Curry may well be one of the oldest and most popular dishes on the planet, spreading its pungent fingers around the world on the ships of traders and merchants. Scientists and archaeologists have found residues of ginger, turmeric and garlic – the first three basic ingredients of a classic curry – in skeletons and pottery remains dating back 4,500 years inside excavations in India’s ancient Indus Valley civilization.
Centuries of global trade have taken the spice mixture to all corners of the world, each time gathering other ingredients – black pepper, chili, cumin, coriander, cardamom to name a few – and taking a unique form in each place it lands. It is believed the word derives from the Tamil word, “kari” meaning “sauce.”
Curry powder was actually first penned in Britain in “The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy” by Hannah Glasse in 1747. These days curry is ubiquitous in British cuisine, where there is even a National Curry Week.
Whether it’s fish, vegetable, meat or poultry, there is a curry for every taste; bracingly sinus-clearing, soft and mellow, or sweet and tangy. And the countries where Indian populations have gravitated have adapted curry into their own cuisine.
Here are five breathtaking curry dishes from around the globe.
