I want to second everyone's opinion, made the chutney as per original post and is also just like my Indian takeaway, Spot On thanks!!

Whandsy

Haha

I've thought of the Lab thing already. the problem is the takeaway owner is happy to give me the spice mix but  he says his chef won't even tell him what the mix is!!

Cheers artistpaul

Thanks pal!

Hi Guys,
Like most of you on here no doubt, I have been in search of the holy grail for ages (about 20 yrs for me). I gave up on it for a few years until recently chatting to a takeaway owner within my business who invited me back to his shop. He gave me some information that transformed my quest and having tried it I cannot believe how simple it was. He did however give me a large sample of the "curry spice mix" that they use and whilst the results were tremendous, the problem being the owner told me that the chef mixed his own spices so aren't commercially available. When tasted raw however they don't taste unlike any commercial powders available but the result is definitely better. I tried making 3 curry sauces all the same way (2 bought mixes) and asked "the wife" for her favourite, the result being the takeaway mix. Although this method looks remarkably simple, I've chatted to various takeaway staff over the years who've given me similar responses and obviously the ease and cost of doing this is vital to the takeaways sustainability. I've also noted that a lot of other recipes add various pastes and other condiments to the base, this one doesn't but wait til you taste a finished article!! For those of you intrigued, all the gravy had was

2 onions chopped up
A quarter of pepper chopped (I've used various colours)
Half a carrot chopped

When boiling add a teaspoon of the above mentioned powder mix and a tablespoon of veg oil
Boil until all tender (45 to 60 mins) and soft then add approx 1 tsp salt then blitz to a very smooth "onion soup" which is yellow because of the spices.

The advised method I used to make my chosen style of curry (jalfrezi) was as follows

About 4 tbsp veg oil heated
Then add about a heaped tsp of garlic/ginger paste (I used the very lazy stuff pounded up and still worked a treat)
When sizzling add about a heaped tsp of watered down Tomato puree, pinch of salt and a heaped tsp of both the above mentioned curry mix and the same of chilli powder along with a pinch of dried methi leaves
When this was stirred together and sizzling I added some pre cooked sliced onion and peppers, some pre cooked chicken and about four or five chillies followed by a couple of tablespoons of the above gravy. After bubbling for a minute or two I then added another couple of tablespoons of the gravy along with a tbsp of chopped coriander leaf.
This then bubbled down on a fairly high heat for a few more minutes.

The result was absolutely sensational and everyone who has tried it is amazed how much it tastes like a takeaway so I guess my question is

Does any of you experienced holy grail hunters recommend any spice mix bought or made that would fit into to the above method??

Apologies if any of this has been posted but i've only just joined and the site seems pretty big