Curry Powder

Curry powder (kari) is a yellow blend of many spices which in fact is the creation of British cooks in their attempt to emulate Indian curry dishes to satisfy the appetites of returned Anglo-Indians (this term once referred to the British administrators of India, but now indicates mixed-race Indian citizens). Authentic curry dishes do not contain store-bought curry powders but a combination of spices freshly ground and added at several stages in cooking the dish. In her captivating Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, Lizzie Collingham tells us that the curry recipes which first appeared in British cookbooks in the mid-eighteenth century did not require the readers to use curry powder, and that for making curry dishes, coriander and cumin seeds, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, and other spices were bought separately. Collingham continues: