Curry is served as my staple diet plan virtually every week. What I like about it is its spicy thick sauce, chunky meat base, and the balance between vegetables and the way the flavor of the sauces explodes while eating.
My curries include chicken breast, thighs, and sometimes legs. Sauces are made from tomatoes, bell peppers, aubergines, carrots, onions and garlic, ginger, apricots, raisins, salt and pepper, homemade pepper sauce, chili, tandoori, masala, turmeric, amongst other spices and ingredients like crunchy peanut butter and double cream.
Just how and why this came to be is allied to the presence of the British Raj in India. The British army and civilians working in India developed a liking for the hot, spicy foods of the sub-continent and brought the dishes (curries) home and to other parts of the then British Empire.
People love Indian food, and British people are among the top fans because of its rich flavor, authentic taste, and strong appeal to their tastebuds. It has been a favorite since the 18th century, and the love for the cuisine has never stopped.
Following World War II, curry became even more popular in Britain owing to the large number of immigrants from South Asia. Curry has become an integral part of British cuisine, so much so that, since the late 1990s, chicken tikka masala has been referred to as "a true British national dish".
Spices were among the goods traded and those who served out in India must have brought back a taste for a curry dish, which offered a welcome contrast to the blandness of much of British fare at the time.
Curry also gained popularity as an excellent way of using up cold meat. In fact, currying cold meat is the origin of jalfrezi, now a popular dish in Britain. Between 1820 and 1840, the import of turmeric, the primary ingredient in making curry, in Britain increased threefold.
There is a certain lack of appreciation for the skill required to make Indian food. The cuisine is among the most labor intensive in the world. And yet Americans are unwilling to pay beyond a certain, and decidedly low, price point. Other nations complain about the spicy authenticity of the food.
All I can say is that curry is not only great tasting, but it supplies some of the most nutritious food available.
Take care!
Prof. Carl Boniface
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