Wanted: Curry in a Hurry

3 weeks in Hakuba and I was in a flurry- I wanted curry, and I wanted it now. Not the Japanese, made out of store bought cubes, complete with breaded pork cutlet, sort of curry; rather, nostril prickling, sinus tingling , creamy, pungent, REAL curry. As they say, necessity is the mother of all inventions,so here is the first of many dishes I've put together in my valiant battle against what I consider to be the greatest affliction of living in a small country town: the lack of food options.

To temper the piquancy, serve with steamed rice and a refreshing Cucumber or Tomato and Red Onion Raita.

*All this was before we discovered Indian Mo Mo, the local Indian restaurant.

Creamy Chicken Curry with Green Peas

Serves 4

500 gm chicken breast (sliced)

3 tblspn curry powder

1 heaped tspn cumin powder

1 heaped tspn coriander powder

1 clove minced garlic

2 slices ginger, minced

1 shallot minced

1/2 large brown onion in wedges

60 gm frozen peas

1 can coconut milk or 250ml half fat milk (low fat version)

1 tblspn sugar

salt to taste+1 tspn salt

Marinade chicken in 2 tblspn curry powder, cumin & coriander powder and 1 tspn salt.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a fry pan, brown meat, then add onions, garlic, shallots, ginger and rest of curry powder. Fry for another 1 min, then add the milk, sugar, peas and simmer till chicken is cooked. Salt to taste.

note: if you're using normal milk, make sure to stir continuously to prevent milk from curdling.

Cucumber Raita

200gm full fat yogurt

1/3 lebanese cucumber, thinly sliced

3 sprigs of coriander chopped finely

1/3 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

pinch of salt

Mix the cucumber with salt and leave for 3o min. Squeeze the cucumber to remove excess liquid. Add all the remaining ingredients and serve with curry.

For Tomato and Red Onion Raita, simply replace the cucumber with 1 small tomato, skinned, deseeded and chopped and 1 tablespoon chopped red onion.