The MOST Common Mistake About Curry

You all know curry, but most people don't know one thing about it, and that is the most common mistake people make about curry. In this video, I will dive into the history of curry, explain what curry is, and discuss what has shaped modern-day curry.
0:00 The most common mistake
0:45 Curry, explained
1:55 What shaped curry
4:00 Curry in different regions
videos credits
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asset credits
www.vecteezy.com/free-vector

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Hi all, some folks have pointed out that the map I use in the video isn't a correct depiction of the Indian map. The map I used refers to the Indian subcontinent, and I mentioned this term several times in the video. Apologies for not being able to clarify this in the video. Besides, some folks from India mentioned that 'Kari' in Tamil means meat. However, the fact it means meat does not conflict with the Portuguese understanding that 'Kari' refers to the spice-blend gravy dish they believed it to be. Kari is described in a mid-17th century Portuguese cookbook. It explains that the term 'Kaṟi' (கறி) was used to describe a spice blend. My interpretation is that there may have been a loss in translation. When the Portuguese inquired about the dish, Tamil merchants might have understood them to be asking about meat. This is speculative, but regardless of the exact meaning of 'kari,' the fact remains that the Portuguese associated it with the gravy dish, which eventually evolved into the word 'curry' under British influence.

[@RonBhattacharya]

It's amazing that you mentioned "Machher Jhol"! I've 'never' watched a foreign KZbinr use that term - let alone 'describe' it, but even being able to 'mention' it. Keep it up! P.S. Don't worry about a 'correct' 'political' map... because there have been long-standing, three-way border disputes between India, China, and Pakistan over Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh (one of the North-East states of India) for decades now. So even Google Maps show us the maps depending on the 'claims' of the country you're accessing the map from... 😅 However, LACs (Lines of Actual Control) exist in this region; in my view, that's the best reference for travellers for all 'practical' purposes.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

​@@RonBhattacharya Thanks for your support! Machher Jhol is amazing, though I can't handle the spiciness. lol Yeah, I am fully aware of the disputes in Kashmir and Jammu. I just want to point out that the map I used isn't about the modern-day India map.

[@RonBhattacharya]

@@savorthrutimewithSJ: Come on! It's not spicy at all! The kick is usually from the mustard oil used for cooking in Bengali Dishes. When you hear 'spicy', it's not the level of 'heat' from the chillies that we're talking about in India... it just means many different 'types of spices' are used in the dish. Otherwise, there's not much heat in those dishes. And most people add 'whole' green chillies here than using them 'slit'... so even kids can eat those. Also, most Bengali dishes are paired with steamed white rice (which is totally neutral). So your sides 'need' a bit of spice... otherwise your bites will be just too bland. . . . . . . . I made a 'macher jhol' (which is in my fridge) by just tempering the oil with dry Kashmiri red chilli and Black Cumin... added a touch of ginger-garlic paste and coriander power... I then added potatoes to fry lightly, then pre-fried Black Catfish (called 'Tangra'/'Tengra'), with mustard paste and finished off with chopped coriander. Even kids can eat it, but it's a lot of 'flavours'. You can add water as per the consistency you want. I used 2 slit green chillies but that mostly just flavour - bare minimum heat (and, totally optional).

[@uruvilaathakarjanan9996]

the word 'கறி' [kari] comes from the thamizh language. Kari literally means meat. It does NOT in any way means gravy. It is only when the europeans first visited ancient thamizhagam [thamizh naadu/tamil naadu], they heard the words கறி குழம்பு ['kari kuzhambu'] which literally means meat gravy and they ate it for the first time. 'Kuzhambu' is the only word for gravy in thamizh language. To their surprise, it was so aromatic and flavourful that they loved it. They were not able to pronounce the word kuzhambu, so they took the easily pronounced word known as kari and gave it the definition of gravy to it while bringing the dish back to europe. This is how the rest of the countries have wrongly defined the word kari wrongly for a very long time.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

@@uruvilaathakarjanan9996 Thanks for your explanation!

[@Juss169]

I'm indian and want to thank you for making this video. I really hate it when non-indians call every second indian dish "curry" :D Your video is the best explanation of the actual meaning of 'curry' I've seen so far

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Thanks!! Your words mean a lot to me!

