Curry

Curry is the English description of any of a general variety of spiced dishes, best known in Asian cuisines, especially South Asian cuisine. Curry is a generic term, and although there is no one specific attribute that marks a dish as "curry", some distinctive spices used in many, though certainly not all, curry dishes include turmeric, red pepper and cumin. The term Curry derives from the Dravidian word kari.

Etymology

In India the word "curry" is heavily used in the southern part of India in languages such as Tamil and Malayalam. The word "kari" has its origins in Classical Tamil and means "vegetable in sauce" or "sauce".[1]

Usage

The term curry is used broadly, in English, to refer to almost any spiced, sauce-based dishes cooked in various southern and southeastern Asian styles. Though each curry has a specific name, generically any wet side dish made out of vegetables and/or meat is historically referred to as a "curry" - especially the yellow, Indian-inspired powders and sauces with high proportions of turmeric. A similar name giving behaviour can be observed at the South Indian Malayali people. For instance fish curry is known as 'meen-kari' and mango curry is known as 'manga-kari'.

Masala

The spice mixes are known as "masala". In South India spice mixes vary from family to family. Usually recipes are passed down from parents to children through many generations. Curry powder and Garam masala are industrialized masala products.

South Asian cuisines

Bengali and Bangladeshi cuisines

Bengali cuisine includes a plethora of curries that are commonly unknown to the outside world[citation needed]. They are known for their extreme spiciness. Authentic Bengali recipes are difficult to find outside Bengali kitchens[citation needed], although certain dishes are popular, for example, the jhalfrezis and the prawn malai curry. Seafood and fresh fish are a great favourite with Bengalis, and a large number of curries have been devised to accompany them. Mustard seeds and mustard oil are added to many recipes, as are poppy seeds, and these are flavours highly specific to the Bengali curries[citation needed].

Bangladeshi cuisine has considerable regional variations. These include lots of Bengali cuisines but are known more for their original spiciness compared to Indian Bengali cuisine. The heavy use of coconut milk is refined to the Khulna Division and Comilla District. A staple across the country is rice and fish. As a large percentage of the land in Bangladesh (over 80% on some occasions) can be under water, fish is the major source of protein in the Bangladeshi diet.

Andhra or Telugu cuisine

Andhra cuisine is spicy and has a unique flavor to itself. Similar to the Tamil cuisine though there are regional variations in Andhra Pradesh cuisine. Telangana, which is in the west of Andhra Pradesh, has dishes like Ambali, jonna rotte (Jowar bread), Sajja Rotte (bread from sajja grains), and Hyderabadi biryani (which is mainly influenced by Islamic culture and a favorite across the nation).

Typical Andhra cuisine dishes include kodi kura (chicken curry), ulavachaaru (soup from horse gram), chapala pulusu (fish curry), yatamamsam (goat mutton), avakaaya pickle (mango), red chilli pickle, pesarattu etc..

Karnataka cuisine

The curries of Karnataka typically have a lot more dal compared to curries of other parts of India. Some typical soup dishes include Saaru, Gojju, Thovve, Huli, Majjige Huli; which is similar to the "kadi" made in the north, Sagu or Kootu, which is eaten mixed with hot rice.

Karnataka Curry (either in the form of Sambar or Saru/rasam) is must in lunch/dinner or breakfast (especially with Idli and Wada). Idli, Sambar and Chatni along with crispy wada are good combination and light weight breakfast..

Malayali cuisine

Malayali curries of Kerala typically contain shredded coconut paste or coconut milk, curry leaves, and various spices. Mustard seeds are used in almost every dish, along with onions, curry leaves, sliced red chilies fried in hot oil. Most of the non-vegetarian dishes are heavily spiced. Kerala is known for its traditional Sadya, a vegetarian meal served with boiled rice and a host of side-dishes, such as Parippu (Green gram), Papadum, some ghee, Sambar, Rasam, Aviyal, Kaalan, Kichadi, pachadi, Injipuli, Koottukari, pickles (mango, lime), Thoran, one to four types of Payasam, Boli, Olan, Pulissery, moru (buttermilk), Upperi, Banana chips, etc. The sadya is customarily served on a banana leaf.

