1st January 2011 - Eat your curry slowly

Happy New Year cyberspace! Today, I have not done an awful lot. I surfed Facebook for a while, went out to visit an old friend, went to visit my parents, then came home and couldn't be bothered to cook so ordered a curry. I am a spice wuss but when the mood takes me, I quite like to get on that phone and order a takeaway from Brynmawr Tandoori - a dingy little curry house here in Smallsville, that produces the most lush spicy grub!

I often opt for a chicken korma but today I was feeling a tad adventurous and I liked the sound of a chicken tikka mushroom balti. Love chicken. Love mushrooms. A balti is a little hotter than I normally dare but I ordered it anyway. I was 18 when I tasted my first curry. We were brought up on chips and *something* or potatoes and *something* and still curry to me is rather exotic. My mum frowns when currys are mentioned - they are HOT - she says, but won't actually try a mild korma or similar, just to experience the taste. That is IT.

Whilst I devoured my very flavoursome dish, helped by my 2 year old who tore pieces off my plain naan and dipped it in the balti sauce, I thought of how many people, like my mum, miss out because they just think of curry as hot, and not full of loveliness.

Next time you have a curry, remember to eat it slowly and savour the different textures and flavours in every single mouthful.