[@rajaramakutty9088]

Steve Webber of Washington State University, Vancouver did starch analysis on remnants of a 4,000 year old cooking pot ( pot=handi in Hindi language) in Farmana, Haryana, India and discovered that Brinjal, Turmeric, Ginger, Salt, Pepper etc were cooked together in the pot. Probably an ancient version of 'curry'. The ancient Portuguese who were looking for a shipping route to India to capitalise on the spice trade were resting in East Africa to take cover from strong winds . Based on feedback from locals, they sought assistance from a Gujarati trading vessel in East Africa to 'guide' them to the shores of India on its return trip. Perhaps the Portuguese may have had their first taste of "caree" on that Gujarati ship.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

That is very interesting to know! Thanks for the comment.

[@aaradhyarawat7589]

Lal Maas is Red Meat Curry. Rogan Josh is Mutton Curry. Aaloo Dum is Potato Curry. Chola Dum is Chick Peas Curry. And the Water Indians drink coming from Himalayas is Water Curry. "A cuisine in Indian subcontinent exists with brownish gravy texture." Colonialists : CURRY! CURRY! CURRY! Indians unaware of their own history of native culinary : Yes! Yes! Yes!

[@MrPanda-sw4lf]

🤣🤣🤣 Water curry, I'll use that

[@poddmo]

A perfect level of detail and pace: comprehensive without being overwhelming. Thanks!

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Thanks so much for liking it!

[@phazezio5594]

i m indian and we dont eat curry everyday

[@sahilkatyal6293]

Break the stereotype

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Yes, I am fully aware! Thanks for the comment.

[@dxruling]

Actually we do. And there's nothing to be ashamed of.

[@phazezio5594]

@@dxruling we do who do who eats curry everyday bro My mom makes it 1or 2 times a year

[@dxruling]

@@phazezio5594 probably it depends on ethnicity as well i guess. Like I make curry almost 4 times a week. Sometimes even daily.

[@sousitai]

Yay, got so excited when I saw the upload! Amazing content as usual ❤Always so interested to learn about food and history, you are my favourite channel when it comes to it

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Thanks a lot for your support! Your comment def made my day! I will keep it up.💪

[@Prajwal_sg1]

Great content, hope to see more ..❤

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

More to come, stay tuned! ❤

[@heiAMB]

Curry Invented in 4000+ BC in India not Mughals Time.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

I clearly stated in my video that 'People in the Indian subcontinent have been cooking curry for 4000 years.' Nowhere in my video did I claim that curry was invented during the Mughal era. Rather, I mentioned that dairy products were introduced to the subcontinent during the Mughal Empire, significantly shaping modern-day curry. Please watch it carefully before commenting.

[@ajjubhai94local20]

​@@savorthrutimewithSJdairy products introduced by Mughal 😂😂😂 In India " God Krishna" favorite food is "Butter - Makhkhan " . Krishna mother Yashoda and villagers main business is dairy milk and its products . In "Mahabharata " book mentioned... thousands of years ago ... Sister pls type" Krishna Child life"

[@laabh9949]

Well researched, I hope you cover more Bharatiya cuisine, especially the veg parts. May your channel grow ,Ram Ram 😄

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Thank you so much for liking it! Many of my Indian friends are vegetarian, so this is definitely an interesting topic. More curry videos to come. Stay tuned!

[@souravjaiswal-jr4bj]

All tropical and sub-tropical cuisines are spicy. I think there is a reason for it as before refrigerators were invented, spices were the only way to preserve food. If you like 1 tropical cuisine, you will like them all.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Great point!

[@usmanadil4617]

Well produced video. Sending to my German friends who have recently started to enjoy Desi food.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Thank you for liking it!

[@kevinvjanc]

Very informative and well produced, Kudos to you for putting in the time and effort to research and edit such a great topic. Expecting more such videos of cuisines from other parts of the world and how they've progressed and developed through exposure from different cultural and religious influence. Great going 👍 PS: Really curious about how the modern-day Mediterranean cuisine developed in Anatolia (present-day Türkiye) and especially how the palate was like in the region during the Hellenic Era and the manner in which it transformed due to Turkic influence. 🤔

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Great point! I'm also incredibly interested in the history of modern-day Mediterranean cuisine and the layers behind it. I'll definitely be making a bunch of videos about that. Stay tuned!

[@shrutimishra252]

Kindly correct the map of India. The whole of Jammu & Kashmir belongs to India constitutionally.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

When it comes to the Indian map, I'll make sure to use the correct one next time. However, the map I used in the video refers to the Indian Subcontinent. Apologies for not pointing that out clearly in the video. I will pin a comment to clarify it.

