{{Short description|Spiced Asian-inspired sauces and dishes}} {{About|the dish with spices|the spice mix|Curry powder||Curry (disambiguation)}} {{good article}} {{pp-move}} {{pp-pc|small=yes}} {{use British English|date=August 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}} [[File:Taj Mahal - Lamb Curry Madras.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Lamb Madras curry, Anglo-Indian, c. 1850]] <!--This summarises reliably cited content in the article body; it has been formally reviewed. Please do not attempt to change it without first obtaining consensus on the talk page.-->'''Curry''' is a dish with a spicy sauce, initially in Indian cuisine, then modified by interchange with the Portuguese, followed by the British, and eventually thoroughly internationalised.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Curry"/> Many curries are found in the cuisines of countries in Southeast Asia and East Asia.<ref name="Van Esterik"/>
<!--This summarises reliably cited content in the article body; it has been formally reviewed. Please do not attempt to change it without first obtaining consensus on the talk page.-->In medieval India, proto-curries were flavoured with mild spices such as asafoetida, cardamom, coriander, cumin, and ginger, with the limited heat of black pepper.<ref name="Batsha 2020"/> A definite step in the creation of modern curry was the arrival in India of spicy hot chili peppers, along with ingredients such as tomatoes and potatoes, part of the Columbian exchange of plants between the Old World and the New World.<ref name="Batsha 2020"/> The Mughal empire brought new subtly-spiced dishes, especially to the north of India.<ref name="Batsha 2020"/> During the British Raj, Anglo-Indian cuisine developed,{{sfn|Collingham|2006|p=115}} leading to Hannah Glasse's 18th century recipe for "currey the India way" in England.<ref name="Taylor 2013"/> Curry was then spread in the 19th century by indentured Indian sugar workers to the Caribbean,<ref name="Davidson 2014 Curry"/> and by British traders to Japan.<ref name="Itoh 2011"/> Further exchanges around the world made curry a fully international dish.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Curry"/>
<!--This summarises reliably cited content in the article body; it has been formally reviewed. Please do not attempt to change it without first obtaining consensus on the talk page.-->Many types of curry exist in different countries.<ref name="eb"/> In Southeast Asia, curry often contains a spice paste and coconut milk.<ref name="Van Esterik"/> In India, the spices are fried in oil or ghee to create a paste; this may be combined with a water-based broth, or sometimes with milk or coconut milk.<ref name=eb/><ref name="Dillon 2024"/> In China and Korea, curries are based on a commercial curry powder.{{sfn|Sen|2009|p=105}}<ref name="sohn"/> Curry restaurants outside their native countries often adapt their cuisine to suit local tastes; for instance, Thai restaurants in the West sell red, yellow, and green curries with chili peppers of those colours, often combined with additional spices of the same colours.<ref name="Schmidt 2024"/> In Britain, curry is a popular dish with some types adopted from India, others modified or invented.<ref name="Dillon 2024"/><!--This summarises reliably cited content in the article body; it has been formally reviewed. Please do not attempt to change it without first obtaining consensus on the talk page. Nothing that is not already in the body should be added up here, thanks.-->
== Etymology ==
[[File:To make a Currey the India Way - Hannah Glasse 1748.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Hannah Glasse's recipe for "Currey the India Way", first published in her 1747 book ''The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy''. It is the first known use of the word in English (the recipe uses the long s, "ſ").]]
<!--please do not try to insert anything here without citing a reliable source, thanks--> The English word "curry" is derived from the Dravidian language family, possibly by way of Dutch ''carrijl'', Portuguese ''caris'' or ''caril'', or some combination of these. The Dravidian source may be Tamil {{lang|ta|கறி}} ''kaṟi'',<ref>{{cite web |date=2018-02-28 |title=What we know as "curry" has a long and curious history |url=https://thetakeout.com/what-we-know-as-curry-has-a-long-and-curious-history-1798252495 |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=The Takeout}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Curry (noun) |url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/curry_1 |publisher=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=1 January 2025 |quote=late 16th cent.: from Tamil kar̲i.}}</ref> ("a spiced mixture with fish, meat or vegetable, eaten with boiled rice"<ref>{{cite dictionary |last=Winslow |first=Miron |entry=கறி ''kaṟi'' |title=Winslow's A comprehensive Tamil and English dictionary |url=https://archive.org/details/winslowscomprehe00mwin/page/269/mode/1up |page=269 |date=1862}}</ref>), or a mingled borrowing from multiple Dravidian languages.<ref name="Online Etym Dict">{{cite web |title=Curry |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/curry#etymonline_v_491 |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper |access-date=9 August 2025 |year=2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009013123/https://www.etymonline.com/word/curry#etymonline_v_491 |archive-date=9 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=curry (n. 3 & adj.) |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1996640347 |website=Oxford English Dictionary |date=2024 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/OED/1996640347 |access-date=30 October 2025}}</ref> Other Dravidian languages, namely Malayalam (കറി ''kari'', "hot condiments; meats, vegetables"<ref>{{cite dictionary |last=Gundert |first=Herman |entry=കറി ''kari'' |title=Malayalam and English Dictionary |url=https://archive.org/details/MalayalamAndEnglishDictionary/page/n235/mode/2up |page=216 |date=1872 |publisher=C. Stolz}}</ref>), Middle Kannada, Kodava, and Telugu have similar words.<ref name="Online Etym Dict"/><ref>{{cite dictionary |last=Brown |first=Charles Phillip |entry=కూర ''kūra'' |title=Telugu-English Dictionary |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/brown_query.py |page=304 |date=1903 |via=HathiTrust}}</ref>
''Kaṟi'' is described in a 17th-century Portuguese cookbook,<ref name="Taylor 2013"/> based on trade with Tamil merchants along the Coromandel Coast of southeast India, becoming known as a "spice blend... called ''kari podi'' or curry powder".<ref name="Sahni 1980">{{cite book |last=Sahni |first=Julie |year=1980 |title=Classic Indian Cooking |location=New York |publisher=William Morrow |pages=39, 40}}</ref> The first appearance in its anglicised form (spelt ''currey'') was in Hannah Glasse's 1747 book ''The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy''.<ref name="Online Etym Dict"/><ref name="Taylor 2013">{{cite web |last=Taylor |first=Anna-Louise |title=Curry: Where did it come from? |date=11 October 2013 |work=BBC Food |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/24432750 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329151125/http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/0/24432750 |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 March 2014 |access-date=4 January 2017}}</ref>
