Looking at the diverse cuisines celebrated on National Curry Week

National Curry Week (October 13–19) is upon us once more. Now in its 17th year, it not only promotes one of the nation’s favourite foods, and the 9,000 Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants in Britain, National Curry Week also supports charities for those countries where the curry spices originate, yet hunger, malnourishment and poverty are rife.

There was a time in ancient days that peppercorns and many of the spices used to create a curry cost more than their weight in gold. They were much treasured and carried on camels along the ancient spice route from central Asia to Europe since the Neolithic period. Peppercorns, which were used to add heat long before chillies came on the scene, were so prized they were named ‘black gold’ and were so precious they were counted out individually by the traders. The spice route along which they travelled from India generated one of the most influential commercial activities in history. By the year 1000, the Arabs had conquered India and mixed cumin and coriander with Indian pepper, ginger and turmeric, which was to become a combination of spices that were to be known as curry years later.

Now we can walk out of a supermarket with a basket of exotic spices and still have change to buy more. How lucky we are as this means we can experiment with the various flavours without having to take out a mortgage to pay for them. Today spices offer a cornucopia of flavours we can use just as artists do when, mixing their colours on a palate before committing them to a canvas.

One of the fascinating things about spices is the way each region and country use them, as the spicy dishes that mark their cuisine are distinct and different. Even Britain boasts its own particular curry flavours embedded within its chicken tikka masala which is different from anything cooked in India. This popular dish is said to have originated in a London restaurant. A customer sent back his dish of chicken tikka complaining it was dry. Using some tomato soup in the kitchen, which the chef mixed with curry and yoghurt, a tasty sauce was devised that we have come to call our own. Chicken tikka masala is now a favourite dish,though it’s said that there are at least 50 recipes for the masala sauce, each differing slightly. Isn’t it fascinating that although curry may be the oldest continuously prepared cuisine known, each area prepares it in a different way?

The diversity of spiced dishes on the Indian continent, for example, range from the lightly spiced north Baltis to the fiery spices of the south.

The heart of African-spiced cuisine is the chilli which imparts an explosive fire to the dishes shaped by the many influences this continent has felt. China, on the other hand, uses spices that offer a harmony of flavour, colour and texture, reflecting the ancient Taoist principles of Yin and Yang. Indonesian cuisine is richly spiced and reflects the diverse nature of its many islands. Authentic Vietnamese flavours are created from fresh coriander, basil and mint blended with green peppercorns and galangal. Aniseed and lemongrass add their distinctive flavours too. The Thai cook creates a delicate mix blending the subtle with the explosive; each spice added is exploited thoroughly to make the most of its individuality. For aromatic, flavoursome spice dishes that celebrate the searing heat of the Sahara and the cooling waters of the Mediterranean, watch a Moroccan chef combine and create his spice mixes. Middle Eastern dishes, including those from Syria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Iran, are rivalled only by the Indian cuisine for passionate use of spices. Burmese chicken curry is a Punjabi-style dish served without tomatoes or peppers and Japanese curry, which didn’t enter their cuisine until the turn of the 20th century, uses onions, carrots and potatoes. Sri Lankan curries are based on coconut milk and copious red chilli.

Modern recipes are developing, often fused with Western dishes now, but always with a nod to history and ingredients, such as the smoky, sulphurous aroma of black salt which is becoming popular. It can be used as a condiment or to flavour riata and other Indian snacks. Chefs love its rough texture and deep ebony colour. Himalayan pink salt is becoming popular too.

Visit nationalcurryweek.co.uk