This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 16 January 2022. For the place, see Bhuna, Fatehabad. A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South What does curry taste like cuisine.
There are many varieties of curry. In traditional cuisines, the selection of spices for each dish is a matter of national or regional cultural tradition, religious practice, and preference of the chef. Such dishes have names that refer to their ingredients, spicing, and cooking methods. Curry powder, a commercially prepared mixture of spices marketed in the West, was first exported to Britain in the 18th century when Indian merchants sold a concoction of spices, similar to garam masala, to the British colonial government and army returning to Britain. Hannah Glasse’s recipe for curry, first published in her 1747 book The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. It is the first known anglicised form of kaṟi. The word cury in the 1390s English cookbook, The Forme of Cury, is unrelated, coming from the Middle French word cuire, meaning ‘to cook’.
Archaeological evidence dating to 2600 BCE from Mohenjo-daro suggests the use of mortar and pestle to pound spices including mustard, fennel, cumin, and tamarind pods with which they flavoured food. The original curry pre-dates Europeans’ presence in India by about 4,000 years. The three basic ingredients of the spicy stew were ginger, garlic and turmeric. Using a method called “starch grain analysis”, archaeologists at the University of Washington at Vancouver were able to identify the residue of these ancient spices in both skeletons and pottery shards from excavations in India.
Examining the human teeth and the residue from the cooking pots, signs of turmeric and ginger were evident. The establishment of the Mughal Empire, in the early 15th century, also influenced some curries, especially in the north. The British lumped all sauce-based dishes under the generic name ‘curry’. India is the home of curry, and many Indian dishes are curry-based, prepared by adding different types of vegetables, lentils, or meats.
The content of the curry and style of preparation vary by region. Most curries are water-based, with occasional use of dairy and coconut milk. Curry dishes are usually thick and spicy and are eaten along with steamed rice and a variety of Indian breads. Curries in Bengali cuisine include seafood and fresh fish. Mustard seeds and mustard oil are added to many recipes, as are poppy seeds.
Curry spread to other regions of Asia. Although not an integral part of Chinese cuisine, curry powder is added to some dishes in southern part of China. The curry powder sold in Chinese grocery stores is similar to Madras curry powder but with addition of star anise and cinnamon. Japanese curry is usually eaten as karē raisu — curry, rice, and often pickled vegetables, served on the same plate and eaten with a spoon, a common lunchtime canteen dish. It is less spicy and seasoned than Indian and Southeast Asian curries, being more of a thick stew than a curry. Curry was popularized in Korean cuisine when Ottogi entered the Korean food industry with a curry powder in 1969. Korean curry, usually served with rice, is characterized by the golden yellow colour of turmeric.
Malaysian cuisine may have initially incorporated curries via the Indian population, but it has become a staple among the Malay and Chinese populations there. In the northern areas, a linear range of new curry recipes could be seen. In Thai cuisine, curries are called kaeng, and usually consist of meat, fish or vegetables in a sauce based on a paste made from chilies, onions or shallots, garlic, and shrimp paste. Additional spices and herbs define the type of curry. Curry spread to South Africa with the migration of people from the Indian subcontinent to the region in the colonial era. African curries, Cape Malay curries and Natal curries include the traditional Natal curry, the Durban curry, bunny chow, and roti rolls. Curry is very popular in the United Kingdom, with a curry house in nearly every town.