Hello again Ian, Re. BE base : Definitely NOT a whole  tin of tomatoes, I imagine your sauce was really thick if that's what you used. The chillis may or may or may not do something for the flavour, treat them as optional. I suggest you reduce the quantity of carrots. The ajowan can really add depth to the sauce, but halve the quantity if you use it. Beware lemons in curry sauces! Use
only the thick skinned variety, sparingly,otherwise they have a nasty habit of neutralising flavours.

                                                          Good luck, Dave.

  Hi Ian,
           Re. BE's curries - when these articles were published there were still loads of BIR's that sold curries that were just as
           spicey and rich, many more so. How things have changed. The last time I had a meal at a BIR, my vindaloo + extra sauce
           would have made a pleasant enough casserole, just a hint  of cumin and chilli, but curry it wasn't. I recently had a take-           away from another local, vindaloo again. The sauce would have been fine with pasta - tomato, herbs, and the merest
           hint of chilli, but curry? Vindaloo? No way. Both of these were from popular restaurants. They are always busy, so have
           no reason to change. So is the writing on the wall for the BIR curry as we know it?
             

       
         

    Hi George,

                It was more history than cookery. Very basic stuff - 'They use the same sauce for everything' . And one particularly irritating restaurant critic. But nothing of any use to a curry enthusiast.
                Regards,

                               Dave.

    Having heard the whole thing [yesterday & today] I wouldn't bother.

    Hello Ray,
                 It was available from some Asian shops until the late nineties, but it seems restaurants dropped it earlier because frying it was the best method of cooking, and it gave the oil a very strong flavour.
                 The ban was for hygiene reasons , but mainly because some idiot in Brussels thought it was a form of poultry and didn't think to research the matter first. Oh well.
                  Dave.

    The EU ban on this wonderful starter/accompaniment was supposedly lifted about 2 years ago. I would travel a long way just to taste it again, but is it available ANYWHERE ? ? Maybe if people start asking for it in restaurants, it will reappear .I wonder how many of today's restaurant customers even remember it . Let's try and get it back on the menu.
                        Dave.

    That's right, no oil. Just the gee the nan is brushed with after cooking.

Hi Pete,
          Did the pre cooked mixed veg's look as though they had been cooked with spices, were they coloured / crusted / coated , or did they look as though they had just been boiled ?The same goes for the meat when you have seen it done with that, spiced or just boiled?
          I'm asking because it is my belief that the main ingredient is responsible for a lot of the flavour,the curry gravy providing the background.
                 Dave.

    I don't use egg in nan, but a chef once told me he used one egg in a large batch of dough. My dough recipe is easy -
              1lb self raising flour [ yes it really works]
               2 tsp salt
               1 - 2 tbsp sugar,
               1/2 pt water
                2 tsp kalonji

                Makes 4 good sized nan.

    Keema stuffing -  minced lamb [must be lamb]
                            plenty of crushed and chopped ginger and garlic
                            chopped coriander
                            light spicing
                            salt

                  Neally forgot, brush nan with melted gee or butter when cooked 

   Hi there, my first post, so here goes.
             I get excellent results using a tarva, it didn't occur to me that anyone else would be doing the same, or even be interested. Secret is to get the tarva REALLY HOT, slap the nan on, and put the whole thing under a really hot grill. It's done when the first brown spots appear. Nan should be thin, stretch it by hand until no more than 1/8 inch thick, a bit thicker at the edges. Uneven is best. If everything is right, it will start to bubble within seconds.
             Fresh made keema nan tastes spectular! Use about 3 oz of seek kebab for 4 oz of dough. Just fold it in, make a ball,roll out flat and stretch by hand.