🎧 Curry

Invasions, Colonization and Babar the Elephant

Take a journey with us as we discuss how invasions, colonization, religion and an ancient holistic healing system have influenced curry. Learn about one of Kim's favorite South African dishes that has its roots in ancient Rome. And Babar the elephant even makes a couple of appearances.

Naturally, the first thing which comes to mind when we talk about curry is India but its influences go far beyond India’s borders. Curry has been shaped by invasions, colonization, and religious traditions. Interestingly, according to Raghavan Iyer author of 660 Curries, the word curry doesn't exist in any official language in India.

The dish Biryani is a fabulous amalgamation demonstrating some of these influences on curry. Rice was introduced to India by Muslims, meat was incorporated because of the Mogul invasion. Even the holistic healing system of Ayurveda contributed a prescribed combination of herbs and spices.

Beyond the dish, we also use the word curry to describe a spice blend. This was a blend was embraced by the British and by the 17th century, curry recipes were showing up in British cookbooks.

India is not the only country that lays claim to curry. It shows up in Southeast Asia and East Asia, in the Netherlands and even in Germany.

So grab your headphones or turn on your wifi speaker and listen as we share all we learned about this dish and spice blend, some of its history, and some of our favorite curries.

🎧 Click here for an interactive episode transcript 🎧

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