Eat In. Malaysian-style curry.

One of my favorite dishes to eat out are those that involve curry. Until recently I was a bit scared to experiment with curry, thinking that a dash too much and I would permanently sear my taste buds out of existence.

But when eating out, curry dishes are often accompanied by large, expensive feasts. This dish you can prepare at home for a fraction of the cost of eating out, customize to your preference, and is a nice hearty stew for gloomy days.

Because it's Malaysian style, it requires coconut milk, something before this recipe I hadn't tried but is a really nice (but caloric) alternative to cream.

A few new friends from Malaysia taught me this recipe and I know firsthand, it's delicious.

What you'll need:

1 coffee cup of red curry powder (I used a curry paste)

1 onion -- chopped coarsely

4-5 cloves of garlic -- chopped coarsely

1 coffee cup coconut milk

1 cup water

What to do:

1. Mix curry powder with water -- the amount of curry seemed a bit spicy, so mix a bit of curry with the water, then test the water for its spiciness.

2. Fry the onion, then garlic.

3. Add the new curry mix from step 1.

4. Mix well, and saute the new mix for 30 minutes.

5. Add coconut milk, this should help reduce the spiciness.

6. Add sauce to taste, and serve over rice.

As my new friends would say, makan makan!

-- Lauren Williams