse situations that could easily arise for any family. If anyone should find themselves in a similar situation, use the Family Rights Group website....their info and help are invaluable!

A residence order is a court order which allows people to take in children who are at risk/are being neglected by their parents/parents have died - it's not fostering or adoption. We took out a residence order for our little lad who has Noonans Syndrome as his parents were just not able to look after him (mother has Noonans Syndrome and father has fairly severe learning difficulties). We worked alongside the child protection team and it fast became clear that he would be taken into care which I just couldn't bear. Under advice from the social workers, we applied for the residence order. We were told that there would be no financial help whatsoever other than Disability Living Allowance/carer's allowance (at the time we weren't sure just how badly affected our little boy would be, as it turned out, it was quite severely though not quite worst case scenario. We had never heard of the allowance until another family had their successful claim published in the local newspaper...it's taken two years of harrassment to get the allowance in the first place and we were never expecting to have it backdated beyond the date that our claim was actually put in.

There are thousands of people in the same position we were in who have fought through the courts for years and years and social services have treated them incredibly shoddily and many are still battling it out with no end in sight, in that respect we have been very lucky though it's a sad state of affairs...We were lucky enough to have the country's best team of family rights solicitors on our case, others are not so lucky. I know to some it may seem mercenary to chase down financial help but the laws have to be changed, too many families are struggling to raise children which are not theirs and would otherwise be in care at a cost of thousands per week to the taxpayer and yet they receive not a penny.

Sorry for the rant and the long-winded reply lol

As some of you know, we have been battling with the council to get Residence Order Allowance for the past 2 years....well this morning we received a letter from the solicitors telling us that we had won and that the ROA would be backdated to the time our little boy came to live with us in 1999. GERRIN!!!!!!! ;D

Quote from: Razor on June 03, 2010, 12:20 PM
Again, I think this comes down to regional variances.  I agree with your analogy of Madras and Vindaloo, and I would add garlicky to vindaloo, but up here in the dirty north, certainly around Manchester, a Rogan Josh on most menus is described as a medium to hot dish, cooked with fresh spices and peppers in a rich tomato sauce.  I had a Rogan josh, in Kitts Green, nr Brum, a good few years back, and the only tomato I could detect, was a couple of wedges briefly fried before serving, and not really tomatoey at all!

Ray

Agree with everything you've said there, Bezzer. For me, the Bradford based gravy works best for madras and vindaloo but it doesn't fare so well with other dishes. CA's base for me was a really good all-round base -better than all others on the site not only for versatility but taste and texture as well (I left out the green pepper though for personal preference)...up until I tried Razor's base which slightly edges CA's IMO because of the regional difference quotient...it may sound silly but Ray's is just more "northern" or I guess another way to put it is it's just like "mum used to make" - except that it wasn't mum that cooked it lol

What kinda music are you into, Mikka? I'm a music freak...going through a blues phase at the mo lol just can't get enough BB King!! I won the Absolute Radio music quiz a while ago and won a signed guitar that I keep meaning to get around to having a play about with...nearest I get to playing is via the consoles on Guitar Hero lol but I still can't crack the expert mode

I use Axe's seasoned flour with powdered mustard rub, a quick seal and whack it in the oven preheated to the highest temp for 20 minutes then turn the gas down to mark 5 and cook for 20 minutes per pound. The longer you can leave it to stand the better. I usually allow mine to stand for 40 minutes-1 hour whilst I do the taters and yorkies. I also add thick sliced onion and if the meat is not on the bone, I buy some beef ribs to stand the meat on whilst roasting for the gravy and for the flavour it adds to the meat itself...oh and a few sprigs of rosemary too. LUSH!

I used to do something similar before I joined up here, Bez....blitz the onion till it was almost a pulp fry it off till it started going brown round the edge of the pan, in with the G&G cooked out till nice and brown and then in with my spices, then tom puree when I was making curries and chillis (I'd used a few bases and nothing bettered the onion blitz IMO)....I stopped doing it regularly after joining here and started making bases that actually delivered lol

I used an onion paste recipe posted on here ages ago but it was rubbish (I think the recipes gone now) but the memories of that have always put me off trying another.

Forget your deep-fried mars bars...Glasgow goes upmarket ;D


Glasgow restaurant promises a hot date as it puts chocolate curry on the menu


It is the ultimate hot date: a Glasgow Indian restaurant has put a chocolate curry on the menu.

The dish combines two of the most powerful aphrodisiacs known to man - or woman - curry and chocolate.

Restaurant boss Johnnie Ginda has launched the dish in the run-up to Valentine's Day, but it will remain a firm fixture on the all-year menu.

'If you want your date to be really hot you will not fail with this dish,' he said.

The Nakodari is a medium hot king prawn curry that comes complete with a chocolate and strawberry naan bread and costs ?16.95. An accompanying strawberry pakora is also available at ?4.95.

Mr Ginda, 38, has launched the dishes at his new Nakodar Grill in Glasgow's Dennistoun district.

The Nakodari is named after Mr Ginda's home village in the Punjab area of India where it was perfected by his late grandfather and passed down through the generations.

'Only three people now know of this family recipe - myself, my father Bajen and head chef Minto Singh, and he has it in his contract not to reveal its secrets," said Mr Ginda, whose family has been in Scotland for 35 years.

'We believe we are the first restaurant in Britain that offers chocolate curry. We use dark chocolate with 85 per cent cocoa and it cooks up pretty brown but tastes absolutely delicious. Anybody on a hot date will feel the benefits immediately!

'There are two very distinct flavours - chocolate and the curry - and it tastes brilliant,' Mr Ginda said.

The chocolate is combined with ground coriander seeds, garlic, chilli, ginger and other spices.

Chocolate, the 'food of the gods', contains theobromine, a stimulating alkaloid similar to caffeine. Chocolate also helps the brain produce feel-good serotonin - which is believed to put people in an aroused mood.

Dietician Alex Bow, who has travelled the world investigating the sex properties of various foods, recently placed curry as the number one love food.

'Asian mythology refers to "the carnal spices" which are present in most forms of curry,' he said.

Turmeric's main active ingredient, curcumin, even helps loss of libido.

In a study of 1,000 people, researchers from the National University of Singapore found that curcumin may protect brain cells from age-related changes.

Nutmeg also boosts male sex drive, according to research at Aligarh University in India.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242092/Glasgow-restaurant-promises-hot-date-puts-chocolate-curry-menu.html#ixzz0pM42V1i0

Straight in at number ten! : I know it's bad but you'll still be singing it - it's like the Chicken song for curry addicts

The Curry Song - Vindaloo Mix

I'd be careful parboiling chicken then marinading in the fridge for 24 hours, Willy. I would think it better to either marinade raw and freeze or cook all the way through and freeze. Afraid I'd have to err on the side of caution.