Curry; Curries

The moist main dishes that accompany rice in Burma are known in Burmese as hin. In English the usual word used for them is curry. The term comes from British India, where it came to denote any sauced dish of vegetables or meat or a mixture. The flavor base for Burmese curries is neither a “curry paste” such as people use when making some of the classic Thai curries, nor any version of “curry powder” that people in the West associate with dishes from India. Like many sauced dishes, Burmese curries start with flavors cooked in oil. Usually the early flavorings include chopped shallots, turmeric powder, perhaps some dried red chiles reduced to a paste or a powder, and often ginger or garlic. Whole spices such as those used in Bengali cooking are rarely used in traditional Burmese dishes.