Hi Jerry, the bir chef i know, uses about a 5th of a chefs spoon of spice mix per portion (about 2 or 3 tbs). alot more than most members here use, including me. i know its hard to believe but i have seen that amount 20 times now when getting demos. i used about a rounded tbs of dd spice mix last week with lots of oil and made a very respectable vindaloo. with a watery base, and lots of spice mix, it should not cause any problems. it will add a lot more flavor

Yes, this post has frightened me too! i now just wizz up a litle garlic and ginger to last for 4 -5 curries. i miss not making the paste though. it seems that most garlic wont have the botulism on it. however if it has got botulism on it from the soil it has come from, then it will be dangerous if stored for a long time. its a real gamble making your own and storing it for over a week. its very rare to get the botulism, but probably not a risk worth taking. maybe we should have a section of the site devoted to safety issues like this. so newbees dont peg it !!

what spices and quantities would you fry in the ghee for enough rice 2 serve 2 people? i can never get my rice tasting as lovely as my local bir. despite trying rose water, cloves, cumin, cardoman, safron etc. not all at once !! i must admit plain basmati rice tastes very nice though, with lots of salt and butter.

Hi, thats exactly what i would expect. ghee is like any ingredient, you need to use it at the right time and the right place, in the right amounts. i use ghee in certain dishes like rogan josh,or bhoona,  which should have a rich buttery taste. but i never use it in madras or any other key bir dishes. next time you use it, try just using around 3 tbs of butter ghee with 3 or 4 tbs of veg oil. this can work well for things like rogan josh, or bhuna. ghee gives a slightly sickly sweet dairy produce type of taste. ghee is an essential oil in true bir cooking, and needs some practice to get the best result. when used right it can bring out a lot more taste in the spices. in my opinion that is ! hope this helps. DD

Hi, great work. I now regularly pop into the kitchen at my local bir. it never loses its magic! Ask how they spice the base sauce, and see if they will share a madras recipe. Cheers DD

2 peneth here ! the chef at my local said do tikka in the oven when at home. i find the electric oven at full temp works very well. only needs about 13 mins though. else it dries out.

Hi SNS, its the first time i used msg. i guess i put in around half a level tsp. maybe a bit less. does that sound the right amount? or is it too much. cheers DD

Hi SNS, tried the madras recipe with my own base, and it was one of the best madras i have made in 3 years. great work sns. look forward to trying your next recipe. The main reason it worked well seemed to be the lack of commercial spice mix in the spicing. and also the replacement of salt with msg. and the garam masalla. A simple madras recipe, but deadly ! respect !  ;D 

anyone tried adding lemon juice to this madras? curious to hear if that improves it

pataks get bad press on this site. its totally unfair, and seroiusly jeopardising your attempts at re creating bir cuisine. as haldi says the 3 main pataks pastes are used widely in real bir kitchens, i too have witnessed this. when used in small amounts they give a real boost to curries.