In its simplest form, curry is an Indian gravy or sauce that is used in tandem with meat, tofu, or vegetables. It’s served rice, most popularly Basmati rice, and contains many different kinds of spices. Depending on what your recipe calls for, you could have a mild curry or a curry that’s super spicy. So much of this is down to where in India or Bangladesh the native dish is actually from and also the area to where the chef is also from too. All of this is able to make a difference as to what types of dishes you are able to expect.
There’s a lot of history and science behind curry, one of Britain’s favourite dishes. There are 60 different ingredients in a typical curry, which vary according to region, tradition and religion. The most common curries contain cumin and tumeric. They also can vary from being seafood curries through to chicken and other meats – lamb is also very popular too. Most Indian restaurants and take aways will offer this.
The origins the name curry
All too often when we refer to curry we don’t give much thought to what it means. But just how did curry get its name? There are different theories from where the word originated from. It could refer to the French “cuire”, which means “to cook”, as some believe. It was also mentioned in the title of a book in the 1700’s called “Forme of Cury”. The most likely origin of the word “curry”, comes from the Tamil name “kari”, which was a soup-like spiced sauce as it was first described in the mid-17th century in a Portuguese cookbook.
The first ever curry house
With all the curry houses around, it is difficult to believe that nearly 200 years ago there were almost none. The first Indian restaurant in Britain was set up in 1810 in London. Sake Dean Mahomed, traveller and one of the most notable non-European immigrant entrepreneurs, opened the restaurant in George Street, near Portman Square in Central London. The restaurant was known then as the Hindoostane Coffee House, which offered many things such as Indian cuisine. Thus, introducing unintentionally curry culture to Western Europe. Unfortunately, the venue does not exist anymore as it came to an end due to financial difficulties.
The hottest curries in the world
When going out for Indian food, some of us would like some extra spice with our chosen curry. If you are a “spice aficionado” you might know about, and have dared to try, the Chicken Naga. The Chicken Naga is famous for being one of the hottest curry dishes ever made. The dish is made with a high volume of Naga pepper seed, which measure 855 000 on the Scoville Scale.
These seeds are 100 times hotter than jalapeño peppers. However, it is not the hottest curry ever to be cooked. The title of hottest curry goes to the infamous ‘Flaming Fiery Phaal’ and is made with two of the hottest chilli peppers on earth namely the Scorpion and Naga peppers. It is so hot that even the packaging has multiple warning signs for shoppers. It truly is “very, very, very hot”. The Scorpion pepper measures 1.5 million rating on the Scoville Scale, which is plain ridiculous.
Tikka Masala not an original Indian curry
The country’s most popular curry dish by far is the Chicken Tikka Masala. One in seven dishes served in the UK is Chicken Tikka Masala. Surprisingly, being one of the most popular curry dishes in the UK it is not an actual Indian dish. As a matter of fact it comes from a lot closer to home. The dish originated in Glasgow. The Pakistani chef Ali Ahmed Aslam, owner of the Shish Mahal Restaurant at the West End of Glasgow, invented the dish through improvisation in 1971. He created a sauce made from yogurt, cream, and spices to come up with today’s iconic dish. The story was virtually unknown until in 2013, when the son of Ali, Asif Ali, told the story of his father invention to the BBC’s Hairy Bikers TV cookery programme.
Regional Indian cuisine
In India there is no such thing as one type of food culture. Each of the regions uses different ingredients and cooking methods to create their own Indian cuisine. The Northern regions come the closest to what we consider Indian cuisine. Southern cuisine is usually hotter and less creamy than that of the North. Thickness, texture and the amount of rice within the dishes are features which can differ between regions as well.
A very popular type of dinner
The second thing to know about curries is that they are among the most popular dishes in the world, beloved for their fragrant, spicy flavors. You may have encountered them only in Indian or Thai restaurants (if you live in the US, that is; for reasons we’ll get into soon, you’ll find something curried on just about every restaurant menu in the UK), but they have a long history in the West.
In fact, the first known American curry recipe, for apple curry soup, appears in a manuscript written by Catherine Moffatt Whipple, born in 1734 and wife of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. So curries have been making their way around the world for hundreds of years. But if you’ve never cooked a curry, it can seem mysterious. Chefs guard their secret spice blend formulas. And food writers argue passionately about the proper composition of garam masala and Chettinad masala. So what exactly is a curry, and how do you make curry dishes?
Curry you get in India
Despite curry being synonymous with Indian and other South Asian cuisines, the word “curry” isn’t used to describe any particular dish or spice mixture used by Indian chefs or home cooks. Instead, the “curries” of India are called by their proper name (i.e., chana masala, dal, etc.). The closest cousin to British curry power, for instance, is garam masala. Garam means warm or hot and masala refers to a mixture of spices. Using garam masala in dishes is especially popular in Northern India. Garam masala tends to include cumin, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves as a base of ingredients. However, this spice blend is highly subjective and varies from region to region. Other popular spices and flavoring used in India include: Fenugreek, Amchoor, Coriander, Tamarind, Mustard Seed, Ginger, Garlic, Onions, Fennel, Anise, Turmeric, Nutmeg, Coconut, and Rosewater.
Overall
Central to curry’s origins appears to be in the Indus civilization Harappa, the land we now know as Pakistan, circa 2500 BCE. The original curry was probably a slurry of onion, garlic, and ginger, three potent roots that also turn out to have tremendous health benefits. The innovation spread geographically, soon appearing in the cuisines throughout the rest of the Indian subcontinent, Thailand, Japan, China, the Philippines, and other regions. Eventually, curries reached the Americas, primarily through the cooking traditions of indentured Indian servants who were brought to work on British-owned plantations in the Caribbean.
Soon, curries became staples in the cuisines of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and other islands in the region. As curries spread, they morphed according to local preferences, spices, and food availability. Caribbean curries’ distinctive flavor is allspice. In Thailand, curries often include lemongrass and galangal root with coconut milk as the liquid base of the sauce. Every region has its own chili peppers, and these get incorporated into the curries as well. Interesting fact: chili plants are native to the American continents and were introduced to Europe by Columbus. They made their way to Africa, India, China, and the rest of the world via mercantile travel.
