Curry

[Guest guest]

Curry tree with fruits Curry leaves are extensively used in Southern

India and Sri Lanka (and are absolutely necessary for the authentic

flavour), but are also of some importance in Northern India.

Together with South Indian immigrants, curry leaves reached

Malaysia, South Africa and Réunion island. Outside the Indian sphere

of influence, they are rarely found. Curry powder is a British

invention to imitate the flavour of Indian cooking with minimal

effort. Some curry powders, or so the books tell, indeed contain

curry leaves, but probably only for historic or linguistic reasons,

since dried curry leaves lose their fragrance within days. A typical

curry powder should derive its taste mainly from roasted cumin,

roasted coriander, black pepper, chiles and roasted fenugreek. Other

typical Indian spices often contained in curry powders are dried

ginger, ajwain and celery (as a substitute for Indian radhuni),

furthermore salt, flour from lightly toasted

lentils and aromatic Moghul spices in variable amounts (cinnamon,

cloves, green cardamom, Indian bay-leaves). The yellow colour stems

from turmeric. I think it's pretty unreasonable to put spices with

absolutely no tradition in India into a spice blend that claims to

have an " Indian flavour " , but nevertheless galangale, caraway,

allspice, and zedoary are occasionally listed as ingredients in

curry powders. Remember that since curry powder is not a traditional

recipe, there is little consensus about what should go into it, and

anyone is free to sell his own creation.

Curry tree in full flower Observant readers will notice that the

recipe for curry powder outlined in the previous paragraph appears

like a compromise of the Northern Indian garam masala and the

Southern Indian sambaar podi (see cumin for both mixtures). Anyway,

you cannot represent the large spectrum of Indian cooking styles in

one single spice mixture; Indians prepare their mixtures separately

for each dish and usually do not store them, thus guaranteeing the

unique flavour of each recipe. Curry powder, therefore, belongs more

to British or international cuisine than to India; anyone trying to

cook authentic Indian recipes should stick to traditional Indian

spice mixtures or, even better, single spices. Curry powder has been

introduced to some Far Eastern countries in the past, and today

plays but a minor rôle as a flavouring in China, Indonesia and,

above all, Vietnam. In Indian cuisines, curry leaves are used fresh;

for some recipes, the leaves should be

oven-dried or toasted immediately before usage. Another common

technique is short frying in butter or oil (see ajwain for this

procedure) . Since South Indian cuisine is dominantly vegetarian,

curry leaves seldom appear in non-vegetarian food; the main

applications are thin lentil or vegetable curries (sambaar

[ & #2970; & #3006; & #2990; & #3021; & #2986; & #3006; & #2992; & #3021;]) and

stuffings for the crispy samosa

[ & #2360; & #2350; & #2379; & #2360; & #2366;]. Because of their soft

texture, they are never removed before serving, but can be eaten

without any hazard. See coconut for the Southern Indian recipe bese

bele. In Sri Lanka, the delicious chicken and beef curries are

flavoured with curry leaves; the leaves are furthermore used for

kottu roti [ & #3482; & #3549; & #3501; & #3530; & #3501; & #3540;

& #3515; & #3549; & #3495; & #3538;], vegetables and sliced bread which are

quickly fried together. Sri Lankan cooking is very hot and pungent

due to almost excessive use of chiles, but also very aromatic.

Compared to Indians, Sri Lankans eat more meats and less dairy

products; meats and vegetables are often cooked in gravies based on

water or thin coconut milk instead of yoghurt. Fresh fruits of the

Curry tree The typical Sri Lankan flavour is due to heavy toasting

some spices (cumin, coriander, black mustard, fenugreek) until they

reach a rather dark colour; it is often said that Sri Lankan curries

have a " darker " or " browner " flavour than Indian curries. Sri Lankan

cooks often use aromatic spices native to the island (cinnamon,

cardamom) and fresh leaves (curry leaves, Pandanus leaves and lemon

grass; the latter two are not in common use in India). Curry leaves

may be kept in the refrigerator for some time, but are better kept

frozen; do not remove them from the branches before usage! The term

curry is applied inflationarily to many dishes of Far Eastern

origin. As shown above, in its true home South India it means a

thin, spicy vegetable stew. In

Thailand, though, any food cooked in coconut milk is called a curry

(gaeng); the term is similarly used in Vietnam, where curries (ca ri

[ca ri], see rice paddy herb) are indeed often flavoured with Anglo-

Indian curry powder. Laksa, a soupy noodle dish from Malaysia and

Singapore, is often referred to as " curried noodles " or the like,

probably, because it contains coconut and derives the familiar

yellow colour from turmeric (see Vietnamese coriander for details

about laksa). In Burma, however, a completely different definition

of " curry " is in use: Burmese " curries " owe their flavour to a fried

paste of ground onions and other spices (see onion for details).

Lastly, in Indonesia, any spicy food may be termed a curry (kari in

Indonesian). Sometimes, one even hears about Ethiopian (see long

pepper) or Caribbean " curries " , whatever this may mean (except,

perhaps, the least common denominator of all those: Spiciness).

[Guest guest]

Guru, you're making me tear up and miss Sri Lanka where I was in the

peace corps. It's true SL curries are much hotter than Indian and

it's true you cannot substitute for the flavor of curry leaves; they

are unique. Kefir leaves are too limey and bay leaves are too dull.

 

I think the term 'curry' has made it's way around through what used

to be the British empire and trading partners and has come to mean a

spicy dish cooked in a particular (though not all the same) melange

of spices, thus Jamaican curry, Ethiopian curry, etc.

 

Gotta find me some curry leaves and coconuts this week and cook up a

mess of dahl

 

Peace,

Diane

 

 

Sri Lankan cooking is very hot and pungent

> due to almost excessive use of chiles, but also very aromatic.

> Compared to Indians, Sri Lankans eat more meats and less dairy

> products; meats and vegetables are often cooked in gravies based on

> water or thin coconut milk instead of yoghurt. Fresh fruits of the

> Curry tree The typical Sri Lankan flavour is due to heavy toasting

> some spices (cumin, coriander, black mustard, fenugreek) until they

> reach a rather dark colour; it is often said that Sri Lankan

curries

> have a " darker " or " browner " flavour than Indian curries. Sri

Lankan

> cooks often use aromatic spices native to the island (cinnamon,

> cardamom) and fresh leaves (curry leaves, Pandanus leaves and lemon

> grass; the latter two are not in common use in India). Curry leaves

> may be kept in the refrigerator for some time, but are better kept

> frozen; do not remove them from the branches before usage! The term

> curry is applied inflationarily to many dishes of Far Eastern

> origin. As shown above, in its true home South India it means a

> thin, spicy vegetable stew. In

> Thailand, though, any food cooked in coconut milk is called a curry

> (gaeng); the term is similarly used in Vietnam, where curries (ca

ri

> [ca ri], see rice paddy herb) are indeed often flavoured with Anglo-

> Indian curry powder. Laksa, a soupy noodle dish from Malaysia and

> Singapore, is often referred to as " curried noodles " or the like,

> probably, because it contains coconut and derives the familiar

> yellow colour from turmeric (see Vietnamese coriander for details

> about laksa). In Burma, however, a completely different definition

> of " curry " is in use: Burmese " curries " owe their flavour to a

fried

> paste of ground onions and other spices (see onion for details).

> Lastly, in Indonesia, any spicy food may be termed a curry (kari in

> Indonesian). Sometimes, one even hears about Ethiopian (see long

> pepper) or Caribbean " curries " , whatever this may mean (except,

> perhaps, the least common denominator of all those: Spiciness).

>