[@sumantjaiswal3811]

A well researched video

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Thank you for your support!

[@vishnumohannair8506]

Actually Indians do use curry but not for all Gravy based dishes. Many dishes are referred to as curry many a times based on how it rhytms. For examplein Kerala - we have Beef curry, Chicken curry, Moru curry, Mambazha [Mango] Koottan, Egg Curry, Fish mappas which are all examples of curry. There are literally a 100 gravy dishes from kerala alone I can list from memory and I do not know them all. In Tamilnadu "curry" is mostly called as "Kolambu" and then there are curries without suffixes like Sambar, Rasam etc.

[@kutcat1]

I have never seen anyone explain such dynamics behind curry in such a beautiful and comprehensive way.... Even i as an Indian didn't knew about such vast history behind curry. Way to go..🎉🎊

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Thank you for liking it and your support!

[@sun29datta]

Each state would be a video in itself. Well done

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

You are correct! This video is just a gateway to the world of curry, but more curry videos coming soon. Stay tuned!

[@sansin6250]

Nice coverage of the major Indian cuisines. There are a lot more local variations of course.

[@SamDos-fh2vw]

I don't know, I just think thisis just the British trying to generalize indian cuisine into one group. Just like soup, Soup can be anything. And what the hell is curry powder in the west😂😂

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

It's an interesting question. The curry powder deserves its own video, and I will delve into this topic in the next one. Stay tuned!

[@ShubhamKumar-ou9vl]

Not fully correct analysis

[@polarbear1878]

Great content and animation! Love it!

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Thanks! Glad you like it!

[@newguyat77]

Portuguese influence on Indian cuisine is in regions like Goa, Kerala, and parts of coastal Maharashtra. The Portuguese introduced chili peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potato , tapioca etc which became integral components of Indian cooking. This culinary fusion gave rise to iconic dishes such as vindaloo, where Portuguese vinegar and garlic merge with Indian spices to create a uniquely tangy and spicy flavor profile. sometimes i am eating so much potato or tomato in dishes here in north of India, i am thinking what would have been the flavor palette of veg dishes here before the incorporation of these vegetables.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

This is going to be the topic of the next video. Stay tuned!

[@extrastory3967]

Babar was not Indian.

[@samsonrao3793]

Curry is a superfood. We have been eating curry for thousands of years. BUT not for taste. Curry primary purpose is its medicinal properties that accrue when various substances ard blended to release beneficial effects. For example turmeric + black pepper releases curcumin. Similarly, crushed garlic releases allacin. Food is actually considered medicinal in India. Curry is the best example of multi combination food with greatest health benefits.❤

[@bluecolour8889]

Well, variety of milk products like ; Paneer(cottage cheese), yoghurt, clarified butter(ghee), buttermilk), even meats like goat meat, chicken meat, fish meat, dry fruits were consumed in northern India part, even before advent of Mughals(turks+afghans). I know vegetarianism is a part of Hinduism, buddhism, jainism. But many less religious/worrior caste groups in Hinduism did ate meat even in northern part, so did buddhists ate meats who were not monks.

[@mojojojo3682]

People from indus valley were the one who invented curry. More then 5500 years ago. Meat, milk products, nuts were not introduced by mughals ancient books like ayurveda talk about it and it is 4000 years old.

[@SafavidAfsharid3197]

In odisha (the land of odia/a state in eastern india) we don't have "curry" but Tarakari (ତରକାରୀ) like kasha foods and jhol foods though in Tamil Nadu there is kaadi or kurry.

[@PratUshh]

Great content. Inappropriate thumbnail. Why there are too much persian and arabic background music?

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

The Delhi Sultanate had Turkish and Afghan descent, and the Mughals used Persian as their court language. So, I added some Arab and Persian elements into the background music. The music of South India sounds somewhat similar to that (I don't know much about music so I could be wrong), but I'll ensure to include more Indian elements in the music next time!

[@PratUshh]

@@savorthrutimewithSJ Yea, despite some additions from those two, the "curries" are dependent on cultural/linguistic region/climate/resources in that area. As its a vast last, simplifying it with just a foreign influence wouldn't feel like justice to the indeginious diversity.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

​@@PratUshh You are right. I totally agree that 'curries' are incredibly diverse and heavily influenced by factors such as topography, climate, culture, and religion. I believe the Arab and Persian elements in the music began when I discussed the influence of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughals, and I simply let the music play. However, I will pay closer attention to the music selection next time!

