Hell Hath No Curry (31 page)

To my knowledge, the entire town was there—well, with the exception of half of Beechy Grove Mennonite Church, but that’s a tale for another day. More than making up for their loss were Faya and Ibrahim Rashid, as well as the recently arrived Conner and Patty McBain and their seven children. They, by the way, are our very first Roman Catholics—although you can’t tell that just by looking at them. Who knew? I’m sure that Ron, our lone Episcopalian, would have come, had he not been viciously murdered the year before. Even the Mishler brothers showed up, in a rare moment of decency. And of course Agnes was there; she played wedding music for us on a keyboard.

Curious townsfolk pressed close throughout the ceremony, and when, at the end, Gabe crushed the glass with one stomp, a loud cheer went up. By far the loudest voice belonged to Freni.

“Mazel tov!”

40

Mango Lassi

Ingredients

1¼ cups yogurt (plain)

4 tablespoons sugar

¹/³ cup cold water

½ teaspoon lemon juice

½ cup mango puree

½ cup ice cubes

Yield: 4 servings

Preparation

Blend everything, except ice cubes, till sugar has dissolved. Add ice cubes and blend till frothy. Garnish with mint leaves.

Notes

• Lassi is a yogurt drink indigenous to Punjab. It can be made salty or sweet or fruity.

• Variations of lassi can exist with the addition or elimination of ingredients. For example:

HELL HATH NO CURRY

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Salty Lassi:
2 cups plain yogurt, 1 cup cold milk or cold water, ½–1 teaspoon salt (to taste), 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, squeeze of half lemon, handful ice cubes. Blend.

Sweet Lassi:
2 cups plain yogurt, 1 cup cold milk or cold water, 2 tablespoons (or to taste) sugar, handful ice cubes. Blend.

Fruit Lassi:
2 cups plain yogurt, 1 cup cold milk or cold water, 1 cup ripe diced pineapple, 2 tablespoons sugar, handful ice cubes.

Blend.

Substitute any fruit or ingredient in the amount you like. Let your imagination guide you.

Enjoy!!