by Jessika Anspach McEliece
It’s funny to look back and remember what you were up to a year ago…
This time last year my husband and I were in the chaotic process of preparing for a very big move. Having retired from a 12-year career with the Pacific Northwest Ballet, we were saying goodbye to Seattle and hello to Winchester, England for a study abroad. And as Seattleites, we thought we’d be saying goodbye to a lot more than just our careers, friends and families…
The home of not only Starbucks or fish-tossing in Pike’s Place Market, Seattle has become quite a culinary crib, with artisan coffee shops and foodie-approved restaurants filling every borough. It’s also a cultural melting pot with a vast array of peoples and ethnicities, all sharing their traditions through the foods they cook. Needless to say we’d become spoiled by farm-to-table meals at hipster haunts or the fast, delicious and accessible Thai take-out that had become a post-performance dinner staple. There’s nothing like a big bowl of spaghetti squash and Green Curry…
And with every conversation we had regarding our impending British transplant, hearing people sarcastically say, “England? I hear the food’s great there…” we prepared our taste-buds and tummies for a year of bland and blah. Thankfully we’ve discovered the stereotype’s all wrong. From the perfect pour-over to lovely latte-art; from buttery pork belly to fish and chips that are a revelation, we’ve struggled to have anything bad here. Seattle doesn’t feel so far away after all…
But there is one culinary custom that’s taken us quite by surprise… Curry.
As quintessentially English as a Sunday Roast, the Brits take their curry very seriously. And it’s seriously good, with so many different varieties I’d never even heard of, let alone tasted. But the most astonishing part is that many make this meal at home. And it actually tastes like a curry from a proper Indian restaurant—take-away not required!
Our neighbor Bill shared with us the secret: Camelia Panjabi’s 50 great curries of India. And from the grease and dried food splatters on nearly every page of his well-loved copy it’s clear that there’s not a bad recipe in this book. A truth we ourselves can attest to.
Another reason to love curry, aside from it being incredibly delicious, is that it’s loaded with powerhouse ingredients, from healthy fats found in coconut oil and ghee, to Ayurvedic and anti-inflammatory herbs and spices that are the flavorful backbone of nearly every recipe. Perfect food for those tired legs and swollen feet.
And you’d be surprised how accessible and easy the recipes are… Practically all of the ingredients and spices I already had in my pantry (and use regularly) or can be found at the grocery store, ethnic market, or on Amazon.
So without further adieu here’s our slightly adapted version (it’s milder – my husband Ryan can’t tolerate heat) of Camelia’s recipe for a basic, no-frills, ALL FLAVOR, curry.