Sounds awesome, hurry up and wake up and post! I'm very interested in hearing where you think the differences were between how you cook a curry and how they do. Getting to cook your own there must have been really helpful.

What an amazing evening you must have had. We are all incredibly jealous.

Hi Moonster

I'm glad you liked them and pleased you managed to get the aniseeds. You are right they are tough to find but a bag will last a long time. They are well worth hunting down for the essential extra dimension they give to the flavour.

It was interesting to hear your tweaks too, I'll try them with Razors spice mix next time.

Chris

Ideally, but it doesn't matter if it runs over a bit. I might try and get mine done this weekend as we are away the week after.

I agree with Russell, that would be great to know.

Also, keep an eye on the time it takes to cook a curry. It can be very deceptive in a busy kitchen. It would also be good to note how much the garlic / ginger is cooked before the base goes in. Is it raw, light brown, dark brown e.t.c.

Have loads of fun, I'm sure they will regret asking you in by the end of it

It's a good point but I was working on the assumption you would only have the pan a quarter to a third full. The bhajis only just need to be covered with oil and they float anyway so any more oil would be a waste.

I should have mentioned that on my post above - sorry if there was any confusion.

I use a saucepan and a sugar thermometer. You are only cooking at low oil temperatures so there is no danger of it igniting. Just make sure your hob has nice big sturdy stands on it (assuming it is gas). You wouldn't want it to tip over mid cook. What a waste of good onion!

"Symptoms of indigestion associated with excess stomach acid that can follow a spicy or greasy meal or large intakes of alcohol include bloating, flatulence, and heartburn.

Bloating is a feeling of fullness after a meal that actually feels uncomfortable and may be quite long lived.

Flatulence is the passing on wind after it collects in the stomach, it is caused by excess stomach acid reacting with the contents of the stomach to produce gasses, mainly carbon dioxide."

I'd say curry qualifies as greasy and spicy, plus it is usually accompanied with a large intake of alcahol. No wonder it has those effects. Did you have a lot of alcohol that evening (more than usual?), was there a lot of oil separation in the curry?

How about we make a list of 5 or 6 Madras recipes then look at which ones require a specific base and compare the ingredients in them. Some of them say any base can be used. It would also be good to try and pick out the ones with different methods. The ones I have tried have all been fairly similar and simple: fry g/g paste, add tom puree, spice mix, chilli powder, methi leaves and sometimes lemon dressing, cook spices for a couple of mins before adding base, sprinkle with fresh coriander to finish. I think we'll be hard pressed to find 5 different recipes on the site.

Yes to the letter, and yes to the optional ingredients.

I know what you mean about dips, he was clearly in a hurry but we should try to make them the same size as he suggests.

Okay I had a thought on this, it would be good to get some feedback from others.

How about each judge makes a different base to test the 5 curries. This would mean each dish would be cooked once with the intended base, and 4 times with 4 different bases. It means each judge only has to make one batch to create all 5 curries and the results will help either confirm or discredit the theory that a curry needs to have it's matching base.