Curry

Mac was a good cook and he had his mother to thank for it.  He usually made a mess in the kitchen, and got others to scrape, peel and chop his ingredients, but the end result was always delicious.  Growing up in Ontario I had never been exposed to things like fresh ginger, garlic cloves or coconuts, and Mac and Momma  taught me how they can be used to enhance local dishes.

West Indian curry is something I make well, and I always think of Mac and his mother as I assemble my ingredients.  They always said, “is all about de coconut” and that’s very true, if a West Indian curry hasn’t been made with fresh coconut cream it isn’t good curry!  The day before making a curry I take the meat from two coconuts, chop it up and set it in the ‘fridge.  At the same time I season whatever meat I will be currying with salt, ground pepper, ticky thyme and garlic, it’s important to let the seasonings soak in overnight.

To make fresh cream for her curries Momma Simmons always grated the coconut by hand, a task Mac often performed for her when he was small.  She then squeezed the juice from the coconut and left it to sit until the cream rose to the top, skimming the cream off with a spoon when it was time to add it to her curry.  Mac made the job easier with an electric blender; adding just a bit of water to the chopped coconut he would blend it well, then drop the mixture into a sieve set over a bowl.  Once all the coconut had been blended he then squeezed it with his hands until he had a mound of dry coconut on one side and a bowl filled with liquid on the other.  The bowl would go into the fridge, and at the same time the chilled seasoned meat would come out   A truly  good curry takes time to make, it isn’t “hurry up” food!

The cream separates from the coconut water, and if put in the refrigerator for a few hours the cream becomes almost solid.  That’s when I like to use it, I can spoon it easily from the bowl into the curry, then save the rest of the coconut water for later. All that chopping, blending and squeezing of the coconuts takes time so I don’t waste any of the precious nut, the coconut water not used in the curry gives a wonderful flavor to the rice and peas that will be served alongside it!

Before I start to cook the meat I grate fresh ginger, turmeric and garlic and rest it beside some freshly chopped onions. Choosing a large pot, I pour in enough oil to cover the bottom, then add a large spoonful of brown sugar.  I wait until the sugar smokes and starts to burn before adding the seasoned meat.  I quickly stir the meat several times, then leave it to brown in its juices.  Once the meat has browned evenly I strain it over a bowl so that I retain the liquid, then put the onions in the pot to fry.  I gradually add the grated ginger, garlic and turmeric, allowing the spices to simmer for a few moments.

Time for the coconut cream!  I remove the pot from the stove and stir curry powder throughout the onions, then start adding the hardened coconut cream.  As I add the cream I stir in the juices strained from the browned meat until I have a heavenly-smelling creamy mixture. Adding the meat, I return the pot to the stove and set the heat to medium.  Once the pot starts to boil I add one more very important ingredient, a few large local flavor peppers, then cover the pot for a couple of hours.  The local meat is very tasty but has to be cooked until tender, and that takes time.

While the curry simmers I often make coconut bakes, no need to waste that dry coconut and the bakes taste wonderful with the curry.   I also put green peas and onions to simmer in the coconut water not used in the curry, then add rice once the peas are tender.  Half an hour before the curry is ready I remove the flavor peppers (if I can find them!), then add some  diced carrot, potato and sweet pepper to the pot, fresh coriander too if available.

If I do say so myself my curried beef or goat, when served with rice and peas made with coconut water is something special, and the fresh coconut bakes are a wonderful bonus.  As Momma and Mac used to say, “Is all about de coconut!”