I had dinner guests the other night and to make them something they never had before, I made some Indian food. They ooohed and wowed like I’d been working all day on the food, but they didn’t know the secret. It’s actually very simple to make. Follow me to the next page and I’ll let you know how it was done.
To begin with, I knew that these folks would not much like anything very spicy, so I decided to offer a mild curry. This dinner takes about an hour and fifteen minutes from preparation until serving, but you’re not standing over the stove that whole time.

To serve four, you will need:

• 2 lbs of meat (I like chicken or beef—cut up steak cooked this way is divine!)
• 1 jar of Patak’s Curry Paste (it comes in mild, medium, and hot, and then you get up to the “Vidaloo” curries etc. which are very spicy)
• Large onion
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes (see adjustments)
• Water
• Rice, probably 3-4 cups
• (Tortillas or Naan bread or Poppudums (optional)
• Chutneys (optional)

*a big heavy, deep skillet is best, but use a larger stockpot will work too.

1. Start by chopping up your onion.
2. If meat is not pre-cut to pieces about ½ the size of your thumb or a little larger, cut meat.
3. Put 4 tsp of oil in your pan and heat up. When a piece of onion bubbles, in the oil, it’s time to sauté the rest of the onion.
4. Sauté onions for about one minute (do not allow to burn!)
5. Add the meat. Sauté and turn the meat over repeatedly for 1-3 minutes until meat is sealed.  (see adjustments if using an inexpensive, tough cut of meat.)
6. Add the canned tomato and about a can and a half of water (cans are approximately 14 oz.)
7. Add curry paste by the tablespoon. Adjust for taste: for 2 pounds of meat you are probably looking at a minimum of  6 tablespoons of curry paste.  For those who say they like spicy food, try 12 tbsp. (This might use the whole jar of curry paste.) Mix well.
8. Lower heat to simmer. The dish will now need to simmer for a total of fifty minutes.
9. If cooking rice on the stovetop, you may want to start it shortly. I use a rice cooker and I won’t start the rice until the curry is at its halfway mark (25 minutes)
10. When the rice is done, serve by placing rice in an empty circle on the plate and then spoon the curry into the center.  Serve with chutneys and bread.

Adjustments:

If you think you want to try it very hot, definitely use the highest number of  tablespoons of curry paste, but use tomatoes canned with hot peppers, e.g. Rotel Tomatoes. Kroger makes their own off-brand of diced tomatoes with peppers that are much less expensive and worth having on hand.

If you are using a cut of meat that is normally very tough, you might try boiling it in water for a little while first before you start the dish (maybe a 15-20 minute boil.) Even tough stew meat cooked in this way and then curried will be very soft by the time that you’re done.

It can also be served with small dishes of diced tomato and diced onion on the side, as a combination garnish and flavor enhancer.

The curry sauce should be fairly thick but not stodgy. If necessary, add a little more water during the cooking time.

Enjoy! This dish is traditionally an Indian dish, which the British brought home and made very popular among the English. Apparently now food from Indian restaurants is the most popular take-out food in the UK!

Now, I’m especially interested in hearing what folks outside the USA would serve as a simple, yet “special” meal for outside guests. I’m new to cooking, and I could use all of the advice I can get. Can you help?

What do you serve when you have guests coming but not a lot of time, energy, or money to cook?

Thanks.