By the fourth edition of the book other relatively common ingredients of turmeric and ginger were used. The use of hot spices was not mentioned, which reflected the limited use of chili in India - chili plants had only been introduced into India around late 15th century and at that time was only popular in southern India. Many curry recipes are contained in 19th-century cookbooks such as those of Charles Elme Francatelli and Mrs Beeton. In Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, a recipe for curry powder is given that contains coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, cayenne, mustard, ginger, allspice and fenugreek; although she notes that it is more economical to purchase the powder at 'any respectable shop'.
The popularity of curry in the general public was enhanced by the invention of 'Coronation chicken' to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Curry sauce is a British use of curry as a condiment, usually served warm with traditional British fast food dishes such as chips. Curry sauce occasionally would include sultanas.
The popularity of curry in the UK encouraged the growth of Indian restaurants. Until the early 1970s more than three quarters of Indian restaurants in Britain were identified as being owned and run by people of Bengali origin. Most were run by migrants from East Pakistan, which became Bangladesh in 1971. Bangladeshi restaurateurs overwhelmingly come from the northern city of Sylhet. Until 1998, as many as 85% of curry restaurants in the UK were Bangladeshi restaurants but in 2003 this figure declined to just over 65%. Currently the dominance of Bangladeshi restaurants is generally declining in some parts of London and the further north one travels. In Glasgow there are more restaurants of Punjabi origin than any other.
Whatever the ethnic origin of a restaurant's ownership, the menu will nearly always be influenced by the wider Indian subcontinent (sometimes including Nepalese dishes), and sometimes cuisines from further afield (such as Persian dishes). Some British variations on Indian food are now being exported from the UK to India. British-style curry restaurants are also popular in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
In a relatively short space of time curry has become an integral part of British cuisine, so much so that, since the late 1990s, Chicken Tikka Masala has been commonly referred to as the "British national dish". It is now available (albeit in frozen, microwavable form) on Intercity rail trains, as a flavour for crisps, and even as a pizza topping.
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The British Curry House
There are Michelin-starred establishments serving authentic Indian food in Britain. There have been Indian restaurants in Britain for many years.
Many British people regard "going for a curry" as a satisfying outing. Restaurants that are regarded as curry houses are open to the same standards requirements as all restaurants and can be vetted by and reported to the local Health and safety department of an area. There are now many up-market "Indian Restaurants", which, while they still tend to eschew the more authentic cuisines, nonetheless apply the same high standards of food preparation.
This cuisine is characterised by the use of a common base for all the sauces to which spices are added when individual dishes are prepared. The standard "feedstock" is usually a sautéed mixture of onion, garlic and fresh ginger, to which various spices are added, depending on the recipe, but which may include: cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, chillies, peppercorns, cumin and mustard seeds. Ground coriander seed is widely used as a thickening agent, and turmeric is added for colour.
Better-quality restaurants will normally make up new sauces on a daily basis, using fresh ingredients wherever possible and grinding their own spices. More modest establishments are more likely to resort to frozen or dried ingredients and pre-packaged spice mixtures.
Although the names may be similar to traditional dishes, the recipes generally are not.
- Korma/Kurma - mild, yellow in colour, with almond and coconut powder
- Curry - medium, gravy-like sauce
- Dupiaza/Dopiaza - medium curry the word means "double onion" referring to the boiled and fried onions used as its primary ingredient.
- Pasanda - a mild curry sauce made with cream, coconut milk, and almonds.
- Rogan Josh (from "Roghan" (oil) and "Gosht" (meat)) - medium, with tomatoes
- Bhuna - medium, thick sauce, some vegetables
- Dhansak - medium/hot, sweet and sour sauce with lentils (originally a Parsi dish). In the North of England this dish often also contains pineapple.
- Madras - fairly hot curry, red in colour and with heavy use of chilli powder
- Pathia - generally similar to a Madras + lemon juice and tomato purée
- Jalfrezi - onion, green chilli and a thick sauce
- Vindaloo - this is generally regarded as the classic "hot" restaurant curry, (although a true Vindaloo does not specify any particular level of spiciness).
- Phaal - extremely hot. Some UK curry houses also make a hotter version called tindaloo.
