can that minor difference in the taste of the base really account for all those amazing missing flavors in the final curries?  surely its the spicing which is what we are not grasping correctly yet? and technique to some extent.   

I tasted a bir base. then tasted the final madras. my impresion was that i could have substituted the safron base that day, and the final curries would have been much the same. the bir base was mild spiced and fairly bland. a bit more of a taste of chicken than safron. and slightly more sour. but not that different. It certainly did not taste like the heavily spiced bases included on this site. 

Thanks also to everyone else for the feedback. i think i will stick to the 1 or 2 tbs for now. i  might try adding a chunk of real tomato though. how daring! 

Thanks haldi for the link. i made that base before , but did not know there was a recipe to go with it. i look forward to trying the two together this saturday. That base is really sweet and edible on its own, nice one. and better still its from a bir! good effort mate

Hi Gemma, I think all members of this online community have no trouble ordering a takaway from their local indian resturant. What we are all here for, is learning this style of cookery at home, to save heaps of cash buying takeaways each week. So thanks for the thought, but not sure its the right place to post restaurant adverts.   

if you go up to 3 tablespoons of tom puree does it = disaster! or does it turn a dish into more of a rogan josh type of curry. i am interested in how bir get that lovely rich tomato sauce you get with rogan josh. its a thing of exquisite beauty! and its making me hungry! cheers DD   

Thanks Jerry i will give that a go. do you use much fresh green chilly?

Hi Jerry, does the evaporation improve the taste of the curry with e.g safron base. i am not 'bought' on that idea yet. but could be gently persuaded!  cheers DD

lol, i made an assrasper last night. too much green chilly! tee hee ;D

Hi Jerry, it was lucky tasting a real bir base gravy. Although i did get a strange look from the chef as i poured a ladle of base gravy over the rice! lol. It cleared up a lot of the mystery and endless pondering about what a real base is ilke . better still this bir is fantastic, and is the best in the area, run by a nice bunch. The chef just said use loads of onion when making the base. I now make safron base with a few more onions than the original recipe (sacriledge!). I actually had a hint of that moorish taste the other day in a really basic madras attempt. but i am buggered if i can repeat it