In defence of curry

When a dear friend recently was clearing out her dad’s house following his death, she uncovered a tin of ancient Harrods’ Madras Curry Powder – several decades old and emblazoned for some reason with the name ‘Ameer’ on the front. This sort of attic find is considered an offending item nowadays, if the recent ‘curry is racist’ furore is to be believed.

Madras curry powder is an essential ingredient of Anglo-Indian cuisine. Indeed, the flavouring is as much a part of British cuisine as Worcestershire sauce and English mustard. And it is, happily, still labelled ‘Madras’ – the imperial name for the city of Chennai –  when bought today. ‘Chennai curry powder’ doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

The gripe of Chaheti Bansal, the California-based (they’re always based in California) Instagrammer who started the ‘curry is racist’ debate, appears to be that using the word curry to describe all Indian food is offensive as it blankets over the infinite variety of this glorious cuisine, as well as reflecting a laziness on the part of the (white) user.