The term "curry" is not derived from the name of the curry tree, although some curries do include curry leaves among many other spices.<ref name="NPR 2011">{{cite news |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/09/28/140735689/fresh-curry-leaves-add-a-touch-of-india |date=28 September 2011 |title=Fresh Curry Leaves Add a Touch of India |access-date=6 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411111413/https://www.npr.org/2011/09/28/140735689/fresh-curry-leaves-add-a-touch-of-india |archive-date=11 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Raghavan |first=S. |title=Handbook of Spices, Seasonings and Flavourings |publisher=CRC Press |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-8493-2842-8 |page=302}}</ref> The cookery writer Pat Chapman noted the similarity of the words ''Karahi'' or ''Kadai'', an Indian cooking dish shaped like a wok, without giving evidence.<ref name="Gopal 2010">{{cite book |last=Dubey |first=Krishna Gopal |title=The Indian Cuisine |year=2010 |publisher=PHI Learning |isbn=978-81-203-4170-8 |page=11}}</ref> "Curry" is not related to the word ''cury'' in ''The Forme of Cury'',<ref name="Taylor 2013"/> a 1390s English cookbook;<ref>{{cite book |last=Pegge |first=Samuel |title=The Forme of Cury: A Roll of Ancient English Cookery |publisher=J. Nichols |location=London |year=1780 |oclc=13794092}}</ref> that term comes from the Middle French word ''cuire'', meaning "to cook".<ref name="Online Etym Dict"/>
== Cultural exchanges ==
=== Ancient spice trade in Asia ===
{{further|Spice trade}}{{-}}
{{Curry timeline}}
[[File:Spices in an Indian market.jpg|thumb|center|Spices on sale in Goa, Western India]]
By 1500 BCE, seafaring merchants from Austronesian communities were already trading spices across the ocean. They sailed between South Asia and East Asia, especially the ports along southeastern India and Sri Lanka, creating some of the world's earliest maritime trade networks.<ref name="Manguin2016">{{cite book |last=Manguin |first=Pierre-Yves |title=Early Exchange between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2016 |isbn=978-3319338224 |editor-last=Campbell |editor-first=Gwyn |pages=51–76 |chapter=Austronesian Shipping in the Indian Ocean: From Outrigger Boats to Trading Ships |access-date=26 March 2023 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XsvDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326195021/https://books.google.com/books?id=XsvDDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author-last=Solheim |author-first=Wilhelm G. |author-link=Wilhelm Solheim |date=1996 |title=The Nusantao and north-south dispersals |journal=Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association |volume=15 |pages=101–109}}</ref> Archaeological discoveries at Mohenjo-daro show that people were using mortar and pestle to grind <!--native-->spices as early as 2600 BCE. They pounded cumin<!--Iraq, Afghanistan-->, fennel, garlic, ginger, mustard, black peppercorns, saffron, sesame seed, tamarind<!--from Madagascar--> pods, and turmeric to create spicy flavourings for their food, which included meat, fish, grains, pulses, and fruits.{{sfn|Iyer|2008|pp=2–3}}{{sfn|Iyer|2022|p=1}} Black pepper is native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia and has been known to Indian cooking since at least 2000 BCE.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Pepper">{{harvnb|Davidson|2014|at="Pepper", pp. 612–613}}</ref> The three basic ingredients of the spicy stew were ginger<!--POWO says "possibly native to India"-->, garlic,<!--POWO says "native to Iran", Caucasus--> and turmeric<!--POWO says "native to India"-->. Using starch grain analysis, archaeologists identified the residue of these spices in both skeletons and pottery shards from excavations in India, finding that turmeric and ginger were present,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-have-been-eating-curry-for-4500-years-8604270/ |title=People Have Been Eating Curry for 4,500 Years |website=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=26 December 2020 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517012343/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-have-been-eating-curry-for-4500-years-8604270/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Lawler 2013">{{cite web |last=Lawler |first=Andrew |title=Where Did Curry Come From? |date=29 January 2013 |website=Slate |url=https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/01/indus-civilization-food-how-scientists-are-figuring-out-what-curry-was-like-4500-years-ago.html |access-date=27 December 2020 |archive-date=15 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115085836/https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/01/indus-civilization-food-how-scientists-are-figuring-out-what-curry-was-like-4500-years-ago.html |url-status=live}}</ref> in what have been called "proto-curries".<ref name="Lawler 2013"/> Sauces in India before Columbus could contain black pepper or long pepper to provide a little heat, but not chili, so they were not spicy hot by modern standards.<ref name="Twilley Graber 2019 transcript">{{cite web |last1=Twilley |first1=Nicola |last2=Graber |first2=Nicola |last3=Iyer |first3=Raghavan |author3-link=Raghavan Iyer (chef) |last4=Collingham |first4=Lizzie |author4-link=Lizzie Collingham |title=Transcript: The Curry Chronicles |url=https://gastropod.com/transcript-the-curry-chronicles/ |website=Gastropod |access-date=6 October 2024 |date=9 April 2019}}</ref>
=== Medieval Indian proto-curries ===
[[File:Young Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana being received by Akbar, Akbarnama.jpg|thumb|upright|The 16th century Mughal court of the emperor Akbar ate mild proto-curries, flavoured with asafoetida and spices such as cardamom and ginger.]]
Before Christopher Columbus, Indian dishes were sometimes spicy but they were never hot like many modern curries, as chili peppers were absent, along with tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers and squashes. The proto-curries of medieval pre-Columbian India were diverse but not much like modern international curries. ''Sambar'', for example, was a dish of pigeon peas (''toor dal'') or lentils, flavoured with onions and mild spices.<ref name="Batsha 2020"/> Among the key spices used in the period was asafoetida (''hīng''),<ref name="Batsha 2020"/> a foul-smelling gum from plants of the genus ''Ferula''.<ref name="Sahebkar">{{Cite journal |last1=Sahebkar |first1=Amirhossein |last2=Iranshahi |first2=Mehrdad |date=2010-12-01 |title=Biological activities of essential oils from the genus ''Ferula'' (Apiaceae) |journal=Asian Biomedicine |volume=4 |issue=6 |pages=835–847 |doi=10.2478/abm-2010-0110 |s2cid=86139520 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Farhadi2020">{{cite journal |last1=Farhadi |first1=Faegheh |last2=Iranshahi |first2=Mehrdad |last3=Taghizadeh |first3=Seyedeh Faezeh |last4=Asili |first4=Javad |title=Volatile sulfur compounds: The possible metabolite pattern to identify the sources and types of asafoetida by headspace GC/MS analysis |journal=Industrial Crops and Products |date=November 2020 |volume=155 |article-number=112827 |doi=10.1016/j.indcrop.2020.112827 }}</ref> Despite its smell, it adds a fine-tasting meaty flavour when it is fried in oil.<ref name="Batsha 2020"/>
Chavundaraya II's 11th century ''Lokopakara'' makes use of asafoetida, cumin<!--jeera-->, curry tree leaves, and mustard to flavour a dal.<ref name="Batsha 2020"/> Spices named in the 12th century ''Mānasollāsa'' from the Western Chalukya Empire of South India include coriander, cumin, asafoetida, salt, and black pepper<!--''visvamarichim''-->.<ref name="Batsha 2020"/> The 15th century ''Ni'matnāmah Naṣir al-Dīn Shāhī'' from the Malwa Sultanate of Northern India describes flavouring vegetables with asafoetida and sesame seeds fried in ghee (clarified butter), with lime juice and salt.<ref name="Batsha 2020"/>
=== Early modern trade ===
