Curry a great way to spice up dishes from eggs to soups

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Dana Holbrook of Cape Rosier asked what my favorite seasonings are, and I invited you to tell me what yours are. I hope I will hear from more of you about your favorites. Meanwhile, I would like to tell about why I love curry.

Most of you know curry as a dark yellow powder. Some have a good deal of heat, others are quite mild. Curry is a blend of various spices; one can’t go into a tropical forest and collect curry nuts to grind up. Curries usually contain turmeric, which makes the bright yellow color, plus coriander, mustard seeds both yellow and black, fenugreek, cumin, and hot red peppers such as cayenne. Some will also have cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. The word curry comes from a Tamil word, kari, and Asian curries were and are a spiced sauce in which meat or fish was stewed to be served on rice. When the Dutch and English went to India and the East Indies to trade, they met up with curried dishes, and brought the spice combination back to Holland and England, where the mixture’s heat was toned down, and the dish transformed more into a meat stew with the flavoring and rice added.

Cook books with Indian, Indonesian, and often West Indian recipes will give you the lists of spices to use, recommending that you toast them a little while in a hot pan before adding other ingredients. But most of us reach for the curry powder jar. And what handy stuff it is. Here are some ideas about how to use curry.

For a quick hors d’oeuvre, blend some curry powder into cream cheese, tasting a bit as you go until you are satisfied with the flavor, put it on a plate and top with chutney as a spread on crackers. You can also zip up mayonnaise with curry to use as a dip for veggies. Curry added to deviled eggs is terrific, or to eggs mashed up for egg salad sandwiches. Scrambled eggs are vastly improved with curry added.

You can add curry powder to leftover (or canned) chicken gravy, add in cooked chicken meat, and serve on rice with a garnish of chopped scallions, chopped peanuts and chutney on the side. Ditto leftover lamb. You can sprinkle curry powder on plain, diced and boiled root vegetables and toss them until all have some curry powder on them.

There are a number of wonderful, simple Indian dishes in a category called dal that use lentil, mung beans, or split peas, simply stewed until soft and porridgelike, to which are added curry spices or curry powder. Think in terms of a curried vegetarian pea soup. The following recipe is one I learned from a neighbor. It can be a one-pot dinner for a vegetarian or could be a side dish accompanied by meat or fish. It makes a lot and it freezes well.

I love the vegetables, which show up here and there in this dish. You can see I am still working on my turnip supply. Feel free to improvise, though, because it is a slow-cooked dish, and you might not want to use zucchinis or a soft vegetable like that in it, or else wait to the very last minute to incorporate them. I should think cauliflower, a few shreds of cabbage, even a bit of winter squash (like butternut) or sweet potato instead of carrot would be perfectly good, too.

The recipe calls for mung beans, which are found in the whole food section of the store, or at whole food stores and cooperatives. Feel free to substitute green or yellow split peas. This dish, in case you didn’t notice, is another in that great, frugal beans and rice category that helps us keep the old grocery bill down to a dull roar.

I know that you know the old rule about cooking: that it is easier to add than subtract. So if you want to be cautious about the curry powder, cut the quantity recommended and add it, tasting as you go, giving it a more pronounced curry flavor.

Bajanhns Banquet

Serves six

1 cup of mung beans

1 cup of rice (preferably brown)

8 cups of water

1 or 2 carrots (or half a sweet potato or some winter squash)

2 stalks of celery

1 bell pepper, red or green

about a cup of diced turnip, or shredded cabbage, or cauliflower or broccoli

1/4 cup of olive or vegetable oil

4 cloves of garlic mashed

2 tablespoons of soy sauce (optional)

2 tablespoons of curry powder or the following

2 teaspoons turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons coriander

salt and pepper to taste

Put the beans, rice, and water into a heavy pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil then reduce the temperature to a low medium and simmer the mixture for 45 minutes. Stir from time to time to keep it from sticking. If the mixture is stiff and very thick, add a bit of hot water. The texture should be like a very thick soup.

Dice and slice the vegetables and add them with the oil to the beans and rice. Cook that mixture, adding hot water if needed, for thirty to forty minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic, optional soy sauce, and the curry powder or spices. Cook for another ten minutes or so, then taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper or even a bit more curry powder.

Serve in soup bowls with rice crackers. Some like it with grated cheese but I don’t usually bother with that.

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.