A wee while ago, I posted a thread about a Thai meal I had just eaten and how shit it was. Well, I found an indian restaurant here in Mackay. I nearly pissed my pants with excitement. Well the outcome was total disappointment. I asked him if he could do a cheese nan as they only had garlic nan on the menu. Sorry , dont have any nan bread. Oh shit, not a good start. Can you do fried rice. No only boiled. I should have walked but I was intrigued. Well I took the meal home and found that the chicken korma didn't resemble korma at all. Bombay chicken was hunt for the chicken and dodge the bones and the kids had a mild buttered chicken which they struggled to eat. Ps The chef had came into the restaurant and his top was caked in flour and rather unhygenic. He was quite fat and smelly looking but persevere, I did. So the outcome in sunny Mackay is as follows........................................... .
Stay clear of the only Indian restaurant in town
Stick to Chinese but make a point of telling them no broccolli or carrots
Sponsor an Indian chef that can cook. He'll make a killing (10% to me of course)
Also stay clear of Thai shops as well. You need a straw to find the meat.

Sounds like it would have been healthier to eat the chef

The Indian/Chineese food here is utter Shite in general.
For anyone near Surfers,Chineese Whispers in Benowa does as close to you can get to a British quality Chineese Curry.Its not on the menu so you have to ask for it.

Also the Indians on Chevron Island is not bad.Not the one on Thomas Street,the one around the corner from Soulz Bar.

You'll just have to go to the expats Indian in Birkdale it's the tops for anyone wanting a propper English Indian without any of this I just like Indian Indians business

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Hi great little Indian here in Banyo. We have take out at least once a week, and enough leftovers for the next day. Excellent

Sooo... glad to hear that I love a good indian.

Which bits get left over ?

I didn't spo0nsor an Indian - I just bought my hubby with me - he cooks a mean curry - and it is even better than the curry places I went to in the UK I have just got to find the perfect onion bhaji recipe -have tried a few that are 'ok' but not yet found the 'one'

I've cooked curry and made some brill recipes, but I've never made onion bhaji. the great thing about cooking your own curries..is that you can tell a good restaurant from a bad one

That's cheating.

This is a good recipe for Onion Bhajis.
Makes about 10 Onion Bhajis (of about 8cm diameter)

Ingredients:
Essential:
Oil for deep-fat frying
340g onions (thinly sliced into about 4cm long strips)
120g gram flour ("besan")
1 egg
3 tbsp Greek (or plain) yoghurt
3 tbsp fresh (or bottled) lemon juice
2 tsp garam masala (any decent one will do)
1 tsp salt
About 50ml of water

Optional:
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp mint jelly
2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (rubbed between fingers)
1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves (chopped)
1 tsp curry power (any decent one will do)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
A few drops of yellow food colouring

Method:
1. Dissolve the mint jelly (if using) in a little warm water
2. Put the onions and gram flour into a large non-metallic bowl (together with the fenugreek leaves, fresh coriander, fennel seeds and cumin seeds, if using)
3. Mix the egg, yoghurt, lemon juice, garam masala and salt (together with the sugar, dissolved mint jelly, curry powder, chilli powder, tumeric powder, garlic powder and food colouring, if using)
4. Add the mixture from Step 3 to the onions and gram flour in Step 2
5. Mix in just sufficient water (about 50ml), to form a STIFF batter, which falls sluggishly off a spoon Note: Don't add too much water! Moisture will also be released from the onions and the batter may become too thin. If this happens, add more gram flour to thicken it. If the batter is too thin, the bhajis will be difficult to mould and will disintegrate whilst cooking!

6. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 1600C (or use a deep saucepan)

Note: Don't heat the oil to too high a temperature! If it is too hot, the bhajis will burn on the outside and remain uncooked in the middle. The oil should be just hot enough so that the bhajis initially sink, then rise to the surface after a few seconds, and then gently bubble away

7. Use two tablespoons (or similar) to mould the batter into a rough ball shape

Note: This will be very tricky if the batter is too thin!

8. Drop the bhajis, one by one, into the oil, and cook for about 5 minutes until the outside is golden

Note: Only cook three or four bhajis at a time. Otherwise, the oil will become too cool, for the bhajis to cook properly, and they will stick to each other.

Note: The bhajis will initially sink to the bottom of the pan. After a few seconds, gently lift each bhaji off the bottom of the pan with a slotted spoon, fish slice, or similar implement (but ensure that the batter is firm enough to move them first!). The bhajis will then rise to the surface and gently cook.

Note: Remove the bhajis before they are too dark; they will continue to cook and darken after they have been removed from the oil

9. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bhajis. Place them on kitchen paper to drain.

Cant find a british type curry in Aus shocker!!!

Blimey, that's a bit complex! I just coat onion in chick-pea flour, spices and a bit of water to make a thick batter, and deep-fry them.

We've been here 10 months in Bris, and have yet to find an Indian worth spending any money on. No one seems to use fresh ingredients, all the curries taste like those packaged vesta meals from the 70s.

However, Chinatown in the Valley has some great Asian restaurants to make up for it.

Anyone know anywhere worth going to near Brisbane?

My wife and I were thinking of opening a genuine English curry house to show them how it's done

Not looking hard enough non-shocker - Indus in Paddington.

That would be the " Curry Muncher" , I have to agree with you Brido, great Indian food, and you can buy your alcohol at the bottle shop round the corner and bring it in with you to drink, save a fortune ( BYO beer, wine and spirits)

Now that is what I'd call seriously HOT. How do you get anything out of the fryer without your spatula instantly exploding !! Instead of wearing a cooks apron, do you wear an asbestos suit with reinforced boots and a full face mask?

The Indian food in Perth seems to be a lot better than what you get on the East coast by the sound of it. There are a good number of Indian Restaurants over here that make a very enjoyable meal.

Most of them are more Indian Indian, rather than the sort of English Bangladeshi stuff often called "Indian" in the UK though.