These sauces are typically served with "lamb" (usually mutton), prawns or chicken; vegetable versions are somewhat cheaper, chicken tikka or king prawn versions more expensive. In more up-market establishments, a variety of meat options is offered, that is you can order lamb, chicken, beef (or even vegetarian) "vindaloo" for example. The meat is generally cooked separately in a casserole-type dish until it is very tender, and added to the sauce just before serving. Some establishments keep large containers of refrigerated sauces and frozen meats, which are heated in a microwave oven as required. A garnish of freshly fried onion is sometimes added to give the illusion of recent preparation.
The tandoor was introduced into Britain in the 1960s and tandoori and tikka chicken became popular dishes; Chicken Tikka Masala was said to have been invented in Glasgow when a customer demanded a sauce with a 'too dry' tikka (legend has it that the cook then heated up a tin of Campbell's condensed tomato soup and added some spices) although it is also seen as a variant on the traditional Punjabi dish of butter chicken.
Other dishes may be featured with varying strengths, with those of north Indian origin, such as Butter Chicken, tending to be mild, and recipes from the south of India tending to be hotter.
Balti curries
A style of curry thought to have been developed in Birmingham, England which has spread to other western countries.
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East Asian Cuisine
Thai Curry
In Thai cuisine, curries are meat, fish or vegetable dishes in a spiced sauce. They use local ingredients such as chilli peppers, Kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, Galangal and coconut milk, and tend to be more aromatic than Indian curries as a result. Curries are often described by colour; red curries use red chillis while green curries use green chillis. Yellow curries are more similar to Indian curries, with their use of turmeric and cumin. Yellow currys normally contain potatoes. Yellow curry is also called gaeng curry (by various spellings), of which a word-for-word translation would be "curry curry". This is because it is the one category of Thai curry that really is curry, and is adapted from Indian cuisine.
Malaysian curries
Malaysian curries typically use coconut milk and a paste of turmeric, shallots, ginger, belacan (shrimp paste), chilis, and garlic. Tamarind is also often used. Rendang is another form of curry consumed in Malaysia, although it is drier than a conventional Malaysian curry. All sorts of things are curried in Malaysia, including goat, chicken, shrimp, cuttlefish, fish, fish head, aubergine, eggs, and mixed vegetables.
Chinese curries
Chinese curries (gā lǐ) typically consist of green peppers, chicken, beef, fish, lamb, or other meats, onions, large chunks of potatoes, and a variety of other ingredients and spices in a mildly spicy yellow curry sauce, and topped over steamed rice. White pepper, soy sauce, hot sauce, and/or hot chili oil may be applied to the sauce to enhance the flavour of the curry. Chinese curry is popular in North America, and there are many different varieties of Chinese curry, depending on each restaurant. Unlike other Asian curries, which usually have a thicker consistency, Chinese curry is often watery in nature.
Japanese curry
Japanese curry (karē in Japanese) is one of the most popular dishes in Japan, where many people eat it two or three times a week according to some surveys. It is usually thicker, sweeter, and not as hot as its Indian equivalent. It is usually eaten as karē raisu - curry, rice and often pickles, served on the same plate and eaten with a spoon, a common lunchtime canteen dish.
Curry was introduced to Japan by the British in the Meiji era (1869 - 1913) after Japan ended its policy of national self-isolation (Sakoku), and curry in Japan is categorised as a Western dish. Its spread across the country is commonly attributed to its use in the Japanese Army and Navy which adopted it extensively as convenient field and naval canteen cooking, allowing even conscripts from the remotest countryside to experience the dish. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force still traditionally have curry every Friday for lunch.
The standard Japanese curry contains onions, carrots, potatoes and a meat. Sometimes grated apples or honey are added for additional sweetness, and other vegetables are sometimes used instead. For the meat, beef, pork and chicken are the most popular, in order of decreasing popularity. In the north and eastern Japan including Tokyo, pork is the most popular meat for curry; beef is more common in western Japan including Osaka, and in Okinawa, chicken. (in Japanese)
Sometimes the curry-rice is topped with breaded pork cutlet (tonkatsu); this is called Katsu-karē. Korokke are also a common topping.
Apart from with rice, karē udon (thick noodles in curry flavoured soup) and karē-pan ("curry bread" - deep fried battered bread with curry in the middle) are also popular.
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Elsewhere
Other countries have their own varieties of curry, well known examples include:
- Indonesia: Rendangs, meat or chicken curries with thick brown coconut sauce.
