With 2011 drawing towards a close I wonder what conclusions we can draw from this thread - did we achieve the goals Derek set out in his opening post?
What a very good question, and well-timed to boot. For myself, I suppose a confession is in order. I tried Madras 2011. I tried Taz Base. I tried CA's base, and masala, and Madras. But at the end of 2011 I am right back to KD1. I tweak it, of course, because now I understand so much more. But for me, Kris Dhillon's base, and Kris Dhillon's Chicken Madras, are really the closest I ever come to 100% satisfaction. I use g/g paste now, bhoon the spices, add the sauce ladle by ladle (and ideally warm it first) but underneath it's still Kris Dhillon. So thank you Kris, and here's to <whatever> 2012. I'll propose 1970's style Chicken Bhuna, but would be willing to take part in anything that isn't chicken tikka based and that doesn't involve nuts or fruit.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
** Phil.