Ode to Curry
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
Many moons ago, when going to the pub was a regular activity for me, I was initiated into the tradition of crowning the evening off with either picking up a Kebab ( slices of juicy roasted meat nestled in a scorched pita with cucumbers and yogurt) sometimes Chinese ( which oddly you could pick up at the local chippy) or a fragrant, often mind blowing ( and bum blowing; the boys in my town would set fire to their aromatized farts) Curry. Curry also happens to be incredibly budget friendly so if like me you’re counting your pennies, I mean cents, then curry is the dish for you. But where to start?
The name, Curry comes from the Tamil word Kari, which translates to mean sauce or spiced dish, or so I found on the World Wide Web. The spice mix in curries, specifically the turmeric and the capsicums, helps to boost blood flow and therefore improve heart health, though I would imagine it depends on the rest of the ingredients. Hot peppers are also a great mood booster, so one more reason in this era of Covid to dive head first into a Vindaloo (disclaimer Vindaloo will also make you skip to your loo, possibly repeatedly). For a healthier curry, I switch out coconut oil for butter and coconut milk or a tart sheep yogurt for cream, sure not as lush and decadent but still bloody tasty!
As someone who champions equal opportunities for all, I spread my love for curry unabashedly be it Indian, Thai , Malaysian or Japanese, I love them, I love them, I LOVE them all! Stay tuned then for my faves…
Chinese curry; I mentioned the chippy before, this is a quintessential British institution, to anyone unfamiliar the long form name is Fish & Chip Shop. What does this have to do with curry? It just so happens to be the place wee Gaby was introduced to the divinity of curry many many moons ago. Now I can’t vouch for the rest of the country but in my version of Middle Earth, or the British Midlands, where drinking pints in tankards and having hairy feet is a given, the chippys serve curry sauce over a bag of chips. One of my fondest teenage memories is the smell of newspaper, hot oil and the aromas of curry sauce co-mingling to form a not so delicate bouquet with the my sweaty, patchouli wearing boyfriend’s fragrance, that and the smell of my turmeric dyed fingers that lingered for days after.
The inspiration behind this variant is far less spicy and contains usually a sweet ingredient such as apple or raisins, it may sound odd but it adds great complexity to this working class staple. It’s become so popular that you can buy it as a frozen meal or as a bag of potato chips in the UK. If you feel like checking it out for yourself and making your own here’s a link from BBC Good Food for an authentic chip shop curry sauce.
MMMMMMM…curry!
Indian curry; Friday nights during my college days in London were the highlight of my week for the sole reason that I would head on down to Chalk Farm to visit with my bestie Jane where we would feast on all sorts of curried delights and have a good old natter. Our banquet would usually include:
Chicken Jalfrezi - jalfrezi means stir-fry and originates from Kashmir, contains hot and sweet peppers, coconut and tomatoes as well as spices.
Veggie Dopiaza - Dopiaza means two onions, a northern Indian curry that uses onions as the base and as one of the veggies in the dish.
Some form of Korma - this should be called baby’s first curry being the mildest of all the Indian curries, with a base of coconut and almonds as well as saffron which gives it that glorious golden color.
And for her wackadoo wannabe macho boyfriend, a veg based Vindaloo - the fiery hot mama of curry made with tomato, chili and cumin. For your information, chili’s were not part of Indian cuisine until the Portuguese introduced them in the 16th century.
Papadams, Garlic Naan and lots of red wine were also a prerequisite for this jolly good time!
Thai Curry; Not until I moved to New York did I truly experience a devastatingly delicious Thai curry. My first bite came from Holy Basil on 2nd ave, it was next to the original Jivamukti yoga studio (before it became all bougie and expensive), where I would float out of class, drenched in spiritual sweat and in need of sustenance and a refreshing Thai iced tea.
My best experience though came from Plan Eat Thailand, again the original shoebox location on Bedford ave, before Williamsburg became all hipster gentrified. My United Nations crew ( a gorgeous Texan ex model, a team of Israeli artists, a Senegalese Chef, a Canadian hair metal lead singer and less often an Italian nutcase shutterbug or a Venezuelan lothario, oh and me) usually around eleven or so of us would hold court in the corner table drinking copious amounts of Singha beers, and eating till we just couldn’t any more. On our table you would most likely find some form of:
Yellow curry - contains ginger, lemongrass and cinnamon as well as Indian curry style spices, yellow curry is often served with meat and potato but can also be found with tofu and veg. Yellow curry is a bit of mishmash owing to the Brits once again traveling and taking their Indian favorites with them when they tried to conquer the world.
Massaman curry - the name is derived from the Persian word musulman, meaning Muslim and is probably one of my all time favorites that uses non traditional spices to flavor it such as nutmeg and star anise as well as sometimes pineapple. These spices came to Thailand via Muslim merchants who travelled through south East Asia bringing with them an assortment of aromatics often found in a middle eastern spice blend called Ras el hanout (head of the shop). It's a mild curry that contains potato, coconut, peanuts and some form of meat but is also fantastic as a vegetarian dish with chickpeas and sweet potatoes.
Bangkok Noodles - usually ground meat of some sort, tons of veg and a mild curry sauce.
Panang Red Curry - this again was reserved for the He-men of our group, quite often some form of whole fish or large head on shrimp would have been cooked in a fiery red, coconuty curry and my adventurous friend Timor would relish in sucking the brains or the eyes out whilst I barfed. Fun times!
Then of course I came to Los Angeles and fell in love with the wide varieties of Thai food available here, but especially curries. My two favorites to chow down at are Jitlada a hop, skip and a jump from where I currently lay my head and the diminutive shack, Cholada that hangs out on the Pacific Coast highway like a shining beacon of goodness!
Japanese curry; lesser known to me until the last few years, curry was introduced to Japan by those sneaky Brits, having pilfered it from India. Japanese curry is less spicy than its Indian counterpart and usually thicker, served often over udon noodles or in a curry ramen which is beyond delicious! There is also a curry stuffed bread which is incredible, in Los Angeles we’re lucky enough to have Japan town in DTLA as well as little Japan on the west side where delicacies such as this curry bread can be found. You can also grab some curry buns at Mitsuwa market which has a food court in the larger locations and sometimes the curry bread pops up in their freezer section.
MMMMMMMMMMMM….curry!
The NYTimes has a recipe for a Japanese curry brick for those times when you’re stuck at home and in need of a project, like now perhaps.
The curry road less travelled; My love of curry has inspired me to use its aromatics in some unexpected places, curried egg salad and curried deviled eggs, curried carrot cake, or how about cauliflower Mac & cheese doctored with curried breadcrumbs ( a favorite from my last Thanksgiving ).
My favorite invention however is the Mumbai Mule I made back when I still used to tend bar. A riff on the classic Moscow Mule but using turmeric root as well as ginger to infuse the vodka and a Tikka Masala honey syrup that was rounded out by coconut milk. As unusual as it may sound, I had guests traveling across the city for that one cocktail and often more than one. Less successfully I attempted a Thai green curry Mai Tai with brown rice orgeat that I served in a to-go box, great for the instagram set but most definitely a bit weird.
Check out the full recipe for my Mumbai Mule in Clean + Dirty Drinking or a booze free riff on it here in the New York Times. However you take it, curry is the inexpensive , glow inducing comfort we should all be enjoying more of in these dark and dreary times!
