Indian and Babylonian – the confusion surrounding "Curry"
On the topic of Indian cuisine most people immediately think of the word "curry". Approximately 3,700 years ago the ancient Samarians in Mesopotamia already knew of it. And from the location discovered by researchers near Babylon began not only the global triumphal march of curry but also Babylonian language confusion. Because when British, Indians or Germans speak today of curry, they certainly have different things in mind.In Great Britain the word "curry" stands for practically every Indian dish, and, as such represents more of an all-encompassing term. Indians themselves don’t generally use the word, but, if anything, understand the word to mean meat, vegetable or fish dishes with spicy-hot sauce and rice or bread as a side dish. Lastly, in Germany curry stands quite simply for the spice bearing the same name. By the way, the British are also to be blamed because the colonial rulers of the subcontinent brought curry powder in the 19th century in increasing quantities to Europe.
And, by the way, curry, as we have come to know it, actually is a spice blend, which is not even used in the Indian kitchen, but rather is produced primarily for export. In India the corresponding spice blends are called Masala, but differ in practically every house, but, above all, differ from region to region – from sweet/spicy to extremely hot. The spices used are, as a rule, first roasted and then reduced in a mortar or grinder. Among the most important components you will find the yellow turmeric root, pepper, chili, cardamom, coriander seed, ginger, caraway, mace, cinnamon, fenugreek, pimento, cloves, cumin, and curry leaves.
Even about the origin of the word, around which a number of legends have sprung up, there continues to be confusion and disputes among experts. The most popular involves a reference to the Tamil word "kari", which basically means hot and spicy sauce. Other language researchers choose to understand the word to have been of British origin in the Middle Ages, when "cury" stood for cooking or grilling and was derived from the French "cuire".