Curry Culture

Dear friends,

Sorry to be away for a while. My book, “Super Snacks – 100 favorite snacks from 5 continents”, published and released recently in USA, kept me busy. Super Snacks is compiled from my series of blog-posts already published under the tag World-Bites, a collection of recipes for bite-size dishes and appetizers from around the world. This book is about the most favorite food snacks in the 5 inhabited continents – the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. I profusely thank you for contributing recipes from your region through comments, which I have incorporated in the book to make Super Snacks more meaningful and enjoyable for all. Indeed, I will be ever thankful for your help. I hope, you will be as helpful with your feedback when I move on from World-Bites to Curry Culture, my forthcoming posts on the most popular curries from cultures around the world.

Curry is not only among the world’s most popular dishes; it also may be the oldest continuously prepared cuisine on the planet. Villagers living at the height of India's Indus civilization used three key curry ingredients—ginger, garlic, and turmeric—in their cooking. This was long before Arab, Chinese, Indian, and European traders plied the oceans in the past thousand years. The term “curry” is generally thought to come from the word “kari”, which means sauce in the Tamil language of Southern India. The word today simply means gravy. One thing that experts seem to agree on is that the word originates from India and was adopted by the British during the British Raj time, though they broadened the term to include all of the spicy dishes from the subcontinent, regardless of style and content. In 1780 the first commercial curry powder appeared in England and in 1846 its fame was assured when William Makepeace Thackeray wrote a 'Poem to Curry' in his 'Kitchen Melodies':

Curry



Three pounds of veal my darling girl prepares,
And chops it nicely into little squares,
Five onions next prures the little minx
(The biggest are the best her Samiwel thinks),
And Epping butter nearly half a pound,
And stews them in a pan until they are browned,
What next my dexterous little girl will do?
She pops the meat into the savory stew
with curry- powder table-spoonfuls three,
And milk a pint (the richest that may be),
And when the dish has stewed for half an hour,
A lemon's ready juice she'll o'er it pour,
Then, bless her! She gives the luscious pot
A very gentle boil – and serves quite hot.
PS – Beef, mutton, rabbits, if you wish,
Lobsters, or prawns, or any kind fish,
Are fit to make a Curry. 'Tis, when done,
A dish for Emperors to feed upon.



Curry has not looked back since. In honor of Queen Elizabeth's 1953 coronation, a special curry dish – Coronation Chicken – was invented. It's still very popular in Great Britain. In today's UK, there are at least 12000 establishments serving curry. Curry was recently named the British National Dish after a major opinion poll by Gallop.



As Indians and their curries made their way from the West Indies to South Africa to the Pacific Islands, the culinary give and take continued. The Mexican-Hindu cuisine that appeared in California in the early 20^th century when Punjabi laborers integrated jalapeño peppers and tortillas into their native dishes was the start to spread curry culture in the U.S. In New York, several restaurants do a brisk business selling Kosher curries. Today, beyond India, there are many other national variations of curry, like those from Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Africa, Jamaica and the Caribbean. Karee raisu (curry rice) is one of Japan's most popular foods. Samoans make a Polynesian curry using canned fish and corned beef. Among the most prized curries in the world, there is the Napalese version – it often flavors goat and yak meat.



Curry which originated in India, has become the most internationalized foods on the planet. And also one of the most famous and loved dishes in the world. It can also be the most addictive cuisine – every bite makes you want another, and you might find yourself wanting something spicier and spicier. This is what I call Curry Culture. I intend to peek into this culture in my posts to come, under the tag Curry Culture.