i don't like 1139

On Wed 14 Dec 2005 08:31:20p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it OmManiPadmeOmelet?

If you like a full-flavored, well-balanced curry powder blend, let me suggest Penzey's Sweet Curry Powder. It's a lovely taste without being hot. In fact, I use it in a hot, curried fruit compote (served hot, not the seasoning).

Back in the 1970s when we entertained a lot, I would often make a 12 or 16 boy curry dinner for 8 or 10 people. My two favorites were a coconut milk based shrimp curry and a red beef curry. Neither were too hot for the avarage person.

While in the planning stages of one such dinner, we went to the Cleveland Home and Flower Show where there were many vendors of a huge array of home- related products. I spied an Indian company who had various buttortments of curry blends for sale. I bought their largest collection of 12 different blends which were supposed to represent the popular blends by region. Every one of them had a fabulous smell.

Prior to this purchase I usually used Spice Islands curry powder, but I was very excited to use my new acquisition, so forged ahead with my shrimp curry recipe using one of the new powders. Prior to serving it I had only a tiny taste of the sauce. It was really delicious, if a bit spicier than my usual.

When everyone dug into the curry at the dinner table, I thought we would all go collectively up in smoke! A mouth full of this stuff was tantamount to injury! No amount of eating chapati or drinking lbutti or water quelled the heat. We just had to wait it out.

To repair the sauce for another meal, I duplicated all the ingredients except for the spices. This brought the heat down to a tolerable level.

-- Wayne Boatwright *À*

A chicken in every pot is a *LOT* of chicken!