Curry
Curry is a dish originating in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. The common feature is the use of complex combinations of spices or herbs, usually including fresh or dried hot chillies. The use of the term is generally limited to dishes prepared in a sauce. Curry dishes prepared in the southern states of India may be spiced with leaves from the curry tree.
Archaeological evidence dating to 2600 BCE from Mohenjodaro suggests the use of mortar and pestle to pound spices including mustard, fennel, cumin, and tamarind pods with which they flavoured food. Black pepper is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia and has been known to Indian cooking since at least 2000 BCE. Similarly the oldest surviving Roman cookbook, Apicius, details numerous recipes that require meats to be seasoned with vinegar, honey and ground herbs and spices including pepper, cumin, lovage, marjoram, mint, cloves and coriander.
The establishment of the Mughal Empire, in the early 16th century, influenced the Indian cuisine, especially in the north. Another influence was the establishment of the Portuguese trading centre in Goa in 1510, resulting in the introduction of chili pepper to India from the Americas, as a byproduct of the Columbian Exchange. Curry was introduced to English cuisine starting with AngloIndian cooking in the 17th century as spicy sauces were added to bland boiled and cooked meats. The 1758 edition of Hannah Glasse ' s The Art of Cookery contains a recipe " To make a currey the Indian way ". Curry was first served in coffee houses in Britain from 1809, and has been increasingly popular in Great Britain, with major jumps in the 1940s and the 1970s. During the 19th century, curry was also carried to the Caribbean by Indian indentured workers in the British sugar industry. Since the mid20th century, curries of many national styles have become popular far from their origins, and increasingly become part of international fusion cuisine.