Sniff Your Ingredients: The Case of the Ruined Curry

Flashback: I tried to impress my mom by making this elaborate vegetable curry from the project.  It took me about an hour of constant work, mostly because I had to carefully brown the potatoes, which I find pretty darn difficult.  (I wrote about why, but that entry got deleted, and I don't feel like writing it again). 

Probably the most interesting touch from the recipe was that I toasted the spices.  It dramatically enhanced the smell and, I imagine, the flavor (foreshadowing). 

Mom has commented that it smells great and comes in to get a closer sniff as I add the finishing touch: a quarter cup of coconut milk that I had saved in the fridge from a previous recipe.  I dump it in, then stir.  A second or two later, the pleasant, spicy aroma in the kitchen has shifted.  It smells like...Dawn dish detergent?  Mom said it smelled like a camper does when it's been shut up for winter.  A belated sniff at the coconut milk container in the sink reveals the culprit.  It smelled nothing like spoiled dairy, but it definitely didn't smell good.  Briefly, I thought about choking it down, but my mom's sad expression changed my mind.  A good 3-4 quarts of curry blub-blubbed down the garbage disposal, and we ate leftovers.

After Mom returned to Georgia, I took another crack at the curry, knowing that I wanted to do it for this project.  It turned out okay, but I'm convinced that it would have been better if I hadn't ruined it the first time around.