Stop Calling it “Curry”: The Dark Colonial History of Indian Food
For decades, the western world has fallen in love with Indian food.
But how much of what we eat is actually authentic?
Trevor Noah and Eugene sit down with acclaimed chef Asma Khan to explore why our understanding of Indian cuisine is largely shaped by colonial history, simplified menus, and completely fabricated words.
From the myth of “curry” and the dark imperial origins of poppy From the myth of “curry” and the dark imperial origins of poppy seeds to the spiritual power of breaking bread to bridge cultural divides, this conversation asks a simple question:
Have we been eating the wrong history?
Watch the full conversation now on the Trevor Noah YouTube channel.
#TrevorNoah #AsmaKhan #FoodHistory
32 Comments
Finally someone talks about it after years of making a joke of food from India for years in the west.
In Kerala, India everything is Curry
The worst thing I have heard is a US person calling bhindi sabzi a dry curry 😭 that day really killed me.
I think it is the Indian restaurant abroad to be blamed. They call all dishes curry. Can’t blame people for believing its real.
Another North Indian talking for all of India without research. Curry came from Kari, which is a real word in South India especially Tamil Nadu and Kerala!
In north India, kadhi or pakoda curry is basen based mixed with dahi !!!!
“Curry” the powder came from an Indian guy in England in the 1800’s.
I order naan, roti, rumali roti, whatever the case may be in India.
wait….CURRY is a problematic term???? i had no idea….thanks for the education.
Kadhi is a gravy in north india.
Kaikari is vegetables
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
never liked Gordon Ramsey…i feel justified been more of a Jose Andres fan
Um 'kari' is a Tamil word and it exists. Can North Indians please stop speaking for the South, please and thank you. There are variations in exactly how it is used in different regions, dialects, and communities. In my community it indicates the consistency of the side dish — not as dry as a poriyal, not as thick as a kootu, and with more texture than a masiyal.
It is a word root that is found in words like 'kaaykari' (vegetables), 'kariveppelai' (Murraya koenigii, or curryleaf) and 'aduppukari' (cooking charcoal) although I'm not completely certain if the last one is etymologically related to 'kari'.
As a older South Indian I never knew what a Naan is 80s. Ate for the first time at 25 when I traveled to Mumbai. Now naan and chicken tikka is only thing that is considered Indian outside India. The lady should also talk a little more about Indian cuisine she doesn’t know or never experienced as an Indian as well. World famous Madras curry powder is probably known more in London and Singapore than Delhi.
spot on! aint nothing called curry in India!, nor is it called naan "bread"" or chai "tea". what is served outside of india, " garlic naan", " chicken tikka masala" etc is adapted to suit peoples tastes! and by the way, these two arent staple indian food either😏😏😏
I apparently agree her on that well done thnk you
It's from south India
Curry is a generic term
And when you said rice and beans, beans part would be the curry likewise for all meals there would be a curry part.
India is extremely diverse and taking a person from north will give you a biased info.
Also something is wrong with her 😅
But yet you come to Americans to …
Lady, you're putting the Bar a bit too high.
Imagine the Greek insisting that, not only, but especially the Western World would not use our language, our food, our Philosophy before knowing our "Poems and culture".
Science and Medicine come to an hold… come on now.
Educate them but don't go overboard.
This conversation is so profound. I have to find the entire conversation. It’s more than a spice, in this case curry, which does not exist!!! There are layers here.
It's actually crazy the more I look into this kind of thing, the more I hear the same stories of colonization from indigenous the world over… many of these cultures still dealing with this colonization washed version of US and we just accept their history of our own people's, Kia Kaha to korero!! Maybe soon we can finally break past pakeha voices to finally be heard. Thank you for this i had almost stopped believing in the cause for the fight
Curry wtf. Like saying Chai tea lmao
It’s the same here in the US with real Mexican vs. Tex-Mex foods. And again with people who demonize Mexican immigrants but still want Taco Tuesdays.
I could watch and listen to this lady all day.
CURRY IS CALLED AS SUCH BECAUSE LOTS OF CURRY LEAVES/ BLACK NEEM LEAVES ARE USED PLENTY IN MASALA POWDER,. FOR ITS DIGESTIVE,. ANTI DIABETIC BENEFITS IN EVERY MEAL,..
Curry Leaf (Murraya koenigii) or kari patta (as it is called in India) is an aromatic herb native to India and Sri Lanka.
Curry leaf is a cousin to citrus. They both belong to the Rutaceae plant family. Not surprisingly, the leaves give off a sharp, slightly citrusy aroma.
The flowers are small, white, and delicate.
Wasps love them. I have to shoo them off the flowers before I get to snip the leaves.
The fruits, which are edible, are small, black, and berry-like. But the seed is considered poisonous.
Curry leaf is not the same as Curry Powder, a mix of spices that may or may not include curry leaves.
Indian cuisine uses a wide array of spice powders including cumin, coriander, and turmeric powders.
But although I have seen jars of “curry powder” in stores, I don’t personally know anyone (among Indian friends or relatives) who uses it.
Curry Leaf (Murraya koenigii) is also unrelated to the Curry Plant (Helichrysum italicum).
1:95 she refuses to establish an Indian cuisine for political reasons. It's hurting the economy in India. You must create a standard of cooking and develop familiar dishes for stability and tourism.
Its a marketing and national unity requirement.
As someone from East india "curry" is nearest to "kari patta" ie a type of leaf or herb that is heavily used in north indian cuisine and i genuinely love it.
this woman has no clue of indian food 🤣🤣
@Trevor – Curry is a thing specific to maybe North India. It's Spelled as Kadhi but just because of the limitations of English language they might have called it Curry. So everyone is wrong even though the fact curry as english people understand it is wrong.
How can you say curry isnt a word . Its english, its not going to make sense to an idian. Curry means normally meat and sauce. No ones taking anything from you, stop making it racial! Your people have made good lives selling their food in foreign country's, as for the no respect thats laughable. England has one of the largest populations of Pakistani Indian Bangladesh people that 99% get on with. My mum was a teacher of IT to a lot of immigrants and all ive seen is respect.
To be clear, the word "curry" actually stems from the Tamil word kari (or tadkari). Contrary to the popular belief that the term was invented by British colonizers, it was already widely used by the over one million Indians who were displaced globally during the colonial era…many of whom were from Karnataka, Kerala, UP and Tamil Nadu. Claiming the British created the word is a false narrative. In fact, rural Indians are far more likely to use the term than those living in urban areas, so we must be careful not to spread disinformation. Furthermore, there is a specific, traditional Indian dish called kadhi/kari (or curry) that consists of spiced buttermilk and dumplings. Many Indians living in India today have been educated using textbooks written by their former colonizers. These texts rewrote Indian history so drastically that many are unaware of how Indian populations traveled to Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, South Africa, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago, where their descendants have resided for centuries and generations.
"Go away if you can't deal with the pressure "! You're a woman after my own heart, Asma Khan!
Where is the world going, a simple word like "Curry" also is blasphemy, is there no end to this victimhood, they see darkness in everything, disgusting!