I Always Listen to Public Enemy when I Make Curry

Hello folks. Despite the cliche it has, in fact, been a while. A wide variety of events, both visceral and ephemeral, have happened/occurred/taken place/been since my last post oh…a couple of months ago. When I began this humble project my goal was to post something new once a month. Let’s make that my blog-centric resolution for the new year of ‘09. There will be others…

So the holidays have come and largely gone. Oh, and a national election. And some serious economic troubles. The garden was put to rest long ago, save for the remaining beds of rocket, carrots, chicory, chard, and herbs — all of which having been blanketed in no less than 16″ of snow recently. Speaking of which: hot maple syrup poured over a compact ball of snow is really, really good.

A bit late, perhaps, but keep in mind the sense of meaning and connection that imbue hand-made gifts. Roasted, spiced nuts, jams or chutneys, granola, cookies, hot sauce, hand-written recipe cards — there are a lot of great gifts that can come from your kitchen and garden that manage to be more than grabbing something from a store shelf.

Although that has its merits, too. One gift I gave this holiday season (to Leslie) is the new cookbook How to Eat Supper. It was written by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (host of The Splendid Table on NPR) and Sally Swift. It’s the kind of cookbook I like: more than a collection of recipes, it’s full of useful advice, wonderful stories, and subtle politics. I modified the recipe for Chicken Curry with Gentle Spices last night (subbing coconut milk for yogurt and carrots and broccoli for chicken) and it was amazing. Though I am no fan of copyright law, or the concept of intellectual property in general, I won’t write out the recipe in full here. But I did want to mention a couple points of technique for making Indian curries that eluded me as a novice but have since become essential:

(1) Roasting and grinding whole spices. I can’t say it better than my favorite celebrity chef Mario Batali: “Go directly to your spice cabinet and throw all of your spices away. Because the last time you made Bengali curry was five years ago, and there is no curry left in that curry.” In other words, the freshness of your dried herbs and spices matters no matter what the dish or cuisine. Dry pan-roasting (with no fat, in a non-stick or preferably cast iron skillet) for a couple of minutes (shaking or stirring constantly…the wafting aroma will tell you when) on medium heat does wonders for cumin, fennel, coriander, clove, and other wonderful curry spices. Thrift an old coffee grinder to dedicate to spice grinding, or get down and dirty with a mortar and pestle. Looking at that jar of stale “curry powder” in your drawer or cabinet? As PE said, “Can’t trust it.” Pitch it and find a shop that sells spices in bulk; you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.

(2) Time. Making a rich, flavorful curry takes time. Using yogurt or coconut milk for that savory goodness? You’ve got to reduce it, cook it down, the way you would wine or stock, to intensify the flavor. Additionally, you must saute your curry paste until the sauce “breaks” (the oil separates from the rest of the sauce). As Lynne says, thoroughly sauteing the curry paste sets up the foundation of the dish.

Let’s go back to that election. I know a lot of friends (readers of this here blog) were/are pretty excited about an Obama presidency. Some of you even hit the pavement for him. First, I’d like to offer heartfelt support for the fact that you cared about something enough to contribute your time, energy, passion, and creativity to making it a reality. That we need more of, and I hope your lives are richer for having supported and participated in a process that you found meaningful. As a radical, the election of Obama (and of greater Democratic majorities in the House and Senate) fills me with little hope. I could offer my thoughts and opinions, informed by history and an analysis of our economic and political systems, or I could forget all of the bigger picture stuff and look at the nitty gritty of his administration-to-be. Since it’s still pretty early, let’s do a shorthand version of both:

(1) The election of a black man as president does not negate the systemic reality of racial inequality and injustice. Here is a link to a poster on Obama from those ever-irreverent and sometimes insightful folks at Crimethinc.

(2) Let’s be real: he’s basically a moderate Democrat. If you’re a liberal and you cheer the election of liberals, you would probably be more excited about someone like Ted Kennedy or Bernie Sanders getting elected because their politics are simply more progressive than Obama’s. I hope that some of his cabinet picks have raised your eyebrows and pulses: his Secretaries of Education, Agriculture, and the Interior are all very conservative and have histories of supporting a lot of things that you are probably against such as:

• Duncan: Privatizing public schools, supporting military recruitment in middle and high schools.
• Vilsack: No friend of organic farming, being an avid supporter of genetically engineered crops and chemical and energy-intensive industrial agriculture.
• Salazar: Support for off-shore oil drilling, preventing government action on climate change, preventing higher fuel-economy standards, increasing federal subsidies for oil corporations.

And, um…anyone not interested in imperial wars…should probably be…uh, concerned…about Clinton as Secretary of State.

Yes, I am excited about the possibility of a “green New Deal” and also about the impending passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. But, to paraphrase Gabriel Teodros: We’ve [still] got a lot of work to do.