We love CURRY!

The spices in curry are a great immune boost against colds and such.  Its become one of my repeat meals and my family does not mind the repetition!  I just need to remember to put yogurt at the table for those that dont like it as spicy as I do :)

We had some friends over for dinner tonight and they asked for the recipe, so I decided to type up my notes of adjustments I've made.  I got this recipe from Celia.

 CURRY IN A HURRY—by Troy Flake (Sweet Coconut Curry) serves 8 or so

Ok, here is the deal; this isn't really a recipe, it is kind of a blank canvas.  One thing is to keep tasting it.  You can balance everything out to taste. 

Put a little oil in the bottom of the pot, turn it on medium and add:

1 can of coconut milk

1 quart of whipping cream (Or milk, or broth, or more coconut milk.  Increase cornstarch to 2 Tbs)

1 tablespoons of cornstarch

Chicken: (if desired)

In a separate pan, cook as much chicken as you want, cut it into strips or chunks, and put it in.

Now here is where the fun begins; just add all this stuff in as you go:

Curry powder: probably a tablespoon or maybe even a little more

If you like it spicy then keep adding it.  If you go too far, just add a little more cream (milk works too) and it will cool it right down.  You might need to add a little more cornstarch if you add more cream. (Celia’s note: I had to add WAY more than a Tbsp. to get to a curry taste that was strong enough for me.  The pastes are stronger than the powder.)

Vegetable suggestions:

chopped chard, beet greens, kale, bok choy or tatsoi, collards maybe?

Cabbage

Eggplant

Onions

Peppers (I dont prefer them in this dish)

Potatoes: skin them, cut them up in little chunks, and boil them.  When you are done you've got to strain them and rinse them off really well or else the curry will have a potato-ish taste. (Celia’s note: I love the potatoes…red potatoes work nicely and you don’t have to peel them.  I put in a lot)

Fruit suggestions: 

Apples pieces, Pineapple chunks, Golden raisins (or regular ones)

Spices and seasoning:  Add these to your liking

A little salt and a lot of pepper

Yellow mustard—about a Tablespoon

Cayenne pepper (This helps off-set the sweet and makes it delicious)

Coriander seed, ground

Cumin

Turmeric (gives the nice curry color and is a good health boost too!)

Anything else in the cupboard that you think would work well

Just keep stirring it over low heat until the apples and the onions get soft and you can't taste the cornstarch. 

I usually let it cool down for a while and then make sure it tastes good and has a good consistency, then heat it up again just before I serve it.  The longer you do it in advance, the better it usually tastes.  Leaving it over night REALLY makes the flavor set, but either way it's good. Serve over rice.

We've learned that soaking brown rice up to a day ahead of time helps it be more digestable.  We love sweet brown rice from asian food stores.

VINDALOO CURRY PASTE—makes ½ cup

Ingredients

2 T grated fresh ginger

4 chopped cloves garlic

4 chopped fresh red chilies

1 T each of ground coriander and cumin seeds

2 tsp each of ground turmeric and ground cardamom

1 tsp ground cinnamon

4 whole cloves

6 peppercorns

½ c cider vinegar (I actually omit this - dont like the vinegar taste in the curry)

Directions

Put in a food processor and process for 20 sec. or until well combined and smooth.  Makes ½ C.