ROUSES_JulyAug2019_Magazine

Curries of theWorld

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO: TRINI-STYLE CURRY Over 40 percent of Trinidadians are of Indian origin, having moved to the country while working, predominantly, as indentured servants after slavery was outlawed across the British Empire in 1833. “‘My great-grandparents moved to Trinidad from India, and Indians ask me, ‘How come you guys make the same thing we make but cook it different?’” Trini food scholar Dolly Sirju told The New York Times in 2015. “For me, India is totally different from Trinidad. I’m not fascinated by it. What we do is take a little from each culture — Indian, African, Caribbean, Chinese — and that makes it Trini.’’ Perhaps the most noticeably “Trini” element of this highly specific curry is the use of a local herb known as shado beni (which grows wild across the island) as a flavor foundation for the dish. With a taste similar to cilantro or coriander, it is combined with parsley and garlic to make “green seasoning” — a slurry that finds its way into practically all Trini-style curries. (You can even buy it mass-produced and bottled in stores.) The integration of Scotch bonnet peppers, too, reflects the islands’ bounty — albeit with a fierier side. INDONESIAN CURRY: GULAI A dish of Sumatran origin and Indian influence via Dutch tradesmen, gulai is an Indonesian curry centered around a thick, savory- meets-spicy yellow sauce, which gets a great deal of its color (and flavor) from a spice mix known as serundeng : grated coconut fried with onion, palm sugar, galangal (a member of the ginger family), turmeric, coriander and bay leaf. With gulai, it’s all about the sauce, so any meat or vegetable component is fair game: gulai telur ikan is gulai made with fish eggs, while gulai limpa finds cattle spleen taking center stage in the dish. A popular vegetarian version spotlights unripened jackfruit, which grows abundantly across the country. JAPANESE CURRY: KARE RAISU While thoughts might more naturally turn towards ramen or miso soup when visualizing the beloved, slurp-worthy national dishes of Japan, it would be remiss to leave out a comfort food classic that has become ubiquitous across the country: kare raisu, or “curry rice.” Introduced to Japan via Anglo-Indian officers of the British Royal Navy in the latter half of the 19th century, the Japanese adapted this highly West- ernized version of curry by making the sauce like a roux — combining curry powder, potatoes, carrots and onions into a smooth slurry, then combining that mixture with a meat (typically beef), to be served over a bed of white rice and topped with pickles. Today, it is everywhere . Seriously. It’s been the most popular school lunch dish for Japanese children for over 30 years. Kare raisu has been served aboard the International Space Station. A Japanese superhero named “Kare Pan Man” has a head that’s made out of curry-stuffed, deep-fried bread. The quick-heat pouch varieties of kare raisu make up almost 30 per- cent of all quick-heat meals purchased nationwide. There’s even a celebrity YouTube cat whose claim to fame is rubbing its face against a piping hot bowl of kare raisu. (Really.)

Cambodian Amok

CAMBODIAN CURRY: AMOK (PICTURED) Considered by many to be the national dish of Cambodia, amok is a fish-based, lemongrass- and kaffir-lime-flavored curry served in an elegant, traditional manner: presented in a banana leaf. The coconut milk-based sauce is steamed alongside flaky white fish inside the banana leaf until a creamy, custard-like texture is unlocked. GERMAN CURRY: CURRYWURST Currywurst isn’t technically a curry (there’s no gravy or rice, of course) but it is a curious example of curry — via Britain’s intervention and the creation of curry powder — as a glocalized cuisine. This wildly popular street food is made by cutting bratwurst into chunks (this is Germany, after all) then slathering it with a slurry of ketchup and curry powder. Almost a billion currywursts are eaten across the country each year, and from 2009 until its recent closure, the dish even had its own museum: the Deutsches Currywurst Museum in Berlin. If you’re ready to branch out from the currywurst family tree and you’re up for a real one-two punch of pungency, curried herring (yes, really) is a popular snack across Scandinavia. SOUTH AFRICAN CURRY: BUNNY CHOW Durban, South Africa is home to the largest concentration of Indians outside of India. They arrived in the country, by and large, as indentured servants to work on sugar plantations in the late 19th century. “While the recipes and ingredients differ from family to family, broadly, Durban curry has a deep-red color indicative of the spice level (hot, hot, hot), a slick of oil, and, if it’s not a fish curry, large chunks of soft potatoes — known as ‘Up-To-Date’ or ‘gravy soakers,’” writes Ishay Govender-Ypma, author of the book, Curry: Stories & Recipes across South Africa . This fiery curry variation is the basis for a national takeaway-food favorite known as bunny chow or simply “bunny.” A sloppy — but portable! — dish, bunny chow starts with a thick block of white bread that’s hollowed out in the middle for the purpose of filling to the brim with spicy Durban curry. It’s often served with a small sambal (grated carrot, chili and onion salad), and diners in the know will wait to eat their bunny chow until the curry has soaked into the white bread, creating a chaotically messy, delicious treat.

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JULY•AUGUST 2019