On the origins of curry or kaddy
In spite of many interpretations about curry and curry powder (1), curry (the anglicized word) seems to be kaddy, an Indian dish (cuisine) that might have originated in north-western India. The word kaddy is related to kaaddna, which, in a number of North Indian languages (e.g. Pahadi and Punjabi etc.), means cooking (usually making tender and thick while increasing the density) by boiling. Kaaddnaa in a way refers to reducing the moisture content by heating or boiling.
Thus kaddy or kuddy (‘a’ or ‘u' sound as in cut, and 'dd' sounds between r and d) means a dish prepared by the process of 'kaaddnaa' (cooking and making thick by boiling). There is even a dish served in north India (Himachal Pradesh for example) under the name kaddy or curry (the English equivalent of kaddy) which uses buttermilk as the main item along with small amounts of vegetable oil, salt and spices. In this case the consistency (density) of the liquid buttermilk is fortified by extra boiling.
Similarly, depending on the type of main ingredient used to make curry or kaddy, there can be different varieties - vegetable curry (kaddy), meat curry etc. Moreover, the mixture of spices, especially in ground form, added to the cuisine (kaddy) during preparation is now popularly known as the ‘curry powder’.
Since the process of kaaddnaa requires cooking a dish in a pan by longer heating and boiling, it may be necessary to keep on stirring and intermixing the contents while cooking to avoid getting them stuck to the bottom (pan) and burn. Thus it helps in making the stirring and intermixing of contents easier if the kaddy (curry) is cooked in a special (wide and open top) pan known as kaddhaahy. Moreover, the open and wide kaddaahy is good for evaporation of moisture during kaaddnaa, leading to mixture in kaddaahy becoming thick in lesser time. A type of ‘not so deep’ spatula, called kaddchhee, is used for stirring and intermixing the contents of kaddy while cooking.
There is an entire class of words and items, including kaddy or curry, which is based on the original word (process) kaaddnaa (APPENDIX). For example,
Kaaddnaa – cooking or making thick by heating and boiling;
Kaddnaa – being cooked or thickened by heating and boiling;
Kaaddaa – also kaaddoo, over-boiled tea or herbal preparation
kaddhaahy -- a special, wide and open top, utensil used for kaaddnaa;
kaddchhee - a ‘not so deep’ spatula used for cooking and stirring during kaaddnaa;
kaddaaha -- halwaa or a thick porridge made by the process of kaaddnaa;
kaddy -- curry or a dish (cuisine) prepared by the process of kaaddnaa. It can have variations (such as meat-kaddy, chicken-kaddy and vegetable-kaddy etc.) depending on the main ingredient.
The words (including curry) in the above (in use for centuries) have similar sounds and represent a variety of foods and items, relating to the kitchen and cooking. They all are based on (i.e. rooted in) and tied to one another through the cooking process kaaddnaa (applicable to both culinary and non-culinary applications where reduction of moisture or thickening of contents takes place by heating or boiling). This indicates that the dish known around the world now as curry, in anglicized form, probably is same as kaddy or originally might have meant kaddy (cooked by kaaddnaa). Its implication is that the word curry could be rooted in kaaddnaa.
Perhaps there was only one type of kaddy in north India originally e.g. made from buttermilk etc. by using the process of kaaddnaa. But when this name and dish, kaddy, reached other people and places (especially the foreigners, inside and outside India), its name could have been anglicized as curry, even meaning as any Indian dish (cuisine) prepared by using Indian spices (curry powder). Kaddy or curry would also go on to add or acquire many more forms (chicken-curry and vegetable-curry etc.) depending on the main ingredient used in the cooking.
Movement and extension of curry (including curry powder and curry plant)
Note that there are many words in several languages which sound like the word curry and relate to various food items, but not all of them can be considered as the root of curry. Even in the Pahadi language, there is a word tar-kari (pronounced tur-kaari, with ‘u’ sound as in cut) for zucchini like vegetable, but that does not seem to be the root for curry. It merely is a coincidence that tar-kari and curry sound similar (in their endings at least) and they both relate to food items, the former a vegetable and the latter a cuisine.
The root analysis for curry and related words and items should be done by looking into the real significance of curry. To this end, it is important to consider the basic process kaaddnaa and its relation to kaddy and other ancillary words and items - kaddhaahy, kaddchhee and kaddaaha etc. It is not good enough to just think about the different brands of curry (chicken curry, vegetable curry etc.) and then wrongly assume that the common word in them, ‘curry’, might be based on tar-kari (a type of vegetable) or something similar. Likewise, it might help to explore as to how and why kaddy, originally only a humble dish prepared from buttermilk by kaaddnaa, ended up reaching many places (including in Europe and America) and taking many forms (vegetable-curry etc.).