[@marinaservicecenter5650]

@@savorthrutimewithSJ it's alright dear. Happens. You need to make more research on music arts & culture. People are very sensitive nowadays. For the fact, written and speak language in India is oldest. Can be compared with mesopotamia civilization. Which I read has the oldest written script Anyways I maybe wrong too.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

@@marinaservicecenter5650 Thanks for the comment!

[@Nobody27282]

Curry= kadi 😂 Otherwise sabji (in Rajasthan saag)

[@bluecolour8889]

Kadi is a rajasthani dish made with buttermilk+ Chickpea flour mix gravy, and Chickpea flour and onion fried fitters.

[@144_archishmanghosh7]

Sambar is not even a proper curry. It is more likely a dal. Dal is not curry. Many foreigners make this mistake of considering dal and curry as same.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Curry is a foreign word that depicts a spiced-blend gravy dish. There isn't a standard definition of what curry is. It is only a subjective opinion. Dal uses a lot of spices and it is gravy, so it makes sense that most people think it is curry.

[@parker4406]

​@@savorthrutimewithSJA curry as it commonly understood is mostly eaten with flatbreads while Sambar is eaten almost exclusively eaten with rice. You may categorise Dal/Sambar as Lentil Soup because there's no vegetables/meat added in while Curry is considerable to a stew.

[@daudkaun3807]

Very quality video. Keep it up. Your channel will become big one day.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Thank you for liking it and the big wish! I will def keep it up.

[@gouthamraj7614]

I am from Tamilnadu, kari literally means meat 😅 goat meat is goat curry, beef meat is beef curry. Curry has to be cooked to make dishes. 😂😂

[@jojosoni]

U mentioned so many ingredients for curry, but here in my home we don't use most of them.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

What do you use then?

[@sriniko6072]

I loved your micro analysis on Indian curry, hey you could only cover 20% of South India here😂 Bharat is so diverse...

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

I know! This was just a start, and more to come. Stay tuned!

[@parker4406]

Since you didn't cover northeast side of India (understandably so because the video would be too long), would you consider a smoked pork stew cooked with pickled bamboo shoots, chilis, axone (fermented soybean paste) and timur (the Indian and Nepali word for sichuan pepper which is also indigenous to India) as curry?

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Are you referring to Naga-style pork curry? ChatGPT and the world say it is (could be) curry, but the recipe doesn't involve a lot of spices, and it just doesn't look like a stereotypical curry to me.

[@parker4406]

@@savorthrutimewithSJ so there is no stereotypical curry..right? India is so diverse that you cannot create a stereotype about a dish named by foreigner. My point was the category itself is so varied that it has lost its essence, and calling anything and everything indian as 'curry' makes it lose its meaning.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

​@@parker4406 When I said 'stereotypical curry,' I meant how non-Indian people perceive curry. The stereotypical curry is often perceived as spicy, with a thick gravy or sauce, and typically yellowish in color. And I totally agree with your point that curry is so diverse, and the word itself can't define it - I stated it at the end of the video. That's exactly why I made this video, explained what curry is, broke down the ingredients and spices, and introduced the different 'curries' from various regions and their names in India.

[@mariaravi8578]

In tamil kari means meat .

[@MrPanda-sw4lf]

Wow, even I didn't know all that and I am an Indian.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

I am glad it helps!

[@parker4406]

If you're covering influence of new world ingredients in indian cuisine, you must dig deep into Maharashtrian cuisine because no other province of india has taken to tomatoes, potatoes and chilis as maharashtrians do. In fact, the word for potatoes in Maharashtra is batata ( a loan word taken directly from Portuguese language), and tomatoes is Tamate. Funny thing is Maharashtrians only call Guavas as Peru (because maharashtrians were the first indians to be exposed to the fruit coming from Portuguese colonies in you guessed it...Peru!). Maharashtra's unofficial state dish is thech bhakar (spicy chilis pounded roughly with lots of roasted garlic and cumin, served with a millet based flatbread).

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Love that!! Thank you soo much for the insights! My next video will cover chili pepper only, but the next next one will cover tomatoes and potatoes, so will surely look into Maharashtrian cuisine!!

