The origins of what we might now recognize as curry date back to ancient times. The earliest known recipe for meat in spicy sauce with bread was found on tablets near Babylon in Mesopotamia. These tablets, written in cuneiform text by the Sumerians around 1700 B.C., were likely offerings to the god Marduk. This ancient recipe underscores the long history of spiced dishes in human culinary traditions.
In medieval England, during the reign of Richard II (1377-1399), the first significant English cookery book was created. Richard II employed 200 cooks who, along with philosophers, compiled "The Forme of Cury" in 1390, containing 196 recipes. The term "cury" in Old English derived from the French word "cuire," meaning to cook, boil, or grill, linking it to the modern term "cuisine."
The debate over the origins of the term "curry" includes the Tamil word "kari," supported by the Hobson-Jobson Anglo-English Dictionary, first published in 1886. The dictionary cites a passage from the Mahavamsa, a Sri Lankan chronicle from around 477 A.D., mentioning rice dressed in butter with curries. However, this translation by Turnour from the original Pali text used the word "supa," not "curry." This detail suggests that the modern understanding of curry might not be purely of Indian origin.
Interestingly, Hobson-Jobson acknowledges that the curry familiar to Europeans and Muslims may have descended from the spiced cookery of medieval Europe and Western Asia. This theory posits that what is now seen as a quintessentially Indian dish may have a more complex, multicultural heritage. This blend of influences highlights the dynamic nature of culinary evolution, shaped by centuries of cultural exchange and adaptation.
The Evolution and Origins of Curry: A Multicultural Journey
