While watching a cooking competition on the Food Network, James and I heard a judge remark that curry powder is not used in authentic Indian cuisine. James was confused, and because I tend to be a walking encyclopedia for all things food related in our social circle, he asked me why. I understood what the judge was stating, but couldn’t exactly verbalize an answer for James.
Curry powder is, after all, a mixture of spices that are often used in Indian food such as cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger, mustard seed, and cardamom. Logically, one would assume that curry powder is used to make curries. Here is an analogy to assist with explaining curry powder:
Curry powder is to curries as hamburger helper is to home cooking.
Curry is a rather generic term in Indian cuisine, referring to a dish rather than a spice. Curry powder is basically a condensed version of the spices used in curry, a mass produced product of convenience (not unlike hamburger helper, huh?). Using curry powder to make a curry is like using a jar of tomato sauce to create an Italian meal. There’s nothing wrong with it, just don’t call it an authentic meal.
While the spices are the same, cooks in Indian use their own personal blends of individual spices in curries. In India, the spices are readily available, more so then in the west. In the past, it was difficult to obtain the spices used in India (Christopher Columbus, anyone?), and even in today’s global economy, it can be expensive and difficult to purchase all the spices used every day in Indian homes. Hence, curry powder was born as an inexpensive option for the authentic Indian spices.
According to Wikipedia, “curry powder mixtures tend to have a fairly standardized taste.” That being said, there is nothing wrong with cooking with curry powder (unless you are a chef in a cooking competition). Curry powder still has a great flavor and it is much more economical than purchasing all of the spices separately. Not all curry powders have heat, though it is possible to find curry powder levels from mild to hot.
