What’s in Your Wallet (er, fridge) Curry?

I have always thought of myself as very single-mindedly driven. I wanted to be an actress, a Person of the Theatre--that was it. So, imagine my surprise a few years ago, when my mother and my husband both agreed that I was a person of intense, but capricious, passions. 

How could they misunderstand me so thoroughly? Sure, I might develop a mania for learning about Florence Nightingale, or set forth on a ceaseless quest to find a particular wig, knitting needle, corset, dagger, mannequin, or artificial Calla lily, but this was all in the service of whatever theatrical venture engaged me at the moment.

However, unbidden thoughts of other fierce but fleeting interests were summoned—the mini-trampoline I could not live without, the karaoke machine bought on sale, the miniature sewing machine—as seen on TV--and the specialized cake decorating tips that were absolutely necessary. Man, I so hate thinking of myself as a dilettante.

Today I had to incarcerate myself, because I am working on a writing project that has an extremely tight deadline. I envisioned myself working through the night, and directing poor Mark to go the Piper’s Kilt if he wanted any dinner. Of course, that isn’t how it went down.

Following a lengthy interview for my project, with a famously crusty character, my brain was famished. I decided to cook. I was, as usual, in the position of making up a meal based on what was already in the refrigerator and the pantry. Here’s the result.

The Ingredients

• 2 boneless chicken thighs (about ¾ of a pound)
• 1 tblsp tandoori masala spice mix
• 1 tblsp candied ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• ½ large white onion
• ½ red pepper
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 inch portion of fresh ginger
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 ½ tblsp mild Jamaican style curry powder
• 1 Knorr chicken bouillon cube
• 2 or 3 kefir lime leaves, dried
• 1 lime
• 1 large sweet potato
• ½ cup fresh (or fresh frozen) cranberries
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 tblsp of peanut oil
• 1 tsp (or more) of cayenne pepper
• ½ cup frozen peas

The Plan

1. Cut the raw, boneless chicken thighs into bite sized pieces. Cut the candied ginger into tiny bits. Put the chicken and the ginger into a bowl with the tandoori masala spice, and mix it up.
2. Wash the cutting board you used for the previous step really well, or else relegate it to the dish washer and take out another cutting board for the veggies.
3. Chop garlic kind of fine, but don’t go crazy.
4. Chop fresh ginger a bit finer than that.
5. Chop onion, red pepper, celery and zucchini into bite sized bits.
6. Put 1 ½ tblsp of peanut oil into, a large frying pan or Dutch oven and heat it up. It should sizzle when you add something to the pan, but not smoke. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, and celery, and turn down the heat a bit. Let it cook up for a minute or two, then add the red pepper. Put the top on the pan and let this mixture sweat for five minutes. Take off the top, add the zucchini. Let this cook until zucchini is sautéed, about six or seven more minutes. Remove the veggies from the pan. Reserve on a plate.
7. In the meantime, put the kefir lime leafs, the bouillon cube, and the lime juice in a 16 oz Pyrex measuring cup. Put the kettle on to boil with a couple of cups of water. When the kettle starts to whistle, pour the water into the measuring cup, to about 12 ounces. Agitate the liquid to help the bouillon cube dissolve. Then let it steep.
8. Add the rest of the peanut oil to your pan, and reheat. Add another tblsp of the curry powder to the bottom of the pan. Put in your chicken pieces. Cook until they start to brown.
9. Add the cooked veggies back to the pan.
10. Add the sweet potato to the mixture.
11. Mix it around to get it all covered with spice and oil.
12. Add the bouillon mixture and let it come to a boil.
13. Add the cranberries.
14. Add a tsp of cayenne.
15. Cover the pan. Cook for around half an hour, checking frequently to make sure the mixture is not sticking.
16. Taste. Adjust seasonings (it probably needs to be hotter). Cook a 5 to 15 minutes longer if it still doesn’t seem like it’s melding.
17. Taste again. If it seems like it’s getting there, add the peas, and cover for a few moments.
18. Serve, over rice if you like, with plain yogurt or sour cream mixed with fresh dill, cucumbers, olives, or whatever interesting mixture of aromatics and preserved things you have in your fridge. If you happen to have some kind of chutney on the side, like mango ginger, or rhubarb, so much the better.