Curry Around the World
The word "curry" appears on menus at restaurants all across the globe — so what is it, exactly?
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A Beginner's Guide
Curry's a little word with a lot of meaning (at its most basic, it means "sauce," so, yes, Bolognese is also a curry). Here's a starter kit to deciphering what you're getting, depending on the kind of restaurant you are in.
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By Rupa Bhattacharya for Food Network Kitchen
At a Thai Restaurant
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At a West Indian or Caribbean Restaurant
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At an Indian Restaurant
Unless you're in the UK, most Indian restaurant dishes aren't called "curry," but almost all of them are curries. Indian curries can be dry (the sauce is cooked down to coat the main ingredients) or wet (closer to a stew texture than a soup one). A few key words to know: "Korma" usually means tomatoes, onions and yogurt; "saag" means spinach; anything "dal" is made with lentils; and anything "makhani" is made with butter (so "makhani dal" is buttery lentils). Anything "dopiaza" is made with onions, and anything "karahi" is stir-fried (a karahi is a bowl-shaped pan about the size of a wok). Most things "Mughlai," "Shahi" or "Kashmiri" will have nuts and cream; Kashmiri and Shahi dishes also often include dried fruit. "Masala" is a word used for a spice mix and can therefore imply literally anything within that realm (chana masala is chickpeas with a spice mix; bhindi masala is sauteed okra; and chicken tikka masala is chunks of chicken in a creamy spiced gravy). Get everything, and eat it with rice or naan.
Note: Indian food doesn't call for the yellow-brown stuff one traditionally pictures as "curry powder," which was a 19th-century British attempt to replicate Indian flavors. That said, plenty of curries from around the world, representing real, genuine curry traditions, now do.
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At an Indonesian Restaurant
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At a Japanese Restaurant
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At a Malaysian Restaurant
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At a Chinese Restaurant
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At a Ladies-Who-Lunch Bistro
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On the Streets of Berlin
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