Hi there,  Thats just a few miles up the road from me.  I have heard lots of good reports about the Zari, in fact my daughter was in there only a couple of weeks ago.  Did you actually go into their kitchens for a demo?  Can you give us details of your demo if you had one and yes I certainly would be interested in hearing all about your madras/vindaloo recipe that you have.  Look forward to your post. CQ

Welcome to both of you and I'm sure you're going to have a great time on the forum.  AT LAST some more ladies!!!!  curryqueen

Hi Haldi

They look great and good enough to eat!  All you need to do now is put a sign outside and you'll have loads of punters queing outside your garage.  CQ

Now that's a thought Graeme.  I did initially think about it and then decided that all, but Tikka Masalla which was made on the programme, are not British.  On the other hand it doesn't have to be Indian does it?  What about you, have you got any wonderful inventions of your own tucked up your sleeve then?  CQ

Yes I do have a large gas Smeg cooker, ordinary rings on it but also has a larger ring for chinese cooking and another long one for a fish kettle for a large cast iron griddle to go on.  I get quite a high heat on my large ring.  CQ

Hi Haldi,

My other half is a gas technician and says that if the restaurants flames on the gas ring were yellow it means that the gas ring would need cleaning and was blocked, hence its burning neat gas and there is no air mixture.  CQ

I think you'll find that it is a dessicated coconut chutney, Monsoon our local bir here serves it up with poppadums.  CQ

Quote from: Secret Santa on October 19, 2007, 06:35 PM
I always reclaim the oil off the base after it has been cooked for a good while, I then use that to make my curries with and I mix it with the oil recovered from previously cooked curries themselves, it really carries the extra flavours through to the final dish. Out of interest, I noticed on one of those "can you beat the local takeaway" type programs that the BIR chef ladled in oil to make the curry with from a fairly large pot of red coloured oil and it was just the colour of the oil I usually recover from my base sauces.

This is the method I have used for over 20 years now reclaiming the oil from the base and then the final dish when it's made.  This method of reclaiming the oil and re-using it when starting a dish came from a bir in Brighton.  It is the closest I have ever got to replicating a bir curry and in a lot of cases I have been told that what I cook (curry wise) is better than a lot of takeaways.  If you keep your oil in the fridge it should keep okay until you make a new base up, I have never had any problems by reclaiming and using it again in the 20 years or more I have been doing it.  CQ

I've got 2 massala dubbas, stainless steel tins with small s/steel dishes inside to keep my spices in.  I have also got a lovely wooden round spice tower which has ceramic drawers in to keep them. Both of which are excellent for storing as the massals dubbas have s/steel lids to keep spices in the dark and of course the ceraminc drawers also are in the dark when closed. CQ

Hi The Lantana,

Did you use the reclaimed oil when you made the Jalfrezi and Bhuna?   I have been using reclaimed oil for over 20 years now and get results that replicate restaurant dishes all of the time.  Thats what gives a dish that smokey smell/aroma.  CQ