[[File:Curry's origins.svg|thumb|center|upright=3|Origin and spread of curry around the world. Mild spices were traded between India and East Asia by 1500 BCE.<ref name="Manguin2016"/> The Columbian Exchange brought chili peppers to India; before then, Indian food was not spicy hot.<ref name="Batsha 2020"/> Anglo-Indian food came to Britain in the 17th century.<ref name="Twilley Graber 2019 transcript"/> The word "curry" was first recorded in print in Hannah Glasse's 1747 English cookery book.<ref name="Online Etym Dict"/> In the 19th century, curry spread to the Caribbean<ref name="Mishan 2017"/> and to Japan,<ref name="Itoh 2011"/> and from there to Chinese people, starting in Singapore.<ref name="Lim 1886"/> Further migration and globalisation (not shown) made curry a fully international dish.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Curry"/>]]
The establishment of the Mughal Empire, in the early 16th century, brought some new and subtly spiced dishes, especially in the north. The Indo-Persian Mughal cuisine of the emperor Akbar, as described in the ''Ain-i-Akbari'', could cook aubergines (eggplants) with asafoetida, cardamom, cloves, coriander, ginger, lime juice, onions, and pepper.<ref name="Batsha 2020"/> The cuisine established dishes like biryani in India, derived from Persian pilau rice and the Persian habit of marinading meat in yoghurt (curd), combined with Indian-style use of spices.{{sfn|Collingham|2006|pp=25–29}}
Another influence was the establishment of the Portuguese trading centre in Goa in 1510, resulting in the introduction of chili peppers, tomatoes and potatoes to India from the Americas, as a byproduct of the Columbian Exchange.<ref name="Batsha 2020">{{Cite web |last=Batsha |first=Nishant |author-link=Nishant Batsha |date=25 June 2020 |title=Curry Before Columbus |url=https://contingentmagazine.org/2020/06/25/curry-before-columbus/ |access-date=15 December 2020 |website=Contingent |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517012336/https://contingentmagazine.org/2020/06/25/curry-before-columbus/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The food culture scholar Lizzie Collingham suggests that the Portuguese in Goa (in West India) heard and adopted words adopted into a local <!--Indo-Aryan--> language<!--presumably Konkani, would need a source for that--> from the Dravidian words from South India, becoming ''caril'' or ''carree'' as transcribed by British travellers of the time. This eventually led to the modern meaning of "curry" as a dish, often spiced, in a sauce or gravy.<ref name="Twilley Graber 2019">{{cite news |last1=Twilley |first1=Nicola |last2=Graber |first2=Cynthia |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/04/why-we-call-indian-dishes-curry-colonial-history/586828/ |title=The Word Curry Came From a Colonial Misunderstanding |work=The Atlantic |date=20 April 2019 |access-date=10 May 2021 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517012341/https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/04/why-we-call-indian-dishes-curry-colonial-history/586828/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1598, an English translation of a Dutch book about travel in the East Indies mentioned a "somewhat sour" broth called ''Carriel'', eaten with rice.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Curry"/> The later Dutch word {{lang|nl|karie}} was used in the Dutch East Indies from the 19th century; many Indians had by then migrated to Southeast Asia.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Curry"/>
=== British influence ===
{{further|Anglo-Indian cuisine}}
[[File:How Anglo-Indians made Curry.svg|thumb|center|upright=3|Anglo-Indian cooks created what they called curry by selecting regional ingredients from all over British India, using these in Indian dishes from other regions. Among their creations were kedgeree and Madras curry, served with chutneys, pickles, Bombay duck, and poppadoms.{{sfn|Collingham|2006|pp=118–125, 140}}]]
Curry was introduced to English cuisine from Anglo-Indian cooking in the 17th century, as spicy sauces were added to plain boiled and cooked meats.{{sfn|Collingham|2006|p=115}} That cuisine was created in the British Raj when British wives or memsahibs instructed Indian cooks on the food they wanted, transforming many dishes in the process.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Anglo-Indian">{{harvnb|Davidson|2014|at="Anglo-Indian" pp. 21–22}}</ref> Further, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when there were few British women in India, British men often lived with Indian mistresses, acquiring the local customs, language, and food.{{sfn|Collingham|2006|pp=110–111}} Curry was first served in coffee houses in Britain from 1809.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8370054.stm |title=How Britain got the hots for curry |publisher=BBC |date=26 November 2009 |access-date=29 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128165253/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8370054.stm |archive-date=28 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Indian cooks in the 19th century prepared curries for their British masters simplified and adjusted to Anglo-Indian taste. For instance, a ''quarama'' from Lucknow contained (among other ingredients) ghee, yoghurt, cream, crushed almonds, cloves, cardamom, and saffron; whereas an 1869 Anglo-Indian ''quorema'' or ''korma'', "different in substance as well as name",{{sfn|Collingham|2006|pp=116–117}} had no cream, almonds, or saffron, but it added the then-standard British curry spices, namely coriander, ginger, and black peppercorns.{{sfn|Collingham|2006|pp=116–117}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Thirty-Five Years' Resident |chapter=Kurma or Quorema Curry |title=The Indian Cookery Book |date=1869 |publisher=Wyman & Co. |location=Calcutta |page=22 |chapter-url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=EvcpAAAAYAAJ&pg=GBS.PA22&hl=en_GB |quote=This, without exception, is one of the richest of Hindoostanee curries, but it is quite unsuited to European taste, if made according to the original recipe, of which the following is a [Europeanised] copy:}}</ref> Curry, initially understood as "an unfamiliar set of Indian stews and ragouts",{{sfn|Collingham|2006|p=118}} had become "a dish in its own right, created for the British in India".{{sfn|Collingham|2006|p=118}} Collingham describes the resulting Anglo-Indian cuisine as "eclectic", "pan-Indian", "lacking sophistication", embodying a "passion for garnishes", and forming a "coherent repertoire"; but it was eaten only by the British.{{sfn|Collingham|2006|pp=118–125, 140}} Collingham writes that "The idea of a curry is, in fact, a concept that the Europeans imposed on India's food culture. Indians referred to their different dishes by specific names... But the British lumped all these together under the heading of curry."{{sfn|Collingham|2006|p=115}}
Elsewhere in the 19th century, curry was carried to the Caribbean by Indian indentured workers in the British sugar industry.<ref name="Mishan 2017"/><ref name="Davidson 2014 Curry"/>
=== Globalis<!--British English-->ation ===
Since the mid-20th century, curries of many national styles have become popular far from their origins, and increasingly become part of international fusion cuisine.<ref name="Mishan 2017">{{cite news |last=Mishan |first=Ligaya |date=10 November 2017 |title=Asian-American Cuisine's Rise, and Triumph |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/t-magazine/asian-american-cuisine.html |access-date=29 March 2023 |archive-date=22 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322223518/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/t-magazine/asian-american-cuisine.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Alan Davidson writes that curry's worldwide extension is a result of the Indian diaspora and globalisation, starting within the British Empire, and followed by economic migrants who brought Indian cuisine to many countries.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Curry">{{harvnb|Davidson|2014|at="Curry", p. 240}}</ref> In 1886, 咖喱 (''Gālí'') (Chinese pronunciation of "curry") appeared among the Chinese in Singapore.<ref name="Lim 1886">{{cite book |last=Lim |first=Hiong Seng |chapter=Provisions, Fish, Vegetable and Fruit |title=Handbook of the Swatow Vernacular |location=Singapore |publisher=Koh Yew Hean Press |date=1886 |page=95 |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Handbook_of_the_Swatow_vernacular.djvu/111}}</ref> Malay Chinese people then most likely brought curry to China.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Curry"/>
