JalfreziT: I think the reduction of the base, causing the caramelisation of the sugars in the onions and tomatoes is what lends the richness. I dropped the cooked (cold roasted) chicken in for less than 2 minutes just to reheat and that worked out great.
Phil: I have mainly been cooking the recipes from the PDF collated from recipes here. The pilau rice is Bruce Edwards', the dhansak I have been enjoying is Geezahs' "London style", the Madras I made last night was 976Bars version. When we were in Kent last month visiting family I tried a local curry shop (Biggin Hill Spice, if you're interested) and realised that the tarka dal I make from the recipe in the PDF is way better than theirs. They could do with looking up the recipes here!
For spice mixes I am still experimenting, but the fry spice mix from Curry Wizardry by Anthony Goolab is *air kiss* - so simple, but as soon as the scent hits the air I start getting hungry! (1tbsp green cardamom, 10 tej patta, 2 large cinnamon sticks, about 8 grams stick or 2 teaspoons ground). The other spice blends I am making are more or less a hybrid Kris Dhillon / advice from here, along with slight tweaks such as adding a little fennel seed or a whole star anise. It's the usual refinement - this needs a little more earthiness, so fennel or anise - this needs a little brightness, so cinnamon or tej.
As a wise man once said, the fun is in the journey not the destination. The advice from this forum is making my journey a lot of fun.
And don't forget to add a little more salt
