i've now upgraded my stove from 2.5kw to something in the region of 8kw (
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2944.msg30042#msg30042).
immediately in doing so i got a lot more smoke than i've ever done before and that smell that u get going into a BIR (not the spice smell). the difference in cooking is stark and very different.
the trouble is it's very hit and miss in getting the smell into the taste.
i cooked 6 off curry sauces in total using my normal method (effectively CA's steps). 3 off were no good (no better than 2.5kw stove), 1 off had a hint of what i was after, 1 off was burnt and 1 off hit the mark 100%.
i don't know what was right in the 1 off and wrong in the rest though. in fact i think u could actually cook at the higher kw and never get the taste. there is something that's in the method but not obvious.
possibilities include:
1) flaming the oil
2) frying the g/g paste
3) catching the spices whilst emulsifying
4) not stirring at certain important times
i don't really have a clue. it could even be a bit of all.
a few other things crept into the picture which i'm not certain on but i add in case they are of interest:
1) i felt i needed to add more oil due to the flaming
2) i felt the amount of spices and the type/individual amounts less important - for the 1st time i felt the spoon measurements did not need to be that exact and the name on the mix powder not that critical
3) i needed to water the base down much thinner than normal (i did this late on, it had no effect on the taste but made cooking easier)