I use an 8l-pot and this can get pretty full and I need a bit of room as I'm a fairly* messy cook.

I usually sieve it, but some times don't bother if I'm running short of time. It's quite time consuming and is easily the most hard work part of making the base. If I had the space I'd invest in a food mill.

*My missus' definition of fairly is not the same as mine

Just to be clear, it's not used in the kefta mixture but as a salad. Flat bread, a coating of hot pepper puree, a kefta, onions and sumac. Heaven.

My mother in law is from poor mountain stock and uses sumac on stuffed cabbage and leek dishes.

1. Paprika - Home dried from a village in Turkey. The mother in law bring us back about 3 kilos a year and we always run out. Used in evrything.

2. Chilli - MDH deggi and kashmiri. I buy about 4/5 boxes of each and they just vanish.

3. Cumin/ coriander - whole

4. Turmeric.

The missus uses this in salads. Especially good mixed by hand with red onion. She says about 2 tspns to 1 onion.. This is good to use for many recipes, but really good with kefta.

Sumac has a pleasant lemony tang and is used in many recipes throughout the Middle East.

Quote from: Cory Ander on December 01, 2012, 12:19 PM
I must say that I find some of the responses in this thread rather annoying (and often rather arrogant). 

Why?

Quote from: Axe on November 30, 2012, 04:55 PM
I used to enjoy Vesta Curry alot and that really is awful.

I used to love that Vesta chow mien with some strange things you fried and put on top, that really was bad!

The trouble with this argument is that it doesn't respect the skill of a top quality chef. There's more to cooking than putting a list of ingredients in a pan. The amount of information now available indicates unless there's a countrywide conspiracy that there's no magic ingredient.

I believe that our ingredients are generally of a higher standard than the majority of BIRs that are using cheaper and cheaper products and cutting  corners where necessary to make a profit, but most of us aren't skilled chefs, making the same product year in year out. I think if a truely skilled BIR chef took one of our bases, mixes etc then the result would be better or more consistant than the majority of us, it might even taste like one of the fabled curries of old.

I got one from little and it's still going fine after a couple of years, much longer than more expensive ones I've had previously.

Lidl near me have a special on next week for Silvercrest blenders unfortunately I live in France, so I don't know the U.K situation. All my Silvercrest kit works fine.

Brilliant pic! I keep meaning to take photos more when I'm cooking put end up preoccupied. At the end of the evening this is what I'm left with. Lovely looking stuff.

I'm absolutely addicted to omelettes with green chilli in. I like to fry half an onion then add 5/6 finely chopped green chillis and a tsp of mix before adding the eggs and black pepper. 10 minutes from being hungry to eating.

I've tried adding cheese and/ or some cold meat and it's still perfect. Egg and green chilli is a match made in heaven.