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From silky coconut broths to aromatic spice blends, an increasing number of operators are menuing a world of new curries.

AT FIRST BLUSH, curly can appear intimidating. All those exotic spices, afterall! And what exactly is the difference between Indian curry and Asian curry? No wonder neophytes are confused. But curry is one of those flavors that's literally on everyone's lips. Complex, often spicy, exotic, evocative and unique-it's definitely a menu descriptor for the new millennium (along with chipotle, lemon grass, balsamic vinegar and so forth).

Even a menu concept as mainstream as Au Bon Pain has made room for curry. Introduced in December 1999, Chicken Curry Soup appeals to the customer who's interested in a more full-flavored soup, according to Sara Gottman, a spokesman for the Boston-based bakery/ cafe chain. Offered as part of the regular soup rotation, the dish is a top-seller, and a noteworthy step beyond traditional chicken noodle varieties.

In places like India and Asia, curries are as unique as fingerprints. "It's like spaghetti sauce; every family has their own version," says Rob Lam, chef of Brannan's Grill in Calistoga, CA. Lam should know, being Vietnamese. "I grew up with curry. My grandmother made curry for supper and we'd eat it with French bread. In Southeast Asia, everyone uses curry. It's from India via Marco Polo, but we've made it our own."

Lam pays homage to his AsianAmerican heritage in a variety of menu items, including Skillet Clams and Mussels (89) with lemon grass curry sauce and sesame grilled bread, and the top-selling Curry Poached Salmon Fillet (819), with Thai pesto shrimp, "broken" jasmine rice, braised bok choy and lobster coconut sauce.

"It's a French style of curry," says Lam of the salmon. "I wanted to do something poached, but traditional court bouillon is too boring. So I came up with the idea of using a very aromatic curry stock instead."

The chef starts with a mirepoix of diced vegetables, to which he adds lemon grass, garlic, ginger and rice wine for an Asian inspiration. Upon this is built a deeply flavorful stock made with shrimp shells, coconut milk and more lemon grass, as well as Thai red curry paste for heat and flavor, and Indian curry powder for color. The resulting stock is strained and chilled, and when an order comes in, the salmon is quickly poached in it and plated; more stock is reduced to produce the sauce.

"It's a real fusion dish, combining Asian ingredients with French prep and presentation methods, and it's become my best -selling fish item," says Lam.

For the mussel dish, Lam relies on more of that Thai curry paste, combined with clam juice, lime juice, crushed lemon grass, coconut milk, garlic and cilantro. "People go crazy for that sauce," he says. "They're always requesting extra grilled bread [seasoned with sesame] to mop it all up."

And guess what? It's all based on what amounts to convenience products: highquality commercial curry pastes and powders. Indeed, chefs have discovered these exotic prepared ingredients in a major way, using them as the backbone for their own signature recipes. No shame, no worry.

Even chefs who make their own curry mixes in-house put together the stuff in big batches when they have plenty of time -it's no more complicated than making a marinade, dressing or spice rub.

Yogi Gupta knows curry. A native of what is now Pakistan, Gupta came to the U.S. to become an engineer, but ended up following his passion for food by opening Plaza Restaurant in Cambridge, OH, population 14,000. In the 12 years he's been open, he's been conducting a oneman PR campaign for Indian food.

"Cambridge, OH, is small-town USA," says Gupta, "a real beef and potato market. If I just sold Indian food, I'd have no clientele." Instead, the chef/owner has taken it slow, starting with steaks and Italian-American food, then gradually introducing Indian menu items." Today, 25% of his sales come from the Indian section of the menu, including Spinach & Cheese Kofta (a meatball-like vegetarian dish), Chicken Curry and Kadai Beef Bhuna Gosht. What's more, he's got a tidy little sideline selling his own curry powder, garam masala and curry sauce, at the restaurant and via a web site. "Taste is acquired, for any food," he says. "Even Indians aren't born craving curry."

Although there are 17 different Indian items on the current menu, they all descend from just two core products: curry powder and garam masala.

What's the difference? Although true Indian garam masalas (spice blends) number into the thousands, Gupta's interpretation casts curry powder as a savory mixture (with cumin, coriander, ginger, fenugreek and cayenne) and garam masala as a warmer, sweeter product (using nutmeg, clove and cinnamon).

Moreover, curry powder is used at the start of the cooking process as a flavor base to build depth, while garam masala is added at the end, to preserve its highly aromatic nature. With the addition of tomato and varying amounts of cayenne and habanero, Gupta also makes a curry sauce in Mild, Medium, Hot and Crying Hot; the further addition of cream makes another base sauce called makhni.

