Bobby

I was telling my mate, who lives in Costorphine, about your review (it was he and I who went to Mother India which I have reviewed). He said he hasn't has a curry there for a couple of years because he has has mixed experiences there. However your review is more recent so maybe it has picked up?

the best on the web buddy

Hey big mama you'll find lots of great recipes here

Hi there enjoy the ride into curry oblivion

Jamesie welcome to curry nirvana and to Scotland also!!!

(PS are they not the same thing ha ha)

The motto is:

If you need to act in haste
Put together a little paste
Of curry powder in water
You really know you oughta

But never hurry
A slurry
When making a
Special curry

Take care assembling your spices
To make your curry the nicest

by the bard William William Topaz McGonagall on the final visit to his favourite curryhouse The Raj Mahal, circa 1902

Does it compete with one made from scratch or is it a case of speed before taste?

Hi wriggler

Avoid the supermarkets at all cost unless you are happy to pay through the roof for your spices. I go to my local Asian grocer and by all my spices there. Brands like Rajah and TRS will give you excellent results.

If you want to be a bit more adventurous buy your spices whole, e.g. coriander and cumin seeds. Gently roast them in a dry frying pan or medium oven until they begin to darken and give off their aroma. Invest in an electric coffee grinder and grind them when cool - you can make your own garam masala, curry powder and tandoori masala that way.

Incindently if you buy your chillis, onions, garlic and ginger from your Asian grocer you will save a lot of money as well.

The great thing about dried fenugreek leaves is also that if you get them from your local Asian grocer they are dirt cheap!!

Yes Santa it does sound a bit like the old thali idea. I know that Ashoka have used the tapas idea before but theirs is the usual variations on BIR dishes. Some of the dishes are served wrapped in tinfoil, e.g. our prawn dish and I suspect it was some raw prawns, a few spices and a bit of garlic/ginger/onion paste. The chicken dishes could well be variations on the BIR cooking style, the main difference I would say is that none of the dishes were smothered in sauce, they were more like "home style" curries, i.e. more dry with a bit of sauce clinging to each piece of meat.