Indian cuisine in the context of "Curry"

Peanut oil, also known as groundnut oil or arachis oil, is a vegetable oil derived from peanuts. The oil usually has a mild or neutral flavor but, if made with roasted peanuts, has a stronger peanut flavor and aroma. It is often used in American, Chinese, Indian, African and Southeast Asian cuisine, both for general cooking and in the case of roasted oil, for added flavor. Peanut oil has a high smoke point relative to many other cooking oils, so it is commonly used for frying foods.

Indian culture is the heritage of social norms and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse nation of India, pertaining to the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and the Republic of India post-1947. The term also applies beyond India to countries and cultures whose histories are strongly connected to India by immigration, colonisation, or influence, particularly in South Asia and Southeast Asia. India's languages, religions, dance, music, architecture, food, and customs differ from place to place within the country.

Indian culture, often labelled as a combination of several cultures, has been influenced by a history that is several millennia old, beginning with the Indus Valley Civilisation and other early cultural areas. India has one of the oldest continuous cultural traditions in the world.

Caribbean cuisine is a fusion of West African, Creole, Amerindian, European, Latin American, Indian/South Asian, Chinese, Javanese/Indonesian, North American, and Middle Eastern cuisines. These traditions were brought from many countries when they moved to the Caribbean.

The chickpea or chick pea (Cicer arietinum) is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram, Bengal gram, chana dal, garbanzo, garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. It is one of the earliest cultivated legumes, the oldest archaeological evidence of which was found in Syria.

Chickpeas are high in protein. The chickpea is a key ingredient in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines, used in hummus, and, when soaked and coarsely ground with herbs and spices, then made into patties and fried, falafel. As an important part of Indian cuisine, it is used in salads, soups, stews, and curries. In 2023, India accounted for 75% of global chickpea production.

Curry, a spicy dish derived from Indian cooking by way of British Raj-era Anglo-Indian cuisine, is popular in the United Kingdom. Curry recipes have been printed in Britain since 1747, when Hannah Glasse gave a recipe for a chicken "currey the India way". Curry powder was first advertised in 1784. In the 19th century, many more recipes appeared in the popular cookery books of the time. Curries in Britain are widely described with Indian terms, not necessarily used for the same dishes or even known in India. For example, korma is a mild sauce with almond and coconut; Madras has a hot, slightly sour sauce; phall denotes an extra hot sauce, and pasanda means a mild sauce with cream and coconut milk. One type of curry, chicken tikka masala, has become widespread enough to be described as a national dish.

Indian spices include a variety of spices grown across the Indian subcontinent (a sub-region of South Asia). With different climates in different parts of the country, India produces a variety of spices, many of which are native to the subcontinent. Others were imported from similar climates and have since been cultivated locally for centuries. Pepper, turmeric, cardamom, and cumin are some examples of Indian spices.

Spices are used in different forms: whole, chopped, ground, roasted, sautéed, fried, and as a topping. They blend food to extract the nutrients and bind them in a palatable form. Some spices are added at the end as a flavouring — those are typically heated in a pan with ghee (Indian clarified butter) or cooking oil before being added to a dish. Lighter spices are added last, and spices with strong flavour should be added first. "Curry" refers to any dish in Indian cuisine that contains several spices blended together, whether dry or with a gravy base. However, it also refers to curry leaves, commonly used in South India.

Southeast Asia was in the Indian sphere of cultural influence from 290 BCE to the 15th century CE, when Hindu-Buddhist influences were incorporated into local political systems. Kingdoms in the southeast coast of the Indian subcontinent had established trade, cultural and political relations with Southeast Asian kingdoms in Burma, Bhutan, Thailand, the Sunda Islands, Malay Peninsula, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, and Champa. This led to the Indianisation and Sanskritisation of Southeast Asia within the Indosphere, Southeast Asian polities were the Indianised Hindu-Buddhist Mandala (polities, city states and confederacies).

Indian culture itself arose from various distinct cultures and peoples, also including Austroasiatic lingusitic influence onto early Indians. However some scholars, such as Professor Przyluski, Jules Bloch, and Lévi, concluded that not only linguistic but there are also some cultural, and even political Austroasiatic influence on early Indian culture and traditions. India is seen as a melting pot of western, eastern and indigenous traditions. This distinctly Indian cultural system was later adopted and assimilated into the indigenous social construct and statehood of Southeast Asian regional polity, which rulers gained power and stability, transforming small chieftains into regional powers.

A frozen meal, also called a TV dinner (Canada and US), prepackaged meal, ready-made meal, ready meal (UK), frozen dinner, or microwave meal, is a meal portioned for an individual. A frozen meal in the United States and Canada usually consists of a type of meat, fish, or pasta for the main course, and sometimes vegetables, potatoes, and/or a dessert. Frozen meals can include various cuisines, such as American, Indian, Chinese and Mexican.

The term TV dinner, which has become common, was first used as part of a brand of packaged meals developed in 1953 by the company C.A. Swanson & Sons. The original TV Dinner came in an aluminum tray and was heated in an oven. In the US and Canada, the term is synonymous with any packaged meal or dish ("dinner") purchased frozen in a supermarket and heated at home. In 1986, the Campbell Soup Company introduced the microwave-safe tray. Consequently, today, most frozen food trays are made of a microwaveable and disposable material, usually plastic or coated cardboard.

Caribbean Chinese cuisine is a style of food resulting from a fusion of Chinese and West Indian cuisines. The Chinese influence is predominantly Cantonese, the main source of Chinese immigrants to the West Indies. West Indian food is itself a mixture of West African, British, Indian-South Asian, Spanish, French, Dutch, Middle Eastern, and Indigenous cooking styles.

Although a long-favoured cuisine in West Indian restaurants and Chinese Caribbean households, it is only recently that an increase in number of Caribbean–Chinese restaurants has occurred in Canada and the United States. These are more often than not "Guyanese restaurants" owing to that country's particular historical connection to Chinese immigration, although signs may also claim "Caribbean Chinese food," "West Indian and Chinese cuisine", or variations thereof.