Damn! They’re in America.
A number of my (mostly 2nd/3rd generation) indian and sri lankan friends and colleagues do really enjoy a ‘British Indian Restaurant’ type meal. They just see it as something completely different too, but influenced by the original.
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One of my favourite, and foolproof dishes is a black pepper chicken karahi. Made quite differently to other curries - no onion and spices added near the end. I was sceptical until I tried it.
Fry chicken thighs (I normally use boneless, chopped into 2/3 pieces but on the bone is probably more authentic/better) in copious amounts of oil and season well with salt. (Essential I’m afraid - you can remove some once cooked if you prefer!). Not looking to colour here, just until chicken is mostly white.
Add 5 or 6 halved tomatoes. Don’t be tempted to use tinned here - normally I would as they are more consistent especially in the UK out of season but they are too tomatoey!
Cover and cook for 7/8 minutes, then remove the skins with a pair of tongs - skin should slip right off. Mush in the tomatoes and add 2tbsp of ginger and 2tbsp of garlic paste (Thats the actual recipe, in reality I normally add more). Cook out for a few minutes then add 2 tbsp of freshly ground pepper - I normally use a pestle and mortar, and save a little back to add at the end. If you taste it now it is remarkably tasty before any other spices. It’s basically a charsi karahi at this point (Apologies to Pakistan if I’ve horribly bastardised it!)
Cook down until there isn’t much liquid, then add 250 ml of yogurt. Turn up the heat and keep stirring while it reduces and slightly caramelises, scraping down the sides of the pan as you go.
Add 2tbsp of cumin and coriander powder and keep stirring on high heat, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. I often add a bit of kasmiri chilli for colour, but not essential. Add a final pinch of pepper at the end.
Garnish with some sliced green chilli and fresh coriander (Cilantro for my american friends!). Some julliened ginger might be nice too.
My current hob is terrible, so I end up basically overcooking the chicken most of the time by the time things reduce, and it turns a little like pulled chicken. So it’s not the best looking dish but it’s actually delicious like that!
The great thing about it is the bits a lot of people get wrong, like cooking onions down, or burning spices aren’t an issue with this at all.
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Back in the day, before I retired, one of my team colleagues was a young woman of Indian heritage. Her parents had immigrated to the UK. She took a similar view as you mention and I recall her saying she didnt really like the “authentic” food her parents preferred.
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Welcome to HO, Pat! There’s an introductory thread here if you would like to tell us more about yourself 
And thanks for the tip about the site!
That’s the wonderful thing about food — it is always evolving. Many Italian immigrants to the US enjoy American-Italian dishes that came to be with what was available here, e.g. the comparative abundance of meats.
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I have seen this with the children of Greek immigrants here in Canada. So many Greek Canadian GenXers I know dislike lamb, goat, feta, dill, various organ meats their parents prize, or olives. Not that the same person will dislike all these things. In the back of my mind, I will keep track of who won’t eat lamb and who won’t eat feta.
Some are very plain eaters, sticking to chicken breast and Greek Village salad. And many of them do not cook Greek specialties for their own kids beyond chicken souvlaki and Pastitsio.
This sounds really great. I have a bunch of wild-caught Argentinian red shrimp I was looking to use for Sssssssspicy Ssssssssunday.
for that recipe - what do you think is the purpose of mixing the shrimp with lime juice and salt and then washing thoroughly with cold water?
I have no idea. Maybe she doesn’t trust her shrimp sources? I tend to do the SE salt / baking soda rub and ice water rest, but … yeah. She doesn’t explain it anywhere, either.
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Typical to see this step(or one like it) in places where “food safety” is thought to be questionable.
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Also, it’s a traditional way to prepare shrimp, in parts of the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.
Less safe shrimp due to the environment where they are raised, possible source of hepatitis,etc., but also tradition.
Washing chicken with lime is also standard before proceeding to make curry in parts of the Caribbean and Guyana.
This recipe looks good
So I was right. 
You know it!
This one also sounds great:
I’ll have to see if I can find tamarind either at the international market or the Indian grocer.
You will. Definitely at the Indian Market.
I recently tried a dried powdered Tamarind works great, shelf stable just some food starch added to keep it from caking up.
I may switch from the wet Tamarind that is packaged in a Block
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I typically buy tamarind concentrate instead of the blocks of paste. Easier to use, easy to find. I sub 1:1.
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Oh! I may actually find that at our Asian grocer, then.
Keeps approx. forever in the fridge.
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Good.
Cuz I’ve never used it before & don’t foresee using it a lot more (or maybe I will — who can say? 
).
