When Curry Becomes Soap

So, the other night, I set out to make curry and I think I accidentally made soap. 

It's possible this is due to a chemical spoilage involving the free fatty acids, but I don't quite know enough yet to be certain. What I do know is that coconut milk and coconut oil are some of the key components in soap (ever heard of sodium laureth sulfate?), and it appears that I almost served up a plate of soapy sauce and sweet potatoes over brown rice the other night. 

Whoops.

Turns out someone else already wrote an academic paper about this, so I'll spare you, but feel free to read about it here.