has anyone else tried this ?

The pre-cooked (and thus sweet) finely chopped onions are crucial. The fresh tomato is crucial. If adding chunks of onions and pepper, make sure these are pre cooked. Do a batch, and put them in the fridge.

I've stopped using Patacks for the Balit, and switched to curry masala (1/2 teaspoon), and called it a Bhuna

A lot of the time on this board, when people say they've tried to follow recipies and not had success, I suspect that in fact they've not quite followed the recipie, and ommited one or more ingredient, or swapped it for another. Then they wonder why its not working.

Thomashenry, do you caramalise the precooked onions. Can you provide the recipe you use ? is it freezeable ?

any chance you could post the full adapated final recipe for the Bhuna

Restaurant Masala
    coriander         8 tsp
   turmeric          7 tsp
   cumin             5 tsp
   curry powder   4 tsp   
   paprika            4 tsp
mixed in these proportions

Definately a good quality hand blender does the job perfectly for me.

I use a Braun  Multichef. Get the 500 or the new 600 watt job. Also comes with other bits that are useful.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008BFTD/qid=1117818655/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_11_3/026-6379896-6550825

I think Costo are doing it at a reasonable price at the moment.

is reminds me of something........I made a Tarka Dal a few months ago and played around with the last bit where you add fried spices. I basically decided to use loads of fresh garlic, some onion and a couple of spices (small quantity) and my old favorite - ketchup. It had the taste. I'll dig out the recipe if anyone's interested.

The point is maybe the fried onion/garlic is a major factor. It kinda links to other posts about adding precooked onions. I've never bothered to try for curries before but this is starting to sound promising.

One other point when I made this recipe was when the ketchup hit the fried mixture, the 'smell/taste' hit my nostrils immediately. It was one of those 'FFS stunned moments'. The same feeling I got the first time I played Super Mario on an N64 and realised the 3D intro was the same as the game - you know the feeling - big smile, jaw drop moment

Anyway, please don't underestimate the ketchup - I got this tip from a Glasgow Restaurant owner a few years ago. I did try to pin him down on exact quantities and  procedure but he was very scant on detail. He also said they used a good 'vegetable curry powder' - never figured out what that was, but he did say you could use any kind. That seems consistent with other reports on here.