Authentic Curry Recipes

In one sense, the answer to the question put by the heading is straightforward: that the  has its origins in India. Right, but trivial. The actual reply is somewhat more complicated, and intriguing.

India is an ancient land, formed from scores of diverse cultures arising from migration and invasion, followed by tribal blending. This is echoed in its food. Everyone can identify something that is Indian about Indian food – the curry, the proper mix of a masala (Hindi for spice), the colourful chicken and lamb dishes, but every effort to pin it down somehow slips into a fog.

Think about the humble chutney. This combination of  fruit and spices could surely have not come from anywhere else but India. What other land would have the inventiveness and courageousness to mix something sweet – i.e. ripe fruit – and add in a mixture of spices?

To choose another instance, chicken is a popular part of recipes from around the world, but nowhere else but India invented that international favorite – tandoori chicken.

It isn’t just the white hot clay oven. It isn’t only the colourful results that make the dish as much a joy to the eye as to the tongue, it is the fabulous mixture of spices and the special method of preparation that comprises them.

Lamb is a staple of Greek and Italian cooking and that of many other nations.  These places have a long history and many alliances and neighbouring cuisines to draw upon but the difference between an Indian Achari dish and a Greek lamb stew is extraordinary.

Maybe it is the coriander, but that appears in Greek cuisine too. Tomatoes are an everyday element of Greek dishes, too. Could it be the delicious spices which make Indian food so different? Not really, because the ancient Greeks travelled the world and brought back many ingredients from overseas. Whichever way you look at it Achari is exotic, vital and pungent whereas Greek stew is delicious, but gentle.

Even the modest doughnut is famous as far apart as both China and America. Yet, Indian vada is completely different to its opposite numbers in other countries. The oil-fried dough in America is a solely sweet, fat-filled confection. In China, it is usually the savoury meal itself, dim sum. In India, it is a esteemed part of the street food culture.

For all you can point to that singles out Indian cuisine – the vigorous spices, the eye-catching presentation, the thin, hard bread – the answer to what makes Indian food Indian will still remain a mystery. Given the country in question, that seems wholly appropriate.

For a great Tandoori Chicken recipe, click here.

Technorati Tags: curry, indian food