I had a Balti madras and naan bread last night from the local takeaway, it was nice, different to mine, but only slightly, the main differences i noticed were the use of fresh tomatoes, a lot more salt than i use, and the naan bread had a lot more sugar in it than my recipe, also they pre-cook there chicken in a stock containing garlic/ginger/coriander and fenugreek(from what i can tell) and is very nice.
Other than that, i make a better balti than the local takeaway does.
Mine packs more flavour, it tastes more like the authentic bir taste i remember from years back, and is healthier, ie, less salt.
Ive also been trying different base sauce recipes to the one i usually use out of 100 best balti curries. And im switching back, personally i prefer it, its a closer result for me.
I am going to meet the owner of the local takeaway tonight, he's told me he'll come to my home and show me how to cook several different meals. Im seriously looking forward to it.
Although other than pre-cooking the chicken i honestly dont think there's anything in the way of a Balti he can teach me, its been a long road for me and ive learned just about all there is to know about my tastes .
BUT, i am genuinely looking forward to finding out how to make other Curries, i dont know what yet but ill find out , and look forward to the learning experiance.
Time and again on this site ive seen people say, and im one of them, that they are dissapointed with the meals they go out and pay for, and that they/we can do better.
I think personally weve set our sights too high.
The best Balti i have eaten in the last 10 years is one i cooked at home 2 weeks ago.
Again its a personal taste. But its there for me.
Now for the rest of the currie menu:)

Ive got to admit, the first Indian takeaway i can remember was a bog-standard chicken curry, complete with a couple of bay leaves floating on the top ;D . I do like them and it would make a change from grinding up half a dozen spice mixes and caramelising onions, to just make a simple curry.
I just have a question or two.
Would it be better for everyone to stick to the same base and go from there?
Or
Do we make it a personal choice thing, where we all do our own thing and go from there?
If its the latter then i agree we will all profit from our own efforts, but for posting results we'll not get anywhere, we all have different ideas/tastes and it will turn into just another ongoing rant by all as to who has the best recipe rofl.
Its a shame there's not a universal taste translator we could download lol

Blimey i dont know if im capable of cooking a bog-standard curry, the temptation to add other ingredients is going to be a nightmare to control.
This is going to be difficult.
Even the ingredients for the choice of which base sauce everyone uses is going to have to be stuck to(which i dont think many do) religiously.

I know its a bit of a hassle but i usually place my naan in a dry heavy frying pan and cook the one side then throw it straight under the grill to finish the top off.
It turns out pretty close to a proper tandoor jobbie.
Mind you i use yeast in my dough so when it goes under the grill it rises as its cooking, sometimes i have to lower the grillpan to stop it burning.
But it does end up nice and doughy in the middle, ideal for the juices.
Ill post the recipe if anyones interested.

Jen and i had this last night, bloody good recipe and i'll be making it again, i couldn't have told the difference between this and the stuff from a restaurant.
I am going to use a little less salt next time and maybe cut down on the Chilli.
But all in all excellent.

Might have been glasgow, could have been campbells tomato soup

The story behind Chicken Tikka Masala was a bloke in london years ago loved his local restaurants Chicken Tikka but one night told the chef that it was a shame it was so dry and would be nice with some sauce.
The chef being an accomodating man said he'd see what he could do, went into the kitchen, looked around and found a tin of Heinz tomato soup.
This he threw in a pan along with some spices and voulla, Chicken Tikka Masala.

It could always be poppy seeds, they're apparently quite addictive. Also they're used in indian cookery.

Fresh Methi/fenugreek leaves can be bought from spicesofindia but are only despatched on a tuesday(as thats when they get them in).
I usually put my spice orders in for a tuesday and add my fresh methi/curry leaves to it that way when they turn up on a wednesday they are perfectly fresh. Its cool too as they come still attached to the branches/sticks/stems/whatever.

I usually take mine and bung em straight in resealable freezer bags in the freezer.
When you need a few Curry leaves of a handful of fresh Methi leaves you just pinch off what you need and in 5 mins they're fresh again.

Also if you need dried curry leaves for a recipe just take the fresh ones out of the freezer and dry them slowly in a frying pan, takes about 3 mins from frozen, and they taste a lot better than pre-bought dried Curry leaves(which incidentally taste of nothing).
Another quick thing, Fresh Methi leaves take a bit longer cooking than dried to release their flavour.
Both types of leaf can be frozen for about 3 months.

Peter<<<<<<<<<<<<Brummie till i die! ;D