Interesting observations Rob and indeed food for thought for those on the balti journey.

Those dishes have got my mouth watering Rob.  If they taste half as good as they look, I'd be well satisfied. Always happy to taste test for you at no cost 

Love those serving dishes Rob. Pickles in a sachet !!!  Dhansak looks good. May have to renew my acquaintance with that.  I always use Colin Grigson's dhal recipe.  Simplicity itself but superb tasting. Will see what rie varieties are available at my restaurant wholesalers once
i get to the bottom of my 20k bag 

I'm salivating at the look of those pics Rob    Takeaway tonight to kick off the election special 

Quote from: Kashmiri Bob on June 29, 2024, 12:11 PM
Pleased to announce that my channel now has 3 subscribers!

Now 4 

Quote from: Kashmiri Bob on June 18, 2024, 09:10 AM
He won't build Mick's balti with that base.  No chance.

Be fair Rob, the only key ingredient he's missing is  the akni stock using the high quality cassia needed to produce it, which seems about as elusive as the final 5%, sometimes it's right, and some times it's not.
And base lasts ages in my freezer until I get round to using it 
Now time to do chef Din's vindaloo for the 2nd time.

Mick's veg prep is posted on the site somewhere. Certainly is bang on for prepping spuds and delivers as good a bombay spud that I've ever tasted

Cheers Rob.  I think the sprinkle of whole spice added is panch poran.  I can definitely see kalonji, jeera and mustard seeds for sure. Kibd of makes sense for veg prep.

Rob, what was the final addition poured into the pan at the end of the vid?  I am guessing some blended cooked onion.

I'm enjoying your deep dive into the possible reasons behind "dodgy" batches of the MDB base Rob.  I do admire your conviction to your cause on this.  That doesn't mean though that even with a perfect batch of gravy and cooking exactly as per spec given by Mick that we are all going to think that the MDB balti is the greatest curry we will ever get to sample.  We all have our own ideas on what we think that is.
Regarding your observations so far, given cassia forms the bulk of spice used in the stock, it follows it will have the greatest influence. And yes, its quality will play a part on the concentration in the stock.  Unfortunately, its quality  cannot simply be judged by how fresh it is by the date on bag, so a test run on it does make sense.  Given you've identified that you are losing a lot of the cassia contribution during the simmering process, as well as the variable quality due to its "real" freshness, have you thought about doing the stock in a pressure cooker?  Sorry if i've just thrown in another curve ball for you to work on.  Looking forward to the next instalment