"farmers markets" seem very trendy and popular, we even had one in the old assembly hall of the school where i work (i'm the it tech there), but no bargains to be had sadly, maybe just the ones i've looked round but the prices are very high in comparison and seem to appeal to the well heeled and organic/eco folk - reassuringly expensive, as the makers of Stella Artois used to say...

try my sauce as an alternative one day, regional variations and all that, see if you like it... 

Great idea, long drives aren't a problem for a hobby - you're conversing with a man who did a 90-mile round trip attempting to source Kashmiri Masala paste, ended up ordering online and paying

Hiya, I'm Fochabers in Moray, Scotland (famous for Baxters soup, and that Ken Bruce sometimes mentions on his Radio 2 show http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fochabers), nearest Makro is in Aberdeen, but next time I'm through that way I'll definately stock up if they have any (hope my card is still valid!) - thanks for the tip 

As you all know a penny saved is a penny earned in business, and I'm sure an indian restaurant is no exception.  Long ago as a naive 17 year old I worked in one of the big supermarket chains and was always intrigued by the number of people of Chinese origin who stocked up on special-offer frozen chips and such like, figuring (probably wrongly) that they may be running takeaways to need that many and that they knew a bargain when they saw one.

Anyway, to the point... to my palette the supermarket frozen beef is definately not as tender as the even the cheapest equivalent fresh variety, but is it worth the not-insignificant extra outlay when the local BIR probably don't bother?

Maybe I'm missing a trick and side-stepping my "local friendly butcher", perhaps wrongly assuming that they are naturally more expensive?  I can't find fresh or frozen lamb at any sensible price in the supermarkets (Asda/Tesco/Sainsburys - no Waitrose up here!)

Your thoughts please...

After all the warnings about "for external use only" I found "Uncle Roy's Spicy Mustard Seed Oil" in my local (non-indian) deli shop....

http://www.uncleroys.co.uk/Mustard_Seed_Oils.htm

Only made C2G "magic" (masala) sauce with it yet, looking forward to pre-cooking some meat with it to see if it makes a difference.

The C2G/Undercover Curry method seems to work well...

Soak your bulbs or cloves in water at least 10-15 mins, when you've got your cloves seperated then chop the "woody" bit off the end off each one, and pull at the stringy bit at the other end - the skin just falls off (usually, ymmv!).   

Don't know how much time this really saves, but it's less fiddly than trying to do them dry (I used to squash them with the flat end of the knife so the skin breaks and then peel)

Even with the water method your hands will keep the vampires away, but I was intrigued by this little gadget

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Get-It-Bought-Stainless-Steel/dp/B007PMGLHC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1340742224&sr=8-5

Has anyone got a stainless steel bar of soap and does it really get rid of the garlic smell?

i thought it was a post by heston blumenthal as practically every recipe he does on tv involves dry ice to some extent or another ;D

good to see it has a practical use too... i wonder if i can "borrow" some from the chemistry lab at school  :-X

Quote from: stephenperry on June 24, 2012, 03:11 AM
I've never strayed far from Lamb or Beef Madras/Vindaloo/Phall (prefer lamb where available - some BIRs won't do lamb but will do beef  i thought the cow was the sacred animal, shows my ignorance)

At home I'm still trying to emulate the local BIRs madras as a starting point (thanks to input from various books as c2g, undercover curry, kd, pat chapman i think i'm almost there with the consistency and overall taste, but a significant liquourice/coriander aftertaste still eludes -  already using fresh coriander, tried dried coriander leaf, fennel powder and seeds, and tamarind paste, none quite get "that" taste - ground star anise and/or jarred pataks mango and chilli pickles are next on the to-try list) but almost exclusively using beef because lamb is dearer (cue the joke about venison...) :

the more direct answers...

1.  lamb madras
2.  lamb madras

substitute the ? with 0.5