When Germans hear the word “curry” the first thing they think of is the wildly popular Currywurst. Yet the curry powder that gives a Bratwurst with ketchup the necessary fiery-fruity aroma is just a knock-off of the intensively tasting mixture of spices created in India, the country of curry’s origin. However, in the vast South Asian country the term “curry” doesn’t mean a mixture of spices, but rather a type of dish: Curries are stews and creamy ragouts with vegetables, meat or fish.

The mixture of spices, the essential ingredients in Indian cuisine, is referred to as masala. The well-known mixture of garam masala (translation: “hot spice”) consists of coriander, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and black pepper. Other typical spices in Indian cuisine, which are first roasted in a pan and then ground or crushed with mortar and pestle, include chilli peppers, mustard seeds, turmeric, fenugreek seeds as well as the leaves of curry plants. These also exist to further add to the confusion. Fortunately, every Asian goods shop sells ready-made spice and curry pastes – from mild to hellaciously hot, such as those from Rajah, Patak, Sabita and Pasco.

Curries, like the people of India themselves, are a colourful smorgasbord. Everything that pleases and somehow goes well together goes into it. A harmonious combination for a vegetarian curry, for example, comes from yellow peppers with aubergines, red onions, mangetoutes and sweet potatoes. Ideally, the chopped vegetables are gently roasted in ghee (clarified butter) or oil with fresh ginger and chilli in a wok and then deglazed with coconut milk and a bit of curry paste (approx. 1 tablespoon for 4 people). A stem of lemon grass added to it provides acidic freshness, but is not eaten. The curry should then be left to simmer at low heat for 30 minutes while the delightful scent spreads throughout the house. This waiting time can be used to prepare the rice. Because only a bowl of basmati rice in which the sauce is soaked up like in a sponge really completes the healthy dish.

If you prefer meat, simply substitute the potatoes with mouth-sized pieces of breast of chicken filet. This gives you a variation on classical Indian curry chicken. Friends of country-style may prefer a curry lamb: Yoghurt is used for the sauce instead of coconut milk; and the other things consist of tomatoes, red peppers and onions, seasoned with ginger, chilli, garlic and bay leaves. For a maritime curry, with pollock filet or prawns, the seafood should land in the pot after the vegetables. The cooking time for fish is approx. 15 minutes and 5 to 7 minutes for prawns. The garnish for every curry dish is coriander green – the “Indian parsley”.