jerry,
thanks for your reply....the cinnamon didn't seem to be a problem,i think all of the spice i used had a really good balance in the final dish,but yes there is a definate aroma of cinnamon with the paste on its own.
maybe reduce by a third in the next reduction but on the whole for me - not a problem.

sorry jerry,
misunderstanding i used two tbls in the whole dish for four people but portion size wasn't that big..

thaks panpot for your kind words !

I think I will wait until Panpot's report from Ashoka.

There may be something in this onion thing after all

plugsy,

thanks for your replies - they confirm we've both experienced the same.

i've got mine in 2 off jam jars under oil in the fridge. my only unknown is how long it will last - i'm hopeful 4 wks or so ie 1 once a month to make a new batch. i expect most to be used in the month so it would work out well.

does the cinemon element of the paste clash with madras? its worrying me   

DD,

no the Cinnamon does not clash with the madras. it's solely down to the amount and not wanting to put the paste out of balance with the rest of the ingredients.

i totally agree jerry.

A Quick point, I have always frozen the paste in portion sizes in ice cube trays having just done the Ashoka thing I dont think we will need the paste once we are using the onion preparation I found out about there. For what it's worth they only keep stuff under oil for up to 15 days. 

Panpot - are you saying you would recommend dumping this paste in favour of the paste from Ashoka? When you have a chance to post...