I tend to use loin or chops and fry themin a little oil and spice but I was thinking that a BIR would likely use a cheaper cut. Presumably then they would have to cook it longer and slower? What do you think?

Personally I think that elusive 'perfect curry' is partly in the mind, how hungry you were when you made it, what you really fancied eating that day etc - my wife quite regularly says that a certain curry was the best I've ever made! 

Of course some curries are better than others, I see the thinking behind documenting what you've been doing. But personally I prefer the more laissez faire approach as you put it. I've always preferred the Jamie Oliver approach to cooking rather than weighing everything out first into little measuring bowls like Delia Smith  :

But then I'm not that bothered about 100% emulating a BIR curry and more on making my variation of a particular type of curry to tast how I want it to on the day. e.g. a hotter more richly flavoured chicken tikka masala with mushrooms and okra which is what I had today. The final proof is on whether it tastes nice or not imho!

I cooked this today, good recipe, thanks.

I used Dark Phall's base and the rest as per the recipe (although made very quick and easy tikka due to time constraints and added some veg too).

At the end I thought it was a bit bland so I added a fair bit of fenugreek leaves and some all purpose seasoning (basically 60% salt with a mix of minor spices), then just before serving a couple of chopped tomatoes, coriander and flaked almonds.

One of my best curries yet I reckon, tasted pretty genuine CTM to me. I don't really like some BIR style only-chicken-in-gravy ones as I like a bit of extra 'lumps'  in it, hence extra veg etc.

Hi all, first post but have done a fair bit of reading 

Normally I make my curries from scratch rather than make a base, however yesterday I made a load of DarthPhall's base and (slightly modified) madras and it was very very good. So I am a convert to first making loads of base and then making whatever curry around it. I also like the addition of carrots and celery which I don't normally do.

Anyway, I already make a damn good curry ; that's pretty close to a BIR, but I start by chopping onions super finely (so no need to blend) and then gently frying them for 45 minutes with garlic/ginger until caramelised, then adding spices, meat etc etc. I also thought the key to an authentic curry was the way you fried the onions, so I was quite surprised to see that in most of the bases you basically just boil them for an hour or so.

So what's the pros and cons of frying vs boiling do you think? Do yu get the same rich sweetness do you think?