What is a curry?

It's amazing how "Curry" signifies differently to different regions and cultures in India.

In my South Indian Iyengar Brahmin home it was the vegetable of the day. A sautéed vegetarian preparation with dry spices or in a coconut gravy of ground spices. In my husband's South Indian Christian home, it was the meat preparation in a rich tomato gravy. 

In the South Indian State of Tamilnadu, "kari" denotes the raw meat used in a "kozhambu" or stew, and can be either goat, lamb, chicken or fish.

In the Southern State of the Andhra, "karis" is the accompaniment or condiment with rice. It can be vegetables or meat.

In other regions and in Northern India, it can be described as meat or vegetables cooked and simmered in a spicy gravy.

In short, it is the dish that accompanies the rice, the mainstay of the South Indian meal. In North India, it's served with rotis, chapatis, naan and other Indian breads.

When I married my husband, I was introduced to the rich tradition of meat, chicken and fish curries in his family. Traditionally a vegetarian, it was initially hard to eat meat. However, when I looked at how much my husband enjoyed his food, I decided to learn to enjoy them too! Learning how to grind and blend the spices belonging to my in-laws home was part of the learning process and a journey where I added knowledge of these blends to those I had already learned at home.

When my husband and I set up our home, dinners became a combination of both vegetables and meat, satisfying both our preferences. 

My classic dinner menu is always one rice, one meat, one vegetable and a salad. I'd like to think of it as setting a "Mohan Table"! Satisfying and Nutritious. 

Indian curries often use onions and tomatoes as the base for a rich gravy. Spices and spice blends are added to this base gravy to bring flavor to the curry. The meat or vegetables are then simmered and cooked to perfection. Herbs like fresh coriander/cilantro or green onions form the garnish for a neat presentation and finished flavors.

Curries can also be coconut-based dishes. Coconut, fresh or dried, ground or grated, and coconut milk are used to present a distinctive style of curry.

Fresh coconut is often ground with spices like cumin and green chilies to form a smooth gravy. These are often topped with coconut milk and garnished with fresh coriander/cilantro or tempered with mustard seeds,  dried red chilies and fresh curry leaves.

Dry coconut, on the other hand, is usually ground to a smooth paste with spices and red chilies to form the gravy in a different kind of curry.

Often in certain vegetarian dishes, fresh grated coconut is used as a garnish. Beans, cabbage, carrots and beetroot are often sautéed or steamed, tossed with fresh grated coconut and presented with tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Plain yoghurt is also used in certain curries. A spoonful is often used to finish and set flavors. At other times, a curry can be entirely yoghurt based. Coconut and Spices are ground and folded into yoghurt that is thinned down and whipped to a smooth liquid in which cooked pumpkin or other vegetables are placed.

There are "dry" curries, meat or vegetables that are sautéed and enveloped in rich spice blends and "gravy" curries that have them nestling in a spicy sauce with spice blends. Both are classified as "curries" 

"Curries" in India, differ from State to State,  region to region, street to street and even household to household!

Very often the response to a comment or observation on how different a curry seems to be, will be ...." oh, but this is way "WE" make curry in our home!!" 

Enjoy all these different dishes prepared with whole spices and spice blends. You can define them all as "Curry"!

The Mohan Curry Blend, The Mohan Vindaloo Blend and The Mohan Chile help you make an Indian curry in a fun and easy way bringing curry on your table!

 

Curried Okra sautéed with ground spices and spice blends.

 

Curried Shrimp/Prawn in tomato with onions and spice blends. 

 

Fish Curry with fresh, ground coconut and green chillies, coconut milk and whole spices.

 

Chicken Curry in a tomato based gravy with spice blends and whole spices.