Melba's wrote on Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:56:35 -0500:

>> If a recipe, say for Thai Pineapple Fried rice, included
>> curry powder- what exactly do I need? I have green and yellow
>> curry paste, but I have never used just plain old curry
>> powder. I do have access to a large Asian grocery - I just
>> need to know what to look for.

> I don't know that this answers your question but it is an
> interesting article:
> http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle.../18044399.html

> Local author Raghavan Iyer seeks to shed some light on
> misconceptions about curry -- the word is unknown in India --
> with a masterwork of his native cuisine.

> By Kim Ode, Star Tribune
> Last update: April 23, 2008 - 3:27 PM
> Are there really 660 curries?

> Yes -- for starters.

> "I first pitched it as 1,001, but Workman said, oh, give us
> between 600 and 800," Iyer said, laughing. Bottom line, the
> book has 701 recipes -- 660 for curries and the remainder for
> what he calls cohorts. That's his word for side dishes and
> such. "Accompaniments is very much a clinical term, while
> cohorts signifies compatibility."

> No powder in India

> Curry is the word that requires more clarification. The
> Western world regards it as a dish spiced from a jar labeled
> "curry powder." But Iyer said that curry isn't about spice,
> but gravy. "To us, it's all about sauces," he said. "No
> self-respecting Indian kitchen would have curry powder."


Oh yeah! My favorite Indian grocery is patronized mainly by people who
look of Indian origin and it's the only place I have seen wih kilogram
cans of curry powder and more sealed packaged masalas than I could ever
imagine.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not