What is a Curry?

An Indian meal. Chicken Curry, Peas Pulao and Spiced Green Beans.

Pan-fried Spiced Okra.

Chicken Curry. A "Gravy" style curry.

Shrimp with Tomato and Onions. A "Dry" Curry with spice blends.

Fish Curry. Fresh coconut ground with cumin and green chillies, topped with coconut milk and tempered with dried red chilies and curry leaves. 

What really is a curry?

It's amazing how curry signifies differently to diverse cultures and regions in India. 

In my South Indian Brahmin home, it was the vegetable of the day. A sautéed vegetarian preparation pan-fried with spices or in a coconut gravy of ground spices.  In my husband's South Indian Christian home, it was the meat preparation in a rich tomato gravy. 

In the South Indian State of Tamil Nādu, "Kari" denotes the raw meat used in a "Kozhambu" or stew, and can be lamb, goat, chicken, or fish.

In the Southern Indian State of Andhra "Karis" is the accompaniment or condiment with rice. It can be meat, fish, or vegetables.

In other regions, it can be described as the items cooked and simmered in a spicy gravy. 

In short, it is the dish that accompanies the rice, the mainstay of the South Indian meal. In North India, it's served with rotis, chapatis, naan and other Indian breads.

When I married my husband, I was introduced to the rich tradition of meat, chicken, and fish curries in his family. Traditionally a vegetarian, it was initially hard to eat meat.  However, when I looked at how much my husband enjoyed his food, I decided to learn to enjoy it too. Learning how to grind and blend the spices belonging to my in-laws' home was part of a learning process and a journey where I added the knowledge of these blends to those I had already learned at home. 

When my husband and I set up our home, dinners became a combination of both vegetables and meat, satisfying both our preferences. 

My classic dinner menu is always one rice, one meat, one vegetable and a salad. I'd like to think of it as setting a "Mohan Table"! Satisfying and Nutritious.

Indian curries often use onions and tomatoes as the base for a rich gravy. Spices and spice blends are added to this base gravy to add flavor to the curry. The meat or vegetables are then simmered in it and cooked to perfection. Herbs like fresh coriander/cilantro or green onions form the garnish for a neat presentation and finished flavors. 

Curries can also be coconut-based dishes. Coconut, fresh or dried, ground or grated and coconut milk are used to present a distinctive style of curry. 

Fresh coconut is often ground with spices like cumin and green chilies to form a smooth gravy. These are often topped with coconut milk and garnished with fresh coriander/cilantro or tempered with mustard seeds, dried red chilies, and fresh curry leaves.

Dry coconut, on the other hand, is ground to a smooth paste with spices and red chilies to form the gravy in a different kind of curry. 

Often in certain vegetarian dishes, fresh grated coconut is used as a garnish. Green beans, cabbage, carrot, beetroot are some examples of vegetables, sauteed or steamed and tossed with grated fresh coconut and presented with a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves. 

Plain unsweetened yoghurt is also used in certain curries. A spoonful is often used to finish and set flavors. At other times, curries can also be entirely yoghurt based.  Coconut and spices are ground and folded into yoghurt that is thinned down and whipped to a smooth liquid in which cooked pumpkin or other vegetables are placed. 

There are "Dry" curries, meat or vegetables that are sauteed and enveloped in rich spice blends and "Gravy" curries that have them nestling in a spicy sauce with spice blends. Both preparations are classified as "Curries"!

"Curries" in India, differ from State to State, region to region, street to street and even household to household!

Very often, the response to a comment or observation on how different a curry seems to be, will be'..."Oh, but this is the way "We" make curry in our home"!

Enjoy all these different dishes prepared with whole spices and spice blends. You can define them all as "Curry"

It's easy with The Mohan Spice Blends. they help you make an Indian curry in a fun and effortless way bringing curry on your table!

Visit my site curryonyourtable.com