Sweet potato curry

This curry story begins last year, when my sister mentioned making a sweet potato and chickpea curry. While I’d never made a curry before, this one sounded appealing, so I had her send me the recipe (from Nigella Lawson, originally in the NY Times). I made the curry at the lake in Wisconsin, where the kitchen isn’t as fully outfitted as mine, meaning that I used a blender instead of a Cuisinart to chop the onions and chilis. More significantly, since I hadn’t been able to find the specified Thai chilis at Whole Foods, I substituted jalapenos with the assumption that four jalapenos equal one Thai chili (yes, I know… what can I say, I’m apparently terrible at assessing chili heat!).

As soon as I blended up the onion-jalapeno mixture, D and I noticed what can only be described as fumes wafting through the kitchen. This immediately got worse (much worse) when I started cooking the mixture in hot oil. The liquified jalapenos seemed to atomize into some sort of gastro-chemical weapon and our eyes started to water.

At this point, I deduced that I’d perhaps overdone the chilis, so I removed about half the onion-jalapeno slurry from the pan, aired out the kitchen, and proceeded with the recipe. It made A LOT of curry. Enough to feed a hungry mob of vegetarians. In the end, it wasn’t horrifyingly hot, but its early tendencies toward weaponization and the sheer volume produced (eg, I was eating leftover curry for a whole week) meant only one name seemed appropriate: “death curry”.

Recently, I decided to try and rehabilitate the death curry. This meant: 1) use an appropriate amount of chilis, 2) use a Cuisinart instead of a blender, to avoid total chili liquification, and 3) cut way back on the volume, especially of the chickpeas (I went from four cans to just one). I also tweaked some of the spices to be more to my taste (eg, dropped the fresh and dried ginger, chili flakes, and cardamom) and added some garnishes, most notably chopped cashews. (I have a jumbo jar of Costco cashews, so am always looking for a way to use them!)

To my great delight, my new-and-improved death curry was delicious! Just the right amount of heat, a good blend of flavors, not too many chickpeas. I promptly ate two bowls, sprinkled with plenty of cashews, cilantro, and lime juice.

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Sweet potato curry (aka death curry)

2 medium onions
1 clove garlic
1-4 Thai chilis w/ some seeds/ribs removed (or substitute 1-3 jalapenos)

3 tbsp canola or olive oil
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

2 pounds (~4 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 to 1 inch cubes
1 can light coconut milk
1 tbsp tamarind paste
2 cups hot vegetable broth
1-2 cans chickpeas, rinsed (I prefer 1 can, but increase to 2 if you’d like more protein)

Chopped cilantro leaves
Chopped cashews
Lime wedges

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Pulse coarsely chopped onions, garlic, and chilis in food processor until finely chopped. Place oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add chopped onion mixture and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add spices and stir to combine. Add sweet potatoes and mix, then add in coconut milk.

Dissolve tamarind paste in hot broth and add to pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add chickpeas and simmer until heated through, 5-10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with chopped cilantro and cashews, with lime wedges.