1 red chili, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ginger puree
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon ghee
1 pound yam, peeled and cubed
1 small onion, sliced
6 button mushrooms, sliced

1. Combine the chili, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger and coconut milk in a bowl.
2. Heat ghee in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the yam, onion and mushrooms and sauté until onions are tender.
3. Stir in the coconut milk mixture, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer until the yam is tender and the sauce has thickened. Serve over cooked white rice.

Makes 4 servings

1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, cream shortening with sugars. Gradually add peanut butter and egg.
4. Add the peanut butter mixture to the bowl of flour and mix well.
5. Roll 1" balls out and place on a greased baking sheet. Gently flatten the top of the cookies with the prongs of a fork.
6. Bake until firm and lightly browned on the edges, about 12 minutes.

Makes 12 cookies

4 sheets phyllo
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
1/2 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup yam, peeled and cubed
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ginger puree
1 teaspoon turmeric
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
salt and pepper

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil, then the onion, squash and yam. Sauté until yam is just tender.
2. Add the chicken cubes and brown lightly, then stir in the coconut milk, coriander, ginger, turmeric, garlic, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom and simmer for several minutes until chicken is fully coated and sauce has thickened. Remove bay leaf, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick.
3. Take 1 sheet of phyllo and fold it in half to make a rectangle. Spoon 1/4 of the filling into the center of the rectangle and fold over, sealing the edges with the beaten egg.
4. Brush the top of the phyllo with more egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. Bake the pastries until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

Remarkably, the phyllo that I had bought for Salmon Wellington over a month ago had stayed in my fridge without completely drying out or going bad or really having an sort of undesirable consequence from being neglected so long. So, I made Curried Chicken Pastries with the remaining phyllo. These were very tasty! I didn't lube up the baking sheet enough, so they stuck a little bit, but they were very good. I ate two and a half. I don't really know what poppy seeds are for, but I bought them one day, determined to figure out what they can actually add to a dish other than being the annoying things that get stuck in my teeth when I'm eating a roll. I never really realized how fragrant they are before, like tiny clove balls or something. I don't think they really added anything to the pastries whatsoever, but they did make them look pretty.

As a side dish I cooked up some Curried Yam. However, I'd run out of turmeric and it became unpleasantly brown. The flavor was uncompromised (I'm not sure turmeric is distinguishable as a flavor, especially when masked by garlic, ginger, coriander and cumin) but it doesn't look particularly as appetizing. I've still got so much rice to use up and it goes so naturally with curry, so there's some cooked basmati.

As a completely unrelated dessert, I made Peanut Butter Cookies. They seemed quite appropriate somehow and were incredibly satisfying because I have not had a peanut butter cookie in many moons. I'm actually not sure I've ever made peanut butter cookies this well before, but I cannot be sure if that is because I haven't eaten one in so long or because I just made a good batch. Needless to say, they're very easy to make!