[Chastine25]

Curry' is synonymous with Indian Food Recipes and 'curry powder' is thought of as its key ingredient. This is a misconception though, as all Indian food does not contain 'curry powder'. This all-important powder is actually a mix of spices collectively known as garam masala. It is added to some dishes along with other spices to enhance their flavor and aroma. While the basic ingredients used are the same, each household has its own proportions so that the end result will often differ from home to home. The better the quality of the ingredients, the tastier the garam masala and the resulting dish in which it is used.

Most Indians still prefer to prepare their own garam masala just prior to cooking. Making your own can seem intimidating if you're just starting out with Indian cooking, but the Indian food recipe and a good coffee grinder is all it at the market: Curry powder is available in small resalable containers. Curry leaves are available only in countries in which the curry tree grows. Fresh curry leaves quickly lose their fragrance after harvesting, and for that reason are not suitable for long-distance transportation and international marketing. Physical characteristics of Curry powder are a bright yellow due to the turmeric spice that is an ingredient in the curry powder recipe. There's nothing to beat the flavor of fresh garam masala!

A centuries old debate about the origin of the word "curry" continues. Most etymologists agree, though, that the word and the concept of curry comes from a South Indian word "Kari", meaning spiced sauces. The word Kari originates in India's oldest living and prehistoric language - Tamil. That is one version of the word origin for curry. Another version of its origin is that the word curry is derived from Sanskrit, the language of Aryan invaders of India, which would make the origin much younger than the Tamil version. The earliest known reference to curry is found in cuneiform on clay tablets recorded by the Mesopotamian civilization near Babylon, circa 1700 B.C.E. Most food historians and etymologists attribute the phrase "curry powder" to inventive British cooks, circa 1377. It was invented by the British to imitate the flavor of Indian foods. A typical curry recipe will include roasted cumin, roasted coriander, black pepper, chiles, roasted fenugreek, and tumeric (which imparts the yellow color). In India, fresh leaves of the curry tree (Murraya koenigii) are used to flavor foods - not the powder mentioned above

[jyotirmoy]

Welcome to the tree Chastine25... another foodie? More the merrier !!!!

[gautam]

Chastine25, on Oct 27 2007, 05:56 AM, said:

Curry' is synonymous with Indian Food Recipes and 'curry powder' is thought of as its key ingredient. This is a misconception though, as all Indian food does not contain 'curry powder'. This all-important powder is actually a mix of spices collectively known as garam masala. It is added to some dishes along with other spices to enhance their flavor and aroma. While the basic ingredients used are the same, each household has its own proportions so that the end result will often differ from home to home. The better the quality of the ingredients, the tastier the garam masala and the resulting dish in which it is used.

Most Indians still prefer to prepare their own garam masala just prior to cooking. ...... In India, fresh leaves of the curry tree (Murraya koenigii) are used to flavor foods - not the powder mentioned above

Hi Chastine,

Welcome.

I hope you will not mind my questioning in a friendly manner a couple of assertions made above. The passage seems to imply that all dry masalas prepared may be termed [or composed of] "garam masala." Surely this is not correct, for that label belongs only to a specific and limited set of North Indian dry masalas that contain the "sweet' spices of green and/or black cardamon, cinnamon/cassia, clove, plus one or more other seeds or ingredients.

What would be more useful would be the term "masala", which can be either wet or dry. In significant areas of India, Goa [tonak masala] Mumbai [bottle masala of the East Indian community], Mangalore [Kundapur masala] Udipi, Karnataka, Shetty cooking] in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra [goda masala] pre-prepared dry masala powders are used very extensively. So, almost as many Indians use pre-prepared dry masalas [at least a few days worth at a time] as do not, in the Southern half. In certain types of Tamil vegetarian cooking, pre-prepared dry masala powders like sambar podi may suffice for ordinary day to day meals, but for special occasions might be supplemented with a wet paste of extra ingredients like pan-roasted spices and grains ground with fresh coconut.

The use of curry leaves as flavoring is common only from Gujarat and points south from that region. It was practically unknown in the north as a food flavoring until relatively recent times, and today is still used only in the context of southern-style dishes. So it is not quite accurate to say that curry powder is replaced by curry leaf in India.

There are many assertions that by dint of frequent repetition by people who seem to be authorities take on a life of their own among those who are new to the subject. Then these misconceptions become the new gospel and guiding light. It would be better if those who seek to inform or teach were themselves more sure of their subject matter first hand before taking up the task.

[cyberhippie]

I wish I had one of those huge stone masala makers Gautam but I've never figured out how to get one home. the wet masalas made on these stone grinders are delicious. Where I live in Goa they are to be seen every morning gently rotating the gigantic 'pestle' adding the fresh spices as they go.
Leela at Varkala used a rolling pin affair of the same dimensions to make her Keralaen masalas.

Thanks to Gautam for an insightful look into regional masalas, or blends of spices, Even in the north garam masala is litttle more than a base element to the cooking process with various other spices being added to bring about the flavours associated with Channa Masala, Rajma, Istew etc etc. This is where the skill of the Indian cook comes into play the blending of the various spices augmented by oinion/ ginger and of course the natural tastes of the other ingredients.

In a lot of tourist restaurants there's a very poor one masala fits all ideology, which makes for pretty bad Indian cuisine IMHO.