Hi Livo I'm glad you've also had the Kushi "epiphany". I have also found that the pre-cooked meat means you have lots of left over sauce. I've tried adding all the sauce to the end dish and tried adding just a little with mixed results...What I tend to do nowadays is make half the recommend amount of sauce proportionate to however much meat in grams/kilos you are using and cook it slowly in an open pan until it reduces right down to a thick sauce. That way you literally have just enough juice to coat the meat which is enough to add extra flavour to the dish without adding too much liquid which dilutes the finished dish. And obviously you don't end up with all that waste.

PS. I take it you've not long been using the Kushi recipes. Do you think they get you closer to the goal than most?

Is this what your after or is this something different? http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=54wIreqDJ70

 "No BIR juice is usually a bad omen."

That's tickled me. You should have that as your new signature Bob.

Nice ,I'll add it to the list. Cheers

Looks fantastic Andy. What jhalfrezi recipe is that? I'm doing a few different dishes tonight for a bit of a taster session for the family. Balti, korma ,your madras for the first time, dhansak, curry hell samosas...I might make this obviously without the reaper etc.

I tried Spanish last time. They were alright but not as good as Dutch. Maybe they're too mild. Cool, glad I've whetted your appetite. Good luck with your search. I might have to do a kushi balti this weekend just to make sure it's still as good as ever and that I'm not exaggerating. ;-)

All the best

Yes sorry Sir Garp insisted I spilled further beans on a throwaway remark I made on a different thread entirely. I didn't actually mean to start a whole new topic I'm surprised anyone was even bothered...

And a Dutch onion is a cheap onion. Go to an Asian grocer and you'll get a 25kg sack for ?4 or ?5. Or as I normally buy 4kg for ?1.49. Look for them in orange mesh sacks. Try them and compare. Maybe Indian chefs simply don't realise they make a difference. They just buy them because that's what their suppliers happen to sell. I think they do personally. I'd never use anything else now. Ask anything you like on the kushi book but I think the best place to start is to order a copy.

Nothing at all Andy!

Just to clarify make the base as you would normally. About the consistency of Heinz tomato soup. You may even need more than the 1050ml to achieve this. It's when you add it to the pan to make the finished curry use double what it says (two ladles) that I reduce it right down.

The varieties of onions Dutch growers use and indeed Spanish are milder, perhaps sweeter and less harsh than English and make a better curry. It is no coincidence that the place I buy my spices and onions from City Spices on Lye High Street near Stourbridge (aka balti mile) is also used by all the local TA owners. They are the same onions they use. When in Rome as they say...

Ok put it this way. There is no ingredient or technique you've never already heard of but somehow the kushi book works for me with one or two quirks. Do the basic balti recipe, use only Dutch onions (key) make the baghaar as prescribed to add to the base as opposed to "chuck it all in and boil". (Key) Singe the kushi spice in the pan until they just start to burn your sinuses before adding the tomato etc (key). I also find you need to double the amount of base as prescribed in the  book and reduce right down on full flame to quite a thick "scoopable with a naan" consistency. Other than that the pre cooked chicken seems to contain more garlic and ginger than most recipes (I find you have to add all the pre cooked chicken sauce to get the taste). And the flavours from the spice bag with Indian bay and mace etc is apparent when you taste the base. I can't tell you for sure why this recipe has that bit extra over others but it for me it does. I suspect it's due to the above (key) parts. When I tried it for the first time and when I've made it ever since (it wasn't a one off fluke) I thought that's it, search over. Of course Garp not everyone sings it's praises so it might be just me... If you're really that interested try it. It's got a lovely texture, real depth of flavour and it's really moreish and exactly like my local TA. I mentioned it on here ages ago but since everyone was trying to replicate Adils etc I felt it was dismissed so I thought b*****s then! Lol ;-)