The Story of Curry...

Who has never heard of curry?Chicken Curry, mutton curry, egg curry, veg curry & what not?In Ritz Carlton, Dubai, in our staff cafetaria, which they call passionately "The Cafe" have Chicken Curry & Mutton curry as a regular in their lunch/dinner menu, perhaps their target is the Asians & all the curry lovers..

The term "Curry" rules everywhere--be it Thai Curries[yes, they got 5 kinds], Indian Curries [From Western "Kadhi", to Eastern thin curries] & also the Curry of England. History says that England already knew about curries in 13th Century, which they prove by records. What about the origin? Of course it is from India. There is nothing set for the "curry", unlike the readymade "Curry" powder, which you get in your grocers. Actually, there is nothing like curry powder in Indian households[unless they would like to make some Continental Curry Sauce]!! Any Indian household will have powdered masalas stocked in their kitchen. For example, Cumin powder, Coriander Powder, Turmeric Powder, Red Chilli Powder, Garam Masala Powder...& it continues.All these masalas, as used by personal preferences, adds the flavour to the curries [according to the flavour profile you would like to build]. The "Kadhi" is far off the "Curry"--generally made of yoghurt simmered with little turmeric & besan [chickpea flour]& tempered with some mustard leaves, some curry leaves & asafoetida, for a Jain Curry, else one may put some fried onion dumplings, for a Punjabi style "Kadhi" or some leaves for Bathua Kadhi.
Moving to the North, or may be around Delhi, UP, anything that comes with a gravy is considered to be a curry. A curry, generally contains onion, ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes [can be finely chopped or pureed], powdered masalas, like cumin, coriander, turmeric & red chilli powder & seasonings.Even the punjabi "Butter Chicken" can be considered to be a curry, since it is served with a gravy. A Curry can be fiery hot, or may be too mild--all depends on the addition of chillies or crushed peppercorn. Moving to far east of India, Bengal's curries depend according to the source. A bengali of east origin[i.e. from the present bangladesh] will have thin curries, whilst that of west [i.e. present West Bengal] will have thick ones.
Moving down to South, most of the curries are dry in nature, ultra-spicy, specially curries are like Chicken curry, madras beef curry & so on & so forth..
I am not dealing with the Thai Curries or of the Pan-Asian, as I tried to focus on telling you what curries are all about. Next time, when you hear about curries, dont panic as it is a spicy Indian stuff [Yes, many foreigners presume so...]rather wait for the food to arrive & give your tongue an opportunity to savour the food....
I end up here, with a small recipe of Chicken Curry, as one makes it in ones home...edition, deletion, modification--all in your own risk...I must not be held responsible. A person who has visited Darjeeling from Kolkata, must have noticed the most popular roadside sign "Hurry Burry Spoils the Curry"--so before you start making curry, make sure, you have sometime to devote for it..

Homestyle Chicken Curry
Ingredients:
Chicken- 1 kg
Salt- to taste
Turmeric- 1 tsp
Oil- 25 ml
Onion[sliced]- 100 gm
Ginger-Garlic Paste- 2 tbsp
Yoghurt- 100 gm
Tomatoes- 100 gm [chopped]
Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
Coriander Powder- 1tsp
Red Chilli Powder- 1tsp
Potatoes - 3 nos [cut into wedges]
Salt- to taste
Method:
1. Marinate the chicken with salt, turmeric powder & keep aside.
2. Heat Oil in a kadai, & start sweating the onions, followed by ginger-garlic paste, till the fat seperates. Add in the yoghurt, tomatoes & the powdered masalas & cook for some time. Add in the chicken pieces & the potatoes & coat well with the masalas. Add in water, enough to cover chicken & cover & cook till chicken is done. Season well.
3. Serve hot, with rice, roti, paratha ...
[To make it spicy, you may increase the quantity of red chilli powder or add in lots of chopped chillies....]