With Indian cooking, curry is flavor all its own

Defining Indian curry is like trying to gather mercury into a neat pile - the elusive liquid defies containment, moving freely with even the slightest nudge. So says our friend Raghavan Iyer, author of "660 Curries" (2008 Workman).

"The word 'curry' itself is unknown in the Indian vocabulary," Iyer says. "It doesn't appear in any of India's 23 officially recognized languages or 1,600 dialects."

Indian words like "kari" and "kadhi" refer to sauce-based or gravy-laden dishes that stretch throughout India's history. In England and the rest of the world, Iyer says, "curry" is the catchall word for anything Indian that is mottled with hot spices, with or without a sauce. "Curry powder" is the blend that delivers it.

"In keeping with my culture, I define a curry as any dish that consists of either meat, fish, poultry, legumes, vegetables or fruits, simmered in or covered with a sauce, gravy or other liquid that is redolent with spices and/or herbs," Iyer says. "In my India, curry is never added - it just IS!"

Today's recipe for Shrimp with Peanut-Garlic Sauce is a good example of the sort of dynamic curry that Iyer loves - with one small twist.

He agreed to develop a curry for us that would conform to one of our essential Desperation Dinners criteria: It's complex-tasting without being difficult or complicated to make. This dish does take longer than our usual 20-minute limit, and we're hoping you'll agree the authentic result is worth the wait.

"You may feel that there are one too many chilies in this curry, but that fear will be dispelled when you taste the sauce - the creamy-smooth coconut milk alleviates the heat," Iyer says.

Check our Web site at KitchenScoop.com for more tips on easy Indian cooking.

Suggested menu: Shrimp with Peanut-Garlic Sauce with steamed white or basmati rice and fresh pineapple slices.

• Contact Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross at Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, or tellus@kitchenscoop.com. Visit the Desperation Dinners Web site at kitchenscoop.com.