When Kapiolani Community College professor Kusuma Cooray retired, she gifted the school with recipes for her famous pineapple chutney and several spice blends for Sri Lankan curry, the curry of her home country.
The chutney recipe in particular was an amazing gift, one that she had not shared publicly, said KCC chef-instructor Lauren Tamamoto, who runs the school’s Culinary Innovation Center. When the school decided to use Cooray’s gifts to benefit its culinary program, Lee Ann Young, a student in Tamamoto’s food innovations class, volunteered to lead the task of commercializing the recipes.
Previous versions of Cooray’s spice mixes — for vegetable, beef and her signature chicken curries — required home cooks to add chopped garlic and onions, alongside coconut milk, vinegar, vegetables and meats. The students reworked the blends to incorporate dried garlic and onions, minimizing additional ingredients to make the mixes more convenient. Each packet makes four servings of curry.
Research and development was a long process, taking six months off and on, said Tamamoto. Spices were toasted and ground not just for taste, but for color. One student was even assigned to work with a graphic artist to design packaging.
In the end the mixes were handed off to an 80-year-old and a 17-year-old for testing.
Though students had already tested and retested recipes, they needed to be tried out by average cooks in a home setting, Tamamoto explained. “The burners we use at school are different from home stoves.”
The testers’ learning curve turned out to be minimal, indicating success.
Cooray’s famous chutney, meant to accompany any of the curries, got an update as well. Though the original recipe called for canned pineapple, “in this day and age, you know we had to use local, fresh pineapple,” said Tamamoto.
Prices for the curry seasoning packets are $4.50 apiece or 3 for $12; chutney, $9; three curries plus chutney, $20. Buy the spice mixes on the KCC campus during the weekly Saturday farmers market, 7:30 to 11 a.m.; also at the Ka ‘Ikena Laua‘e restaurant and the cafeteria, and the Cooking Up a Rainbow food truck.
— Joleen Oshiro, Star-Advertiser
BRUNCH WITH A BONUS FOR EASTERSEALS
Pencil in brunch at the Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina Oct. 20 and you’ll be doing a good deed for Easterseals Hawaii. The Brunch & Bloom gala will feature chefs from Senia, Roy’s, 12th Ave Grill, Chef Chai, the Pig & the Lady, Koko Head Cafe, Pai Honolulu and Eggs ‘n Things.
The event, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., includes a silent auction and pop-up marketplace highlighting local artisans, plus entertainment by Kawika Kahiapo & Friends and an Easterseals hula troupe. Attire including hats and flowers is encouraged.
Tickets are $100 to $150, available at HNLtix.com. Call 529-1740. Proceeds benefit Easterseals programs for individuals with disabilities.
The Four Seasons is offering a $300 room rate including child-care services for those who’d like to make a weekend of it.
