Its strange but love love my local t/a and sometimes not my own curry's but all my friends and family prefer mine i think some of us are our own worst critics.
  Andy the debate go's on.
 ;D

Hi Jerry M,
I'll just refer you to an earlier post - http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=1851.msg30956#msg30956
But I do make small changes most weeks to see what the taste difference is ( if any )
Recently I bought some dried red Chillies and in my last Madras used these instead of the fresh Green Chillies I had been using ( 1 per portion )but with my usual amount of Chili Powder, it was damn hot !! I now also fry some chopped Onions prior to the Garlic/Ginger/Tom Puree,Just gonna start tonight's Madras but will cut down on the Chili Powder ,also going to try some Paprika to for it's colouring properties. Whatever changes I do make the flavour of the Curry is delicious.

Hi JerryM,
The base is - 6 Medium or 8 small Onions
              1 Red Pepper
              3 Whole bulbs of Garlic
              1 Piece of Ginger 2" square ish
              1 Carrot
              1 Good Tsp Turmeric
              1  ''   '' Paprika
              1  ''   '' Cummin
              1  ''   '' Coriander ( powder )
              2  ''   '' Curry Powder
              2  ''   '' Chili Powder
              1  Tin of Plum Tomato's
              Plenty of Salt to taste ( prob 1-2 tablespoons )
              1 Cup of Sunflower Oil 

Rough chop ingredients,put in large saucepan,add cold water,bring to boil,  Then cover and simmer until water has reduced,then add  Spices/Toms/Oil/Salt, gently stir in,continue to simmer for 10 - 20 mins.
When cooled Puree in blender.
Makes about 2.5 ltrs.

Madras is basically the one that goes with SnS's base.http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2783.0
But I fry 1  diced green chili per portion when I fry the Garlic/Ginger/Tom Puree
Also where the recipe states 1 Teaspoon of Tom/Puree I use 1 Tablespoon ( per portion )I also add some quarterted fresh Tomato's at the time I add the Spices plus some fresh Corriander,also for Garnish.

Pre cooked Chicken as can be found on the forum -
Chicken Marinade.
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=3215.0

Interesting reading this thread  I have watched my curry being  made at some T/A & Restaurants and as yet have never seen the wok on fire yet the curry's fantastic so I don't personally believe you have to catch your curry alight to achieve a delicious curry .
Also I make experimental  changes to the way I make my regular Saturday night Madras , Pilau Rice ,and Onion Bhaji's and have found the following.

Base. (Onions,Garlic,Red Pepper,Carrot,various Spices)
* If you don't already, add enough Salt to give your base some ' taste ' like you would if you were making a Beef stew.
* Not tried yet but instead of covering your Onions with water why not use stock cubes to enhance the flavour of your base ?

Pilau Rice.
 *Fry your Rice in Butter and Oil before you add your water for boiling, deelicious 

Onion Bhaji's.
* Try using plain flower instead of Gram flower,very nice not so ' heavy ' batter.

Madras.
*Tried Onion paste a few weeks ago,Yuk ! spoilt the flavour of my Curry.
*Tried adding fresh chopped Chillies at the Garlic/Ginger frying stage to see what difference they would make to the taste rather than just my usual Chili/Mirch powder.
Just increases the ' burning' sensation and continues to burn for some time ! whereas with Chili powder you get the initial heat but doesn't last as long as with Chillies.
*I use about 9 Tbs of oil for a 3 portion Madras ,I put a small amount of oil in the Wok to fry the Garlic/Ginger etc then when I add the spices which 'mop up' all the oil I add the remainder of the oil.
*My wife commented on how the house smelt like an Indian Takeaway when she turns on the deep fat fryer !this is due to me cooking the Bhaji's in the fryer which have various spices in them but this gave me the idea of using some of this oil for my Madras ( Spiced oil and all that ) and the result was no difference to fresh oil 
*My wife reckoned my Madras was a little 'thick' and needed thinning to give more sauce so I added some water which made plenty of sauce but killed some of the flavour which she agreed  it seems to me to be critical how much water you add to affect the flavour.

These are only my personal findings and most of my curry's have been delicious,  at the end of the day it's all down to personal taste but I will continue with my Quest.     

Thanks for all your replies  , I would like to think that 3 - 4 table spoons of oil would be enough but I am already using that amount and the Spices are absorbing it like blotting paper !I think I will have to go with the 7 - 9 tbs and see how that goes 

Hi All,
Just to say I have made two Chicken Madras Curries over the last two weekends using recipes found on this site and they have been fantastic ! Using the base gravy as instructed the first week took about 10 hours after making the gravy , Pilau Rice , Onion Bhajis ,we then froze the spare base and was much quicker the second week.
I added quite a bit more Tomato puree the second week plus a few sliced fresh Tomato's , this gave the Curry the Reddish colour and the taste I was looking for.
Nan Bread next