what is curry

Curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. The choice of spices for each dish in traditional cuisine depends on regional cultural tradition and personal preferences. Such dishes have names that refer to their ingredients, spicing, and cooking methods. Outside the Indian subcontinent, a curry is a dish from Southeast Asia which uses coconut milk or spice pastes, commonly eaten over rice. Curries may contain fish, meat, poultry, or shellfish, either alone or in combination with vegetables. The word curry is an anglicized form of the Tamil word "kaṟi" meaning sauce or relish for rice that uses the leaves of the curry tree (Murraya koenigii) . Curry powder is a blend of ground spices that includes turmeric, which gives it its signature yellow hue, and other spices such as ginger, cumin, and coriander. It is often used in Indian cooking. In traditional Indian cookery, the spice mixtures are called masala and are prepared in the home. Some masala are blended with a liquid, such as water or vinegar, to make a curry paste.