Osirisrt,

I suggest you start by using all of the ingredients and seeing how you find that

agree with Cory this is probably best way fwd. i have followed exactly and get the best family curry i've ever made. it is without question restaurant/takeaway standard.

for me the essentials are:
1) a quality base (i use parker21 but there are many on the site to choose from).
2) use of the block coconut
3) use carnation evapourated milk
4) use a bought tandoori masala powder (this is the only time i don't make my own) i use "Leena". there is quite a difference in makes so you might need to try a few eg i use TRS tandoori masala for dry rub bbq chicken as it's spot on but would not use for CTM.
5) i also sometimes add some of the leftover marinade from the tikka for a little extra lift.

Bobby,

i feel a very good choice of subject and a key factor in us achieving our desired result.

see recent post "LB's spice mix" http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2444.new;topicseen#new

since joining the site i feel i am at last making good progress towards being able to put a decent curry on the table now and again as a supplement only to my long standing and unbreakable affinity to my local takeaway.

i have now made a few bases some many times (KD, LB, parker21, CRO development, ronnoc). i intend to make saffron next. what's clear to me is once you've achieved a set threshold for the base ie one of quality (which i list parker21 & ronnoc*) it's impact on the final dish is limited. i still have a few uncertainties such as addition of garam masala, turmeric and cooking time.

the other step improvement i feel i've gained (other than quality base) is the cooking technique ie frying & toffee/choking smell.

but this is very much dependent upon the spice mix. the LB mix on it's own gets very close to restaurant/takeaway taste. i am sure in the same way as for bases other spice mixes will deliver above the required threshold ie one of quality and again at this point it's impact on the final dish is again limited.

given the use of a quality base and quality spice mix i still find myself short of the desire takaway taste. this i now think may be where the curry powder comes in (ie CA's is very diverse in spices typ 15 off).

i intend to try equal proportions of spice mix & curry powder on my next go and hope this might deliver the depth of spice without any one spice overpowering that i am aiming for.

I feel we need to explore this topic much more.

*i thought the ronnoc base taste was very good and the bulk vegetables something i intend to bring into my cooking at some stage. i did find it difficult to get a depth of spice at the cooking stage but i am convinced this was down to my lack of experience with the base as opposed to a deficiency - i got a very good korma but i at heart i am not a korma fan.

Cory/Haldi,

it's the same book as listed by Cory.

in terms of is it any good - it's a bit like KD plus
1) i do rate the spice mix feeling i've achieved a step change in curry making since using it. i do want to compare it against say yours Haldi which has good ratings (any chance of a link)
2) the base i feel is very similar to KD but i feel slightly more delux. it's not as good as parker21 (and i feel sure saffron which i've not yet tried). interestingly for me it contains garam masala.
3) i feel the make your own garam masala is pretty good (got me into using star anise)
4) there is a much greater range of recipes than KD. i've only made the chicken balti which was ok, close but not quite at restaurant/takeaway taste

turmeric hmm - this is a big unknown for me as i don't like the taste and as a norm i don't use it at all having compared like for like bases and curries in the past with and without it. like cory says though it must be their due to the yellow stains. i feel (from KD book) it must be added at the base stage not at final cooking as otherwise the taste in the restaurant/takeaway dish would be strong which it is not.

i've used the KD base for many years. since joining this site i've switched to parker21 (Revised Version - Recipe for onion gravy (curry base sauce) from Rajver in Biddenden). this i find to be quite simply fantastic (have reduced the chilli by 1/3 though to give  more control at final cooking). i intend to make the saffron base next.

George,

smokenspices post is spot on. i think the price is down to where you buy. i aim only to buy from my nearest Indian supermarkets which are well competitive compared to the likes of asda. eg my almond powder 300g was ?1.80 which having used 4 tbsp in ronnoc's korma i calculate worked out at 36p for 3 people. the creamed coconut that i use in CA's CTM is a steel at 200g for 30p.

i also only use carnation milk (evaporated milk) and not cream. i also find that it goes further than would be the case for the cream equivalent (due to it's concentrated flavour).