- South Africa: Cape malay curries
- Caribbean: Curried goat
- Philippines: Kare-kare
- Ethiopia: Wat, a thick, heavily spiced stew.
Cambodia, Hawaii, the United States, Myanmar, mainland China, South Korea and Singapore also have their own versions of curry.
Curry powder is used as an incidental ingredient in other cuisines, including for example a "curry sauce" (sauce au curry, sometimes even au cari) variation of the classic French béchamel.
In Iranian cuisine, a ground spice mixture called advieh is used in many stews and rice dishes. It is similar to some curries. Ingredients in the mix vary, but may include cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, cloves, allspice, dried rose petals, and ground ginger. It is usually mellow and mild, not spicy hot.
In Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana curry is a very popular dish among the Caribbean communities. The indentured servants that were brought over from India by the British, brought this dish, as well as their culture, to the West Indies.
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Curry addiction & health benefits
A number of studies have claimed that the reaction of pain receptors to the hotter ingredients in curries, even a Korma, leads to the body's release of endorphins and combined with the complex sensory reaction to the variety of spices and flavours, a natural high is achieved that causes subsequent cravings, often followed by a desire to move on to hotter curries. Some refer to this as addiction, but other researchers contest the use of the word "addiction" in this instance. Additionally, curry addiction is an example of a colloquial use of the word "addiction" as the medical definition of the word requires continued use despite harmful effects.
An unrelated study has suggested that curry has a positive effect on the aging brain, perhaps explaining why Alzheimer's rates are much lower in countries like India.
"Curry Thursday" is a term associated with curry addiction, where individuals have to indulge in curry consumption every week, sometimes on certain set days.
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Ingredients
Thickeners
- Besan (chickpea/garbanzo flour)
- onions/shallots
- cream / half & half
- coconut milk
- yogurt
- nuts
- apples
Spices
- allspice
- anise seed
- asafoetida (Hing)
- black cumin (Kala jeera)
- black pepper (Mizhaku)
- cardamom (Elaichi)
- chili peppers (dried red) (Vath-thal mizhakaai)
- cinnamon
- cloves (Kirambu)
- coriander (Dhaniya or Kothumalli)
- cumin seeds (Jeera or Seeragam)
- fennel
- fenugreek seeds (Methi or Venthayam)
- garam masala
- mace
- mustard seeds (Kadugu)
- nigella (kalonji)
- nutmeg
- poppy seeds
- saffron (Karu manjal)
- turmeric (Puliyam Pazham)
Sour ingredients
- vinegar
- yogurt
- tamarind (imbli)
- lime (nimbu)
- amchoor (dried mango powder, also spelled 'amchur'.)
Fresh herbs and spices
- garlic
- ginger
- coriander (cilantro) leaves
- curry leaves
- bay leaves
- kaffir lime leaves
- chillies
- onion
- ghee (clarified butter)
Curry powder
Curry powder, also known as masala powder, is a spice mixture of widely varying composition developed by the British during the Raj as a means of approximating the taste of Indian cuisine at home. Masala refers to spices, and this is the name given to the thick pasty liquid sauce of combined spices and ghee (clarified butter), butter, palm oil or coconut milk.
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Curry leaves
Curry leaves are the young leaves of the curry tree (Chalcas koenigii), a member of the Rutaceae family that grows wild and in gardens all over India. Fresh curry leaves are oval in shape and best used at about 1 inch in length. They have a pungent and bitter smell much like the leaves of a citrus tree. Leaves are typically fried until browned, then cooked with the dish. Before serving, the leaves are removed. Leaves are most powerful when fresh, but can be dried and used to less effect.
Drinks with Curry
- Lassi is a yogurt based drink with curry.
- Tea Hot or iced tea is often drunk with curry.
- Lager is very popular with curry, particularly in the United Kingdom
Wine is increasingly popular with curry especially amongst those that seek something refreshing and alcoholic without the excess injected gas of a lager. Wine for Spice produced a range of refreshing wines developing on the cold lager with a curry concept. The Charmat method naturally second-fermented semi-sparkling wine is recommended lager cold but unlike a lager the gas is natural. Lager has Carbon Dioxide injected into it producing larger pubbles than through second fermentation.
Wine for Spice's formula for Matching Wine with Curry is: naturally second-fermented semi-sparkling wine; lager cold; good acidity; no tannin; no oak chips; moderate alcohol; sweetness of wine rising with chilli heat
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