Curry powder

Common in Indian dishes, curry powder is several spices combined -- coriander, cinnamon, chiles, clove, pepper, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek, ginger, garlic, nutmeg, red pepper. Different curries have special spice blends. Use to season many vegetables, including peas, squash, potatoes, broccoli, or spinach. Some of the common powders include red curry, green curry, yellow curry, Madras curry, and sweet curry powder.

In India every person varies the number and quantity of spices they used. Commercial curry powder contains 12 - 14 different spices and the heat of each varies from relatively mild to extremely hot, according to the amount of ground chilies used.

The word Curry is believed to be derived from the South Indian Tamil word Karhi. During the British Raj in India, “Curry” evolved as the word describes Indian food cooked in thick spice sauce.

Source

 * Explore the World with Fruits and Vegetables by the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, public domain government resource—original source of article