Guys, I had ago with this last night although used precooked vegetables. It was really tasty,so thanks as ever. On the pan burning. I have recently moved from using my wok to actually cooking with the same pans that the pros use in the Glasgow area. They are easily bought from Asian Stores in Glasgow and I have seen them in Brick Lane in London so I guess they are available throughout the UK.

They come in single meal size or a larger one that does two at once. I paid ?5.50 for the twin size and ?3.60 for the single. They are made in Pakistan and the Brand is Soney. They don't burn at all and retain an even heat, I cant recommend them highly enough. Cheers Panpot

Thanks JeeryM, In the end I went for the tea light burners under copper bottomed stainless steel pans that I got up in Brick Lane in London last year from one of the Asian stores there. To be fair they did the trick although the total cooking time for individual curries was a nightmare. I partially cooked the bhajis and finished them off just before serving and they were great and did chapatis round the same time,no bother there.

I usually do what you do with the wok and cook big portions a few hours ahead and just reheat them in the wok before serving and that always works. This time I wanted to be able to  provide four fresh but different curries done in an individual pan exactly like the ones used by Glasgow BIRs and bought in one of the cities Asian stores. Each curry was a success and looked and tasted fantastic but it took roughly an hour for all four with the first ready a good 50 minutes ahead of the last but kept hot in the steel bowl. Thankfully the drink and good nature of our mates helped it along.

I wonder if anybody else has any better way of dealing with this since clearly in the BIRs and takeaways each dish is cooked individually in single sized pans. All my meat and of course base sauce was precooked while all the spices and the other ingredients were all ready to go. For what its worth I had all the non meat ingredients for each dish placed on a plate ready for there order of cooking and it worked a treat and the colours and variation on four plates looked great when the others arrived before I started.

Yet another learning experience in this amazing adventure into cooking BIR replicas. Cheers Panpot

Thanks Jeera as you will know then in Scotland they always refry the pakora but I wonder if they are partially cooked first also I have yet to find anywhere  a perfect recipe for Pakora you get in Glasgow so the Bhagi recipe I am using works great its a variation of one on here.

I am an avid fan and user of this fantastic site and tonight I have a bit of a challenge.

Normally when having friends round I cook a couple of curries and keep them for a reheat just before serving, they are always delighted but I know something is missing.

Tonight I intend to cook each individual curry on its own and absolutely fresh. I am wondering how I keep the completed ones hot before serving them. I have the kind of hot plates that use a little night lite candle or I can put them in the oven, any ideas?

Also I am having onion baghi as the starter and wondered whether I could precook then till about half cooked and finish them just before starting. I am only cooking for four so not too much but I want to minimise the time between each course and keep things as fresh as possible, can anyone advise? Certainly in Scotland Pakoras are all precooked but not sure whether fully or partial.

Almost desperate Panpot

Welcome Tam, how did you find us ans since you are a Scot do you have any success with cooking Pakora like we get in Scotland particularly the Glasgow area? I have been on this case for years and have had a go at all the versions here from past and present threads and have yet to get it right. Many of our English friends have a differ experience of Pakora being a single vegetable fried in the mix as apposed to our mixed and chopped veg.

Anyway you will love this place its easily best web site on the whole of the web. Regards Panpot

I started eating from BIRs in the 1970s in Glasgow's famous Gibson St. I agree something has changed over the years but don't know why either. In a previous post last year I felt and still do that letting the curry catch fire Is critical and why they always say we can't duplicate their work. in addition as we cook our nostrils become accustomed to the developing aroma and so we never actually smell and taste our efforts the way our guests will when they really compliment us yet we are always disappointed. This smelling thing is another reason for them saying we will never succeed.

Recently I have met a famous BIR owner and next time I intend to ask if I can get backstage or get some recipes from him.

As we all know it is great fun chasing this secret and long may we strive to get it right both pre and post 90s. cheers Panpot

Thanks again Gerry, just out of interest where are you and what type of curry are you most attracted to? Cheers Pampot

Jerry your a star, thanks for the link and although the pro wok kit is relatively dear compared to basic Camping Gas products here in France its really good value.

Am I right in picking up that the gas stove route isn't so good for simmering,say base sauce? Did you ever find out if Gary was able to do so on his gas stove? I am now wondering whether like you I actually want one that can sit safely on top of my ceramic hob or whether I want the outdoor model to gain the extra heat. Certainly as I have posted allready in my Local Take Away back in the Glasgow area the chef blasts the cooking with the gas full up so it catches the contents on fire with flames shooting up into the huge hood above. Clearly I couldn't risk that in my kitchen here. I also like doing Chinese and Thai. Anyway thanks again I really appreciate you taking the time to find the links.

I will have a go at both onion pastes since the Andy one did the business for me although was a hassle to make. It might be a while before I get round to it and getting support from the real boss here for buying a stove will take a few more brownie points. Cheers Panpot

Thanks Secret Santa.

Thanks everyone for picking up on the gas stove,I appreciate it. Jerry I will order one just like yours however I noticed last night on the Jamie Oliver programme he was using gas stoves at the football ground. I can get my hands on one of these this weekend and wondered if any of you camping gas enthusiasts saw it and if you have any views on the efficiency of this type. Gary is there any chance of a photograph of your own if it differs from Jerry's?

Back to the core of the thread. I cooked the vegetable curry last night ( first one from the site in easily six months ) and while my wife and her pal loved it I was not sure of the smell or taste being as good as I expected. Now it may be I was just needing match practice but following the method featured above I feel something was missing either onion paste or something similar. I hope I am not out of order here but way back when we had the trouble with the Andy Guy he posted a recipe for an onion type paste to be added towards the end. It wasn't easy to make although I did and froze it and used it for a year and it certainly brought the smell and flavours out. I cant find it on the site now which is OK but wondered if there is a better one somewhere else or some other similar approach worth exploring.

Thanks as ever for the best site on the web, looking forward to months of experimenting and cooking. So having come back a few days ago I have two batches of different base sauces tucked away in yogurt tubs in the freezer ,great. Panpot