Curry does indeed relieve colds and other nasties, and thank god for it at this time of year. *cough*splutter*? I trust we're all on standby, pans at the ready for this supposedly incoming bird flu??

A little of what you fancy does you good!? There is no bad food, only a bad diet.

I eat whatever I like and, within reason, whenever I like.? ?I wouldn't want to overdo the health thing too much though or I might end up looking like bloody Dr Gillian 'The Quack' McKeith.? A picture of health she is!?

Thanks for the ctm suggestions everyone, and apologies for derailing a korma thread! (I do think the 2 dishes in a restaurant are so similar though).

I'm inclined to think that the ctm sauce could possibly be bought ready made from a supplier due to it being absolutely identical in almost every restaurant, no variations.

Cheers George, I'll have a look around again.  I'm usually quite dismissive of CTM recipes as I've never found one that's anything like the restaurant sauce in any way. Please do share if you've tried one that's close!

Cheers Anthony, that looks very promising!

I wonder if this sauce method can be adapted to produce a restaurant 'tikka masala' sauce, which apart from the deep red food colouring is very similar to a korma sauce but with a little more spice and heat. The masala sauce around here is the same everywhere, very coconutty and fairly sweet.  My daughter is addicted to the stuff!

Any ideas from anyone please?

As per Rays's suggestion I used half the quantity of methi leaves and I still thought it overly-dominated the flavour and aroma - next time I will just use a scant teaspoon instead.  I also thought the paprika was overly dominant too, but the brand I have is a quite expensive spanish one so perhaps it's a stronger flavour than the big plastic bags of 'Rajah' brand paprika, which I will try next time. 

I didn't like the smell of this sauce on it's own, perhaps because of too much methi/paprika. I used it with some chicken tikka, onions, mushrooms, mustard seeds, kalonji seeds (I really like them!), garlic/ginger, green chillies, chlli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, tomato puree and fresh coriander. 

It was very, very yummy but nothing like a restaurant curry at all. Oh well!  The rest of the sauce is in the freezer ready for the next cooking session.  Maybe by then the methi/paprika overtones will have mellowed a bit!

I'd like to have a go at a small diy tandoor oven next summer, I suppose a large clay pot from the garden centre with some lit charcoals in the bottom would do a good enough job for chicken tikka, maybe.

(Pete your nans look great btw!).

I read recently that to 'bhuno' is to add a little sauce, fry till it evaporates, and repeat (as many times as you want), resulting in a thicker, richer final  sauce.  I'm trying to remember where I read this - I must pay more attention! 

I'm going to make this sauce today I think. I have a load of left over chicken tikka that needs using up and this sauce looks really simple and fast.  I'll let you know how I get on!

Thanks again Ray, you're a star.

Quote from: George on October 07, 2005, 02:08 PM


http://www.myleicester.net/leicester/restaurants-reviews-dylans.htm
"the chicken just melts in your mouth"
"This restaurant is quite different fron the old flock wallpapered anglo/bangladeshi type of yesterday. It is a modern restaurant with tasteful and stylish decor. The food is truly indian cuisine with indian not bangladeshi chefs. "

This is another one to avoid at all costs.? True, it started out only a couple of years ago producing some of the best food I've ever, ever had, and was definitely not the standard BIR fare, although it gave a passing nod to the style here and there.? But alas, that ship has sailed.? I wonder which restaurant that chef moved on to, because I wouldn't feed my dog on the last few meals I had there. They've been advertising for staff for months, minimum wage too.

Payal I think you should be heading to the Belgrave Rd area of town for a more authentic meal, it's an almost exclusively asian area.? A lot of places on London Rd seem to cater for drunk students as it's near the university, but I haven't been to all of them.? Belgrave seems a better option.