ckchao ;D
That's an interesting idea When I cook dahl I experiment with different tarkas in the final stage
Asofoetida (hing ) gives some good Bir aromas but use the proper stuff its a resin not unlike amber or hard toffee it needs to be grated before use
the powdered stuff is full of additives and crap
Also a good way to find the garlic levels and not ruin any bases

Hi
All some are still struggling with the techniques for spice cooking 
I will post some notes on method and start a new thread where to post as this is jbs thread
any ideas?

Haldi
I reckon SS  is just having a wind up or trying
Still the best base when cooked properly and no E-books to rip you off ;D

SS
There's something decidedly wrong with you guy's tastes if you think a single tarka'd clove of garlic can have such a profound effect on a 3kg base as you appear to be claiming - you're all barking (or super tasters)!  ;D

Not just a 3kg base but a base cooked as it should be cooked SS try it for yourself rather than experiment with UFOs( Unidentified fried objects) follow jbs recipe as written down in this thread
then you can make a proper judgement rather than poo poo it
You may be surprised ;D

Hi MA ;D
At the moment I been playing with your recipe instead of adding lemon juice I use 1/2 a cooking apple skinned it soon pulps down and gets a sweetish tangy taste try it

Hi MA
A huge step to the top of the ladder now my default vindy
Its difficult to judge a base on its own but when used in a curry it" goes for gold"

Its pleasing to see some good results with this base
just for my inventiveness and amusement I portioned up some of this base and made a tarka with smoked garlic 3 cloves for my vindaloos and wow vindaloo heaven what a taste
Is this the smokeyness Birs use? I don't know

Couldn't agree more, boiled on high heat in a BIR for two hours = boiled on high heat for longer at home until milky and melted 

Good to see some of you are getting to " know your onions"

Hi Haldi
As posted earlier I made this to spec and it was the best Base I have made tried  loads over the years starting with kd1
Getting the onions to a liquid state is the way forward the added garlic tarka completes the base after simmering again
Bir 100% yahoo

The "Goldilocks" moment