Curry. When many of us think of Indian food, we naturally think of curry. 

Except, well, 'curry' isn't actually a thing. Not the word, and not even technically the food that we think of. 

Many of us probably think of curry as some sort of dish that has a gravy or sauce. But that is in fact a generalisation of a wide variety of Indian dishes, and also a decidedly Western invention intrinsically tied to India's Colonial past. 'Curry' as a word doesn't actually exist in the languages spoken in India, and the exact origins of the terms are not entirely clear (some trace it back to the Portuguese in the 16th century; the British subsequently used it to broadly describe a wide range of dishes without being able to grasp the various culinary nuances).

Here a funny retort I found on one website: In India no one refers to dishes that have some gravy, as a curry. They'd call these dishes by their individual specific names like Malai Kofta, Matar Paneer, Dum Aloo, etc. Otherwise it'd be like calling ALL noodle dishes, "spaghetti" or walking into into a Japanese restaurant and assuming all fish is "sushi."

I've never thought about this (I've never had to). But now that I have, it brings to mind my own experience with Peranakan food. I grew up eating plenty of Peranakan food, but I do realise that when I try to explain the cuisine to people who are unaware of it, it actually becomes very hard. 

I know the names (though often phonetically more than actually knowing the exact translation): buah keluak, rendang, sioh, babi ponteh. I know what they look and taste like, and I can cook most of them. But how do I explain them to people who do not know? 

And then I realise that I too default back to a Westernised norm - "it's a sort of stew", "it's like a curry". 

Despite its odd (and culturally loaded/problematic) origins, the word 'curry' has become a core part of most of our culinary vocabulary. That's not 'wrong', but it's also worth us acknowledging that food can be a great lens to explore diverse cultures, and realising that language, native or created, plays a big part in how we perceive things. 

Just some food for thought (GREAT PUN). 

~ Des

Images from Unsplash