Lamb curry is a traditional dish.
Curry is a spice blend used in Indian and other southeast Asian and African countries. The word curry is from the word "kari" in the Tamil language spoken in southern India and Sir Lanka. In Western countries we think of curry as a powder used to season food. Indian cuisine defines curry as something entirely different and very regional.
Indian Cuisine
Indian spices are colorful and flavorful.
Each of the geographical regions of India has its own blend of spices with some similarities. Much of the cuisine is vegetarian. Religious influences and the availability of meat also play a part. Northern Indian cuisine comes from a very rural tradition and uses wheat as its base; breads are an important component to any meal. Southern Indian cuisine is spicier and uses rice as the base of many of its dishes. Indian cuisine is also a very personal family experience. Recipes are as diverse and numerous as the families that make them.
Religious Influence
When the Islamic religion began to be practiced in India in tandem with Hinduism, changes in the cuisine became quite evident. Meat was introduced into the diet and cooked with gravies spiced with the regional spices of India. These spices -- ginger, cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, onions and garlic -- were blended with the gravies and meat combinations of the Muslim diet. Eating with the right hand was also introduced into India at this time and these two distinct changes have remained a part of Indian culture.
Sauces
Make a spicy dish of Indian vegetable and meat curry.
Indian curry is essentially the sauces and gravies introduced by Muslims flavored with the exotic southern Indian spices. Western culture thinks of curry as a powder when in reality it is a generic term for the sauce. Curry can be the addition of these regional spices into any dish -- vegetarian, seafood or meat. These spices can also be added to rice along with coconut to produce a sweet spicy flavor.
Spices
The spices contain heat which causes the body to sweat and keep cool in warmer temperatures. The mixture of spices westerners call "curry" is an Anglican invention. Powdered curry is not something Indian cuisine recognizes. Indian cuisine uses spices in cooking sauces and gravies and thus Indians eat curry as naturally as Western cultures use salt and pepper or gravy over roast beef and chicken.
Tags: Indian cuisine, curry powder, curry something, Indian cuisine, Indian spices