Chef at Large

I’ve been hearing about the ‘Indian Curry’ for quite a while, from multiple sources. I’ve seen it in restaurant menus in the UK ‘Vegetables with Indian Curry’, seen it published on websites - someone asks ‘how do you make Indian Curry?’, and a kindly (uninformed) soul pops out of nowhere and shares a recipe for ‘Indian Curry’. Then again, I’ve seen people ask for ‘traditional Indian curry recipes’ and an NRI type posts a recipe that contains stock, whipping cream and truffles.

After countless such incidents here’s a ready reckoner for any curry freaks out there, who are interested in some authentic information:

1. There is nothing called ‘Indian Curry’: India is a country with countless cultures and numerous sub cultures. Since each culture has its own rendition of curry, there really is nothing called ‘Indian Curry’. Take a north Indian housewife cooking, lets say, mushrooms and peas (matar mushroom) - she’ll saute some onions, add a pinch of turmeric, a dash of chilli powder, a generous dose of a generic ‘Kitchen King masala’ (which is a mixture of spices used to add flavor to most quick north Indian preparations), add the peas, followed by the mushrooms, a bit of water, simmer and she’s done. Someone in south India would differ by omitting the ‘Kitchen King Masala‘, add black mustard, curry leaves etc. Those in the East of India would probably simply add ginger, garlic, onions, salt, chilli, water and meat, then cook it till its done. A Malayali cook would add coconut milk and omit various ingredients. A Gujarati cook would add a pinch of sugar or gur (a kind of molasses) without any curry leaves. There are many variations. There is therefore, nothing called ‘Indian Curry’ - only a style of cooking that uses fresh ingredients and ends up with tasty, spicy dishes.
2. Indian preparations typically do not use stock: With very few exceptions (soup perhaps), there are no Indian preparations that use pre-made vegetable or meat stock. We cook everything on the fire in front of us and rarely use pre-fabs of any sort. This of course applies to authentic Indian cooking.
3. Adding a generous dose of coriander powder and turmeric with onions does not result in curry. It has to be balanced. I remember eating a ‘Chicken curry’ from a restaurant in the UK. It was a Chinese restaurant, so I didn’t expect what landed on my table - tender pieces of chicken, swimming in thick gravy - a mixture of coriander, ginger and turmeric. That, my friend, is not ‘Curry’. It is, a mixture of coriander, ginger and turmeric - not curry… and definitely not Indian.

On a parting note, ‘Chicken Tikka Masala’ did not originate in India - it is a British creation.

Sid

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