Just had a thought, this post is a good idea JerryM and having been away for a wee while I have been aware that a couple of great stalwarts of the site when I first got involved and was learning about bases and other good stuff have been noticeably missing. I feel that their opinion matched by your own and the others who regularly post now which includes guys from back then too and new names to myself would be of value. Perhaps Curry King or Stew could consider teasing them with an email to have their input. Then again given that I have been away they could have gone to the dark side with their experience or sadly they may just have moved on.

I am thinking of guys like Darth and CurryQueen who inspired me along with CA and CurryKing and a hole load of others back then. If I took time out and was a away for a while then I suppose they can too but it would be good to have some of you guys bouncing ideas around, just a thought.

Guys, I have bean eating BIR curry for over 30 years now and have eaten them all over the UK, Ireland and abroad though nothing in France comes near. Glasgow takes a lot of beating particularly the portion sizes. There is something different today so I agree with Secret Santa but occasionally I still find the old magical taste and aroma.As I have posted elsewhere today I have a visit to the kitchens of a Glasgow BIR coming up on Sunday. I will explore this idea of changing taste over the years. I hope Secret Santa it has nothing to do with ageing taste buds and nostrils.

JerryM your a genius, I now have an appointment on Sunday afternoon to visit the Kitchens of very popular BIR. I think you have got it spot on with this idea of taking in a recipe or two and ask for advice. Maybe your good self and others could suggest the best recipes to take in that may well be the one most closest to BIR. It could be Curry King's Bhuna made with SnS's base or CA's Jalfrezi what do you think?

Any other questions welcome.

I cant wait Panpot

Thanks for the check list guys I will do what I can,I hope to get news this week of a visit soon. Bye the way looking at the Malik video for the first time today as JerryM points out the chef tend to use the oil form the simmering base sauce pot yet without any obvious reason occasionally uses what looks like ghee.

Thanks JerryM I will certainly go in with a wee note book and questions ready so any further thoughts and anyone else's welcome to ensure I take the most out of the opportunity. Cheers Panpot

Thanks Graeme, I must say I have always believed that the effect on our nostrils and sense of smell as we cook will have a significant role in why we cant fully recreate the BIR experience. When being introduced to tasting wine we learn that the nose has everything to do with actually tasting. The nose is actually planted right inside the glass and in order to taste the subtlety of the wine we need to develop our nose.

The spices we use in our cooking are hardly subtle and by comparison must almost shock our senses as the aromas are released through the frying in hot oil. By he time we serve up and eat the food I suspect we are limited in our ability to taste it or smell it the same. Thanks too Joshallen2k , I have never had ago with the closepeg but since you say it works I will have a go next time.

Last night I cooked Admin's Jalfrezi and Madras as per one of JerryM's postings, both chicken. I folowed instructions to the letter and my wife scored them as follows

Looks/Presentation Jalfrezi 10, Madras 10.
Smell Jalfrezi 9, Madras 9
Tate Jalfrezi 9.5, Madras 8.5

The Madras flavour was scored slightly less due to it not being as hot as she was expecting. I limited the amount of chili so I am not concerned at this little variation. I did however not use the "Secret Ingredient Onion Paste" since I have not had the time to make a batch and in both dishes I know it would have made a significant difference. By the time we are getting scores like what my wife gave last night any improvement has to be subtle and the paste certainly does that as JerryM has pointed out.

Having said that I could not taste or smell in any real terms that would allow me to give a reliable score due to I believe my argument above. When friends come over they equally score the food highly and almost cant believe the quality I can recreate, though I am never satisfied.

I hope to be in the Kitchens of a leading Glasgow BIR over the next few weeks and cant wait to figure out what is missing, if anything.

I now use the pans they use although limited currently by a halogen hob but In a months time I will be using a descent gas cooker. I will be using the paste again by then and I intend to ask for a basic bunch of recipes I can follow. So the base sauce the ingredients of the pastes they do use and the spice mix. The precooked meats and onions etc too.

If I am lucky enough to get this info followed by carefully observing the process of actually cooking then if there is still something missing then I must come from either or a combination of the following.

The Heat from their gas jets.
The burning or flaming of the contents either in the pan or as they splash.
The the nostril and taste buds being adjusted.
Or and it is still big or for me that they do indeed use a "secret ingredient" that serves to seduce our senses like no other resteraunt style does and almost has us addicted to the smell and taste. If it exists and it has these effects then it might explain why the Chefs don't eat the food themselves.

I genuinely cant wait to get into the kitchen and explore all of this and no matter the outcome I will continue to push myself to finally recreate the 100% BIR Duplicate.

CK your probably correct and the paste is not a true secret but in my many years of searching for the BIR smell & taste using the onion paste takes me closer but only on appropriate dishes as JerryM points out. I do hope I make real progress by getting back stage and witness first hand all that's going on. I can't wait to post my experiences cheers Panpot

JerryM as ever thanks for your level of commitment and experimentation. A couple of points,

CK it could be regional variation but JerryM is somewhere East of Liverpool and I am from Glasgow yet I believe this paste makes critical difference.

I am probably going to have to also post this on the thread re myths but I also think that the paste together with the single Ali pans together with the high heat initial frying of the spices and tomato looking paste scraped as they are from the bottom before the quick evaporation of the base sauce once introduced and the possible burning of splashes as the flames lick the sides all contribute. In my local TA they do add an onion looking paste or prefried onions or a combination of both towards the end also as soon as the base goes in they add 2/4 wedges of fresh tomato.

I am fully expecting to get into a Glasgow BIR kitchen soon so should be able to give decent report of all that goes on.

JerryM, your commitment to improve is amazing, hanks for sharing how you got on. I am delighted that at least two of us can verify that this "secret ingredient" does make a difference.

Is the subtlety that it adds to do with the smell ( which I remember even as it was in the ice tray frozen was fantastic ) or taste or both in my case.

Like you I added it after the base sauce towards the end but would be up for experimenting with it as the tomato paste goes in and the spices. Interesting that you use a branded madras powder and not a fresh mix. If you were making a bhuna or dopiaza or even a medium curry would you use a purchased curry powder rather than a a fresh spice mix?

Recently Bhoby Bhuna recommended two favourite BIR like curries, could you do the same? I would appreciate your advice with this. Cheers Panpot

I still cant believe I did this but it reflects how much I love the site and hearing about anything curry. I have bye the way been invited to a top Glasgow BIR for a visit to the kitchens. We are exchanging diary options so I am looking forward to sharing all I can from the visit. Panpot the sado