Whatever the definition and no matter the spicing, whether freshly ground, freshly compounded or even (except when aged, and like chewing gum, having lost its flavor on the bedpost overnight) made with "curry powder", in my travels (and at home) I've rarely met a "Curry" I didn't like (although frog legs just don't work for me).

Hottest curry? Back about 1963, some stand-up joint on the "Gut" in Valetta, Malta,
dark red, goat or mutton (elderly), and about double the strength of raw jalapeno with seeds and internal fiber. The "Gut" was so disreputable that you needed a hot curry to protect you from diseases so contagious as to not even require direct contact.

Garam masala is a blend of commonly used Indian spices with many regional variations. Since many Indian dishes contain these spices, it is sometimes used as a cooking shortcut to provide a general spicy base before adding more specific spices. I've rarely seen ready-made garam masala used in Indian homes, except with tea (believe it or not).

I know some people in the grocery business. It would be child's play for me to query whether the customers really live by your dictates. Frankly, I've never seen many non-Indian "Americans" in the stores. There's no way they could be buying up all this stock.

Where are you judging this from?

OK, I see you give NYC as your location. What, Jackson Heights? Maybe the preferences of the immigrants there doesn't match elsewhere. Perhaps the importers provide access to fresh ingredients that are too expensive out in the hinterland.
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I seriously doubt my NRI neighbors fly to New York to get whole spices to bring back and grind.

If you say so. What do I know? :rolleyes:

Logically, you know what you've seen. The Indians who live in that part of the east coast. But I think you want to paint with a broader brush. The fact is that "curry powder" is in fact sold to Indians outside of New York.

Actually, I don't know any Indians here at all. :)

I'm sure there are NRIs buy curry powder because they've become too Americanized, or are too busy to cook. The point I'm making is that you can't just use curry powder to make curry, as there is no generic curry. The curry powder (although honestly, I think even NRIs buy garam masala rather than curry powder) is just a base to start things off, as it were. Kind of like buying a pie crust and making the filling rather than making the entire pie from scratch.

I use curry powder to make curried chicken-and-chickpeas on occasion. I have used whole spices in that past, but for one person, that becomes highly cost-ineffective.

The generic term "curry" implies that the contents were simmered in a broth (or gravy, if you prefer) containing the main ingredients of curry powder. I add a ton of fresh garlic, fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks, and chili to mine.

I'm assuming that in the U. K. the expression "going out for (or taking away) curry" means South Asian food in general?

As a digression, the first time I went to a Sri Lankan joint in NYC, I was a bit flummoxed by "deviled beef", which does not come from an Underwood can!

Italian seasoning - indeed how absurd!

Just as bad as those who would throw together some paprika, cayenne, oregano and cumin, calling it "Cajun", or mix some lavender, fennel, thyme, basil and friends, into a "Provencal" seasoning...

And don't even get me started on "Chili powder"...

:p

I wonder if anyone is aware that "Italian seasoning" is an actual product. I'd really like to know what is "absurd" about it. I'd judge that the number of companies producing it is a sign it is popular. If you have a big customer base, it is not "absurd" to do it.

Popular ≠ authentic.

But I guess I will never educate the Philistines here, so enjoy your curry powder. :D

Oh, and next time you're in a Mario Batali restaurant, ask him how many of his dishes use pre-mixed "Italian seasoning."

Oh, what a cut. Philistines! Watch out for Hamas. They don't like being lumped with those of us who buy curry powder.

I'm confused. What's not authentic about putting basil, thyme, oregano in an Italian dish?

Have you ever seen any of these ingredients added to veal marsala or fettucine alfredo? Adding basil, thyme and oregano does not make a dish Italian. Similarly, throwing curry powder onto something does not make it Indian.

The fact that there are hundreds of different "curries" should make it obvious that a single "curry powder" could hardly be an ingredient of most of them.

Oh, did someone suggest that you could throw curry powder on a quesadilla and call it Indian?

Well, you can look at it that way. Or you can say, "I'm likely to need basil and oregano if I want to make an Italian dish". And you can say "If I'm making an Indian dish, I'll probably need turmeric. Yeh, taking cream of mushroom soup and flavoring it with turmeric doesn't make it Indian. But I can testify that adding "Indian spices" to un-Indian dishes sometimes improves them a lot. Heck, Betty Crocker discovered that maybe 80 years ago.