Tantalize your taste buds with a mouth-watering curry and take your pick from these famous curries from around the world. From the blow-the-roof-of-your-mouth-off curries to the super mild safe option, we’ve got the lowdown.
Indian curries are probably the most famous of all and North Indian curries range from the Gujarati Thali and Roti flat breads with enough food to feed an army, all presented in smaller portions on a silver platter, to the northeast Indian food with its yak and goat meat curries and lentil dishes, an influence from nearby Nepal and Burma. If you’re traveling in India expect to eat curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Sambar curry for breakfast with idli and dosa breads makes a change from a boring bowl of cereal!
A Chinese curry tends to come in a mild, slightly strange looking, yellow gravy and can be pretty watery but unlike Indian curries, can include every type of meat, including beef and pork. And with amusing Chinese dishes such as Happy Family and Wandering Dragon, how can you resist? Chinese curry can also be served with noodles and rice and the cuisines is often served up as an all-you-can-eat buffet meal, which as tempting as they sound, is not an open invitation to literally stuff yourself stupid – as someone once said “It’s Eat As Much As You Like, There’s no competitive element implied.”
The Japanese also have their own curry, usually served with rice and pickled vegetables. Curry was introduced to Japan by the British and breaded pork cutlet, katsu curry and noodles are all popular. There is also something called curry bread, which sounds like the ideal post-drinking snack choice, of deep fried bread with curry in the middle.
Indonesia is famous for the Rendang curry and can include goat and water buffalo meat (mmm tasty) as well as clams, prawns and squid.
Malaysia is also famous for their own version of the Rendang curry and curry restaurants in Singapore do a mean fish-head curry, which is exactly as it sounds – a fish head cooked in a watery spicy soup. Eating the eyes and playing with the teeth is optional.
Thailand is home to the massaman curry and often come as red, green or yellow curries which are fragrant and usually watery. Thai curries have spread in popularity throughout the world and if you visit Thailand, you can pick up a Thai curry really cheaply. Why not get to grips with the Thai names; moo (pork), pug (vegetables) and prik (chili).
Many of the Caribbean islands have a signature curry including Jamaica which is famous for its curry goat dish as well as chicken and shrimp dishes.
Finally if all of that hot and spicy food has burnt the roof of your mouth off, then cool off with a traditional Indian dessert. There’s only one rule – the more sweet and sickly the better! Desserts include rasgulla (Bengali sweet syrup balls) jalebi (pretzel shaped fried sugar snacks) and barfi/burfi (solidified condensed milk and sugar chunks flavored with pistachio, mango or cashews). My absolute favorite has to be the gulab jamun, a fried cream and sugar dough ball served in cardamom sugar syrup – incredibly rich but so delicious! If these are featured in a buffet you have to see how many you can eat in one go (being sick afterwards means instant disqualification!)
Wherever you are in the world, get stuck into a great curry and enjoy! If we’ve forgotten a world-renowned curry, in between drooling over the images, please let us know in the comments section.
