Almost a year later...Aldi seem to have deleted the chicken biriani not long after I recommended it. Typical! One from Sainsburys is also quite good.

I see there's a large pan of base sauce on the stove but I don't think he uses any. Is this credible for cooking a balti? Perhaps it is, and maybe it's a reason why I found the Shababs balti interesting the first couple of times I tried it. More like, swimming in oil.

There's no way I believe any balti house would prepare dishes in a small bowl. It would be too inconvenient and slow everything down.

The BBC is running a story on the current cost of a takeaway curry in various regions of the U.K.

Indian takeaways: Restaurant owners say high prices down to perfect storm https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-67138765

I first noticed they are pricing themselves beyond my price range a couple of years ago. As a result, I have cut right back on the number of times I visit Indian restaurants. It will be sad if nearly all of them close but I can't afford to support my local Indian restaurants, charging £10.95 for a main course dish, when I can get a huge plate of delicious roast food at a Toby Carvery for as little as £4.80.That's broadly similar to ordering a curry, rice and side dish (vegetables) at a BIR but it would probably cost almost 5x more.

I see £79 for 1 year access to Veneet's Indian course or £120 for access to a range of courses like you are describing for £79. For me, £79 sounds expensive but I guess the BBC needs all the income it can generate to pay some presenters outrageous salaries.  And £120 is extortionate, given so many free videos on youtube, and plenty of cookery books, some by the same celebrity chefs.

My wife and son don't like tarka dal - they find it "too dry".

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for a lentil curry that I could cook instead of tarka dal?

The best lentil dish I have ever tasted was also the very first and is about as simple as it can get - dal soup, specifically as served at a specific Indian restaurant for at least 40 years. I have been trying to recreate the same delicious flavour at home for almost as long. I can get quite close but it's still not as good.  The starting point is red lentils, which turn yellow. Add pinches of salt and turmeric and not much more.