I took a look at the Rajver madras recipe, and its almost exactly the same as the Bruce Edwards one. The only difference is that the Rajver's fries a pinch of garlic first, while Bruce's fries some green pepper. Everything else looks the same (other than methi in a bit later).
Are you suggesting the Rajver recipe or their base?
I'm actually thinking that the green pepper might be the thing I was missing.
Also, when I cooked it, at the point I dumped in the spices, I gave it a stir for about 30 seconds, and then instead of immediately adding the Saffron base, I had a bit of trouble opening the freezer bag. I was afraid I might have burnt the spices (heat was on maximum) while I was fumbling around. To my surprise I hadn't, and the result was 100%.
I even made the same curry again last night, same method (including the little extra time for the spices) and the result was exactly the same. Aroma, taste and all.
-- J