Americans and Curry

[Princess of Hearts]

I have just eaten a nice Chicken Tikka Biryani from Sainsburys, and it got me thinking.  All the years that I have been online, I've noticed that Americans never mention curry.  There is not even the slightest, most distant, reference to curry.   Do you have curry in America?   Is it proper Indian curry?  Do you eat curry more than once a year?

My Southern English cousins won't touch curry, or any type of Indian or Chinese food.  In fact all foreign food is suspect as far as they are concerned.  Even continental food is dismissed as 'foreign muck'.

[~RoadToTrista~]

Omg I fricken love Singapore Noodles, which has curry powder. Does that count?

[Sharky]

I'm from the Philly area and Jersey and I never had it. I don't really know what it is, but i've heard of it.

[Janet_Girl]

I am not fond of anything remotely spicy.  Well except General Tso's Chicken.  But even then I have to really be in the mood.  My G/F loves curry and anything hot.

[Tamaki]

I love curry but I doubt I've ever had an proper Indian curry. I've had japanese curry rice, thai curry and a homemade indian curry but I'd love to explore more authentic indian dishes.

[tekla]

We have a few Indian places out here.  Lots of them on the Peninsula and over in Fremont because of the high Desi population.  Not much for the curry, I do like other things on the menu though.  Chicago has a big Indian population too, and I used to go to a real good Tandor oven place there.

[Arch]

When I was younger, I had curry a few times at different restaurants and didn't think much of it. Then a bunch of us were considering going out for Indian food, and one abstained because he didn't like spicy food. I said, "Spicy! Curry isn't spicy!" Everyone looked at me like I was nuts. That's how I found out that curry is hot...or supposed to be. Do restaurants automatically give you the mild stuff unless you ask them to hot it up? Or am I missing some kind of genetic marker, like the one that gives you the ability to taste PTC?

[Joelene9]

  I had lots of curry.  The curry spices mixture are all different, it depends on local tastes in India through to SE Asia.   I had tasted two Thai curries and a few Indian curries from the local restaurants.  The curry you see in the spice rack of your grocer is a mixture of one kind here in the U.S. 
  Joelene

[Alex37]

Atlanta has lots of Indian and Thai restaurants, so we definitely have curry.  I eat it regularly, and even more so now that I have an Indian roommate who cooks curry just about every night. 

[AmySmiles]

Most places in Florida seem to have several Thai or Indian restaurants too, that's where the majority of curry seems to be served in this country.  I've given several of them a try, but much prefer other things on the menu in the Thai restaurants.

[Princess of Hearts]

Thai curries are nice but they are very mild in my opinion.  I like a hotter and spicier curry.

[Lisbeth]

Let's just say I have jars of red and green curry in my fridge.

[justmeinoz]

Sorry Trista Curry Powder definitely doesn't count.    Thai curries can be extremely hot and have become possibly the most popular restaurant cuisine here over the last few years.  The further you get from the capital cities, the milder they get though.

Karen.

[aubrey]

I LOVE Indian and SE Asian food, I would cook it more but I don't usually have the time. Curries are best when made from scratch from whole spices, some of the spices get dry roasted and then it all gets put in a coffee grinder. Thai "curry" is a bit different from Indian, made from fresh shallot, chilies etc....generally with coconut milk. There are a few Indian places here, but it's ironic how expensive they can be (same goes for Thai) considering how cheap it is in it's native country! I don't want to sound like a snob but I think most Americans (my family included) prefer bland, overly simple food and have no sense of culinary adventure whatsoever. Kind of like gustatory xenophobes?

[tekla]

I've always found the further you are from the group of origin, the blander it gets.  The Chinese I got in Iowa is nothing like the Chinese food I can get out in the Avenues.  Or, go with natives.  The Mexican food you get will be a lot hotter and spicier if you go in with a huge Latino family and order in Spanish.  And you have to remember that you are cooking across several cultures at the same time trying to make your food acceptable to the largest possible group.  You can always order 'off the menu' and have them prepare it like they would for natives.

[grrl1nside]

I love curry. While it is growing in popularity in Canada, it is not big like it is in the UK. I've had some fantastic curry over there. Thankfully, my wife likes to make it so I've lucked out on that end. Getting decent spices in a small town poses a bit of a challenge, but regardless homemade is way better than the restaurants I've been to here. I wish they would stop gauging their hotness based on non-curry eater standards...

Funny thing is, I remember parts of the UK best by the curry house I've been to.

[mimpi]

Never been to the US or Canada but curry in the UK can be excellent. Big shout out for Lahore Karahi in Tooting High Street, can't be beaten in London in my opinion as regards taste.

Not so keen on Thai curries or the type they cook in Sumatra either tbh.

[Ann Onymous]

Do restaurants automatically give you the mild stuff unless you ask them to hot it up? Or am I missing some kind of genetic marker, like the one that gives you the ability to taste PTC?

Restaurants that serve the spicier items often give non-natives some bland version unless you specifically ask for the native version...I dated a woman recently who loves curry and is also one of the 'the hotter the better' type of customers.  She has figured out how to ask for the real stuff, not the Americanized crap that would be served to the masses that think it is cool to try something new...

[jamie lee]

I love curry, Red, Green, yellow. Each having it's own unique flavor. Some are intended to be hot, some mild. However I've never had a problem asking them to spice it up or down !

[Lee]

Actually, I had a great Thai green curry (uber spicy)  for lunch today.  We have several really good Indian and Thai restaurants in town, so I have curry every few weeks.

Edit: This is in Colorado.