In the stillness of Curry

Curry is my comfort food but it always seemed so complicated. As a child, I would watch my mother prepare different creations, like a sorceress putting together a magic potion- a little bit of this special powder, grind up these fragrant spices, chop some of this and stir some of that.

As I would inhale the layers of fragrant aromatics melding together to bring to my plate the symphony of flavors that is curry.... finally, exhale.
Taste, behold, savor.

I have never found another food that awakens so many hidden receptors in my mouth. A well made curry covers a spectrum of individual flavors. It has a variety of spice layers, not just the impact of chilli peppers. It covers a little bit of bitter, sweet, sour, salty and the all important yummy. I think the Japanese call this umami.

There is no better stupor to me, than a curry stupor.... even a good foot rub stupor is a far second.... So, I am quite impressed at my curry making ability because I guess I am a sorceress of sorts now as well. Ok, maybe that is a bit of a stretch, but to tell you the truth, I looked at curry making as a big mystery and left it to the mastery of my mother who makes Martha Stewart look like a dull, lazy slob with BO.

For most part, as a teenager, I was content to be the ditsy kitchen assistant who chopped as she was told while making a grand old mess, quite clueless as to what was going where, afterall, I could get curry anywhere.... little did I know then that years later, as I lay distraught in the eye of a bad curry craving in the middle of the curry void of the universe (Stevens Point, Wisconsin), that I would actually have to venture out to make curry on my own. *gasp*

My first few attempts took months of careful thought, and random squirreling of spices found... I could have asked my mother, but her instructions sounded like a foreign language to me... actually because it was. She had coloqual names for spices and the grocery store clerk looked at me like he would like to smoke some of whatever it was I was asking for. So I improvised... My first curry tasted ok... but it could have been because I was so yummy curry deficient, that any semblance satisfied. It also took me over 3 hours to make.... which is shameful.

I must admit, I have in my arsenal some curry dishes that even impresses my mother... she questions me on the name of it and I sneeze, mumble and pretend to hear my phone ringing in another part of the house, (my mother is a bit of a purist, except when she is being inventive, then it is ok).

When people started to request that I make curry in exchange for actual money, I began to wonder if perhaps I should explore the world of curry with the eyes of the marketer that I am by trade. In the stillness of a curry stupor, the concept for Curry in a Hurry was born.

my question is, are you ready to curry?
'Cuz I can't wait to curry-fy you.