I would welcome this also - 15 onions of the wrong size can certainly affect the result !!

On another point (and I don't want to sound ungrateful - this site is awesome  ), it would also be really useful if the recipes indicated how many servings they produce. Perhaps a serving could be 'standardised' as a typical single BIR portion ?

Curry King,

the CTM went down well with everyone - even my son. My wife wants me to repeat it soon for some friends. I think it's the closest I have ever come to reproducing a BIR dish. Clean plates all round - in fact, the only complaint I got was that the portions weren't big enough !

The spiciness concerns me a little. My son said his UK CTMs did not have it. Do you think it's the spice mix or the chilli powder ?

The chilli powder I used is hotter than my usual supermarket stuff - although it wasn't the 'extra hot'. It's unbranded stuff sold in sachets at a local Asian spice store.  I used just 4 small pinches of it.

My spice mix contains madras curry powder. I have made up the Ifindforu version - it seems almost identical to the Bruce Edwards version. I cannot get Rajah Gold here (or Rajah anything !), so have settled for some made by 'Empire'.

I think I might leave the chilli out next time.

Hi,

made Curry King's Chicken Tikka Masala this morning (day off work) - eating it tonight.

Pictures here:  http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1148.msg9941#msg9941
 
I've never had one myself but the result was very pleasing - sweet and creamy but with a slight spicy/chilli kick - does that sound about right ?

It was my son's favourite back in the UK - although I am not sure if I have made it red enough for him to think it's the 'real deal'. On that point, which is best - liquid colouring or powder ? My liquid stuff doesn't seem to penetrate everthing as well as I would like.

I cannot seem to find creamed coconut here either (yet). I used some tinned coconut in my CTM, but had to guess the amount - in the end I used 200ml.

I was making this for 4 adults and so multiplied everything on the recipe by 4. This meant 12 ladles of curry base. As  a result, I ended up with what seemed like too much sauce for the amount of chicken I was using (4 large breasts). I used 3 of Darth's curry base bags as each one holds 4 of my ladle scoops. In the end, I scooped 4 ladle-fuls back out to get the meat/sauce balance right. In fairness, Curry King does indicate in the recipe that the gravy amounts should vary according to what you normally use. Should I reduce the spices if I am using less gravy (i.e. 2 ladles per portion) ?

I also made some of the Pilau rice posted by Pete:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=396.0

It came out well in the end - the best I've made yet and so aromatic and flavoursome - although I might have added a tad too much salt. I did have to add some more water at the end of the oven cooking time as the rice was still a bit hard and powdery. I then gave it another 15 mins in the oven. I guess when you change the amounts you have to do things like that ?

Once the rice had cooled, I took out all of the whole spices before putting it in the fridge. It doesn't 'present' as well, but it does mean we won't end up biting into a cardomon seed. That shouldn't affect the flavour should it ?

By the way, what oven setting (in degrees) is 'Low' - I set mine to 150 ?

Just to prove I had a go....see piccies below !

Tried DarthPhals base - surprisingly easy, although my pot only just took all the ingredients !!  I didn't add the chilli powder to the base (wanted to though) 'cos the wife and daughter don't like it too hot.

Turned one batch (1.5 ltrs) into a Madras for the whole family that night. It went down very, very well and there was plenty left for another time. It was the best I've made, but as usual my rice let it down - I just can't make a decent pilau. I'm gonna eat it on its own with some naan next time - balti-style.

One thing (sad hat on), someone on here asked if the onion weight could be included in Darth's base recipe. Well, as the onions we get from the market here are generally huge - I found one that measured up to Darth's 80mm x 90mm example. It was 1/2 lb (226g). So, I just weighed up 7.5 lbs (3.4kg) - the equivalent of 15 onions.

So, two successes in one week. I now have a good curry, sheek kebabs and mint sauce to a good standard. I'm so glad I found this site !