Different Curries
What is Curry?
Curry began as a term used by the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British colonists. The word was used to describe the flavors and dishes they came across while on their travels through Southern Asia. These dishes typically consisted of a saucy meat, seafood or vegetable blend, mixed in with tomato or coconut milk and various spices. When colonists would leave Southern Asia, they’d take their love for Indian food with them. And once they got home, they began to alter their local dishes to meet their new curry-loving palate, creating the modern-style curry dishes we enjoy today.
So what do those modern curry dishes look like? One of our favorite creative spins on curry is this Apple Chicken Curry recipe that blends tart apples and spiced curry, creating a sweet and tangy crunch. Another sweet and spicy fave is this easy Curry Mango Slaw recipe. For a more filling curry dish, check out this Curry Couscous recipe.
Different Curries
In India, cumin, cardamom, coriander, garam masala and chili powder are toasted and ground to create the foundation of curry powder. However, this blend of spices can change based on what the recipe calls for, the region the recipe is from and more. Some other popular spices that can be included are turmeric, mustard, cinnamon and ginger. Here’s a breakdown of the 7 most well-known Indian curries:
Madras Curry: Known as masala curry in the U.S., this spicy mix includes cayenne, cloves, fenugreek and various chilies. It’s usually served with chicken, beef or seafood and a stewed tomato sauce.
Korma: Braised meat, vegetables or both, mixed in a creamy yogurt, garam masala and curry powder sauce. Adding a dairy yogurt to Indian dishes helps to regulate the heat index of the curry while making the meat and vegetables extra tender and juicy.
Rogan Josh: A protein stewed down with Kashmiri chilies. Its thick sauce is made up of cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cardamom and yogurt.
Vindaloo: A chili dish that really packs some heat. It’s made up of a protein or vegetable and it’s blended with sweet tamarind, warm spices, cardamom and black pepper.
Saag: Its bright green color comes from its primary ingredients - spinach, kale and other leafy-green favorites. It can be paired with chicken, cheese or another protein, and mixed with yogurt, ginger, garlic, chilies and spices.
Tikka Masala: A chicken dish that soaks up a yogurt, garlic and lime marinade before cooking. Paprika and tomato are then added for a spicy, creamy flavor and orange hue. This dish has become one of the most popular curries. It’s even the national dish of England.
Jalfrezi: A protein marinated in cumin, coriander and turmeric. After marinating, the protein is fried in oil with fresh cabbage, onions, tomatoes and green chilies.
Other Popular Curries
Can you believe that we’ve explored just a handful of different curries? There are so many more, including Thai and Japanese curries. In Thailand, curry means paste. It’s usually made up of chilies, garlic, ginger, lemon grass and lime. The 3 types of Thai curries are:
Green Curry: A bright green blend of green chilies, green eggplant, sweet basil and Kaffir lime.
Yellow Curry: Mild and sweet. And you guessed it – a bright yellow mix of turmeric, coriander lemongrass, galangal, garlic, cumin and dried red chilies.
Red Curry: Spicy red chilies are the main star of this curry, blended with galangal ginger, fresh garlic and turmeric.
Other popular curries include kare raisu (aka Japanese curry rice). This dish is a spicy blend of garam masala, madras curry, turmeric and black peppercorns. Simply add sautéed beef, carrots and potatoes to the saucy curry and pour over rice. There’s also Jamaican curry. This Caribbean dish leans in on hot scotch bonnet peppers, cumin, anise and mustard seeds, with vinegar, Worcestershire and hot sauce.
Even More Curry
Now that you’re all warmed up on the basics, we’ve got even more popular curries to cure your cravings. Head over to our blog to check out more recipes…even ones for curry in a hurry.