The Brits enjoy a delicious curry so much that it’s often referred to as the nation’s dish in addition to having 23 million taking curry on a regular every day, it’s impossible to argue. Where did it originate from , and why did it get to become an iconic national dish? Let’s look closer at this smoky classic.
The word curry is derived from?
The word originated directly from Tamil language “Kari” but was eventually changed to “curry”. In India curry is the stew or gravy dish. The majority of these dishes comprise the Indian spice mix , garam masala as well as chilli, ginger and cumin, coriander, turmeric, and garlic, however they could be composed of a variety of things.The first curry
The curry that started it all.
Curry has been around for a time, and even our ancestors from the past being partial to the dish that is seasoned with spiced meat. Evidence from archaeology dating back to 2600 BCE from Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan indicates that the use of mortar and pestle was employed to crush spices such as cumin, mustard and fennel to flavor food.
The curries with a spicy flavor that we are familiar with and love are a bit later. They have been linked to their origins in the Mughal Empire , and also their impact on Indian food, particularly in the north of India, during the 16th century in the beginning. The original curry didn’t contain any peppers since chilli peppers weren’t indigenous to India. It was not until Christopher Columbus brought chilli seeds back from the New World and they were transferred to India and they began making it into Indian food preparation.
How did curry get to Britain
The expansion of curry into Britain is directly related to the growth in the British Empire. People stationed in India discovered a love of spicy food and brought these exotic foods and recipes home.
It was in 1747 that Hannah Glasse produced the first recipe known to be contemporary curries in her book, Glasse’s Art of Cookery, and by 1773, at a minimum, one London coffee house served curry on the menu . It was the first curry powder commercially available first appearing in 1780.
The year was 1846. William Makepeace Thackeray wrote”Poems to Curry in his book “Kitchen Melodies” and in 1861, Mrs. Beeton’s ‘Book for Household Administration’ contained more than 14 curries, which included Dr.. Kitchener’s recipe for India Curry Powder.
British adaptations
What was originally an Indian sauce that was served with rice was transformed into an English stew with a hint of rice added and the evolution of curry recipes continues until today. A very well-known curries served in Britain is chicken tikka masala. UK is chicken masala tikka. The son of the inventor chef and Pakistani chef Ali Ahmed Aslam of Shish Mahal in Glasgow described the origins of the dish in 1971:
In a typical dark and wet Glasgow evening, a bus driver, who had just finished his shift came in and asked for chicken curry. He returned it to the waiter and said “it’s very dry.” The moment he did this, Dad was suffering from the ailment and was eating the soup of tomatoes. So , he suggested that we include some tomato soup in the curry along with some spices. They returned it to the table which the bus driver enjoyed the dish. The bus driver and his buddies returned time and time and we placed it on our menu.
From its Indian origins curry has developed and is now a popular dish all over the world. With over 9000 Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants across the UK and beyond, our obsession with spicy sauces has that it is not going to end anytime soon. For the best Pakistani restaurant in London, make sure you visit Lahore Karahi.