Vindaloo, a particularly spicy curry dish. Photograph: Robyn Lee What Is Curry? Curry is an umbrella term for many dishes throughout the world, particularly Asia, that are simmered in or covered with a sauce full of spices and herbs. There is no one specific "curry." It's just a combination of flavors and textures, usually served with meat, chicken, fish, vegetables or even fruit. How Curries Vary By Region Indian These curries are made with a number of toasted and ground spices (called masala) that vary by family, generation, and region. "Trying to define curry is like trying to grasp liquid mercury and gather it into a neat pile," said Raghavan Iyer, author of 660 Curries, a cookbook that focuses on... More

The Fojol Bros. scoot around the D.C. streets selling "Merlindian" food, a made-up cuisine that crosses whimsy with traditional Indian food. The masala, curries, and palak paneer are all served in biodegradable clamshells with compost-friendly sporks. More

The advertising world really does not flex the powers of maniacal cheese-faced men with curry-shooting laser gun fingers enough. Not nearly enough! I can't vouch for the tastiness of that orange goo but having Cheese Face Man himself pop through the window and blast your cup, now that is tableside service. This ad inspired a remix with Cheese Face Man deejaying (and busting his cheese curry gun moves on stage, obviously!) mashed up with cameos by Onion Bulb Face Man, Tomato Face Man, and what appears to be White Circular Blob Face Woman. The videos, after the jump.... More

I have a lot of cookbooks—bookcases of them. While it's great to own a bazillion books, it's not the most practical thing if you are, say, moving somewhere. But in all my moves, the one thing I could never bear to part with was my cookbook collection; these books are my only possessions I feel are truly irreplaceable. Some were gifts or flea market finds, some are guides to cuisines that I developed a short-lived infatuation with and some are books that I reference again and again. I'm not sure if it has to do with the ease of finding recipes on the web or the fact that I've moved them so many times, but I have curtailed my cookbook-purchasing... More

Wow. Japanese curry is, like, my third favorite food. And ice cream is right up there as one of my favorite desserts. So what about curry carrot ice cream? Blogger Cathy Erway adapted it from a recipe in Asian Ice Cream for You and Your Kids and served it at the most recent Hapa Kitchen Supper Club to rave reviews: One diner wrote in a thank-you note that she she felt “a little violated by the juxtaposition” (I’m assuming that pertains to curry in ice cream), but that it was “super delicious” and “badass” with a double underline. An unusual compliment for an unusual ice cream flavor, I suppose. Want the recipe? This way lies ice cream violation. [via... More

Cue salivary gland action: katsu curry from Go Go Curry in New York City. I have a friend who scoffs at my lifelong love of Japanese curry, backing up his distaste by comparing the brown, goopy sauce to the post-digested remains of a meal gone wrong. While his words initially made me weep, I later thought, "Hey, that's your loss; you're missing out on one of the tastiest foods in the world." Thick, creamy, spicy, and sweet, it's heavenly on rice—and perhaps with a side of tonkatsu. The people behind Americurry (aka my new favorite blog) know what I'm talking about. Wired blog editor Chris Kohler and videogame designer Karen Chu started the curry review blog to spread the... More

The Grocery Ninja leaves no aisle unexplored, no jar unopened, no produce untasted. Creep along with her below, and read her past market missions here. There have been "countdown to Thanksgiving" notices everywhere for the past month, so it's safe to say anyone planning on hosting a gathering would have handled all the logistics by now—ordering the turkey, coordinating the sides, outsourcing the labor, etc. But what about the procrastinators among us? The ones who have left everything just this side of too late and are quickly realizing that a clean kitchen and peace of mind are what we would truly be thankful for? It may be too late to order the organic, pasture-raised heirloom turkey, but it's not too... More

The Guardian's Julie Bindel talks to Camellia Panjabi, the restaurateur responsible for popularizing both regional Indian cooking to the UK as well as Szechuan and Thai food in India, about her long career in the food industry. Her seminal cookbook 50 Great Curries of India, first published in 1995, has just sold its millionth copy: "The story of the book is a fascinating one," says Panjabi. "I had tried to introduce proper regional Indian food to the hotels, but I was told, 'No one will order them.' I was convinced they would, and put real Indian dishes on the menu rather than meat swamped in curry sauce. But they didn't order them. I decided that I had to educate... More

From India to Great Britain and then to Japan, curry rice had a circuitous trip in becoming one of that country's most popular dishes. Adam Kuban adds his own regional take on it. More