Installed ncurses, now how do I get my app to use it?

[Timur Tabi]

I'm trying to cross-compile the Linux kernel.  I've gotten pretty far, 
but "make menuconfig" fails with this message:

  *** Unable to find the ncurses libraries or the
  *** required header files.
  *** 'make menuconfig' requires the ncurses libraries.
  ***
  *** Install ncurses (ncurses-devel) and try again.
  ***

I have ncurses installed via darwinports:

$ sudo port list ncurses
ncurses                        @5.6            devel/ncurses

So how do I get the "menuconfig" command to use the version of ncurses 
installed in /opt/local?

I'm sure this is a common problem, but I've searched the Wiki, the FAQ, 
and the mailing list archive and couldn't find any answers.