The only other type of food I would love to be able to make properly at home is Pizza.
The main reason of course is having the right type of oven, my local TA has recently added burgers, deep fried chicken and pizza to its menu and they tell me the pizza oven wasn't much off ?10k.

Today I saw this: http://chadwickoven.com/ which also states "The Chadwick Oven cooks pizzas up to 12" in size but that's not all - it will cook flatbreads, such as naans and pittas, to perfection."

Its not exactly cheap at ?360 but I've not come across any domestic appliance that claims to deliver the same result as a commercial operation so I'd say its cheap for what it does.

Some people on here have invested in their own Tandoors so maybe they will find this of interest, heres an article relating to it. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/worth-the-dough-the-chadwick-oven-makes-pizzas-as-delicious-as-one-from-a-woodfired-oven-8535274.html

Just a brief question for anyone who might have an opinion.

All videos I've watched made in TA kitchens involve classic pans. At the G&G paste stage I notice the oil will often catch but then the paste will sit there happily frying without burning for a good minute while the commentator talks about whats going in next.

When I try this with my cheapy nonstick pan I get to flame level but then my paste always browns in about 10 seconds and I have to cool and try again.

Don't want to be spending on Aluminum if its not necessary.

Initially I wasn't going to post this as I was asked ?Not to show anyone else? (which I won't) but as I'm not giving anything away which isn't already here and I don't intend to record any videos based on it I figured it would be OK to share.

On my second trip to my new local TA I asked if anyone would be interested in giving me a one off lesson. I had previously got a Vindaloo + Na-an there and other than being a bit mild it had all the hallmarks of a decent BIR. To my surprise someone from the kitchen came through (who I don't want to name) and said he would do it as I was close and as long as it was early in the day. One week later he was round at mine.

Turns out he's the owner and it's his first business having previously worked for 10+ TA?s since 1990 is of Pakistani origin and speaks English very well. We got on fine and he offered to show me how to make their mix powder if I dropped round in the day.
He initially agreed to bring his own ingredients but after arriving just started picking up mine which I didn't object to as I was pleased he had kept his word by turning up. I had almost everything he wanted anyway and he did bring his own mix powder / Tomato Pur?e & G/G paste.

The objective was to make what I had eaten previously, volume based on 1-2 people.

There was nothing new with the Gravy:

7 or 8 ?Tesco Market Onions? (Lost count as he was so quick) (Whole outer layer off)   
About an eighth of a green pepper
Small piece of carrot
4 Green birds eye chillies (Non de-seeded)
Entire clove of garlic
An whole plum tomato (from canned)
Single medium Potato (Supermarket basics) (Said more was OK)
Small amount of coriander plant (with leaves)
About 200ml Sunflower oil (Said he used veg /didn't matter)
Got some fresh ginger out, he wasn't interested at all and said powder was fine if I wanted it (Didn't use either)
Water to cover and rapid boiled it for an hour (He measured this by the onions)

At this point he added about a level soup spoonful of Turmeric / Paprika / Cumin & Salt and gave it a further 10 minutes.

He'd brought his own hand blended to liquidise it and when done declared it the same as what they make in his TA.

This whole process was very quick and very rough, he didn't give the impression that pinpoint accuracy was in any way required.
Next he added enough oil to fry some of my king prawns, the reason theirs are totally different is that they all use U5 prawns which is why Indian KP dishes are ?2-3 more than Chinese KP dishes.

This oil was drained as waste and he started again with fresh which is when I asked about reclaimed oil, they DO use it and it DOES make a difference but in his opinion it is NOT a big difference.

This oil was heated all the way up (I was told this IS important) producing a very brief flame when the G/G paste went in followed by tomato pur?e he said this was pre-bought and that there were different types but it seemed exactly like watered down Italian stuff to me. Teaspoon of Methi leaf/Paprika/Turmeric/cumin/coriander/ Tandoori Masala/His own mix powder & slightly more chilli powder (He just spooned these out into the middle of the pan on top of each other as if he had all day then stirred them a couple of times mentioning not to add oil to the spices directly as this causes them to burn) before adding the base gravy.
Not much interesting after that, the prawns went in, we didn't bother with boiled potato although he does use it in his Vindaloos and he added a light sprinkle of whole cumin seeds to the finished dish along with lemon juice(lime is preferred.)
In fact the only thing I wasn't using before (and I don't know how I missed it) is Tandoori Masala powder.

In all fairness this was a worthwhile lesson for anyone working from scratch, he said the average person can do it as well as him after 4 attempts.

My point in writing this is that although the curry he made was better than mine it still tasted home-made and had could of passed for one of mine. Of course I mentioned this and he said it was down to my spices which although are still in date aren't fresh. He also said the cumin seeds should be hard (mine were soft.)
I accepted this as a real possibility, we shook hands and he left to get back to his TA.

Trying to keep his visit fresh in my mind I went to the only place where I live that does commercial spices and replaced everything for ?15 with bags of East End (He buys KTC/Jarrows)
Guess what?.Absolutely NO difference other than the spices smelled fresher when opened.

So although I won't be making better curry I can stop beating myself up that I'm doing something wrong. There is something that goes on in a TA that just isn't possible to do at home and I just proved it by watching a very experienced chef himself fail.

Perhaps it is the combination of several small things that only occur in a full time kitchen environment but unless I get a job in a TA for several years I now accept I am probably never going to know.

Nothing useful really but I felt I should at least try and give something back on here.

BTW Cost / Names /Places I would rather keep private. Thanks.

Having watched several of the Public YouTube videos including the base gravy tutorial I think they're all excellent however I felt a bit down when he mentioned how important spiced oil in the base is seeing as he makes his as a by-product of Onion Bhajis.

I once tried a method from here which was basically the same as making base with more oil and reducing it right down with a few other spices then draining the oil, sadly it took ages and made little difference.

So could anyone who has bought the book briefly say if he mentions an easier method? Obviously I it needs to have the same effect as Bhaji oil.

If there's a working alternative I will buy it straight away otherwise probably not.

Thanks..

I've been battling this particular flavour since my first attempts at BIR and if anything it's intensified over time, although not unpleasant in its self it overpowers everything else so whatever I make always tastes the same.

I'm not using anything unusual, just the core ingredients listed in most base sauces found on here. It develops during the main cooking stage of the base after I've added water, leaving it to simmer for about an hour getting stronger right up to the end dish and isn't easy to describe other than to say it has something in common with that out of place taste you get with cheap potato salad which I always assume is down to preservatives as it clearly does not belong there.

Reading a recent thread on slow cooking for 6+ hours I was hoping it was because the base needed to mature but having just made some for a Prawn Madras it's as strong as ever.

I used:

Sunflower oil, brown cooking onions, green pepper, vine tomato, celery, spring onion, potato, carrot, garlic, red chilli, radish and coriander from a plant.

I fry onion, garlic and ginger first, add water, boil, then simmer it for half an hour before blending and pouring over the above loosely chopped veg followed by water.
After 45 minutes I add plum tomatoes, turmeric, coriander, paprika and cumin following SNS?s Saffron method by which time it's by far the dominant odour, noticeable as much in smell as in taste.

I know it's a stab in the dark but if anyone can advise I'd appreciate it.