Last night was curry night for us - very nice too!

Tonight I've got a couple of big rib-eye steaks and will be doing some creamy peppercorn sauce. That is when I get home from work which should be soon.

X-Factor is banned in my house 

Hi George,

Spices of India sell mustard oil for cooking/eating. I think because it is also used as a body rub some is indeed unfit to eat, hence the warnings you have seen.

Thanks COR, I'll get the Top-Op one soon as I'm planning a big order from Spices Of India. I currently have the 55 pence one from the same supplier.

Hi COR,

Could you recommend a brand? - the stuff I've got is a yellowy powder not a resin.
I do use it in dahl lentil dishes but don't think I've got the best stuff. I don't mind the smell as the taste and smell changes when you cook it.

When I said not BIR I meant in a chicken madras, for instance.

I don't think you'll get fresh hing as it is made from a gum/resin that is dried and usually mixed with rice flour and gum arabic.

It is supposed to be an ant-flatulant and is often used in lentil dishes which are known to make you fart.

I've tried it in dhal recipes but it is definitely not the missing secret to BIR - probably the opposite really! Oh yes and it does stink a bit!

Hi Gazman,

Darth's recipe is quite old now and people here have probably made better efforts since then. He doesn't seem to post on here any more.

The SnS 2008 base and Madras recipe was developed and posted much later.

Maybe you should try Cory Ander's base and madras recipe too.

I had been eating supermarket pilau rice for a while (shame on me) and they seem to go for clove/cardammom/cinnamon spice mixtures. This never seemed right to me.

After joining this forum I bought another TA and their pilau rice had fennel seeds and a portion of star anise. For me this was the missing flavour and now I'm experimenting with different amounts of these spices as well as clove/cardammom/cinnamon/bay leaf/ turmeric and the results are pretty good.

Rice is a tricky subject and the oven approach probably yields the best results once you have mastered it. I'm still using the excess boiling water approach and stopping the process after about 8 minutes leaving the hot rice to cook on it's own for a while.

I've noticed the sand effect myself. I made myself a curry using 2 teaspoons (heaped) of red Kashmiri chilli powder. Rather than making the curry twice as hot as one teaspoon, it made it sandy and rough tasting. I often use a desertspoon of spice mix for one person and haven't noticed the same effect with the spice mix, as with the chilli.

I think an important lesson is if you want it hotter, get a hotter chilli powder rather than piling in loads of a milder chilli powder.

It may not be true BIR but I like the effect and taste of finely sliced and fried hot fresh chillis - no trace of the sand effect with those.

Hi Jimmy2x

I make a point of replacing any ground cumin, corriander and garam masala (if you use it) about every 3 months if I haven't run out before.

Keeping them in airtight containers out of the sun and heat makes a big difference.

I'm not really sure about the other herbs and spices but I would replace these before a year runs out.

Hi CA,

You're banging these recipes out thick and fast now! Photos look awesome.

I hope to create your spice mix, spiced oil and base recipe soon. Can't do it this week as I'm on call with work and don't enjoy cooking when I might have to go to work at any minute.

I'm still mulling on the spiced oil and whether it needs water adding or just a gentle approach with the heat.

Do you think with the spiced oil approach you are achieving 100% BIR yet?

We need some feedback on these recipes which hopefully I can do within the next 2 weeks.

Thanks for your efforts and experimentation - much appreciated.

PaulP.