Quote from: Currymonster3194 on April 10, 2012, 09:03 PM
BUT after trying the Vindaloo recipes on here NOTHING compares not even my all time fav restaurant the Barinda in Wilmslow beats CRO's recipes

Again maybe it's my age or memory but the curries of yesteryear seemed to have had more power of flavour. Not just heat but rich, tangy full on punch.
Any recipe recommendation from this site that would give me that kick?

Quote from: curryhell on April 09, 2012, 12:45 PM
Available in Morrisons, in tins still ;D. Just for you petrolhead 

Cheers CH

Bet it doesn't taste as good as I remember it.

"By the way, there's only 1 indian nearby and its awful, the next closest is a 30 mile round trip"

Reading comments like this reminds me how lucky I am to live in the midlands surrounded by Indian take aways restaurants and grocery stores.


Welcome to this brilliant site.
I have only been using this site for 3 or 4 mouths but have learnt so much

I have just realised that I may have used the wrong type of flour whichI  picked up from the asian store.
I have been using Chapati flour thinking that it was the suitable for making bhajis.

I have just bought some gram flour which has a recipe on the back and was the same type i used to use 10 or so years ago.
I don't how i got confused along the way.

Right, now to have another go.

Blast it!!
Burnt the whole batch 
Just bought a cheap fryer from Tesco and set it to 160.
The light went out and I dropped the first ball in....nothing, not a sizzler.
Took it out and turned it up to 190.
The light went out once again and dropped it in again.
Lots of sizzling this time.
Trouble was I got all my timing wrong and they all came out very dark.
I didn't taste the first batch either and carried on until the lot were finished.
Ive got a nasty acrid taste in my mouth after eating one. Must have had the temp of the oil too high.
All for the bin I think.

Must have another go. Maybe tomorrow.

I cook on an Electrolux gas stove.
Since reading posts on this site I now use the biggest ring, which I never used before.
There is a lot of splash stains around the pan, on the cooker top and work surface, due to the high heat.

But 'her in doors' doesn't nag about the smell (she burns candles the next morning) she does nag about the splashes of curry juices on my clothes which never comes out in the wash!!

Back in the 90's one of my favourite Saturday night curries was made using Patak's tinned (not Jars) Vindaloo sauce.

When i gave up on trying to replicate the dishes my beloved take away served, I turned my attention to my favourite commercially available sauce.

I bought more books, watched tv programmes and consumed as much information as possible.
As with the BIR cooking I failed to get close.
It had a rich tangy, slight vinegary taste which I loved.
I think Fenugreek was mentioned in the ingredients along with the standard spice list.

Of course there was no internet or network of like minded people then. Not on a mass scale anyway.
There was Pat Chapman's Curry Club, but, I'd bought his  books and they didn't help.

I'm not sure whether Patak still sells this sauce. I can't find it on their site and I never see it in my local super markets anymore.

Does anyone remember it? and more importantly any information about how to replicate it at home?
I would be very interested in hearing your thoughts.

Cheers, James

Thanks to all for the replies.
I have taken all advice on board.

I actually think and proven that I made a fundamental error with my measurements.
I have reset my opinion of what a tablespoon measurement actually is.
Having bought measuring spoons from Tesco I was shock to see my mistake.

All the videos I have been watching over the last few months gave me the impression that the chefs were estimating spice levels.
Well, my estimations have been growing, to a level where I've been doubling or tripling quantities thinking that it is a about right. Wrong!

I made the the vindaloo again last night using carefully measured amounts of spices and tomato paste. Adding the gravy worked out to be almost the correct amount. (That chefs ladel (500ml) mention by Chewytikka)
The recipe does call for 300ml though.

I also increased the oil which helped frying in the early stages too.

Anyway the large amounts of spices I was adding was probably soaking up the gravy.
Another lesson learnt.

Regards, James

Hi all,
just bought CurryBarkingMad's BIR book and made his gravy (from the book not the same as the videos)
Wow! The flavour is great and although still mild, same as all the others I've made, it has a distinctive one.
I watered it down to the correct, I believe, consistency and it produce a beautiful silky, golden coloured gravy with a loverly aroma.

I used a 450ml portion, in the vindaloo from the same book, although it calls for only 300ml.

This is my problem.
Recently I've noticed that all my curries seem to use up all the gravy I pour in, usually 350ml.
So I decided that the gravy portions were not large enough to produce a finished saucy curry.

I made the vindaloo and had to keep adding water after the gravy (450ml not 300ml) because the sauce was so thick.

If left over night then virtually all the sauce dried up. Maybe this is to be expected. Although my usual take away always has remaining sauce the next day.

I wonder whether I should check the measurements I'm using for the spice mix and other spices.
I could just be adding too much.

Any comments welcome.

Regards James
PS: CBM PDF book loaded on to the iPad (pictured)

Relieved to see my favourite local Indian takeaway scores a 5
Far Cotton Tandoori Northampton.