Curry nights - Introduction

I absolutely love curry of all sorts and could happily eat it a few time a week, no trouble.

I have been cooking it for years but if I'm completely honest, I've always cooked the same lamb curry that I've devised from various different recipes (http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2010/11/lamb-and-veg-curry.html). It works well and I can do it with my eyes closed by now.

However "curry" is such a generic term encompassing the staple diet of so many cultures and geographies that it's a bit of a misnomer. It's most often associated with India or Thailand since these a the most commonly popularized  cuisines in the West. However, every group of people spanning the entire sub-continent, right throughout the whole of South-East Asia have claim over traditional curry dishes.

Conquests of entire civilizations since as long ago as Medieval times, and 20th Century migration patterns, have influenced the evolution of cuisine in those geographies as well as in places such as Britain, South Africa, The Carribean, and Australia.

The mixing of indigenous ingredients with imported spices, legacy cooking techniques with newly learned methods, and adapting traditional flavours to local tastebuds, has culminated in a diverse range of dishes globally,  known collectively as "curry".

So I decided recently to really learn about each different region's dishes and to understand the ingredients and methods they all use to make their local cuisine so unique and delicious. Over the next few months, I'm going to cook a few dishes, each time focusing on a particular region - notably: India (which for now I've just divided rather crudely into North and South), Pakistan, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, and The Carribean (hopefully amongst others). I'll try to source the traditional ingredients they use and stay true to their techniques as best as possible so I can test the authentic. Thereafter, I may try them again and incorporate the methods and flavours I prefer - not to bastardise their cuisine, but to evolve these fantastic dishes just as people have been doing for hundreds of years.

Curry Nights #1 - South India...
http://overnightchef.blogspot.com/2012/01/curry-nights-1-south-india.html