In India, spices are always freshly prepared for use in curries.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Powder">{{harvnb|Davidson|2014|at="Curry Powder" p. 241}}</ref> Derived from such mixtures (but not containing curry leaves<ref name="Davidson 2014 Leaves">{{harvnb|Davidson|2014|at="Curry leaf" p. 240}}</ref>), curry powder is a ready-prepared spice blend first sold by Indian merchants to European colonial traders. This was commercially available from the late 18th century,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item126721.html |title=First British advert for curry powder |website=bl.uk |access-date=29 December 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823180723/http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item126721.html}}</ref><ref name="ChaudhuriStrobel1992">{{cite book |first1=Nupur |last1=Chaudhuri |first2=Margaret |last2=Strobel |title=Western Women and Imperialism: Complicity and Resistance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-jH6LEPVn80C&pg=PA240 |year=1992 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=0-253-20705-3 |pages=240– |access-date=29 December 2020 |archive-date=13 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413123912/https://books.google.com/books?id=-jH6LEPVn80C&pg=PA240 |url-status=live }}</ref> with brands such as Crosse & Blackwell and Sharwood's persisting to the present.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/inside-factory-tv-review-greg-wallace-curry-chicken-tikka-masala-a8489311.html |title=TV review: Inside the Factory lifts the lid on how our curries are made |date=15 August 2018 |website=The Independent |access-date=7 March 2021 |archive-date=17 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017012043/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/inside-factory-tv-review-greg-wallace-curry-chicken-tikka-masala-a8489311.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Curry powder became a standard item in Anglo-Indian cuisine.<ref name="Davidson 2014 Powder"/> British traders introduced the powder to Meiji-era Japan, in the mid-19th century, where it was used to make Japanese curry, known as {{lang|ja|カレー}}, {{Transliteration|ja|karē}}.<ref name="Itoh 2011">{{Cite news |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/08/26/food/curry-its-more-japanese-than-you-think/ |title=Curry — it's more 'Japanese' than you think |last=Itoh |first=Makiko |date=26 August 2011 |work=The Japan Times |language=en |access-date=19 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108233344/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/08/26/food/curry-its-more-japanese-than-you-think/ |archive-date=8 January 2018}}</ref>{{sfn|Iyer|2022|p=84}}
== Types ==
There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in traditional cuisine depends on regional cultural traditions and personal preferences.<ref name="eb">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Curry |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/curry |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=25 July 2024 |date=31 May 2024 }}</ref> Such dishes have names such as dopiaza and rogan josh that refer to their ingredients, spicing, and cooking methods.{{sfn|Collingham|2006|p=115}} Outside the Indian subcontinent, a curry is a dish from Southeast Asia which uses coconut milk and spice pastes, and is commonly eaten over rice.<ref name="Van Esterik">{{cite book |last=Van Esterik |first=Penny |title=Food Culture in Southeast Asia |date=2008 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9780313344206 |pages=58–59}}</ref> Curries may contain fish, meat, poultry, or shellfish, either alone or in combination with vegetables. Others are vegetarian. A masala mixture is a combination of dried or dry-roasted spices commonly homemade for some curries.<ref name=eb/>
Curry powder, a commercially prepared mixture of spices marketed in the West, was first exported to Britain in the 18th century when Indian merchants sold a concoction of spices, similar to garam masala, to the British East India Company returning to Britain.<ref name=eb/> Other commercial mixes include curry pastes and Japanese-style curry roux (in block or powder form).<ref>{{cite news |last=Itoh |first=Makiko |date=26 August 2011 |title=Curry — it's more 'Japanese' than you think |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/08/26/food/curry-its-more-japanese-than-you-think/#.XGTQl1VKhhE |work=The Japan Times |location=Tokyo |access-date=13 February 2019 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto;" |+ Ways curries can vary<ref name="Dillon 2024"/><ref name=eb/> |- ! Type of variation !! From !! To |- ! Mild ↔ Hot | Korma (aromatic spices{{efn|Korma can be made with flavourings such as cloves, ginger, cardamom, cumin, coriander, turmeric, bay, onion and garlic.}}) || Madras (chili) |- ! Watery ↔ Creamy | Rogan josh (broth) || Korma (yoghurt or cream) |- ! Dry ↔ Wet | Tikka (skewered meat, spices) || Tikka masala (tomato, cream) |- ! Sour ↔ Sweet | Dopiaza (onion, lemon) || Pasanda (almonds, sugar) |- ! Stir-fry ↔ Simmer | Balti (oil, onion, potato) || Dhansak (lentils, spices, tomato) |}
== By region == <!--ABCD--> <!--E--> === East Asia ===
Japanese curry is usually eaten as {{lang|ja-Latn|karē raisu}} （''カレーライス'' ）– curry, rice, and often pickled vegetables, served on the same plate and eaten with a spoon, a common lunchtime canteen dish. It is less spicy and seasoned than Indian and Southeast Asian curries, being more of a thick stew than a curry. British people brought curry from the Indian colony back to Britain<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sb-worldwide.com/curry/history.html|title=History of Japanese curry |author=S&B Company |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411190436/http://www.sb-worldwide.com/curry/history.html |archive-date=11 April 2013 |access-date=28 February 2013}}</ref> and introduced it to Japan during the Meiji period (1868 to 1912), after Japan ended its policy of national self-isolation ({{lang|ja-Latn|sakoku}}), and curry in Japan was categorised as a Western dish.<ref>{{cite book |last=Booth |first=Michael |title=The Meaning of Rice: And Other Tales from the Belly of Japan |date=2017 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781473545816 |page=278 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rYPkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT278 |access-date=4 December 2020 |archive-date=19 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219053208/https://books.google.com/books?id=rYPkDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT278 |url-status=live }}</ref> Its spread across the country is attributed to its use in the Japanese Army and Navy which adopted it extensively as convenient field and naval canteen cooking, allowing even conscripts from the remotest countryside to experience the dish. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force traditionally have curry every Friday for lunch and many ships have their own recipes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Itoh |first=Makiko |title=Curry – it's more 'Japanese' than you think |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/08/26/food/curry-its-more-japanese-than-you-think/ |date=26 August 2011 |work=The Japan Times |access-date=8 January 2019 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108233344/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/08/26/food/curry-its-more-japanese-than-you-think/ |archive-date=8 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The standard Japanese curry contains onions, carrots, potatoes, and sometimes celery, and a meat that is cooked in a large pot. Sometimes grated apples or honey are added for additional sweetness and other vegetables are sometimes used instead.<ref>[http://curryken.fc2web.com/minzoku/minzoku.htm "The Curry Rice Research"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710232600/http://curryken.fc2web.com/minzoku/minzoku.htm |date=10 July 2011 }} (in Japanese)</ref>