[@user-uk2nu4vj5k]

Without chile every currie like jam

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

This will be the topic for the next video. Stay tuned!

[@ghalibthemagnificent]

Curry should taste Awesome, who cares about the etymology of the word. (Curry-on S&J ).

[@chinmaykamalapurkar16]

Wrong map of india 🇮🇳 😕 ⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

[@hhk0698]

She's included Pakistan in india😂😂😂

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

The map depicts the Indian Subcontinent, and I repeated the term several times in my video. Indian Subcontinent includes Pakistan and Bangladesh

[@ravindilip]

the name may be of Portuguese origin.but the stuff for curry comes from india. The world set sail to discover india not the othe way round.

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

The name isn't of Portuguese origin. The Portuguese simply transliterated what they heard from Tamil people. And you're absolutely right-the world discovered the magic land, not the other way around. My next video will delve into this. Stay tuned!

[@ss-ib8gm]

tamilian call it thari not galee, thari means liquid type

[@ss-ib8gm]

dairy product is also indian , zebu cow the prized species in the whole wotld brahmin bullmis all indian also ghee. mughals were from poor central asia , not fertile land arabs from wherr muslkm is desert

[@Fusesiesu]

Curry is tamil word meaning is meat 🍖

[@iceberg789]

মাছের ঝোল ! 😂

[@silverQ9]

Your analysis is completely wrong. The word curry comes from the western Indian word KADHI which is still in use. Its a dish made with spices and gram flour. British introduced it to japan That's why japanese curry's the only non-Indian curry that uses flour with spices without using any form of dry fruits or cream. No other gravy dishes in india uses flour as an ingredient except kadhi type dishes. So how KADHI became CURRY? Its because when British came to India, it was under Mughal rule who had Urdu as their official language. In Urdu DH is often pronounced RR. So by interacting with mughal merchants they adopted it.

[@marinaservicecenter5650]

You are wrong man. Check again. It's from South Indian. Much older civilization then North india. Mughal made Persian court language. Urdu developed later.

[@mtarkes]

@@marinaservicecenter5650 South Indians were uncivilised tribal until North Indians settled there.

[@parker4406]

​@@mtarkestotally wrong

[@uruvilaathakarjanan9996]

the word 'கறி' [kari] comes from the thamizh language. Kari literally means meat. It does NOT in any way means gravy. It is only when the europeans first visited ancient thamizhagam [thamizh naadu/tamil naadu], they heard the words கறி குழம்பு ['kari kuzhambu'] which literally means meat gravy and they ate it for the first time. 'Kuzhambu' is the only word for gravy in thamizh language. To their surprise, it was so aromatic and flavourful that they loved it. They were not able to pronounce the word kuzhambu, so they took the easily pronounced word known as kari and gave it the definition of gravy to it while bringing the dish back to europe. This is how the rest of the countries have wrongly defined the word kari for a very long time.

[@CJ-ud8nf]

Sorry bro. You are wrong. Europeans first visited Keralam. Not Tamilnadu.

[@CJ-ud8nf]

Keralam is known as the Garden of Spices.

[@uruvilaathakarjanan9996]

@@CJ-ud8nf; you need to read olden history; not the recent ones. The 1st group of europeans to ever visit thamizh lands were the greeks, italians and spanians. At that time, it was only pallava naadu, paandiya naadu, seaara naadu, sooazha naadu, thonndai naadu, kongu naadu and etc... This were the time when there was were NO keralam, telungaana or aandra or karnaataka. So what are you even talking about...?

[@CJ-ud8nf]

@@uruvilaathakarjanan9996 there was Keralam at that time. It was known as Keralam /Cheralam.

[@CJ-ud8nf]

@@uruvilaathakarjanan9996 also ancient Tamizhakam is not Tamilnadu as you written. Tamilnadu is an Indian state. Tamizhakam is more than Tamilnadu state.

[@RR-le7tq]

curry is English word,

[@Flyingkitty1234]

Mughal empire didn't shape curry it existed and shaped by local indians and kings not mughals hope you correct it 😊

[@savorthrutimewithSJ]

Curry has existed for 4000 years, and of course, curries existed long before the Delhi Sultanate and Mughals arrived, as I clearly mentioned in the video. I wanted to point out that Northern curries were, in some ways, influenced by the Mughal Empires, who began adding creams to their curries. However, their impact on South India was minimal.