What is Curry?

Curry is one of those words like salsa; it means different things to different people. At its most basic, curry refers to a spicy dish of vegetables or meat served with rice. Curry is derived from the Tamil word kari, which means sauce. This is the style of curry we use for our chicken curry salad.

In some types of Indian cuisine, curry denotes a dish that is sort of like a soup made with yogurt, clarified butter, spices and chick pea flour. Other regions from England to Thailand use curry as a generic word for meat or vegetables cooked with a spicy sauce. Different types of curry use different main ingredients, depending on the region of Asia or India you are in. Curry from the Punjab region, for instance, involves wheat instead of rice, and is heavy on the butter and cream. Malayali curry usually has coconut and coconut milk, as well as bay leaves.