In 1905, curry became affordable for the general population of Japan with the introduction of domestically produced curry powder.<ref name="house">{{cite web |url=https://housefoods.jp/data/curryhouse/know/trends01.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026113713/https://housefoods.jp/data/curryhouse/know/trends01.html |script-title=ja:日本のカレー カレーが国民食になるまでの歩み |trans-title=Japanese Curry: The Journey to Curry Becoming a National Dish |language=ja |publisher=House Foods |archive-date=26 October 2023 |access-date=20 February 2024}}</ref> In the 1920s, the predecessors of today's well-known S&B Foods and House Foods began selling powdered curry powder.<ref name="times-curry">{{cite news |last=Itoh |first=Makiko |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/08/26/food/curry-its-more-japanese-than-you-think/ |title=Curry — it's more 'Japanese' than you think |date=26 August 2011 |work=The Japan Times |access-date=31 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108233344/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/08/26/food/curry-its-more-japanese-than-you-think/|archive-date=8 January 2018}}</ref> In the early 1900s, restaurants created various derivatives of curry rice. The first curry udon and curry soba were made in Tokyo or Osaka in 1904 or 1909. Curry udon and curry soba are made by soaking {{lang|ja-Latn|katsuobushi}} (dried bonito flakes) in boiling water to dissolve the umami components, adding curry to the broth, and then adding potato starch to thicken the broth and pour it over the udon or soba.<ref name="Kosuge">Keiko Kosuge (2017). {{lang|ja-Latn|Nipoon yōshoku monogatari taizen}} ({{lang|ja|にっぽん洋食物語大全}}), pp. 168–169. Chikuma Shobō. {{ISBN|978-4480434654}}</ref> The first curry bread ({{lang|ja-Latn|karē pan}}) was introduced in 1927,<ref name="house"/> and the first katsu curry in 1918 or 1921 or 1948.<ref name="Ono">Kazuhiro Ono (2007). {{lang|ja-Latn|Karē hōrōki}} ({{lang|ja|カレー放浪記}}), p.258. Soshinsya. {{ISBN|978-4480434654}}</ref><ref name="danchu">{{cite web|url=https://dancyu.jp/read/2020_00002825.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001021440/https://dancyu.jp/read/2020_00002825.html |script-title=ja:102年の歴史を持つカツカレー丼 |trans-title=Katsu curry rice bowl with a 102-year history |language=ja |publisher=President |date=27 January 2020 |archive-date=1 October 2023 |access-date=20 February 2024}}</ref><ref name=tagami>{{Cite journal |last=Tagami |first=Yoko |title=Savor Ginza Swiss' Original Katsu Curry – Since 1947 |url=https://matcha-jp.com/en/387 |journal=Matcha |issue=3 October 2017 |access-date=8 September 2018 |archive-date=18 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618113120/https://matcha-jp.com/en/387 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1945, the Oriental company developed a powdered instant curry roux,<ref name="oriental">{{cite web |url=https://www.tokai-tv.com/tokainews/feature/article_20220918_21815 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918080149/https://www.tokai-tv.com/tokainews/feature/article_20220918_21815 |script-title=ja:日本のカレー カレーが国民食になるまでの歩み |trans-title=Japanese Curry: The Journey to Curry Becoming a National Dish |language=ja |publisher=Tōkai Television Broadcasting|date=18 September 2022|archive-date=18 September 2022 |access-date=20 February 2024}}</ref> and in 1950, Bell Shokuhin company developed a block-shaped instant curry roux, and Japanese curry quickly spread throughout Japan as a dish that could be easily prepared at home.<ref name="bell">{{cite web |url=https://www.bellsyokuhin.co.jp/company/#page1.5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205015723/https://www.bellsyokuhin.co.jp/company/#page1.5 |script-title=ja:ベル食品工業株式会社 |trans-title=Bell Foods Industry Co., Ltd. |language=ja |publisher=Bell Shokuhin company |archive-date=5 December 2023 |access-date=20 February 2024}}</ref><ref name="house"/> In 1948, Japanese curry was used in school meals for the first time.<ref name="house"/> In 1963, House Foods introduced "Vermont Curry" ({{lang|ja|バーモントカレー}}), an instant curry roux made with apples and honey, which became popular. This product brought sweetness to Japanese curry, which had been perceived as a spicy, adult dish, and made Japanese curry a favourite children's dish.<ref name="house"/><ref name="times-curry"/>
Curry spread to other regions of Asia. Curry powder is added to some dishes in the southern part of China. The curry powder sold in Chinese grocery stores is similar to Madras curry powder, but with the addition of star anise and cinnamon.{{sfn|Sen|2009|p=105}} The former Portuguese colony of Macau has its own culinary traditions and curry dishes, including ''Galinha à portuguesa'' ("Portuguese-style chicken") and curry crab. Portuguese sauce is a sauce flavoured with curry and thickened with coconut milk.<ref name="HoustonPTChicken">{{cite news |last=Levitt |first=Alice |title=Our Latest Obsession: Portuguese Chicken at Wing Kee Restaurant |url=https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2016/12/28/our-latest-obsession-portuguese-chicken-wing-kee-restaurant |access-date=6 March 2018 |work=Houstonia |date=28 December 2016 |archive-date=7 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307023204/https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2016/12/28/our-latest-obsession-portuguese-chicken-wing-kee-restaurant |url-status=live}}</ref>
Curry was popularized in Korean cuisine when Ottogi entered the Korean food industry with an imported curry powder in 1969.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150625001118 |title=[Best Brand] Ottogi becomes Korea's representative curry product |date=25 June 2015 |newspaper=The Korea Herald |access-date=10 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110163940/http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150625001118 |archive-date=10 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sohn">{{cite news |last=Sohn |first=JiAe |title=Ottogi Curry brings Indian cuisine to the table |url=http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Business/view?articleId=122393 |date=24 October 2014 |access-date=10 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215171434/http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Business/view?articleId=122393 |archive-date=15 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Korean curry powder contains spices including cardamom, chili, cinnamon, and turmeric.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Jiyoung |title=Real Korean Recipes |date=2024 |publisher=Beeolive Books |location=Seoul, Korea |isbn=979-11-987166-0-6 |page=23 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yHP8EAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Korean+curry%22+%22turmeric%22&pg=PA23}}</ref> Curry ''tteokbokki'' is made of ''tteok'' (rice cakes), ''eomuk'' (fish cakes), eggs, vegetables, and ''gochujang'', fermented red chili paste. As in India, chilis were brought to Korea by European traders. Spicy chili sauce then replaced the soy sauce formerly used in ''tteokbokki''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Huskey |first=Brian |title=Asia: The Ultimate Cookbook (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Asian) |date=2022 |publisher=Cider Mill Press |pages=19, 398}}</ref>
