only one plant left now

getting message upload folder is full when i try and post piccie of my chilli plant

how did it go buttercup?

nice to hear it turned out well michael

bet you could quite easily grow your own chillis in Thailand

I did try a Phaall once - in Oxford @ 25 years ago - it nearly blew my ears off.  Waaaay too hot to taste whatever you are eating.

Mate of mine 50 years ago - for his stag night - we ended up in the old Taj restaurant on Princess Street in Manchester.  Petes his name and he was on leave from Army duty in Yemen at the time.  He asked the waiter for his hottest dish - 'It's a Phaal, Sir'.  'Ok I 'll have a chicken phaal please' sez Pete.  Now, in this place, I could just about handle the Madras - it was hotter than most BIR vindaloos.  As the meal progressed, Pete ordered 2x large jugs of ice cold water (as well as lagers) & with copious sweat pumping off his brow he finished it all.  The waiter duly appeared and asked how he rated the meal.  'Bloody fantastic' said Pete.  Looking at the state of him - the waiter then said ' Bloody good job we didn't give you the Phaall sir - that was the vindaloo !'

Any one tried this one?

put my garlic into the tarka .  To be honest, I didn't rate this - Lentils didn't cook through easily and the whole thing was a bit thick.  If I do it again I will presoak the lentils for an hour and use half the quantity of lentils and pureee at the end to be a thinner version in consistency.

Another comment from Dubai site on this recipe -

Ravi tarka daal probably uses split chana daal lentils, little slab of butter at the end will do wonder to the taste - comment from Rajiv Kumar on Dubai site

hi michael.t - how did it go?  I tried it last week - it was quite good - but not as hot as the Ravi version / my liking - so when I do this next, I will reduce yogurt by half and double chillies and use more as stronger coating to marinade in before cooking

Only got one plant left now from the original 5x I bought 3 years ago from newspaper ad.  Lost one 1st summer to overwatering auto sprinkler when i was on holiday. Lost 2 more over the next winter - just died off in conservatory. Lost one last winter again in conservatory over winter - it tried to leaf - but kept dying back.  Last one I have had outside for a while - but chillies going black which i put down to too much rain - so it's gone back intot he conservatory.  Looks like plenty of chillis / flowers - and they are reasonably hot.  Best result from my various crops have been achieved by drying in oven at 60?C for @ 5 hours.  3x sprinkled crushed into a curry gives it a good enough kick to be just on the hot side of madras strength - just fine for me

Butter chicken (Murgh Makhana) recipe from an ex pat on Dubai Old Days site

You will need:

200ml natural yoghurt,

1/4 tsp crushed bay leaves,

1 tsp chilli powder

1/4 tsp ground cloves,

1 tsp garam masala,

4 green cardamom pods,

1 tsp ginger pulp,

1 tsp garlic pulp (Try and avoid using powders for these two, it will not taste the same if you do)!

1 400g can peeled tomatoes,

1 1/4 tsp salt,

1kg chicken, skinned, deboned and cubed.(Chicken breast is what we use).

75g butter(Or ghee)

1 tbsp corn oil ,

2 medium onions, sliced randomly,

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon,

2 tbsp fresh coriander,chopped,  not for me Ta !

4 tbsp cream,

50g ground almonds

Method:

a).Place the yoghurt, ground almonds, and all the dry spices, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and salt in a large sized mixing bowl and blend together thoroughly.

b).Put the chicken into the mixing bowl with the yoghurt mixture. Set aside.

c).Melt together the butter and oil in a large wok or frying pan. Add the onions and fry for about 2-3 minutes.

d).Add the chicken mixture and stir-fry for about 7 to 10 minutes.

e).Stir in about half of the coriander and mix well.

f).Pour over the cream and stir in well. Bring to the boil.

Garnish your butter chicken with the left over chopped coriander. No thanks !

This is our House maid's recipe

Our daughter says: 'This is to die for'! BTW: I add about a tsp of Harrissa as well. Please use this as a guide line, you can increase or decrease as you are cooking to get the taste that you want.