Tamil and Sri Lankan cuisines

Tamil cuisine's distinctive flavor and aroma is achieved by a blend and combination of spices, including curry leaves, tamarind, coriander, ginger, garlic, chili, pepper, poppy seeds, mustard seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cumin, fennel or anise seeds, fenugreek seeds, nutmeg, coconut, turmeric root or powder, and rosewater. Lentils, vegetables and dairy products are essential accompaniments, and are often served with rice. Traditionally, vegetarian foods dominate the menu with a range of non-vegetarian dishes, including freshwater fish and seafood, cooked with traditional Tamil spices and seasoning. This holds good for all the four South Indian states.

In Sri Lankan cuisine, rice, which is usually consumed daily, can be found at any special occasion, while spicy curries are favorite dishes for dinner and lunch. Rice and curry refers to a range of Sri Lankan dishes.

Other Indian cuisines

In other varieties of Indian cuisine, kadhi is a gravy - made by stirring yogurt into a roux of ghee and besan. The spices added vary, but usually include turmeric and black mustard seed. It is often eaten with rice.

Gujarati cuisine

The typical Gujarati cuisine is called Thali which consists of Roti (a flat bread made from wheat flour), daal or kadhi, rice, and sabzi/shaak (a dish made up of different combinations of vegetables and spices, which may be stir fried, spicy or sweet). Cuisine varies in taste and heat, depending on a given family's tastes.

Chinese cuisine

Chinese curries (咖哩, 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.

The most common Chinese variety of curry sauce is usually sold in powder form. It seems to have descended from a Singaporean and Malaysian variety, countries which also introduced the Satay sauce to the Chinese. The ethnic Cantonese being most dominant in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, this yellow, Chinese-Malaysian variety was naturally introduced to China by the Cantonese, and features typically in the Hong Kong cuisine. (Interestingly, the Malay Satay seems to have been introduced to China with wider success by the ethnic Teochew, which are not dominant in the Nusantara, but in Thailand.)

Unlike in the United Kingdom, Chinese curry is generally more popular than Indian curry in North America and Ireland. 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. "Galimian," or "curry noodles," are also a popular Chinese curry dish.

Indonesian cuisine

In Indonesian, gulai and kari or kare is based on curry. They are often highly localised and reflect the meat and vegetables available. They can therefore employ a variety of meats (chicken, beef, water buffalo and goat as in the flavoursome "gulai kambing"), seafood (prawn, crab, mussel, clam, squid etc), fish or vegetable dishes in a spiced sauce. They use local ingredients such as chili peppers, Kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, Galangal, Indonesian bay leaves or salam leaves, candlenuts, turmeric, shrimp paste (terasi), cumin, coriander seed and coconut milk. One popular curry is rendang from West Sumatran cuisine, not Malaysia as is claimed in many British restaurants. Authentic rendang uses water buffalo slow-cooked in thick coconut milk over a number of hours to tenderise and flavour the meat. In Aceh, curries use daun salam koja or daun kari (translated as "curry leaves"). Opor Ayam is another kind of curry.

Japanese cuisine

Japanese curry (カレー, karē?) is one of the most popular dishes in Japan, where people eat it 62 times a year according to a survey.[2] It 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.

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 categorized 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 and many ships have their own unique recipes.

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, pork, beef and chicken are the most popular, in order of decreasing popularity. In northern 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 is favored.[3]

Sometimes the curry-rice is topped with breaded pork cutlet (tonkatsu); this is called Katsu-karē ("cutlet curry"). Korokke (potato croquettes) 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.

Malaysian cuisine

Being at the crossroad of the ancient trade routes has left a unique mark on the Malaysian cuisine. Practically everything on the Asian menu can be found here, and the local fare is also a reflection of its multi-cultural, multi-ethnic heritage. While the curry may have initially found its way to Malaysian shores via the Indian population, it has since become a staple among the Malays and Chinese too. Malaysian curries differ from state to state, even within similar ethnic groupings as they are influenced by the many factors, be it cultural, religious, agricultural or economical.

    * Thai curries:
          o Yellow curry
          o Massaman curry
          o Green curry
          o Red curry
          o Panang curry