DAY 650: Cure your heartbreak with curry

Love can hurt. Curry can help.

Onions, butter, olive oil

Garlic, ginger

Potatoes, carrots, yams, apple, tomatoes

Broccoli, parsley

Curry powder (medium or hot)

Cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, brown sugar, fennel seed, cayenne, salt, pepper

Flour

Chicken or vegetable broth

Coconut milk

Dice a big pile of onions, then cook slowly over low heat in butter or oil with some fresh garlic and ginger. While they’re cooking, peel and dice a handful of carrots, two or three yams, a couple of large red potatoes, a tart apple, a few ripe tomatoes, some broccoli and parsley.

You’re unhappy with the amount of chopping involved? Deal with it. Sharpen your knife and be thankful you’re not digging ditches for a living, or a heart surgeon, fixing people’s hearts just so they can get hurt all over again.

Consider this curry-making time an emotional safety zone. Relax and enjoy the process of trimming, dicing, and excising rotten spots just as you would excise the blight of love gone wrong from your broken heart.

Next, prepare a small bowl of dry ingredients: curry powder, cumin, turmeric, a bit of cinnamon, a bit of brown sugar, some fennel seed if you’re feeling crazy, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle this mix on top of the caramelized onions and tumble over low heat.

Add a bit of flour, too, for thickening. Let this mixture cook for a couple of minutes, then add a few cups of vegetable or chicken broth. Next, add the vegetables, the toughest ones first, reminding yourself that you are also tough and will survive this emotional meltdown.

Let this mixture simmer for a while, then add coconut milk, more curry powder, salt, and pepper. Adjust the liquid as needed; add more, cook longer, whatever. It really doesn’t matter. Curry is incredibly forgiving, even if you are not.

You could blend this mixture, but I like it chunky. Add the broccoli and parsley near the end so they don’t overcook.

Your attention to all this detail will help take your mind off your broken heart. Curry can always help you through heartbreak. It involves making something new out of the old disorder of your life. Even more so if you invite a friend to dinner, or bring over a curry care package.