A Merry Christmas to everyone on this board and thank you all for making it such an informative one as well. We're soon off on our annual three month travels to Goa to catch up on my cooking skills and to replenish my spice cupboard, so here's to everyone,  A Happy New Year too x

Phil, , as Onions states, purely to eliminate some of the calories in the recipe and personally I hate the texture of the cooked skin. Another factor of this chef's  attraction for me is how he adds water from time to time instead of the usual oil or ghee making for a more healthy curry..

I cooked this recipe from Youtube by Latifs Inspired  last week as this is what I always order when we go for a curry.
I doubled up the quantities so using 10 green chillies (we like it hot) and being careful not to completely double the chilli powder, I used chicken drumsticks and thighs, taking off the skin first. The base I used was his too.

The result was a definite thumbs up from my husband who has declared it his favourite and was even better when left overnight and eaten the following day. I think this chap is doing a great job  by showing us the inside of an actual restaurant and sharing his knowledge with the rest of us. Has anyone else tried his  recipes yet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEPEB8IOlBs

I was just wondering if the leaves that you describe are curry leaves as before now I have fried curry leaves and they have turned a very dark green/black colour, obviously much smaller and a different shape to the Asian bay leaves. Just a thought!

I still log in whenever I want to cook a decent curry, in the past I have printed most of the usual curries off and filed them away but for quickness I tend to come straight over here and look it up again. I love it that all the previous dishes are still on here despite a drop in number of participants and still rate this site as the best online.  I really hope that it goes on and doesn't disappear completely.

' am going to post the ULTIMATE base sauce recipe tomorrow. Watch this space..'

I take it it aint coming so I can stop bating my breath, I presume lol.

Hi Phil
yes, I added 2 pieces of cinnamon sticks, using the actual cinnamon not the cassia bark as the recipe called for "1 tbsp very roughly chopped dagarful or an extra 3cm piece cinnamon stick  and I didn't have a clue what it was. The use of 6 thin green chillies might be a bit much for some people but we like our curries hot so this is just the usual amount for us now. I didn't slice them, I left them whole.

I'll be interested how you rate this if you cook it.

I made this curry last night  and it was lovely, really spicey. It's from Rick Stein's book 'India'
I made a couple of changes and have put a * and my alternative. I also added chillies as we like it quite hot
Try it, it's worth it.

CHICKEN CHETTINAD
.
SERVES 4
For the spice blend
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder

For the chicken
50ml vegetable oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
5cm piece cinnamon bark  *(I USED 2)
1 tbsp very roughly chopped dagarful or an extra 3cm piece cinnamon stick * (I didn't put this in)
150g shallots, diced  *(I USED 2 FINELY CHOPPED ONIIONS) instead

Handful of curry leaves
700g skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 5cm pieces
20g/4 cloves garlic, finely crushed
20g/4cm ginger, finely grated
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
100ml water *(I USED A MADRAS BASE SAUCE)
* 6 GREEN CHILLIES

Boiled basmati rice to serve

RECIPE NOTE
If using dagarful, sort through it and remove and discard any pieces of bark first.

Method
For the spice blend, put the spices in a spice grinder and process to a powder.
For the chicken, heat the oil in a sturdy frying pan or karahi over a medium heat, add the fennel, cinnamon and dagarful and fry for 1 minute. Add the shallots, chillies and curry leaves and fry for 10 minutes until the shallots are softened and golden. Add the chicken and stir around for 1-2 minutes, then stir in the garlic, ginger, sugar, salt and all of the spice blend, and fry for 2 minutes. Add the water, and cook for about 10

Hi, I just came across the blog on the internet and thought it may be of some interest to you here. It's a (I presume) young lady who has put lots of recipes her Mother makes and she's added pictures of the process of the meals too. She's even added a lamb curry for 25 people so if you're catering for a large number it might be of help. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but have a look and see.

http://www.thismuslimgirlbakes.com/search/label/My%20Mums%20Recipes

Honestly, this is a great recipe, I make it all the while for guests and it always turns out lovely. The lady who's recipe book I took it from  uses the concept 'take a classic dish, consider how it is made,  then test, modify and fine tune all the different  possibilities to create the ultimate version. She was told to be prepared to test each recipe not once, not twice but possibly a dozen times, whatever it took to achieve the best.

My tips would be to make sure that the lamb is marinated well and still lovely and tender but still moist after the long simmering in the onions. Lastly, put in the oven just before you are going to use it otherwise if you heat it and then reheat later on, it goes a little dry.

I'll be interested how you get on with it.