Posted on the family fridge is my meticulous grocery list. If an item is used up, it's jotted down. After years of training, everyone in the house has fallen in line with the Spiegel family grocery system. Whoever's heading out can grab the list and know everything we need.

Unless, like me, as soon as you get to the market or store, you tend to ignore the list completely. Thoughts of everyday staples such as milk or eggs are pushed aside by the certainty that what we really need is coconut milk and limes.

You can't always find coconut milk, so instead of one can, I throw six cans in the cart. Limes look good, so I buy a whole bag. Then I drag all the grocery bags in the kitchen and open the pantry door only to discover there's no room for anything due to the 36 cans of coconut milk I've already stockpiled. And it's kind of hard to open the refrigerator fruit bin because it's chock-full of limes.

Well, having an abundance of coconut milk and limes is a good summertime problem. We'll just increase our tropical drink intake - and make lots of curry. Curries can be found in many cuisines, and proper curries, unlike this one adapted from the 1961 New York Times Cook Book (out-of-print), use custom blends of spices, not commercial curry powder.

Proper or not, this dish named for an Indian city is one of our favorites. I think I'll make it tonight; after all, we have plenty of limes and coconut milk.

Chicken Curry Jaipur

21/2 pounds cooked chicken pieces, skin on, bone in

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, chopped

3 tablespoons curry powder

(I use Swad Madras)

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup chicken stock

3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup heavy cream

Discard chicken skin and bones, reserving meat. Chop chicken into bite-size pieces; set aside. Melt butter in large, heavy skillet. Saute onion until limp, stir in curry powder, then pour in coconut milk and chicken stock. Add ginger, cloves and mint. Simmer over low heat until thickened, about 30 minutes. Add chicken, then finish with lime juice and heavy cream, simmering until heated through. Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings.

E-mail maryjo@saucycook.com