many thanks UB. i'm not convinced on the

Quotecarefully lower puri into hot oil fry

and may 1/4 them for ease of handling.

have i missed something? what was the chicken - was it just tikka.

QuoteCan anyone recommend me the best recipes to turn the base into some Vindaloo, and some Madras.

i would go for parker21's

https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,1454.msg12717.html#msg12717

mine was lumpy initially.

getting the cooked onion into a puree (without the liquid) is as ivan says a fairly challenging task. as i said i got round this by taking out the spices (bay, casis, cloves) at the end and then pureeing again - mine now looks v.smooth just as u need.

i like the idea of the muslin bag to help out with this.

Tamala,

u certainly know your stuff. i must admit had never heard or seen a puris. had to get my balti book out and now all clear - puris are fried. i can't see them being nicer than a chappatis though.

UB,

as i've clearly been sold a duck from your excellent picture - would you please pen the gist of what were are looking at (i am ok on the salad - which i agree with CK looks pretty good and i am now ok on the fried chapatis)

i use the block coconut for everything. apologies if i gave u impression i used in the korma. i've never found the coconut powder any good.

curry base section is definitely a good place to start.

there an amazing amount of info - so remember ask for help/advice whenever u need

never heard of it but that looks to be my misfortune.

any chance of the recipe UB - this looks up to your usually impeccable taste.

seated on a UB naan i suspect

Joshallen2k,

no probs, agree CK's is closest. glad ronnoc's worked for u 2.

on the tandoori masala i am sure there are other brands just as good as the leena. the importance being to be aware that there are 2 different tastes out there.

have added pic in case it helps

My pan holds 4.5l and this was what i started off with the water level not quite covering the onions. i have about 3l finished curry. i added back the onion liquid which i think was between 1.5 and 2l and also added in say 500ml of water during the boiling (i did boil for an extra 2hrs). the consistency is now the same as i would get from the bases on this site.

joshallen2k,

use the evap milk in the ctm 1st rather than cream - i think it adds sweetness. this alone may just do it for u on the ctm front.

i had made my own curry powder & garam masala for years believing i had more control of the taste and would therefore get (eventually) a better taste. i was wrong. i still make my own garam (but probably perfected it better) but buy the rajah curry powder.

i also used to use only a tandoori marinade for making tikka but felt it lacking. hence i bought the "dark red" variety (TRS, rajah). this was significant improvement and i now use it as a dry rub for bbq as well as for tikka.

on one visit to my local shop the dark red was out of stock and assistant said "pink red" was pretty good (although not convincing) for tikka. found it was way off the mark. however when i used it in the CTM the CTM was much better (significantly).

i list the ingredients in case it may help:

dark red: coriander, salt, fenugreek, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, garlic, cumin, nutmeg, cardamom, celery, clove, ginger, bay, lemon oil, citric acid

pink red: coriander, chillies, mustard, cumin, garlic, ginger, pepper, cloves, cassia, salt