Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors

By Lizzie Collingham

Book Overview

Curry serves up a delectable history of Indian cuisine, ranging from the imperial kitchen of the Mughal invader Babur to the smoky cookhouse of the British Raj.
In this fascinating volume, the first authoritative history of Indian food, Lizzie Collingham reveals that almost every well-known Indian dish is the product of a long history of invasion and the fusion of different food traditions. We see how, with the arrival of Portuguese explorers and the Mughal horde, the cooking styles and ingredients of central Asia, Persia and Europe came to the subcontinent, where over the next four centuries they mixed with traditional Indian food to produce the popular cuisine that we know today. Portuguese spice merchants, for example, introduced vinegar marinades and the British contributed their passion for roast meat. When these new ingredients were mixed with native spices such as cardamom and black pepper, they gave birth to such popular dishes as biryani, jalfrezi, and vindaloo. In fact, vindaloo is an adaptation of the Portuguese dish carne de vinho e alhos--the name "vindaloo" a garbled pronunciation of vinho e alhos--and even "curry" comes from the Portuguese pronunciation of an Indian word. Finally, Collingham describes how Indian food has spread around the world, from the curry houses of London to the railway stands of Tokyo, where karee raisu (curry rice) is a favorite Japanese comfort food. We even visit Madras Mahal, the first Kosher Indian restaurant, in Manhattan.
Richly spiced with colorful anecdotes and curious historical facts, and attractively designed with 34 illustrations, 5 maps, and numerous recipes, Curry is vivid, entertaining, and delicious--a feast for food lovers everywhere.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195172418
• ISBN13: 9780195172416
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 8.3" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Food as History

If your first taste of India was in a high school world history class, where you struggled to engorge and disgorge the indigestible names and exploits of Mughals, rajahs, and viceroys, this book will cleanse your palate. Dr. Cunningham uses the story of the development of diverse modern Indian cuisine as a savory entree into the religious, ethnic, and political history of the subcontinent, much as Jules Tygiel uses baseball as a lens for studying America in his book "Baseball As History." Curry is indeed a compelling synecdoche for pan-Indian culture. And Dr. Cunningham seasons her prose as skillfully as any chef, even to the point of including some artful recipes as illustrations of her basically scholarly narrative.

A Wonderful Book

This book covers the different groups that invaded India, and covers the specific foods, and attitudes towards food, that the invaders brought with them. The attitude towards food is particularly interesting. One example: The British who were there in the first half of the 1800's, the East India Company men, revelled in Indian food. But, after the rebellion, when the British in India were dominated by the Civil Service types, the attitude became one of condescension towards Indian food. Every effort was made to eat British. This isn't a cookbook, but there are some recipes included, which I thought well chosen. They are included for illustrative purposes. Some are not intended to be cooked, but some are. A final example: Vindaloo is a variation on a Portugese dish. The name means vinegar and garlic. If you find that sort of item interesting, you'll enjoy this book. I found myself using my Indian and Portugese cookbooks as references as I was reading. I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a very long time.

Mouth-watering History

Eating Indian food may be one of the most intense culinary experiences in the world. This book delves into the history of what we consider to be Indian food. Surprise! What we eat in the west may be unrecognizable by Indians as Indian food. Needless to say, the restaurants in the west have adjusted Indian dishes to make them a little easier to eat for western palates unused to more authentic dishes. Even more interesting, in this book we learn that Dishes that are considered to be traditional Indian food were only invented after contact with the Mughals, who brought influences from Islamic cooking, and the Europeans, who brought various new ingredients from the Americas. For example, can you imagine Indian food without red chilis? Chilis were unknown in India until they arrived on Portuguese ships. This book will appeal not only to foodies, but also to those who are interested in Indian history and culture. I fully recommend this book.

Serious Scholarship Masquerading as Light Reading

Collingham's book, while quite well-written and easy to read, is also a substantial piece of scholarship. Among other things, Collingham is excellent in her de-bunking of the myth of an "authentic" Indian food. Any historian of medieval and early modern India knows that what we now think of as distinctively Indian is a hybrid of numerous cultures. After all, the chili pepper, potatoes, and tomatoes only arrived in India with the Portuguese starting in the 16th century! Her chai recipe is also quite good. (Why would you ever buy the pre-mixed stuff from the store?)

wonderfully written history for the lover of Indian cuisine.

Entertaining read about the many different cultural influences brought to bear on Indian cuisine and the converse, its influence on other cultures. It is intersting to learn of the introduction of New World foods (potatoes, tomatoes,chili peppers!) to India by the Portugese and Spainiards. The profound effect it had on the British Isles where Chicken Tikka Masala was recently declared the national dish of Britain(which, although derided as nonauthentic, I liked). This book inspired me to try more Indian recipes, which the author provided in abundance.