<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> File:Kare-Raisu.jpg|Japanese style {{lang|ja-Latn|karē-raisu}}<br/>(curry rice) File:Marugame Seimen Curry udon.jpg|Curry udon and {{lang|ja-Latn|inari-zushi}} File:Stir-fried rice cakes with ground pork, gochujang, and gailan.jpg|Korean ''tteokbokki''<br/>(rice cake curry) File:Galinha à Portuguesa.jpg|Macau's ''Galinha à portuguesa''<br/>(chicken in portuguese sauce) </gallery>
=== South Africa ===
[[File:Durban's Famous Mutton Bunny Chow.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Bunny chow, South Africa]]
Curry spread to South Africa with the migration of people from the Indian subcontinent to the region in the colonial era. African curries, Cape Malay curries and Natal curries include the traditional Natal curry, the Durban curry, bunny chow, and roti rolls. South African curries appear to have been created in both KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, while others developed across the country over the late 20th and early 21st centuries to include ekasi, coloured, and Afrikaner varieties.<ref name="seid">{{cite news |last=Seid |first=Shelley |title=Curry is the story of South Africa on a plate |url=https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/food/2017-10-18-curry-is-the-story-of-south-africa-on-a-plate/ |access-date=27 January 2018 |newspaper=The Sunday Times |date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127061712/https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/food/2017-10-18-curry-is-the-story-of-south-africa-on-a-plate/ |archive-date=27 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Durban has the largest population of Indians outside of India in the world.<ref name="ishay">{{cite web |last1=Govender-Ypma |first1=Ishay |title=The Brutal History of South Africa's Most Famous Curry |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-brutal-history-of-south-africas-most-famous-curry/ |publisher=Munchies |access-date=27 January 2018 |date=11 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128021236/https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/qv3njv/the-brutal-history-of-south-africas-most-famous-curry |archive-date=28 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Bunny chow or a "set", a South African standard, consists of either lamb, chicken or bean curry poured into a tunnelled-out loaf of bread to be eaten with one's fingers by dipping pieces of the bread into it.<ref name=seid/><ref name=ishay/> 'Bunny chow' is most likely an English compounding of two existing terms: 'bania', a merchant, from Hindi ''baniyā'' with the same meaning, ultimately from Sanskrit ''vaṇij''; and 'chow', from 'chow-chow', "a mixture".<ref>{{cite web |title=bunny chow |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/bunny-chow_n?tab=etymology |publisher=Oxford English Dictionary |access-date=19 March 2026 |quote=Probably < bania n. + chow n.}}</ref> The method of serving the curry was created because apartheid forbade black people from eating in Indian restaurants; the loaves could speedily be taken away and eaten in the street.{{sfn|Collingham|2006|p=243}}
=== South Asia ===
{{further|Indian cuisine}}
Spicy Indian dishes were until the late 20th century not called "curry" by Indians: the term was initially limited to Anglo-Indian cuisine. Instead, numerous Indian dishes like dopiaza and rogan josh had their own names; the historian of food Colleen Sen notes that the Indian cook Madhur Jaffrey found the umbrella term 'curry' "degrading to India's great cuisine",{{sfn|Sen|2009|p=10}} but eventually accepted the category in her later writings.{{sfn|Sen|2009|p=10}} Both the names of the dishes and their methods of preparation are often regional.<ref name="Jaffrey 1982"/>
Indian curry sauces are made with spices including black pepper, cardamom, chili peppers, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fennel seed, mustard seed, and turmeric.<ref name="Jaffrey 1982"/> As many as 15 spices may be used for a meat curry.<ref name="Jaffrey 1982"/> The spices are sometimes fried whole, sometimes roasted, sometimes ground and mixed into a paste.<ref name="Jaffrey 1982"/><ref>{{cite web |title=What is a Bhuna? |url=https://www.seasonedpioneers.com/what-is-a-bhuna |website=Seasoned Pioneers |access-date=7 October 2024}}</ref> The sauces are eaten with steamed rice or idli rice cakes in south India,<ref name="Jaffrey 1982">{{cite book |last=Jaffrey |first=Madhur |author-link=Madhur Jaffrey |title=Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery |date=1982 |publisher=BBC |isbn=978-0-563-16491-3 |pages=7–10}}</ref> and breads such as chapatis, roti, and naan in the north.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gopalakrishnan |first1=Srividhya |title=The Indian Bread Types You Need to Know |url=https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/indian-bread-types/ |website=Taste of Home |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref> The popular rogan josh, for example, from Kashmiri cuisine, is a wet dish of lamb with a red gravy coloured by Kashmiri chillies and an extract of the red flowers of the cockscomb plant (''mawal'').<ref>"Rogan Josh". In Khan Mohammed Sharief Waza, Khan Mohammed Shafi Waza, and Khan Mohammed Rafiq Waza (2007). ''Wazwaan: Traditional Kashmiri Cuisine''. New Delhi: Roli & Janssen. p. 34.</ref> Rice and curry is the staple dish of Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Dish of Sri Lanka Rice and Curry |url=https://nationalfoods.org/recipe/national-dish-of-sri-lanka-rice-and-curry/ |access-date=2024-03-17 |website=National Dishes of the World}}</ref>
<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> File:Madhur-Jaffrey-20101024-IMG 7270.jpg|The Indian cook Madhur Jaffrey initially objected to the Anglo-Indian term "curry", but came around to using it.{{sfn|Sen|2009|p=10}} File:Handi-and-karahi.jpg|Traditional Indian ''karahi'' (left) and'' handi ''(right) serving dishes File:Rogan_Josh_Kashmiri.jpg|Rogan josh, a Kashmiri curry File:Tradtional Thali.jpg|A North Indian thali curry meal </gallery>
=== Southeast Asia ===
<!--West to East--> In Burmese cuisine, curries are broadly called ''hin''. Burmese curries contains meat simmered in a curry paste containing onion, garlic, shrimp paste, tomato, and turmeric. Burmese curries are often mild, without chili, and somewhat oily.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bush |first=Austin |title=Burmese curry restaurants |url=https://www.austinbushphotography.com/blog/blog/burmese-curry-restaurants.html |publisher=Austin Bush Photography |access-date=7 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109223207/https://www.austinbushphotography.com/blog/blog/burmese-curry-restaurants.html |archive-date=9 January 2021 |date=5 December 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=DeWitt |first=Dave |title=Precious Cargo: How Foods From the Americas Changed The World |date=2014-05-26 |publisher=Catapult |isbn=978-1-61902-388-8 |page=300}}</ref>