Note that buttermilk, originally the chief ingredient for kaddy, is mainly a leftover liquid after the butter has been removed from curd (curdled or coagulated milk). Its consistency is thin and it is not preferred as a drink or milk substitute. It has very few uses. In stead of discarding and throwing away the buttermilk, the working and poor families long ago probably started using it to prepare a dish as part of their cuisine. Moreover, to fortify and transform the thin buttermilk into dense liquid, they would add to it a little besan (gram flour) before cooking. Then using small amounts of vegetable oil, salt and spices (coriander and cumin seeds, turmeric powder etc.), the buttermilk mixture (with besan) would be boiled to make its consistency thicker. Since the process used to cook and boil the buttermilk was called kaaddnaa -- i.e. reducing the moisture content and making the product thicker by heating and boiling -- the end product would be given the name kaddy (reflecting kaaddnaa).
Since kaddy used mainly the leftover buttermilk which was sour in taste, kaddy also tasted sour. Because of its sharp (sour) taste, it was either consumed as a secondary (second-tier) dish or used as sauce to enhance the taste of other, somewhat bland tasting, dishes (e.g. cooked or boiled vegetable, dal or lentil preparations, etc.). Kaddy was not considered a top tier item, a high society dish, or as belonging to the expensive party menu. Due to this type of negative thinking, like in the case of humble chili, kaddy seems to have gotten no mention as an important food item in ancient Indian literatures and it probably was somewhat neglected.
But things for kaddy changed later with the influx of outsiders. The northwestern region of India (including parts of present Himachal Pradesh) was in contact and conflict with outsiders for a long time. Even as early as in 1009 AD, there was a battle involving local Hindu rulers of Kangra (presently in Himachal Pradesh) and the attacking army of Mahmud Ghazni. Then Akbar’s armies from Delhi attacked the area. In 1621, there was a direct siege of Kangra for fourteen months by Jahangir of Delhi, who later, after winning the battle, assigned a Mughal governor for the area. Eventually, after being recovered by the locals the area fell to Sikhs (1809) and then the British took control of it.
This indicates that for a long time Pahadi food (including kaddy), even if not mentioned in ancient literature, was tried and tasted by outsiders -- soldiers, foreigners, and non-Pahadi Indians (Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs) -- during their lengthy intrusions and excursions into the area. They could sample these dishes in local households and dining places, both as guests and customers. Moreover, the outsiders staying there for extended periods of time might hire local cooks and chefs to work for them, and that could have exposed them (outsider employers) to local dishes including the kaddy. In addition, when these people (visitors and soldiers, including Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims) returned home (within and without India), after staying in the Pahadi region, they would take food recipes with them (including the name and dish kaddy).
Thus kaddy (as a word and dish) might have traveled first to Delhi and Lahore etc. and then to the rest of country and abroad. Moreover, along the way as it moved around, its recipe and name would undergo changes, both in preparation (adding more varieties) and pronunciation (curry, for example). Incidentally, the Europeans probably learnt about kaddy either directly, during their visits to pahadi region, or picked it from others, e.g. the non-Pahadi people (Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs etc. living elsewhere) who had earlier brought it with them from Pahadi region.
Note that it was not just the name kaddy that drew attention of outsiders resulting in the word curry in English lexicon. It seems the spices to prepare curry or kaddy were equally important to outsiders. Traditionally the locals used spices (turmeric powder, coriander seeds and cumin seeds etc.) in individual form and separately, and mixed them together only during food preparation. But when outsiders wanted to use these spices and, especially, take the spices abroad with them, they would prefer to carry and use the spices in pre-mixed and ground (powder) form. It was easier to handle and transport spices that way, as a single and ready to use item. This created a new word ‘curry powder’ which basically represented the ground curry spice mixture in powder form, that would be used for preparing kaddy or curry. In addition, any dish, using a certain main ingredient (vegetable, chicken etc.) and prepared by using the curry powder, would be called curry dish or Indian curry (e.g. vegetable curry, chicken curry, and so on). In other words, the word kaddy or curry was no more limited to original buttermilk preparation. Furthermore, various hyphenated curries (vegetable-curry, chicken-curry etc.) really would represent the evolution of kaddy which took place when people around the world took to Indian cooking and started using curry powder in their cooking.
Incidentally, a type of green leaf -- added to curry while cooking to spike its appeal, aroma and digestive quality --is the curry leaf. The corresponding plant (shrub), the source of curry leaf, is curry plant. Curry plant seems to be ‘gaandhalaa’ (or scented plant), in Pahadi language and region. Note, in Sanskrit, ‘gandha’ (probably the root for Pahadi ‘gaandhalaa’) means scent.
In conclusion, as indicated in the above discussion, there is a possibility that curry might have originated from kaddy, a buttermilk preparation existing for a long time in the northwestern Himalayan (Pahadi) region and having a close relation with several other words and items (kaddhaahy, kaddchhee and kaddaaha etc., listed previously) which are rooted in kaaddnaa (the process of cooking and reducing moisture by heating and boiling).
Reference
(1) Ether, “Does Anyone Know The Origin of Curry?” (http://forums.sulekha.com/forums/food/Does-Anyone-Know-The-Origin-of-Curry-2920.htm), June 7, 2008
APPENDIX
link to: Related topics by the author