Tell me what you think curry/kari is and I’ll tell you where you’re from. You’d think that these two syllables would stand for the same everywhere considering “curry” represents Indian food internationally. Sadly, that is not the case.
If you are Indian/Asian, you know that curry is a dish that consists of a gravy with vegetables or meat. It’s a category of food- just as there are different types of bread, there are different curries all over India, as well as other Asian countries. However, if you are Czech/European, you probably think that curry (kari) is an Indian spice that is used by all Indians to make our “very spicy Indian food”.
My first indication of this idea was when I was making bhajiyas with a Czech friend and she asked me if I was going to put curry in the batter. That would be like asking if you will put goulash in svíčkova. I didn’t think too much of it at the time, but it soon became clear that in Czechia, curry/kari is a spice that is considered Indian and is found in most grocery stores. Czechs who enjoy Indian food usually have a pack of it and boast of how they made something with it.
Now, my issue with this kari is not that it isn’t authentic (it isn’t, of course) but that it tastes bad. The kari powder available in Czechia is mostly turmeric and coriander powder mixed in unholy amounts as a bright yellow/orange colour is associated with Indian food. Way too much turmeric is added, which gives it a pretty flat, slightly bitter taste, and I don’t think it would be very good for consumption either as any kind excess isn’t. Moreover, it reduces the rich complexity of Indian food to a ridiculously narrow idea.
I’ve talked about this to anyone who shows the mildest interest in Indian food, and it has always been received with surprise. Over the years, this has been my humble contribution to representing my country abroad (as one inevitably does- there is no choice in that). Solving racism, immigration policies, geopolitics, etc. are issues for far superior minds than me- I’ve been happy simply sharing the TRUTH about curry.
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