Moxies Madras Makeover

I hadn't really planned anything for dinner tonight, but tomorrow we're having company and I needed to go to the grocery store. So, while walking around the supermarket I asked Shannon what she wanted for dinner. Mangoes happened to be on sale, so we picked up a couple and she said she wanted Madras Curry Penne. I had tried making this for her before with semi-disastrous results, but I decided to try it again. See, there's a particular flavor she has in mind for what this madras curry penne is supposed to taste like. That is, exactly like the one on the menu at Moxies restaurant. Unfortunately, they don't offer a recipe, just the ingredients, and I have to basically make up the rest as I go along.

After grilling her (not literally) for the flavor I'm trying to go for, I start to prepare the sauce. I start toasting cumin and coriander seeds and she starts wondering what's going on. I explain that I'm preparing ingredients for the pasta sauce and she politely explains that I'm doing it all wrong. I do what any decent man would do and tell her that a woman has no place in the kitchen (okay, that's a bit of a dramatization, I ask her to slice a mango) and proceed to make what tastes like spiced vinegar. She approves, but only because I look like I'm about to cry.

I throw the Grilled Lemon Ginger Chicken (which is great for a salad or pasta dish like this, by the way) on the grill, something I know I'm unlikely to screw up, and forget about it for a couple of minutes while I heat up a pan for the Mango Chutney. I make 2 separate batches, 1 simple with nothing but brown sugar and chili flakes for Shannon, and another one with a few more ingredients for myself. The chutney, if I do say so myself, is a very good recipe. It ends up being what tops the pasta in the end, so its flavor is key. For those of you that don't know, chutney is sort of like a spiced relish that is usually made from fruit. It's often used as an accompaniment for meats or with rice or whatever. Think of it like American relish or cranberry sauce.

After it was all said and done, somehow I managed to concoct something that tastes like what I was going for. She said the sauce was a bit tart, but when all of the elements were combined it was almost perfect. Perhaps this is by fluke or perhaps it's because I'm becoming more familiar with these spices in the kitchen. It's about time, really. When I first met Shannon I had the opportunity to introduce her to a wide variety of new flavors. I cooked her dinner after dinner of things she'd never had before; like pesto, roasted red peppers, and so on. The first thing she introduced me to was curry. She pulled a recipe off the internet and we picked up the ingredients and made curried chicken. It was delicious, she said it was perfect and I've been craving it ever since. I even enjoy the smell of curry as it seeps out of my pores like a sweet ginger deodorant, but that's probably a little too much information.