I love long flights. I really do. Other than Christmas day, they’re the only spans of time during which I know I won’t have to work. With about 20 hours to kill on the way to Mozambique, I gave myself permission to read bad books and catch up on Oscar-winning movies. The book I indulged in was the racy “50 Shades of Grey.” And the food – ah, the food is sometimes my favorite part. Nobody does Butter Chicken like British Airways.
So my trip started off hot and spicy in more ways than one (in fact, 50 Shades might be a little too spicy for my palate) – but to my surprise, not only did I have my in-flight curry, I ate curry in one form or other nearly every day in Africa. The variations on curry are incredible! In Mozambique, I had crab curry one night and prawn curry the next. In Swaziland, I tried “Bunny Food” – curry in a bread bowl. In South Africa, I had bobotie (curried meat) wrapped in a pancake.
I’ll be rolling out these recipes for the next couple of weeks, but right now, I am jetlagged and – dare I say – curried-out. On the bright side, waking up at 3 a.m. this morning allowed me to bake fresh bread in time for breakfast, which certainly surprised my husband.