Just been browsing the web in search of a good source of unusual / difficult to find chillies and seeds, and came across this excellent site:

http://www.chilliesontheweb.co.uk/

Not only do they offer an impressive range from around the world (India, Mexico, Peru, China, Thailand, Turkey, Burma, etc), plus a great selection of seeds and other chilli related goodness, but their prices are really good, and postage is free on orders above

Couple of interesting vids outlining Julian's latest project and collaboration with Adey Payne, who opened Curried Away in Boston, Lincs, after reading Julian's eBook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeXurwWh0dY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7ECknztiVk

CBM has also been uploading video's from Adey's place, which can be viewed via the other forum or his YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/CURRYHOLIC1

I've been after a pressure cooker for a while, but strapped for cash so the dog's bollocks stainless steel all-singing/dancing model I wanted is out of the question at the moment.

Then I saw that Argos are doing a third off this baby:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8605782/c_1/1|category_root|Kitchen+and+laundry|14418476/c_2/2|14418476|Cookware|14418537/c_3/3|cat_14418537|Pressure+cookers+and+steamers|14418546.htm

So I ordered it. Something of a bargain, or a crock of crap?

Time will tell, and I'll report back on findings as soon as I get to grips with the mother.
 

I've wanted a Waring professional spice grinder for some time now (http://www.catertrade.co.uk/Waring-CD409-Waring-Spice-Grinder/), but at

Today, I have mainly been making up a batch of base a la Zaal:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=7859.0

And following a very rushed lunchtime stab at an egg phal, plumped for a more relaxed approach to an evening vindaloo.

Ingredients

350-400ml Zaal base (although this will of course work with any decent, balanced base)
Pre-cooked meat of choice (I used turkey thigh, which is excellent value, succulent with great texture, and, when used with hot curries, works well as faux lamb. I'm always amazed at how many people ask me what meat it is)
A few pieces of potato, cooked in turmeric water and a bit of salt
1.5 chef spoons of oil or ghee (or 2.5tbsp)
1 generous dsp of garlic/ginger paste (mine is 50-50 mix)
1 chef spoon or 2tbsp of dilute tomato paste (I use 1:4 ratio paste to water)
1.5tsp of mix powder (any you have already to hand - on this occasion I used my own mix, which is so similar to many others it's not worth banging on about, to be honest)
1tbsp chilli powder (I used deggi mirch, but if you're using extra hot powder you may want to tone it down a little. Or not, as the case may be.)
Generous pinch of methi leaf
Salt - getting salt levels right is, in my view, critical in BIR cookery, and there's only one way to do it and that's by trial and error, so start off with a quarter or half a teaspoon and keep tasting, tasting, tasting...
Fresh coriander

Optional extras:

(These are a few things I do from time to time, as the mood takes me...)

A squirt of tomato ketchup (quell horreur!), added with the tomato paste, for a touch of extra sweetness if desired, and a squirt of lemon dressing added at the end, for a touch of balancing sourness
Fresh chillies, added about half-way through the cooking process, for that wonderful extra dimension of texture and unecessary additional heat
Garam masala, added at the end (though personally I don't bother with curries hotter than Madras...)
Extra garlic/ginger paste added towards the end, as in Julian from Curry2Go's vindaloo recipe. (Not recommended if romance is in the air...)

Method

1. Pan on, oil in and get up to a reasonably high heat. (On my poxy self-regulating ceramic hob this means full power and a relaxing 30sec wait. On a powerful gas burner such as this one, recommended by Solarsplace, it's a matter of nanoseconds to achieve napalm heat levels. http://www.gasproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Large_Square_Gas_Boiling_Ring.html)

2. Garlic/ginger paste in, and get that spoon working fast to keep things moving. You're looking for a nice golden brown colour to the garlic/ginger, and how long this takes depends on your cooker, pan, how much water is in the paste, etc. As ever, the eye plays the crucial role here.

3. I'm a big fan of initially singeing my spices in hot oil  when using my ceramic hob, as the addition of tomato paste at this point merely robs the pan of precious heat, so in goes the mix powder, chilli powder and salt, followed by a short period of frantic spoon action as it all comes up to heat, followed by the tomato paste and a big dollop of anxiety, sweat, and finally abject panic as you play dare and singe as far as your frazzled nerves will allow. For me, that point is reached when they're smoking and I start choking, and the spices reach the point where you think "Bollocks. They're f**ked". Obviously there's a fine line, but for me, a 'caramelised' dark brown is okay, but black is a disaster. If black happens just bin everything and start again.

4. Once choking, in goes a ladle of gravy. If you've been good, your gravy is already up to temp and bubbling away, and if your curry pan is hot enough the first ladle will almost disappear in a small pyrotechnic display bordering on the theatrical  (yes, even on a poxy ceramic hob). You'll also notice that oil separation happens almost instantaneously.

5. In with another ladle or so of gravy. I like to reduce this right down, Taz style, until it's a thick paste before adding more gravy. I also add the methi leaves at this point, as they're delicate and I find they can carbonise if added in the early supernova stages.

6. Once reduced, add your main ingredient and some more gravy (plus a little water if needed), and leave to bubble away until the sauce has reached the consistency you like.

Job done!

A double portion of vindaloo reducing nicely...




The finished dish (minus coriander, as I'd run out...)