Malc,

Appreciate post. Will read up link.

Am well but having a nightmare year trying out too many wish list items and not closing out well.

I'm on the 2 methods and going to have to try both. I've also not ruled out a pit if my time frees up.

Best wishes and pleased your return

Very nice top notch pan that Haldi - well chuffed for you

Not over critical for me.

is simply comparing what i cook against what i eat out and ultimately compare side by side using a take out.

there is no more than a handful of mains that stack up against decent BIR.

comes down to strict record keeping too (so you know what you did last time).

if anything i'd say i'm paranoid on consistency.

i think the 2 types need to be separated out.

there's what i call a hot dog onion - what i use for general cooking - this is hot fried with minimal water and eventually min 30 mins turns dark. i've tried this in base 1 time only and saw no difference.

there is also in the mix - the traditional curry which is not BIR and for sure hot dark caramelized onion is part of the flavour.

the BIR base onion never really losses its water during the cook and does not fry. i was surprised when i cooked base without water ie oil only. the end result from what i can detect is no difference (in terms of the onion) - it looks and tastes the same. i have been getting much sweater base "onion" but as yet not sure if its just down to the longer simmer.

in short i believe frying onion for BIR base is waste of time. using bunjarra is completely different and for me the BIR way.

the other issue to keep in mind is that what is added to base is added to every dish and flexibility at dish frying is needed to ensure every dish dont tast same.

like all in BIR the only way is to try it for yourself and see if it makes a difference.

as said previously this is a tricky subject - the difference i see at dish fry on high heat i feel is partly down to caramelisation and scraping this back into the curry. given this you would think caramelising at the base stage would be of help. its not a step change in practice though. i guess down to the fact that other ingredients are probably more important - the balance and depth of spice.

it remains unresolved for me.

not a strong point spelling

Parker21,
Thinking about the mouchak CTM variant. Remembered chat with local restaurant and taken guess at variant:
4) extra sweet - add mango

cheap latte coffee machine

Thing I miss is a garlic crusher

Infra red thermometer must for pizza and useful generally.

Mini scales ~100g are not bad

Many thanks clarification. Quite different to anything I've seen. The closest being a karahi which is hot fried curry with fried pepper/onion.

The fennel is a key spice. I would grind it and not use too much per portion (quite strong) - say 1/4 tsp per portion best guess.

Sounds top notch BIR

Is it just the chicken on the iron and the curry served in dish.

For my own benefit is the iron griddle called a tarva. My tava is steel which I use for naan and can't see it working like cast iron.

I believe the cast iron ingredients are pre fried and lemon juice sprinkled onto them once on the pre heated iron.

Spectacular dish

I tried frying onion 1 time only too.

Quite a surprise as for none curry I see caramelising as key to taste in any onion based recipe.

I guess in short I rely on bunjarra at dish frying to get an extra lift. 

I've recently not been adding water at all (only oil). I don't really as yet know if this beats the standard method (simmer only) or not. Gut feeling is not

I feel getting the rest of the base right and subsequent steps have bigger impact.

I feel might be wrongly confusing 2 completely different methods or reactions. The caramelisation for none curry is at high heat it tastes nothing like the simmered onion in oil only base.

Given the impact of the garlic tarka in base then maybe more mileage could be gained from onion. 

Interesting - can't decide and feel a side by side would be needed. It's a long way down the todo list though. 

Parker21/curryhell

My fav members - can't be bad.

What would Rupon call the mango variant. 

The NO herb is one for sure.

By the looks of it this variant thing is not that common.

The "no onion" CTM is what is called to the chef. The changes to the CTM are much more than leaving the onion out. The dish is radically changed to a sort of "curry CTM". I quite like.

The "no puree" (is what I was recommended to try for vindaloo). It works a treat. What  surprised me is that the chilli is also increased ie no puree means add more chilli too as I read it.

So I think in short so far:
1) no onion - add more mix pwdr, reduce any sweetness
2) no puree - add more chilli pwdr
3) no herb (coriander) - add green chilli

Many thanks, big best wishes