I've not seen the new book, but the 2001 edition did have recipes for Bhuna, Dopiaza, Dhansak, and Korma. Madras is given as a variation to the Chicken Curry recipe, by simply adding more chilli powder.     

It seems the new book is meant to supplement the first book.  A good marketing strategy.   

After messing about with curries for years, I got The Curry Secret (original version).  Those recipes called for dried fenugreek leaves, and as soon as I opened the box, I thought, OMG I know this smell!  In Curry Secret, the dried leaves are ground, so there is some BIR precedent for grinding.  Perhaps it's part of a spice mix, and, as such, is not obvious to onlookers. 

I'm sure you made many valid points, but "the dishes you are mentioning are just not that delicious!" isn't one of them.

Quote from: SnS on February 27, 2009, 02:39 PM
If the recipe is specifying a ready made commercial paste (eg: Patak's) then, to be safe, I would use one of these pastes.

SnS says that because Patak's madras paste in a jar contains tamarind, ginger, and garlic, as well as acetic acid and citric acid.  You would have to approximate those, as well.  Is that what your recipe calls for?

Has anyone tried this?  Increase the oil three or fourfold when cooking the base, so there would be three or four times the oil to reclaim.  (Dregs of the base could be used or binned, depending on taste.)  Then that reclaimed oil would be used as some of the oil in cooking the next batch of base. And so on, always carrying a portion of the oil forward. 

CoryAnder, have you tried going to a BIR and purchasing some oil from the top of a simmering base?  Cook with it, and then you'll know.   

Adriandavidb, everything you say makes good sense.  I see your point that a "spice mix" cushions a delicate spice like cumin, so it can be fried more successfully than if added separately.  But using KD's method, the spices always tasted slightly raw to me in the final dish.   

I wonder how curries were cooked in KD's restaurant.   Did she simplify the method for her readers, or did her chef actually add the base before the spices?

Quote from: adriandavidb on January 26, 2009, 12:24 AM
I used her garam masala mix in it.
It had that moorish 'smoked sausage' flavour, on the couple of occasions I got it right! 

Her garam masala has a high proportion of (smoky) black cardamom, so I expect that's part of it. 

IIRC, she adds spices after the base sauce.  Do you adapt her recipes to BIR style, frying spices before adding base?

Quote from: RebeccaVT on January 24, 2009, 05:38 PM
I can get "Cream of Coconut" here (Goya brand).  Would that be the same thing as Coconut Block? 

Not if it's this

https://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=372626

That's a liquid and has sugar whilst coconut block is 100% coconut and solid. 

Welcome from a British expat in NJ.  I expect a hot curry is just the thing to keep you warm in Vermont winters.