Many thanks to you both for the advice, i found a lot more than the 20 cloves i put in to the sauce, i guess cloves shed layers when cooked, also the bark was more like a small digeridoo, so that went a journey. as did most of the bay leaves.The sauce is looking a treat, with a nice layer of spice oil on the top.

before the spice-mix


after adding the spice-mix

cheers for that CA

still 30 mins of simmering to go.......mmmmmmmmm smells damn good already
quick question. should i remove the cassia bark and cloves and bay leaves before i blend it?

just prior to an hours simmering

just prior to the final 10 minutes on a medium heat.
Due to the poor quality of the cameraphone photos, the colours are darker than they should be. The sauce isnt as bright as CurryLover_NZ's that's for sure. Just waiting for it to cool so i can divide it up.Some for an attempt at a chicken Madras tomorrow night and the rest for the freezer.
What other successful dishes have people made using this base?