Xacuti curry with coconut milk added at the end
Oh, the smell of curry simmering. It could make the whole neighborhood accidently fall in to ostensibly borrow something or just say hello, haha. Fortunately on our sweet little rue we have a neighbor who travels to Goa and brings back what I now consider the ultimate spice for curries, Xacuti. A mix of white poppy seeds, sliced onions, toasted grated coconut, and large dried red chillies, a spoon of Xacuti powder has become my favorite to add to almost any curry along with some Madras, a bit of garum masala, cardamom, chile powder, a pinch of cinnamon, fresh ginger and of course lovely sweet onions and fresh garlic.
After having been way too long in isolation, we finally branched out to gather our street neighbors for a curry and of course invited the Xacuti bearer!
In my kitchen, crazy is a sweet word, especially for curry, which in this case turned out to be a mad combination I would never normally have used, but oh, so good: Fresh shrimp, leftover duck confit (!), leftover roast chicken for a base, and then the additional vegetables of May, fresh-dug little new potatoes from our amazing gardener/ guru neighbor whose vast canvas of perfect rows of tomatoes, leeks, onions, grapes, lettuces, berries, and more cozy up to my tiny backyard garden and provide great inspiration to my veggies to grow, grow, grow as beautifully as they do!
So wonderful to have an over-the-fence neighbor with answers for everything from Where are my worms or What are the little white thingies on the lemon tree to How does your darling wife make her incredibly smooth orange gelée and raspberry purée. the likes of which one will NEVER taste in a lifetime...
Sweet neighbors.
But I digress from the curry dinner last night that launched us again into our social world, thinking, “Do we still know how to DO this?”
Evidently we did, and all was done the day before, a huge plus with any dinner party. I make my curries and stews such as the French cassoulet or Boeuf Bourguignon (I actually prefer to use lamb) a day or two ahead as they are always better after their little rest.
And now for the curry:
BASIC CURRY
Have ready a 2-3 cups of leftover chicken and/or duck and 2 cups of raw small shrimp or 4 cups of whatever meat or poultry you have leftover in your surprising fridge.
Sauté the spices first, always. This I learned from an Indian classmate at Berkeley years ago who actually borrowed 50 bucks from me one day and whom I met years later when he was head of Pier One enterprises!!! I think the 50 was well spent.
Olive oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet
Sauté:
2 teaspoons Xacuti powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
1 teaspoon garum masala
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger
Dash of espelette hot pepper or whatever you like for heat
When flavorings are cooked a few minutes add:
2 sweet onions, chopped not too fine, but not too big
4 garlic cloves, chopped the same
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth or shellfish broth if you are using shrimp but I use whatever broth I have saved at the time
2 medium zucchine, chopped fine
2 cups leftover chicken or duck or small raw shirmp, cut in half, if you wish a all-shrimp curry
3 small potatoes, peeled and chopped medium
1 cup of lait de coco, light or heavy
4 tablespoons tomato sauce, preferably homemade
2 tablespoons butter to finish the curry
A little more broth if the curry is too thick. Let all of this simmer for about 30 minutes and taste for seasonings. Let all the flavors get to know one another overnight and serve with these condiments:
Raita - cucumber, garlic and fresh mint whizzed up with Greek yogurt into a lovely cool frenzy
Chopped avocado mixed with cilantro and a bit of Xacuti, lemon, and salt
Chopped peanuts
Chopped hard boiled egg mixed with salt, pepper and a pinch of curry powder
Citrus Chutney, an original recipe of mine when my lemon tree went berserk and produced 200 lemons
CITRUS CHUTNEY
2 large oranges. seeds removed, chopped coarse
4 large lemons, seeds removed, chopped coarse
1 large sweet onions, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, chopped fine
1 scant cup raisins
1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Pinch of cinnamon, ginger and cardomom
Pinch of hot pepper (wear rubber gloves, haha)
1/2 cup orange or lemon juice
Pinch of salt
****
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup brown or raw or white sugar or to taste when chutney is finished as some like things sweeter than I do
In the bowl of a food processor, put everything except the sugar amd pulse until all is chopped fairly fine but NOT puréed.
In a large pot, heat the olive oil and add all of the chopped ingredients and the sugar and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the citrus is soft and you cannot resist the smell and want curry.
If the chutney is too thick and threatening to stick to the bottom of the pan, add a bit of orange juice. The texture should be that of thick jam.
Serve with chapati or naan (recipes and technique to come).