I never buy pasta sauce in the jar, but I'm not above using canned curry sauces. Some of them aren't bad, especially if you doctor them up. This Jungle Curry is from Kroger's, but Trader Joe's also sells a pretty good one.
I'm lucky because I always have a supply of Kaffir lime leaves in the freezer. These are also called "curry leaves" and are essential for Thai, Cambodian and Indonesian cooking. A Cambodian lady John works with has a potted tree and she often brings in bags of leaves to share.
Apparently the plants aren't hard to grow in pots, other than the fact they need hours of bright sunlight-- a problem around here in the winter. I don't know how fast they grow, but the mature leaves are torn or tossed whole into stir fries and soups, adding a lemony-spicy taste that you can't get with plain lime juice or any other spice.
I browned chicken breasts for this curry along with plenty of peppers and onions. We like our curry pretty spicy, so I used sliced jalapenos without removing the seeds.
You can also use these wildly hot red chilies they sell in Asian grocery stores. John also brought some of these home from work recently. (Honestly, it sounds like a big cooking fest in that shop. I don't know how they find time to work on airplanes!)
And of course, a couple of the magic Kaffir lime leaves. Let it all simmer for a half hour or so, and you have an easy and tasty Indian dinner. Don't forget the chutney.
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