Hi jerry. if you fancy turning a cr0 madras recipe into a jazzed up methi jalfrezzi, add 2 - 3 tbs fresh methi at the start, 2 - 3 very crushed black cloves, 1 ladel of real chicken stock (made as per adrians method), tsp lime juice, 2 tsp lemon juice, half tsp worcester sauce. its really full off taste. i made it during experimentation on sunday. and it was delicious. 

Hi Sns, i appriciate your help, however the basic BE style madras recipe with safron style base does not taste anywhhere near a true bir madras. i have tried hundreds of techniques and tweaks and varied bases, and nothing comes near my locals divine madras.  i think its naive to think you can join this site make safron base, add some spice mix, chilly garlic paste (etc etc) and practice your technique over 6 months and it will = true bir madras. why should it, when its essentailly a method which we all know does not work. else we wouldnt be having this debate now. this forum is great at creating an acceptable mid week bir style curry. but when i buy the real thing and see and smell it being cooked in the bir kitchen, i realise its a lot more than 5 percent thats missing. its probably years of skills those head chefs are using to get that taste. a closely guarded secret it seems. anyway the exact percentage is not important is it sns? we all agree that something is missing.

missing 5 percent? umm i feel its a missing 30 percent. there is so much taste and smell in a real bir madras that i cant account for. i dont get any of those bir smells coming from my kitchen. lets hope we get some break throughs this year. i am busy trying out new spice combinations.

anyone tried citric acid. they sell it in indian grocers. could be useful?

ok i raised the amount of fresh methi from 2 tbs to 3 tbs. great tasting curry. however it was very tangy and savory. not anything like a bir toffee sweet taste. bir chefs use methi in tiny amounts only for bhuna etc. this i have witnessed at my local bir ta. so METHI IS NOT EVER GOING TO GIVE THE TOFFEE TASTE. use it sparingly in bhonna, rogan josh only folks. fresh is best. however the difference in taste to dried is not that noticable.

adding 2 tbs of fresh methi leaf at start added a nice tangy flavor that i recomend. i wouldnt call it a toffee flavor though. its a lot nicer than dried methi which can be bitter. i think more members should try this as its quite a noticable positive chnage in flavor. not decided yet if its part of the missing 5 percent.

made a muslim bag and dropped it into the base during cooking. best tasting base yet. i used one star anise, 4 cardoman, 6 peppercorns, and 2 bay. i think extra spices would be better next time. has anyone tried 3 star anise and more of each spice. or is that asking for trouble? 

hi Kris, look forward to hearing your input on the forum, cheers DD

good advice. need some base now ! this diy bir is a high maintainance occupation ! ;D. i brought a few bir takeaways last week (amazing ones). it occcured to me just how much work goes into doing it yourself at home !

sainsburys finest basmati. or tesco finest range basmati. its small grain like bir style