This maybe regarded as a spice kit set up... (It is?)
I have my favourite base and mix powder and I predominately make a madras or for the point of this question it could be any dish.

Seeing that for the time being I am using this as my staple recipe does it not make sense to make a container with the mix plus the required amount of chili per volume and the methi and the ground cumin seeds Etc... Don't slate me, it may not be a Madras, not the point.

I see that in some vids 30secs or so is given between the addition of a few things (IE methi) but is this really necessary.
The chefs in retraunts can throw it all in second nature but at my stage I still get In a tizzy getting it all in order and precise timing.

Does anybody else make pre made tubs of individual dishes, to me it would make each dish uniform to the last, thrown in with a bit of precise timing etc.
Hope this make sense... Tom

TT, if we're talking about getting your spice mix and chilli powder pre-measured for your dishes, i don't really see an issue.  You could even add the fenugreek leaves to this.  Some vids show the chef dipping into all the spices before returning it to the heat, having added the tomato paste, or then adding it to the spice mix.  Other vids show meethi being added a little later.  IMHO i don't think it's that crucial to some dishes. Try it and see if you notice any difference.  Obviously, the adding of other ingredients like red masala sauce, fresh chillies, coconut powder, raw green peppers, cream etc will definitely have an impact and possibly a different effect depending on when they're added.  Will be interesting to see what others have to say on this.

I put my mix powder, chilli powder, methi, salt in one ramekin, and my tomato paste in another ramekin, then add them pretty much at the same time. I add the other ingredients as and when the recipe requires and pretty much in keeping with what CH has said. This notion of precise timings etc. is not one that I believe in. I think it's created around the myth that cooking curries is some sort of alchemy that we mere mortals cannot aspire to. Either that or some people are cooking on too high a heat to contain the ingredients.

That said Tommy you will appreciate I don't see the need to make a batch of spices just for one dish.

Comprehendo!
I still am on the trail for new and different variations of currys, but with so many at hand it would be nice to have a kit set up with a tried and tested stock favourite. By the time I find something I like I'm off on a tagient chasing the next and find it difficult to remember the one I got on with. 
I will give this a go for a while, a one tub simple soloution to those of us who like to play it safe for the time being.

Quote from: Tommy Timebomb on February 18, 2013, 09:03 PM
Comprehendo!
I still am on the trail for new and different variations of currys, but with so many at hand it would be nice to have a kit set up with a tried and tested stock favourite. By the time I find something I like I'm off on a tagient chasing the next and find it difficult to remember the one I got on with. 

It may help to make some notes each time you make a curry prior to cooking and then at the tasting stage when you make your assessment of the finished article.  At least you then have something to refer back to.  In terms of consistency, one of the most important thing that unfortunately doesn't come in a kit, is your technique.  In order to assess the differences of your spice mixes, and the addition of your ingredients, you need to be reasonably confident that the way you start your curries (with the exception of dishes like korma, CTM and the like) varies little, if at all.

I think you have put this to bed for me CH.
Thanks for your prompt and valid advice. 

No worries TT. Many have said what happens in the first couple of minutes is crucial to the outcome of many of the popular  dishes we aim to replicate like madras, vindaloo or any dish that requires the frying of spices.   I have now come to believe this myself.  Get this bit right and the end result will be well on it's way to a BIR quality curry, just needing the finishing touches.  Get it wrong and you end up with another "not a bad effort but not quite there"    I'm getting better but i still end up with the occasional "average" home curry.  But practice does makes perfect so they say but it plays havoc with the waist line  :