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SWEETBASILANDTHEBEE By Nancy Lindahl Still summer with a touch of fall, September is an iffy food month. The charm and novelty of sum- mer vegetables and grilling has become routine, and the hankering for big meaty oven braises and hearty soups activated by cold weather is yet-to-come. It's a great month to entertain and take those jaded taste- buds on an East Indian ad- venture. One of my favorite fall dinners is an East Indian curry dish from the women of the Art Museum Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in their cookbook, "Entertaining is an Art, 1972." Curry is the hallmark of Indian cooking and a blanket term for the endless varieties of spicy stew distinguished by dif- ferent regions, ingredients, and families which all share a similar foundation in which food is revered as the substance which maintains all beings, all life. Honor the Indian flair for investing even the simplest occasions with splendor, and present your curry with elegance. This curry recipe serves 8, and can be expanded. I've served it for a wedding reception for 300. It keeps well and is even better as a leftover. The magic is in the con- diments, which allow each person to customize their dish with the flavors they prefer. They add texture, flavor, color and zest to the basic curry and a lively bit of business as they're passed around the table. EastIndianchicken curry Ingredients: 6wholechickenbreasts ½ pound sweet butter 2medium onions, diced 2large cloves garlic, chopped 2celery stalks, chopped Several sprigs parsley, chopped 1cucumber, peeled and chopped 2apples, peeled and chopped 4Tablespoons flour 1teaspoon mace 1teaspoon dry mustard 3Tablespoons curry powder, (or more to taste) 1quart chicken broth 1cup coconut milk 2Tablespoons chutney Directions: Poach chicken breasts until tender. Cool. Remove skin and bones and cut into 1-inch pieces. In a large enamel or stainless steel sauté pan, melt butter and sauté onions, garlic, celery, parsley, cucumber and apples until tender, about 8 minutes. Add flour, mace, mustard, and curry powder and cook 5minutes more, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Add chicken broth, coconut milk and chutney. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for one hour. Strain and correct seasoning. If more curry powder is desired, dissolve in a small amount of sauce before adding. I prefer not to strain the sauce, but rather blend it in a blender or with a stick blender. Strain, if you like something more refined. Add chicken pieces to curry sauce and simmer until chicken is heated through. Serve, from a chafing dish if you're entertaining, with steamed Basmati rice and condiments. Serve several of all of the following condiments in individual bowls placed on a tray. CONDIMENTS: Diced avocado Diced banana Chopped peanuts Flaked coconut Diced green chiles Raisins, golden and black Chutney Finely chopped green onions Diced red and green bell pepper Diced crisp bacon If it's a party, start with gin and tonics in a nod to the British Raj and the drink that was considered essential to the success of the British Empire be- cause of its medicinal and anti-malarial properties. A hoppy ale, an IPA, or icy champagne are all good with curry, as is this simple salad: Hearts of romaine mimosa 4-5hearts of romaine 4hard-cooked eggs, sieved 3Tablespoons parsley, finely chopped VINAIGRETTE: 3Tablespoons red wine vinegar ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard Freshly ground pepper 1Tablespoon fresh basil, tar- ragon, thyme or chives ¾ cup olive oil Wash, dry and crisp the romaine in the refrigera- tor. Place chilled leaves in a large salad bowl. Whisk vinegar, salt, mustard and pepper together in small bowl. Add herbs, and gradu- ally whisk in olive oil for vinaigrette. Toss leaves with vinaigrette and garnish with hard-cooked egg and parsley. Although we associate curry with Indian food, it is actually a British inven- tion, originating from the days of the spice trade in the early 1800s. Englishmen and their wives who worked with the East India Company enjoyed the local food, but didn't really understand the nuanced flavors cre- ated by blending freshly ground spices: they called it all "curry." As they re- turned to England, a cer- tain dish evolved — a stew of vegetables, chicken, meat or fish in a spicy yel- low gravy served with Bas- mati rice and a collection of condiments which we now consider curry. Yel- low curry powder, a pre- ground spice mix whose color comes from the pri- mary ingredient, Tumeric first appeared in 1850. "Trying to define curry is like trying to grasp liq- uid mercury and gather it into a neat pile," said Raghavan Iyer, author of "660 Curries," a cook- book that focuses on In- dian curries. Some spices that are traditionally in- volved include cumin, gar- lic, cloves, cinnamon, gin- ger, coriander, cardamom, mustard, fennel, and gin- ger. Curry is so ubiquitous in the UK, you can find it at fast-food outlets for dous- ing chips, as a microwav- able meal, or a pizza top- ping. Chicken tikka masala, one popular curry dish, has even been dubbed the "Brit- ish national dish," accord- ing to Erin Zimmer on "Se- rious Eats." If you're a serious curry lover, you'll want to try making your own curry blend, or garam masala, another type of spice blend which may also be used in curry dishes, for the best, most aromatic seasoning. There are thousands of curry blend recipes, so feel free to experiment and cre- ate your own. Here are a couple of recipes to get you started from G. Stephen Jones, "All About Curry": Madras curry powder (fairly hot) Ingredients: 1Tablespoon coriander seeds 1Tablespoon turmeric 3small dried hot chilies 2teaspoons cumin seed 2teaspoons fenugreek seeds 2teaspoons salt 1teaspoon fennel seed 1teaspoon mustard seeds 3whole cloves 1(1-inch) piece cinnamon ½ teaspoon granulated garlic Mild curry powder Ingredients: 2Tablespoons ground cumin 2Tablespoons ground cori- ander 2teaspoons ground turmeric 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger Garam masala Ingredients: 2Tablespoons cumin seeds 2Tablespoons coriander seeds 2Tablespoons cardamom seeds 2Tablespoons black pep- percorns 1(3-inch) stick cinnamon, broken up 1teaspoon whole cloves 1teaspoon grated nutmeg Directions: The traditional procedure for making a curry powder or garam masala is always the same. Put all the whole spices except for any granulated spices in a dry skillet over medium low heat. Cook the spices for several minutes, stirring constantly, until the spices have darkened a shade or two and are very fragrant. Don't turn up the heat; this must be done slowly, to toast the spices all the way through without burn- ing the outsides. Pour the spices on a paper towel to cool. Once cooled, grind all the spices together in a mortar and pestle. Stir in any ground or granulated spices after grinding. Use immediately or cover tightly and keep in a cool, dark place for 3-6months. Of course, grinding spices by hand using a mortar and pestle is time consuming, and you might not end up with as fine a grind as you might like. Fortunately, you can get very good results using a spice grinder or a bladed (not burr) cof- fee grinder. If you are a true purist, by all means use a mortar and pestle, but if you want all of the flavor with less fuss, it is perfectly fine to use an electric grinder. Wrap up in a Sari, grind some spices, put on some Bollywood music, and en- joy these last days of Sep- tember. Today is the first day of fall, and soon, like Cinder- ella's carriage, everything will turn to pumpkins. Adventuresineating PHOTO BY NANCY LINDAHL East Indian chicken curry is a great dish for the season between grilling and soup. 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