Gupta adds that more of his customers have been requesting the Crying Hot version lately, although he adjusts heat levels to American palates. "When it's hot enough, we sell lots of Indian beer and the customers will be happy and I will be happy. Too hot, and you could choke." ONE OF THE REASONS Curry haS become increasingly popular is the growing interest in Asian curries versus the more familiar Indian versions.

"Asian curries are more sexy," says John Caputo, executive chef of Napa Valley Grille in Providence, RI, part of the California Cafe group. Asian curries are tangy and more citrus-flavored, while Indian curries are more spice-centered, he says. "Those flavors fit in with what people are interested in eating right now."

One of Caputo's most successful dishes is Price Edward Island mussels with Thai coconut-curry broth, lemon grass and cilantro, a $10.95 appetizer that's survived several menu changes since the restaurant first opened last October. "It's exotic and unusual without being overthe-top," says the chef.

It's also easy on the pick-up. Caputo and crew make the aromatic broth ahead of time, infusing coconut milk and lime juice with chopped shallots, garlic, fresh lemon grass and ginger, then adding fish stock, jalapeno and Thai curry paste. The brew is simmered for 20 min. to blend the flavors, then strained and chilled. Per order, the mussels are steamed in the broth, to which the kitchen adds a freshening fillip of fresh ginger and cilantro before sending the dish on its way, to the tune of 8-10% of overall sales.

On menus past, Caputo has featured Curried Glazed Oysters ($9.95) and a Grilled Rare Ahi Tuna ($22.95) with shrimp risotto, macadamia nut relish and coconut-banana curry sauce, which also depends on a similar curry stock pureed until it's thick and sticky with fresh banana. And he'll prepare a curry cracker, made like shortbread with lots of butter and some Indian curry powder, to use as a flavor-accenting garnish for seafood salads.

Curry also has antecedents in French cookery. When he took over as chef of Mossant Bistro in the Kimpton-owned Monaco Hotel in Chicago, executive chef Steven Chiappetti wanted to bring contemporary accents to the tried-and-true bistro menu just as creative French chefs are doing in Paris. He has completely revamped the menu, leaving classics at lunch, but reinventing dinner with such specialties as rare tuna with ragout of beans and preserved lemon ($21) and pork chop stuffed with forest mushrooms, swiss chard and pickled shallots ($17).

Chiappetti's contribution to the curry scene is a salmon fillet, slowly baked at 225 deg. F, then served with braised mussels, couscous, celery and curry essence ($18). The dish deconstructs traditional curry to create layers of flavor. The salmon is dredged in ground celery seed, sauteed, then finished in the oven.

Instead of the usual 10-14 spices, Chiappetti toasts then grinds a smaller number-including cumin and coriander -to create a light curry powder, which is used to flavor braised celery and the fish stock for the mussels. "There's a lot of complexity, but the ingredients themselves are very simple," he says.

Curry is a natural for meatless items as well, in part the legacy of vegetarian dietary traditions in India. At 9 Muses Cafe in New Orleans, new chef-owner Larkin Selman has introduced a top-selling Madras Style Curried Vegetables ($7.95 at lunch, $10.95 at dinner) that reflects years of sharing influences while working in New York City with an Indian sous chef. He also serves a number of specials that depend on curry for their kick.

Selman starts with commercial pastes and powders that he doctors to make his own. For the curried vegetables, curry powder is augmented with spices like turmeric, coriander, cumin and cayenne. The blend is added to a mirepoix of onions, carrots, ginger and garlic, cooked in a butter, vegetable oil and sesame oil.

In go coconut milk, potatoes and apples, along with lemon, orange and lime zest; once the potatoes are cooked, Selman purees the mixture with orange juice. "The apple and potato thicken the sauce," he says. "I'd seen this technique used for Thai red curry and I modified it for a Madras-style yellow curry."

Because the sauce is so flavorful, the vegetables that are eventually added don't need to spend a lot of time cooking. Per order he adds roasted or sauteed seasonal vegetables, then adds added zing with more citrus zest, garlic, ginger and fresh cilantro and mint.

Meanwhile, specials are often distinguished by the use of Asian style curries, such as grilled hoison-glazed swordfish on a pool of red Thai curry with new potato salad, spinach and mango-melon salsa, or grilled marinated chicken with green Thai curry, asparagus and basmati rice.

Although their spices define the various curries, Selman often uses pureed vegetables to improve prepared paste bases. Green curry, for instance, is pureed with spinach, while red curry gets help from roasted red peppers. "It pumps up the flavor and makes the color more vivid."