If the only curry you’ve ever eaten began in a bottle, you’ve never had curry.
Most Americans wrongly consider curry an all-purpose Indian seasoning, usually containing some blend of turmeric, cumin, coriander, black pepper and other spices.
In fact, that sort of curry is a British invention, an attempt to replicate the complexity of Indian food.
“No self-respecting Indian has a curry spice blend in their kitchen,” said Raghavan Iyer, author of “660 Curries.”
To Indian chefs, curry simply means “sauce,” typically one with spices — sometimes many of them — liquid ingredients, thickeners such as nut pastes, and souring agents, such as tomatoes or tamarind.
These sauces then are married with meat, vegetables and seafood. The combination of spices varies widely by dish and the region of India from which the dish originates. And generally, the spices are blended fresh for each meal.
“We are really magicians of spices,” said Madhur Jaffrey, author of many Indian cookbooks, including “Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick &Easy Indian Cooking.”
“We know the properties of each spice and the way we blend them brings out different aspects of the spice,” she said.
Northern India serves up America’s more widely recognized “Indian food.” These dishes rely on ginger, garlic, cardamom, cinnamon, cilantro, mint, garam masala (itself a spice blend), yogurt and cream.
Northern Indian dishes tend to have rich, creamy sauces with a complex blend of spices, sometimes more than 90 of them. Southern and coastal communities, on the other hand, rely more on fresh ingredients, including curry leaves, coconut, fish and shellfish, and simpler spice blends.
Before embarking on your curry journey, take stock of your spice pantry. And don’t bother with that prepared curry blend. Blending your own mix of whole spices will reward you with honest and delicious Indian food.
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