Yes, same thing in NYC. Especially since popular snack/appetizer dishes like samosa and pakora are NOT curry. Yummy breads stuffed with spiced onion or potato or minced meat are NOT curry.
“Going out for a curry” is a Brit phrase.
In India, “curry” means a very soupy stewed dish. It doesn’t indicate any particular spices. A dry dish isn’t “a curry” in India.
However outside India the word is used in different ways.
A couple weeks ago I thawed out and ate some Pork Chili Verde over rice. As I was eating I was wondering if there was any actual factor that differentiated my meal from a curry, and couldn’t think of really any point to make the distinction on.
To curry favor, favor curry.
How To Cook Every Indian Dish Ever.
A year or so ago I saw this video, and figured I’d give it a try. The words on the screen say to add 1 tsp of each spice, but she tells you to add one tablespoon of each spice, which is insane and made a gummy powdery mess. But the second time I made it, I used teaspoons instead, and it came out beautifully, Now I make a spicy curry based loosely on her directions once a month or so. (I have spice-wimp children, so I generally cook some potatoes and chicken separately for the wimps). Her silly comedy video is a great basis for some delicious food.
I’ve had that Golden Curry…I liked it. Had Green and Massaman Curries…haven’t found one I didn’t love yet.
Yes, I’ve come to that conclusion. Glad to get that confirmed. 
That’s the sort of thing that prompted this thread.
Whoa, this video is hilarious, charming, a hoot, and quite informative! Y’all should watch it-- it’s only about three minutes.
I have to add one more thing about the Milk Street curry recipe as shown on the program. The guy making the dish while Kimball stood by and made witty-ish comments was the really tall guy, late 20s, blond-ish, brown-ish stand up hair and black-framed glasses. (I think all the cooks on that show are funny-looking. So sue me.) Anyhoo, he pronounced TUR-meric as TOO-meric– what’s up with that? Do people not see the “R”?
Also, he pronounced serrano (chile) as seraño, like piñon or canyon. No, sir. I live in the land of chile peppers and it’s plain serrano– just like it looks. Rhymes with guano, mano a mano. Does he call the big green stuffable chile pepper a poblaño? I don’t want to know.
This post comes closest to my understanding. I learned a long time ago that “curry” was gravy or sauce as far as Indians were concerned, and the whole idea of “curry powder” was an outside invention. Here’s a site that supports that contention.
A lot of American curry powder is crap, but there are some good ones; Penzey’s is a reliable source of spice blends. Then there’s “vadouvan” which is the French take on curry spice blends. I got some from a high-end culinary shop in Indonesia once and it was spectacular. I just finished it, and found the same brand available on line for something insane like $150 for a package. I refuse to do that, but this sounded good so I tried it. It’s tasty, but nothing I’d crave.
The origin of curry meaning a spicy stew is Tamil கறி kari, literally meaning cooked vegetables.
Curry leaves (Murraya koenegii) are a completely different thing, as TriPolar noted. That word comes from Hindi कढ़ी kaṛhī, which is a type of yogurt sauce based on a roux of ghee and chickpea flour, in which fried chickpea dumplings are fricasseed.
The resemblance between Tamil kari and Hindi kaṛhī is accidental. The leaves are called कढ़ी पत्ते kaṛhī patte (patte means ‘leaves’).
To confuse things a bit, I have seen dried Murraya koenegii (“curry”) leaves for sale in Indian groceries labeled करी पत्ते karī patte, which may represent a loan from the above-mentioned Tamil word. I guess.
I got 34,000 Google hits for “कढ़ी पत्ते” and 85,900 for “करी पत्ते,” both referring to Murraya koenegii.
As for curry powder, that’s a British invention. In India, each different type of curry has its own particular assemblage of spices, prepared in a variety of ways. Cumin, for example, takes on very different qualities depending if it’s roasted, fried, left whole, or powdered. Other differences between Indian cuisine and curry powder is that in India spices are not used raw, but roasted or fried first. Ginger is always fresh, not dried. They have a different word for dried ginger too, but I’ve never found out if they use it for anything. Black mustard seeds are very often the first thing to go in the pan, fried until they pop.
Very interesting stuff here, folks! Thank you. 
Now, of course, y’all know what I want for lunch…
The name ‘vindaloo’ came from the Portuguese carne de vinha d’alhos, or ‘meat in garlic wine marinade’. The pronunciation of the last bit is approximately “veenya dalyoos”, hence ‘vindaloo’.
In Indian cuisine, curry is always stewed. Grilled or broiled doesn’t make a curry because it doesn’t produce a soupy stew.
A curry is something with south Asian spices added in such amount you can’t possibly taste the actual food. Or any other food you eat hours later.
So curry powder should only be used on food that’s so rotten in some way you want to avoid tasting it. But unfortunately it gets used on other things.
And the interesting thing that you don’t see much in Western versions is the original dish was usually made from pork (Portuguese Catholic influence–you’ll also see pork in the dishes of Kerala, just south of Goa, and a couple other scattered areas in India, but I forget which.) I’ve had pork vindaloo at a Goan governmental canteen in Delhi, and it was a good bit different (which I expected) than the versions I’d find at UK curry houses and US restaurants. First, much tangier (there’s a good amount of white wine vinegar in it), more fragrant, and a bit less spicy (though still bringing the heat.) Here’s a recipe for it..
And on the subject of “curry leaves,” I have a dhal recipe from a cookbook I picked up in New Delhi that calls for 10 of them. It’s delicious, and while there are other seasonings (garlic, ginger, chili, and whole cumin seeds), the leaves are key to the flavor.
I made it a few days ago, believing I for sure had curry leaves on hand, because what kind of an idiot would run out of such a useful and delicious flavoring? Me, that the kind of idiot. As I live a half-hour drive from the nearest grocery, which probably wouldn’t stock them anyway, I had to Google “substitute for curry leaves.” After chiding readers that there really is no substitute (yes, yes, I know that) Uncle Google suggested I use lime zest, basil, and bay (but there really is no substitute with the same flavor, you know).
I had fresh lemon zest, basil, and bay, so ended up using those three ingredients and some ajowan (aka ajwain or carom) and I gotta say, the result was quite delightful. Not identical to curry leaves, of course. Did I mention there is no substitute that will taste the same?
I have asked the same curry question myself (watching brit shows) I love the thai curries. I found a great curry recipe while watching a video on one of those travel eating weird food shows… they caught red snapper or catfish … I’m going to have to go look this up and go shopping. (made it with haddock last time and was delish).
To be honest, some of the recipes I’ve had for pork chili verde actually would be fairly comfortable under the “curry” umbrella. They do contain a lot of the signature flavors we identify as “curry.” If you added a bit of ginger paste and turmeric, you’d be in clear curry territory, IMHO. Some of the ingredients may be slightly different (especially if you’re talking tomatillo-based verde), but there can be a lot of overlap in flavors. (Like this recipe has a heavy coriander-and-cumin component to it, which to me is a flavor combination I identify most strongly with curry.)
This just isn’t true, there are very mild curries, and even the hotter curries have flavour.
Well, for one thing, tomatillos … also, in the British “going for a curry” sense, pork isn’t a common meat because of how many UK “Indian” restaurants are actually Pakistani or Bengali and therefore likely to be halaal.
The rice is not a necessary part of the definition. Could also be just rotis or other breads.
You have no idea the looks I get when we go out to Indian restaurants and I say “no, I don’t want any curry. I’ll just have the tandoori chicken.”