Rainy Night Curry

The first time I ate curry, I thought it was weird. 

It was at camp, where we were encouraged to scoop stew onto our plate and then heap it with such incongruous ingredients such as bananas, peanuts, and tomatoes. Um, excuse me? I'm from the Midwest here, people ... 

The next time I ate curry, I was a newlywed, temporarily living in the Western Highlands of Kenya with husband Tim, who was serving at Tenwek Mission Hospital as part of his Indiana University Medical School training. The whole community came together regularly for parties (send-offs, welcomes, any excuse), complete with big pots of curry, heaps of rice, and lots of sweet and savory condiments. During our two months in Kenya, I cooked exclusively from the More With Less Cookbook, which has lots of great recipes for curries (which is a spice as well as a dish). Slate has an interesting article about curry, by the way.

Thai chicken curry. Yum! You have to include fresh
cilantro. Seriously.

Curry became a staple in our apartment during residency. Still using More with Less (now tattered, food-stained, and missing its cover), I cooked up curry stews for dinner--perfect fare when your spouse is coming off a 36-hour shift and will be home ... sometime. The stew would simmer away, and I'd keep reading Keats, Milton, and Zora Neale Hurston and writing papers until I saw the red-rimmed whites of his eyes. Once, Tim nodded off to sleep while eating curry.

I don't make it as often, but I still hanker for a big pot of curry now and then, particularly on cold rainy nights when I want something rich and spicy. I made the this recipe on a recent rainy night, a Thai curry that my kids gobbled up with enthusiasm. Curries are handy when you have kids coming and going at all hours, too.

Many of you know that I've been following the DASH diet (learn more about it here) because of high blood pressure and some other chronic issues. This curry does contain some carbs, but to make it DASH-friendly, I used chicken breasts, lots of high-fiber veggies, and low-fat coconut milk (and I skipped the basmati rice, which sucked, because I love basmati rice). And instead of using canned curry sauce, I improvised with three tablespoons of ground curry and half a can of low-sodium chicken broth. 

About carbs: they aren't banned on the diet, except for the first two weeks, but now I only eat them in small quantities, only a few times a week, and I only eat high-quality carbs (handmade whole-grain breads, whole veggies like potatoes with their skin). I'm eating lots of veggies, fruit, and legumes, as well as lean meat. This diet is very doable, and I'm feeling so much better than I have in ages. 

Try curry some rainy night -- it really hits the spot. And don't blame me if you become an addict.