Thanks James, really appreciated.

My mum has the “base” version every single week as it’s all she eats but if I run of of base I tend to use pureed onions to get that smoother taste. Just blend up a large onion or 2 to a puree and use 50 grams of that, freezing the rest in portions for next time

For Korma I wouldn’t add turmeric and cumin again if using base as that’s all in the base already. It’s only added on the base free as they are the highest amounts of spices not going in to the dish when just using water. For other dishes I would add extra amounts of any spices needed even if in the base as there is only a small amount in that already

Tikka wise, they probably have the tikka in some of the leftover cooked marinade to keep it from drying out. Some of that is going to go into the dish as well which adds that colour and extra flavour although it could come simply from the tikka warming through in the korma sauce and subtly changing the flavour.

I have a chicken tikka recipe at https://thecurrykid.co.uk/recipe/yoghurt-free-tikka-marinade-chicken-tikka-lamb-tikka/ and some tikka masala paste for the tikka masala dish here that you may want to make and add a spoon or two into the korma next time https://thecurrykid.co.uk/recipe/tikka-masala-and-chicken-tikka-pataks-paste-free-bir-restaurant-style/

Thanks Josh

I’ve made it twice now, once with their base gravy and once from scratch. I’ve got to be honest, I thought your scratch recipe tasted better with the fresh spices. The base one was a bit more bland in comparison, despite having better texture. Is it common practice to add turmeric/cumin etc as well as using base gravy?

Another mystery I’m trying to solve – I often get tikka korma at restaurants. It has a noticeably different taste to normal meat korma. The staff say the recipe is no different but the curry is usually orange instead of yellow and tastes much better. Any ideas what they might be putting in extra?

Thanks again and I appreciate all the help!

Hi James, yes. Their base pack is 400ml so use 200ml water and 200ml base for a dish with a fair bit of sauce. You can always reduce down for a thicker sauce

When following your recipes, should I use 125ml base and 125ml water to make up the required 250ml?