Not I — George's last word on the subject started :

QuoteSorry, but I think I am going to change my mind, at least for the foreseeable future. It's become too difficult and with a perceived risk which is not offset against any gain whatsoever.

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** Phil.

Quote from: livo on July 18, 2022, 11:54 AMThere is one important instruction missing (3 times).  Don't just reduce the gravy at each stage.  Really cook it. Complete oil separation and caramelisation happening around the pan.  The caramelisation around the pan will get darker and darker with each addition of gravy and you should end up with what can be considered a fairly dry(ish) curry in a puddle of oil. (Photos to follow.)  The gravy ends up being quite thick and you'll be thinking you're about to burn it.  This could be the difference between that high heat in the commercial kitchens and my burner on the stovetop.

Do you think, Livo, that if one were to adopt the same approach with other (non-balti) recipes, one might see a similar improvement in quality/taste ?
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** Phil.

Quote from: livo on July 18, 2022, 11:54 AMI sprinkled it with some Himalayan pink rock salt and gave it a stir through.  There was an immediate and significant improvement.  Salt is a flavour enhancer and it is required.  Luckily it can be added after or at the end of cooking.

May I suggest (if you have not already done so, Livo) that you substitute Himalayan black rock salt (kala namak) for the Himalayan pink rock salt — kala namak   is my salt of choice for all curries, as well as being a vital ingredient in egg-and-anchovy sandwiches.
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** Phil.

I agree, Santa, but sadly no time to cook at the moment — too many projects with pressing timescales, so I am living on take-aways, omelettes and egg-and-anchovy sandwiches for the time being ...

From which we can see that, in the opinion of that site at least, a teaspoon may vary between 4.929ml and 5.919ml.  No crazy suggestions such as 2ml or 7.3ml.
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** Phil.

Quote from: Bengali Bob on July 17, 2022, 01:52 PM
1 tsp is 5 ml.  Now written in stone.

Hallelujah, brothers and sisters — we has seen the light !

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 17, 2022, 01:18 PM

Quote from: Peripatetic Phil on July 17, 2022, 12:54 PMWould you not agree that your "heaped teaspoon" and my "heaped teaspoon" and MDB's "heaped teaspoon" are all probably within 15% of each other ?

Categorically no.

From this website: https://pediaa.com/what-is-the-difference-between-tablespoon-and-teaspoon/

"The size of a teaspoon can actually range from 2.5 to 7.3 ml."

That page is complete and utter b@ll@cks.  Both quotes below are from that very page —

Quote

• "teaspoon has a capacity of 5ml"
• "A teaspoon is a small spoon that holds about 2ml"

The author is just writing down whatever comes into his/her head at that instant, without any thought or preparation and with no retrospective check for consistency.  In reality, a teaspoon holds about 5ml; even my coffee spoons hold more than 2ml.

** Phil.

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 17, 2022, 10:03 AMI do think the spice quantity is important here. There could potentially be a difference of at least two and maybe three times the spice quantity depending on how you interpret the "teaspoon" measure.

I cannot see how you reach that conclusion, Santa.  Would you not agree that your "heaped teaspoon" and my "heaped teaspoon" and MDB's "heaped teaspoon" are all probably within 15% of each other ?  If so, then surely "there could potentially be a difference of [15% or so of] the spice quantity" rather than "at least two and maybe three times".  It is not as if (e.g.,) 15% more chilli, 15% more coriander, 15% more cumin, 15% more turmeric, 15% more curry powder, 15% more kasoori methi and 15% more garam masala would lead to 105% more spice overall — it would not, it would lead to 15% more spice overall.
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** Phil.

Quote from: Secret Santa on July 16, 2022, 02:11 PM
What exactly is a heaped teaspoon? You might as well say a gross of fairy wings.

I would respectfully disagree, Santa.  We are cooking a curry (well, a balti), not making a Covid-19 vaccine.  For me, a flat teaspoon, a rounded teaspoon and a heaped teaspoon are inherently meaningful quantities, and were I to seek to reproduce a recipe expressed in those terms, I would be confident that I would get within 15% of the intended amount (probably better).  And I don't think that an error of 15% is going to have a massive effect on the outcome.  However, as to  "a ladle" ... big ladle, small ladle ?", there I would have to agree — I have at least three different sizes of ladle, and the largest holds at least twice as much as the smallest, possibly three times.  Here a little more guidance would be in order, I agree.
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** Phil.

I very much suspect, Santa, that we are now experiencing much the same sensations as the last few dodo / passenger pigeons / great awks / thylacines / Capsian tigers / Barbary lions experienced ...  Perhaps one of us could volunteer to be deep-frozen while still alive, in the hopes that when thawed out some millenia hence there may once again be a widespread and shared common interest in British Indian Restaurant cuisine.