A Simple Curry Recipe

This morning I woke up with the faintest hint that my cramps were coming. They had incorporated into my dream and slowly nudged me out of it into the waking world. My cramps are not just little twinges usually. They are debilitating. But for some reason when I woke up they kind of slowly faded out. That's cool because it gave me time to do my morning routine and have breakfast before they set in. I am composing this curry recipe before they come back so that my partner can take on dinner duty. I'm planning on being in bed with a heating pad. I'll have him take pictures of the process and I'll post them later.

Simple Curry Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp butter or oil
• 4 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 can + ~3/4 of a can of coconut milk
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast OR 1 block extra firm tofu, drained
• Assorted veggies (for example, this is what we have on hand)
• 1 small head broccoli
• 2 small potatoes 
• 2 small/medium sized bell peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium onion
• 1-2 carrots; I do not have carrots for my curry today but they are a good addition
• 1 cup rice 

This recipe will serve two, plus have tons of leftovers. If you intend to feed a bunch of people at once, you'll just need to prepare more rice. I usually do about 1/2 cup of rice per person. BTW, rice cookers are the shit. I seriously recommend you get one.

Step One: Do veggie prep

Wash and chop all of your veggies. If you prefer skinless potatoes, now is the time to peel. I like to chop most of the veggies small-ish. I like little 1/4-1/2" bites of potatoes and peppers especially. For onions, I like good-sized chunky slivers. Carrots I normally cut into pennies. 

Step One and a Half: Get the rice going

I recommend doing this early because depending on your method of rice prep, it could take awhile. If you know how long your rice cooker takes to prepare whatever amount you're making, then you can time this however you see fit. I'm often spacey and forget to do it until the curry is totally done, and then I end up having to wait another 20 minutes before I can eat and that's really irritating...

Step Two: Protein prep

If you are using chicken: cut chicken in to 1/4-1/2" pieces. Prepare a sauté pan, and use a couple Tbsp cooking oil of your choice. Add your chicken and cook on medium to medium-high, making sure all sides of the chicken pieces are white. This cooks the outside only, so don't try and pop one in your mouth at this point. Set aside.

If you are using tofu: cut the tofu into whatever your preferred size is. Place in pan WITH NO COOKING OIL on medium to medium-high heat. Place the tofu in the pan and stir often. What you're attempting to do is evaporate out any extra water, leaving you with a kind of dry-spongey tofu that will soak up flavor like no other. It should take anywhere from 5-10 minutes. You'll know its ready because it will go from moving around like a soggy tofu, to a more bouncy, dry-looking tofu. It's hard to explain, but its like it suddenly got infused with rubber and when you stir, it doesn't gracefully swirl around the pan anymore and starts to bounce. Be careful not to burn it. 

Add a couple tablespoons of cooking oil, and a couple teaspoons of curry powder to your pan with the tofu and stir well to coat the tofu pieces. Allow this to cook for a couple minutes then set aside.

Step Three: Making the curry sauce

Make a roux with your butter or oil. Start by melting the butter in a medium/large cooking pot, being careful not to burn it. Add your curry powder, and whisk well to combine. Stir continuously for a minute or two, then add your coconut milk, whisking well. Bring to a simmer.

Step Four: Putting it all together

Add all of the veggies and your protein to the sauce, bring back to a simmer, and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Check the harder veggies like the carrots and potatoes to see if they are soft. If so, then you're all done! Enjoy the heck out of your curry! You did good!

P.S. Thank you C.J.. I couldn't ask for a more excellent partner. I am so appreciative of all you do to support me whether I'm in debilitating pain, feeling fatigued, or feeling pretty good. Love love. <3