curry, (from Tamil kari: “sauce”), in Western usage, a dish composed with a sauce or gravy seasoned with a mixture of ground spices that is thought to have originated in India and has since spread to many regions of the world.
The foundation of many Indian curries is a mixture of onion, ginger, and garlic. That base is flavoured with several spices, typically including cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fennel seed, fenugreek, mustard seed, black and red (cayenne) pepper, and turmeric (which imparts a characteristic yellow colour), all toasted and finely ground. Other ingredients may include curry leaves (Murraya koenigii), chilies, nutmeg, mace, poppy seed, star anise, and bay leaves. Each region of the country has its own flavour profile.
Although among Indian cooks the balance of flavours varies considerably depending on the region, the particular dish, and the preferences of the cook, a spice mixture called curry powder was adapted by British settlers in India. With commercial curry powder, British cooks could re-create the flavour of Indian cuisine.
In traditional Indian cookery, the spice mixtures are called masala and are prepared in the home. Some masala are blended with a liquid, such as water or vinegar, to make a curry paste. The primarily vegetarian curries of southern India, seasoned with sambar podi and other traditional blends, are the most pungent, often containing hot chilies. By contrast, classic, or Mughal, garam masala of northern India contains only raw cardamom seeds, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper; variations on that mixture add coriander seeds and cumin seeds but avoid hot or pungent ingredients. Lamb and poultry are common features in the curries of the north.
Spicy gravied dishes have been a mainstay of South Asian cookery since antiquity, perhaps deriving from sour-milk stews. They are also integral to the cuisines of Thailand, China, Indonesia, Japan, and the Caribbean islands of Jamaica, Trinidad, and Martinique. (The Caribbean connection is a result of the mid-19th-century immigration of indentured workers from the subcontinent.)