I happen to have some killer ingredients lying around, including real Kashmir Mogra saffron, galangal, mangoes, garam masala, and coconut milk. Time for some curry! Here’s what I propose:
Mango curry sauce:
Puree 1 mango and 1 tomato with coconut milk. Add curry (1 part garam masala (sweet) , 1 part regular curry (hot)), and diced chicken (raw). Heat through until chicken is cooked. Dice another mango and add it in at the end.
Rice:
Cook rice with galangal, cinnamon, cloves, and saffron. Add cashews at the end.
Serve together, garnished with fresh yellow bell pepper. I think the sweet spiciness of both dishes will go nicely, with the warmth of the saffron complementing the bright fruitiness of the diced mango, tied together with the sweetness and crunch of the pepper.
Oh, and I’ll be serving with mango lassi on the side (thanks vetbridge!)
Sweet jesus, that was good. That was ridiculously good. I modified the recipes just a bit. Since the curry turned out more golden than reddish, as I had expected, I used a red bell pepper for contrast. Second, I used pork instead of chicken (briefly marinated in rice vinegar, a touch of oil, a chopped hot pepper, a tsp of galangal, and a tablespoon or so of lime juice.) I sauteed it with garlic first, then turned down the heat and softened a quartered onion. I then added the curry mixture (curry slurry? :)) and some freshly ground cardamom, and heated it slowly for 45 minutes.
I also melted a tablespoon of butter in the saffron rice at the end to make it creamy.
As for the lassi, instead of straight mango, I also pureed two extremely ripe Chilton County peaches and sweetened it with local raw tulip poplar honey. Divine.
The whole thing was, if I may be immodest, fantastic. Warning: it ain’t health food. Suggested modifications for next time include using light coconut milk to keep it from being a heart-attack-in-a-dish.
