Having tried 5 different bases in the last year, i found the KD base from curry secret book seems spot on as a good grounding for many curries (provided you half or even quarter the amount of ginger in base). I have worked out that adding a tbs of either pataks madras or pataks balti paste along with a tbs of special spice mix and fresh cori, produces a decent curry (high cooking temperature a must). However i want to avoid using pataks for a few months in order to improve my skills. Can anyone suggest a good recipe to add to that KD base which is tried and tested and will taste not too much like homestyle indian cookery? I know the KD base has lots of potential but am stuck!  thanks guys and gals, look forward to your replies. I have 5 days of work and plan on hitting the next level of curry making!

You are right the recipies from this book are not good. I believe the KD book aimed to make a quick buck, and teach a few trade secrets , such as the base. Its a shame the author did not do a better job of the main recipies section. In response to your question, i like madras, bhuna, rogan josh etc. I would be interested to know of anyone who uses that KD base alot, and any recipies they find work particularly well with that base. I find the KD base very different to cook with compared to other bases which include carrot, celery, green pepper etc. Hopefully i will discover my own recipy to use with kd base, and post it on here soon.