I too had a crack at the massala sauce at the weekend(not bothered about the chicken tikka element it was just the sauce I was interested in).I have to agree it was very very nice indeed.I have to admit I found it impossible to get a couple of the ingredients...pomegranate seeds and kewra water(although I seem to recall a post from a few years ago saying that kewra water was not very nice).Hopefully the lack of these two didn't affect the outcome too much.

Anyway like I said the sauce was lovely,very fragrant and more like your high end massala and not your usual loaded with coconut affair,a couple of beers whilst stirring and it should take your mind off it.

The only thing I don't get is the amount of sugar.Again after reading an earlier post I halved the amount of sugar but I found the result was still far too sweet....Did you find your dish sweet Solarspice or not? Also do you think you can make a smaller portion,say with just one tin of tomatoes and a smaller amount of spices??? It's an awful lot of sauce,I did freeze mine although the book didn't recommend it.

Anyway massla sauce....Could have done with a bit more red colour and a lot less sugar....

Found these on Ebay.....

Yet another book.....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Learn2Cook-Indian-Restaurant-Style-/230633227543?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Food_SM&hash=item35b2cfc517

Base sauce top up??

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/300-Litres-Indian-restaurant-waste-oil-/160601759508?pt=UK_BOI_FarmingEquipment_RL&hash=item25649c5f14

Thanks for the comments guys,it seemed to to take forever to prepare but it was well worth it.

Recipe wise I used the usual range of ingredients.Never done pathia or balti garlic chiil before but they were as good as my local T/A.I can only put the taste down to the base sauce I used as well as the onion/pepper mix I made which went into the dishes(apart from the mossala).

The mossala I did slightly differently.Most of the ingredients were combined into a thick paste which was then fried and then base sauce and chicken added.This is how I saw it made first hand on my take-away lesson.

The bombay potato was particularly good.The potatoes were pre-cooked in spices which left them covered in a thick sauce.They were added to the pan,a touch of cumin and mango powder added a a splash of base sauce.Again this was the technique I saw on my lesson.

The chili garlic was helped with a spoonful of Patak's balti paste.Know they're controversial but I spot them on the shelves of every kitchen round here(even the posh ones).It does give the final dish that edge.

All systems go!!!!!!!!!!!!
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My ugly mug!!
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Bit worse for wear by now kitchen about 80 degrees!!!!


Tuck in!!!!
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Leftovers ready for another go tomorrow!!
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Pillau rice ready to go
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popadams at the ready!!!!

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The popadamas and mango were shop brought(can't see the point in mucking about trying to make them).The red onion dips were very moorish indedeed.......

Aloo pathia
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Bombay aloo
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Sag aloo
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Mushroom bhaji(right)
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Tandoori chicken mossala
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Mosaala paste
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Garlic chicken tikka chili balti
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tandoori chicken
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pre cooking potatoes
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finished ready for sag aloo,bombay aloo and aloo pathia
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I used to just pre cook them in water salt and turmeric but this method was a 100 times better.

I did also cook an onion,pepper mix(suppose it's called a bunjara).I forgot to take a photo of this,but this was great,I put a spoonful of this in some of dishes and it gave them a greater depth of flavour.

Chicken tikka and tandoori chicken marinading
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Finished ready to use
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Hi everyone haven't posted anything for a while(haven't cooked anything for ages either!!).Anyway had a couple of friends around on Saturday and decided to make a curry feast.Will be posting the pictures hope it meets with everyone's approval.

Decided on making the following...tandoori chicken mossala,chicken tikka garlic chili balti,tandoori chicken,bombay aloo,aloo pathia,mushroom bhaji,sag aloo and pillau rice.

It took me ages to prepare everything and I sunk a good few beers whilst doing it!!However it was undoubtedly my best attempt so far at cooking a BIR curry.My guests couldn't believe their eyes when the food turned up.They said it was spot on and some dishes even better than their usual takeaway.The house certainly smelt authentic,good job I have a spare fridge as it still smells of curry!!!!

Base sauce(Cooked and ready for blending)
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Base sauce(Blended)
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Been reading through the popular base sauce recipes on this site together with those in my recipe books and it seemed to me that all are very similar in technique and ingredients,with only subtle changes here and there.I decided to try the base sauce(sort of) from the Kushi Book.I brought it when it came out,the more I re-read it the more I like it,although I can't see really the difference between these(balti) recipes and normal BIR recipes,they just seem to be served in a balti bowl.Anyway I cooked the base but added some all purpose seasoning,asofoetida,sugar and some coconut block.All I can say is that the base smelt(and tasted) wonderful.My wife hates the smell of my normal base sauce cooking but even she said it smelt really nice.

In almost every picture or video of a BIR kitchen I always notice a large tin on the stove from which the chef takes a spoonful of oil to make his curries.I always thought this was just pure plain veg oil but after watching this I'm not so sure....

http://cbm-mick.blogspot.com/2010/05/restaurant-bhindi-bhaji.html

It's clearly a tin of ghee and looks identical to most tins I've seen most chefs use.So is it ghee they use??  Could that be a vital part of the elusive taste???  Unless they empty the ghee out and replace it with veg oil which I doubt.

Some great videos here I have to say.