Thai curries are called {{lang|th|gaeng}}, and usually consist of meat, fish or vegetables in a sauce based on a paste made from chilies, onions or shallots, garlic, and shrimp paste.<ref>{{cite web |title=Thai Food History Chapter 5: Thai Cuisine: Original? |work=The Nation |location=Thailand |url=http://thaicooking.nationmultimedia.com/?p=1382 |access-date=2 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817162611/http://thaicooking.nationmultimedia.com/?p=1382 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A few stir-fried Thai dishes use {{lang|th|phong kari}}, an Indian style curry powder.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thaifoodmaster.com/recipes/main_dish_recipes/42 |title=Stir Fried Prawns with Curry Powder and Eggs Recipe |work=Thaifoodmaster |date=18 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309200917/http://www.thaifoodmaster.com/recipes/main_dish_recipes/42 |archive-date=9 March 2010}}</ref> In the West, Thai curries are often colour-coded green, yellow, and red, with green usually the mildest, red the hottest. Green curry is flavoured with green chili, coriander, kaffir lime, and basil; yellow, with yellow chili and turmeric; and red, with red chili.<ref name="Schmidt 2024">{{cite web |last1=Schmidt |first1=Darlene |title=Thai Curry Types: The Difference Between Red, Yellow, and Green Curries |url=https://www.thespruceeats.com/thai-curry-differences-red-yellow-green-3217020 |website=The Spruce Eats |access-date=7 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001183151/https://www.thespruceeats.com/thai-curry-differences-red-yellow-green-3217020 |archive-date=1 October 2024 |date=22 September 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Malaysian Indian cuisine adapted curries (such as {{lang|my|gulai}}, with coconut milk) via the region's Indian population,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Raji |first1=Mohd Nazri Abdul |last2=Ab Karim |first2=Shahrim |last3=Ishak |first3=Farah Adibah Che |last4=Arshad |first4=Mohd Mursyid |date=2017-12-01 |title=Past and present practices of the Malay food heritage and culture in Malaysia |journal=Journal of Ethnic Foods |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=221–231 |doi=10.1016/j.jef.2017.11.001 |doi-access=free}}</ref> but it has become a staple among the Malay and Chinese populations there. Malaysian curries have many varieties, but are often flavoured with cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, coconut milk, shallots, chili peppers, and garlic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Malaysian Curry: Authentic and Delicious |url=https://mamalams.com/malaysian-curry-authentic-and-delicious/ |website=Mama Lam's |access-date=7 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302090756/https://mamalams.com/malaysian-curry-authentic-and-delicious/ |archive-date=2 March 2024 |date=14 January 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Indian Indonesian cuisine consists of adaptations of authentic dishes from India, as well as original creations inspired by the diverse food culture of Indonesia. Curry in Indonesian is ''kari'' and in Javanese, ''kare''. In Indonesian cuisine especially in Bandung, there is a dish called ''lontong kari'', a combined of lontong and beef yellow curry soup.<ref>{{cite web |title=5 Rekomendasi Lontong Kari Enak di Bandung, Cocok Pisan buat Sarapan! |language=Indonesian |trans-title=5 Recommendations of Delicious Curry Lontong in Bandung, Great for Breakfast! |url=https://www.idntimes.com/food/dining-guide/ranggana/5-rekomendasi-lontong-kari-enak-di-bandung-c1c2 |website=idntimes.com |date=31 January 2020 |access-date=25 April 2023}}</ref> In Javanese cuisine, ''kare rajungan'', blue swimmer crab curry has become a delicacy of Tuban Regency, East Java.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kare Rajungan Khas Tuban yang Gurih dan 'Nendang' |url=https://genpi.id/kare-rajungan-khas-tuban/ |website=genpi.id |date=21 September 2021 |archive-date=16 October 2021 |url-status=live<!--slow!--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016172933/https://genpi.id/kare-rajungan-khas-tuban/ |access-date=25 April 2023 |language=Indonesian}}</ref>
In Vietnamese cuisine, influenced by both Thai and Indian cooking, curry is known as ''cà ri''.<ref name="Nguyen 2024"/> Curry was brought to Vietnam by French colonisers, from their Indian outpost at Pondicherry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries<!--1858–1954-->. In the south of the country in particular, the Vietnamese adopted Madras curry powder and coconut milk as the basis of dishes such as chicken lemongrass curry, ''cà ri gà''.{{sfn|Iyer|2022|pp=54–55}}<ref name="Nguyen 2024">{{cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Andrea |title=Excite Your Tastebuds with Cà Ri Gà, Vietnamese Chicken Curry |url=https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_curry_with_sweet_potato_and_lemongrass/ |website=Simply Recipes |access-date=7 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915014452/https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_curry_with_sweet_potato_and_lemongrass/ |archive-date=15 September 2024 |date=30 August 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In the Philippines, a dish that may have been directly inspired by Indian curries is the oxtail stew {{lang|fil|kare-kare}}, possibly influenced by Sepoy expatriates during the brief British occupation of Manila (1762–1764), or indirectly via Southeast Asian spicy dishes.<ref name="Villar">{{cite news |last1=Villar |first1=Roberto |title=The Fascinating History of Kare-kare |url=https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/the-fascinating-history-of-kare-kare-a2386-20190802-lfrm2 |access-date=15 November 2024 |work=Esquire |date=2 August 2019}}</ref> {{lang|fil|Ginataan}} are native dishes using coconut milk,<ref>{{cite web |title=Ginataang Alimasag (Crabs in Coconut Milk) |url=https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/276743/ginataang-alimasag-crabs-in-coconut-milk/ |website=allrecipes |access-date=15 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Sobel |first=Adam |title=Ginataang Langka (Filipino Jackfruit in Coconut Milk) |url=https://cinnamonsnail.com/ginataang-langka-recipe/ |website=Cinnamon Snail |date=25 July 2024 |access-date=15 November 2024}}</ref> which as in the case of Filipino chicken curry can be called 'curries' when curry powder is added.<ref name="pp">{{cite web |title=Pinoy Chicken Curry Recipe |url=https://panlasangpinoy.com/chicken-curry-pinoy-style/ |website=Panlasang Pinoy |access-date=20 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420064900/https://panlasangpinoy.com/chicken-curry-pinoy-style/ |archive-date=20 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> File:Gulai kambing masakan Padang.JPG|Indonesian mutton ''gulai'' (curry), part of ''nasi padang'' File:Myanma cuisine (cropped).jpg|Burmese curries File:Philippine Chicken curry (cropped).jpg|Filipino chicken curry File:Phanaeng mu (cropped).jpg|Thai ''phanaeng'' with pork File:Cà Ri Gà Vietnamese Chicken Curry 2019-1600.jpg|Vietnamese ''cà ri'' with chicken </gallery> <!--T--> <!--U--> ===United Kingdom===
{{main|Curry in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:Chicken Tikka Masala-01.jpg|thumb|Chicken tikka masala has been called "a true British national dish".<ref name="Cook 2001"/>]]
