There was a swartz spice pot on the shelf of the bir. so i assumed he used that in his spice mix. Unfortunatly in the south east of england swartz is the dominant brand in  all supermarkets. i have seen bolst powders, but no rajver. anyone know if bolst is worth buying? cheers DD

brilliant purchase Bobby. Bet they gave you a strange look ordering that one!   The BIR chef i sometimes chat with, said use some ginger in base, but not enough for customer to notice its there. and he said using a few carrots is good, 2-3 big-uns.

Yes thats a good idea Josh. its on my ever growing list of things to ask !

Ok some more info after chatting with the chef at my local bir last night. He said the seasoned iron pan is a must for the flavour. new pans he felt were no good. he said the base is very important to the taste. "a good base is the key". tumeric was used mainly for colour, he commented. also 2 or 3 carrots in base, and no potato was his advice. he was a bit reluctant to tell me the secret to a great base. although he did ask where my safron base recipe was, as he was going to review it once again. unfortunatly i did not have it with me, bugger. Its probably worth all of us showing base recipies to bir chefs, to gain insights into how they would improve them. even if they dont share how they make there own base, its invaluable to hear how they would improve one of our base recipies.

I like your thinking Josh. i would buy one madras per week and see how it matures. the bir pans i have seen are old and battered and look like they belong on the tip!  i am going to replcae my non stick, with a bir style pan, and never clean it! If i end up in casualty dept,  but the curries taste great, then its ok by me  ;D

great work currytester. ginseng is a japenese herb usually associated with an increase in well being if taken as a daily tablet. (i think!) never heard of it being used in cooking though. the base sounded interesting. the real bir base i tasted was totally the opposite, and tasted pretty poor, until it was used in the final dish. obviously the base must vary a lot between restaurants. some have a base which is almost 'there'. others have a base which is just a very basic soup, which needs working on! or am i talking rubbish? 

white tower is best, but taste wise its very similar to a good quality tom puree out of tube.

Ok here is the spice mix provided by the main chef at my fav local bir. He uses this in madras, rogan josh, boona, and well, most dishes really.

The spice mix, coriander 2 parts, cumin  1 part, paprika 2 parts, curry powder 3 parts (swartz, most will do though), tumeric 4 parts.

may it spread joy! 

Thanks for the info guys. Its always good to hear whats going on in other peoples frying pans! if you get my drift

I ordered a takeaway from a different bir the other day, and the rogan josh was totally different to the normal type. it had loads of tomato skins in it, and a strong taste of coriander powder, and possibly garlic.  it was almost like a traditional indian curry but a lot better. does anyone know an awsome recipe for tomato and coriander powder curry. or if not a recipe, a few hints on what to add to the coriander powder and tomato. thanks DD