What is the origin of Curry?

[Redlow]

What is the origin of the spice ‘Curry’? I have been told that it was invented for a British military leader while serving in India? I have also heard that this mixture of spices wasn’t actually created in India at all. Anyone know the true origin of Curry?

[geepee]

I’m not that sure but

Hijack

I heard rumours that when the British invaded india they wanted their meat , thing is India’s people don’t like to kill their cows so they let them die of their own accord and served up , the rotten meat in super hot curry sauce to hide the fact that the meat was often rancid

course i don’t know its basis in reality

heh , looking at Kebabs and some curry houses today (not all of them but everybody knows a few bad ones i reckon) this is still practiced

/Hijack

[Chez_Guevara]

The OED has several definitions of curry, two of which may be of interest:

curry 1598. [-Tamil kari relish with rice, Canarese karil.] A preparation of meat, fish, fruit or vegetables, cooked with bruised spices and turmeric, and used as a relish. Hence, a curry = a dish or stew flavoured with this.

curry, currie 1500. [-Fr. curee earlier OFr. cuiree; generally referred to cuir leather; also QUARRY] The portions of an animal slain that were given to the hounds; the cutting up and disembowelling of the game.

[Niobium_Knight]

cant beat a vindaloo to clean the poop chute out

[ShibbOleth]

Here’s what I found:

History of Curry
Although there are many opinions about the origin of the “Japanese Curry”, it seems most certain that India is the home of curry. The proof is that the origin of the word “curry” which means “soup” can be traced to Tamil language in South India. Another strong clue is that Budda (Shaka) was the first to cook curry. Indian legend says that Buddha (Shaka) taught people how to mix nuts and fruits. The use of curry first became popular as a miraculous way to achieve for eternal youth and longevity. Only later was it used as a seasoning. Some legends say that miraculous element was called “Coorry”, and others that the area which Budda (Shaka) fist evangelized was called “Curry”.

Keep in mind the entries from the OED will be when they entered English language, so that should be about the time the Spice Companies started to really get involved there. If the reference to the Buddha creating this are correct then it would not quite be Tamil but would also be over 2500 years old.

Also this:

Curry leaves are extensively used in Southern India and Sri Lanka (and are absolutely necessary for the authentic flavour), but are also of some importance in Northern India. Together with South Indian immigrants, curry leaves reached Malaysia, South Africa and Réunion island. Outside the Indian sphere of influence, they are rarely found.

Curry powder is a British invention to imitate the flavour of Indian cooking with minimal effort. Some curry powders, or so the books tell, indeed contain curry leaves, but probably only for historic or linguistic reasons, since dried curry leaves lose their fragrance within days.

Then this site goes into it even more on whether or not the word could actually be English in origin. This is a bit too long to quote in entirety here, so to summarise:

Cooking in England was really taking off in the late 1300s, with many similar spices to those used in Indian cooking. A cookbook with 190 recipes was produced by 200 cooks and philosophers working for Richard II. It was called “The Forme of Cury”. Cury in this case is thought to possibly derive from the French “cuire” – to cook, boil, grill.

[ShibbOleth]

…
Then this site goes into it even more on whether or not the word could actually be English in origin. This is a bit too long to quote in entirety here, so to summarise:
…

[Johanna]

The Tamil word kari actually means ‘cooked vegetables’. Not soup or relish.

Curry leaves have nothing whatever to do with curry powder. The powder is a mixture of various spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric, pepper, fenugreek, etc. Curry powder is not used in India! Each Indian curry has a different blend of spices to give it its own unique character.

Curry leaves are from a single plant (Murraya koenigii) that are used in some dishes for their aromatic quality. The leaves are reputed in Ayurvedic medicine for lowering high blood pressure as well as assisting digestion.

There is also a dish with the Hindi name kaRhi or kaDhi that sounds like “curry” but is made with yogurt sauce; it’s a different word.

[CalMeacham]

Well, Jerome “Babe” Howard was inordinately proud of his hair, but when his big brother Moishe “Moe” Howard had him join the Stooges (to replace Shemuel “Shemp” Howard), he insisted that Babe shave off his hair to give him a distinctive appearance. Babe wasn’t happy, and “Curly” probably started as a gentle ribbing reference to his…
What’s that? Curry? Oh, CURRY, not CURLY.

Never mind.

[pulykamell]

Well, Jomo, I suppose it all matters what you mean by “curry powder.” Indians do have various “masalas,” which I would loosely translate as a type of curry powder. I know you know this, and generally these mixtures are prepared in the midst of cooking, but I think it’s slightly misleading to say that curry powder has no connection to Indian cooking. Generically, there certainly is no one curry powder, but the flavors found in such mixes are used in real Indian cooking. The problem you have with curry powders as such are:

1. Spices lose fragrance and flavor as soon as they are ground.
2. The domestic varieties (McCormick’s and the such) rely way too much on turmeric.
3. The spices aren’t slightly roasted before grinding, which releases more fragrance and develops flavor a bit.
4. They’re generic.

I would certainly recommend to anyone who enjoys cooking Indian food to freshly roast and grind your spices.

[Moonshine]

As an aside, the idea that Indians spiced their food because the meat may have gone off is most probably a UL for three reasons:

1. Rotten meat will make you sick no matter what it tastes like
2. Many of the Indian sects don’t eat meat at all, yet still spice up their food
3. Large parts of India (ie the Bengal and some others) only use very mild spices.