Curry is very popular in the United Kingdom, with a curry house in nearly every town.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jahangir |first=Rumeana |title=How Britain got the hots for curry |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8370054.stm |work=BBC News |date=26 November 2009 |access-date=14 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824122427/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8370054.stm |archive-date=24 August 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=National Curry Week: Why Britain loves curry |url=http://www.fsc.uk.com/national-curry-week-britain-loves-curry/ |work=Fleet Street Communications |date=13 October 2017 |access-date=16 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110103644/https://www.fsc.uk.com/national-curry-week-britain-loves-curry/ |archive-date=10 January 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was estimated that in 2016 there were 12,000 curry houses, employing 100,000 people and with annual combined sales of approximately £4.2 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Malcolm |title=The great British curry crisis |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2165379e-b4b2-11e5-8358-9a82b43f6b2f |work=Financial Times |date=8 January 2016 |access-date=14 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014204251/https://www.ft.com/content/2165379e-b4b2-11e5-8358-9a82b43f6b2f |archive-date=14 October 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The food offered is cooked to British taste, but with increasing demand for authentic Indian styles.<ref name=NYT11415>{{cite news |last=de Freytas-Tamura |first=Kimiko |title=Britons Perturbed by a Troubling Shortage of Curry Chefs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/05/world/europe/britain-curry-house-shortage-chefs.html|access-date=4 November 2015 |work=The New York Times |date=4 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107015902/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/05/world/europe/britain-curry-house-shortage-chefs.html |archive-date=7 November 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2001, chicken tikka masala was described by the British foreign secretary Robin Cook as "a true British national dish, not only because it is the most popular, but because it is a perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences."<ref name="Cook 2001">{{cite news |last=Cook |first=Robin |author-link=Robin Cook |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/apr/19/race.britishidentity |title=Robin Cook's chicken tikka masala speech: Extracts from a speech by the foreign secretary to the Social Market Foundation in London |date=19 April 2001 |newspaper=The Guardian }}</ref><ref name="ghosh bb">{{cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Bobby |title=How I Learned to Stop Hating and Respect Chicken Tikka Masala |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-19/who-created-chicken-tikka-masala-history-of-uk-s-national-dish |access-date=26 February 2023 |work=Bloomberg News |date=19 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Emma |title=Most people have no clue chicken tikka masala isn't an Indian dish, according to a top Indian chef |url=https://www.insider.com/chicken-tikka-masala-not-indian-dishoom-chef-naved-nasir-2019-11 |website=Insider |access-date=13 December 2021}}</ref>
Curries in Britain are derived partly from India and partly from invention in local Indian restaurants. They vary from mildly-spiced to extremely hot, with names that are to an extent standardised across the country, but are often unknown in India.<ref name="Dillon 2024">{{cite web |last=Dillon |first=Sheila |author-link=Sheila Dillon |title=From balti to bhuna: the ultimate guide to curry |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3jPY8xvk41DrT93Lw4XPk1w/from-balti-to-bhuna-the-ultimate-guide-to-curry |publisher=BBC Radio 4 |access-date=7 October 2024 |date=2024}}</ref> Zoe Perrett, writing for ''The Times of India'', comments that anyone expecting traditional Indian cuisine from "Brindian"<ref name="Perrett 2014"/> cuisine, a "Bangla spin on Indian regional dishes, twisted still further to tempt British tastebuds",<ref name="Perrett 2014"/> will be disappointed.<ref name="Perrett 2014">{{cite web |last=Perrett |first=Zoe |title=Britain's 'Brindian' curryhouse menu – a true culinary curio |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/culinary-adventures/britains-brindian-curryhouse-menu-a-true-culinary-curio/?source=app |work=The Times of India |access-date=5 November 2025 |date=7 May 2014}}</ref> Variants like "Kashmir" and "Malaya" curry add fruits like banana, lychees, and pineapple. In short, the food might be, Perrett writes, "not Indian at all."<ref name="Perrett 2014"/> Inexpensive curry kits, containing a packet of whole spices, a packet of spice paste, and a pouch of sauce, are sold in British supermarkets, enabling a curry of "exceptional"<ref name="Hunt 2025"/> quality to be cooked quickly at home.<ref name="Hunt 2025">{{cite news |last=Hunt |first=Tom |title='Genuinely authentic': supermarket curry kits, tasted and rated |url=https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/nov/08/best-supermarket-curry-kits-tasted-and-rated-tom-hunt |work=The Guardian |date=8 November 2025}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto;" |+ Range of strengths of British curries<ref name="BBC Ultimate Guide">{{cite web |title=From balti to bhuna: the ultimate guide to curry |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3jPY8xvk41DrT93Lw4XPk1w/from-balti-to-bhuna-the-ultimate-guide-to-curry |publisher=BBC Radio 4 |access-date=2 November 2025}}</ref> |- ! style="width: 60px;" | Strength ! style="width: 60px;" | Example ! style="width: 220px;" | Place of origin ! style="width: 100px;" | Date of origin ! style="width: 180px;" | Description |- ! style="background:Khaki;" | Mild | Korma || Mughal court, North India || 16th century || Mild, creamy; may have almond, coconut, or fruit |- ! style="background:Orange;" | Medium | Madras || Anglo-Indian cuisine in British Raj, then British Bangladeshi restaurants || 1970s || Red, spicy with chili powder |- ! style="background:OrangeRed;" | Hot | Vindaloo || Portuguese ''Carne de vinha d'alhos'' (pork with wine vinegar and garlic) || 1970s || Very spicy with chili peppers, vinegar, and potatoes{{efn|The addition of potatoes may be from confusion of 'Vindaloo' with Hindi {{lang|hi|आलू}} {{transliteration|hi|āloo}}, potato.<ref name="BBC Ultimate Guide"/>}} |- ! style="background:Crimson; color:white" | Extreme | Phall || British Bangladeshi, Birmingham || 20th century || High-strength chili pepper e.g. scotch bonnet, habanero |} <!--VWXYZ-->
== Notes ==
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== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Sources ==
{{refbegin |30em}} * {{cite book |last=Collingham |first=Lizzie |author-link=Lizzie Collingham |title=Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors |date=2006 |orig-year=2005 (Chatto & Windus) |publisher=Vintage Books |location=London |isbn=978-0-099-43786-4}} * {{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Davidson (food writer) |editor=Tom Jaine |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |edition=3rd |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-967733-7}} * {{cite book |last=Iyer |first=Raghavan |author-link=Raghavan Iyer (chef) |year=2008 |title=660 Curries |location=New York |publisher=Workman Publishing |pages=2–3 |isbn=978-0761137870}} * {{cite book |last=Iyer |first=Raghavan |author-link=Raghavan Iyer |title=On the Curry Trail: Chasing the Flavor That Seduced the World |publisher=Workman Publishing |location=New York |year=2022 |isbn=978-1523511211 |oclc=1374192575}} * {{cite book |last=Sen |first=Colleen Taylor |author-link=Colleen Taylor Sen |title=Curry: A Global History |publisher=Reaktion Books |location=London |date=2009 |series=Edible |isbn=978-1861895226 |oclc=1391407698}} {{refend}}
== Further reading ==
{{refbegin |30em}} * {{cite book |last=Achaya |first=K.T. |author-link=K. T. Achaya |title=Indian Food: A Historical Companion |location=Delhi |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1994 |ref=none}} * {{cite book |last=Burton |first=David |title=The Raj at Table |location=London |publisher=Faber and Faber |year=1993 |ref=none}} * {{cite book |last=Chapman |first=Pat |author-link=Pat Chapman (food writer) |title=Pat Chapman's Curry Bible |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |year=1997 |ref=none}} * {{cite book |last1=Grove |first1=Peter |last2=Grove |first2=Colleen |title=The Flavours of History |location=London |publisher=Godiva Books |year=2011 |ref=none}} * {{cite book |last=Jaffrey |first=Madhur |author-link=Madhur Jaffrey |title=Indian Cookery: A Cookbook |publisher=Clarkson Potter |location=New York |year=2023 |isbn=9780593802960 |oclc=1415749343 |ref=none}} {{refend}}
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