curry paste

{{Short description|Food paste used in the preparation of a curry}}

file:Patak's sauces for sale in Asda.jpg

File:Curry pastes Thailand (cropped).JPG red, green and yellow curry pastes]]

{{wiktionary|curry paste}}

Curry paste is a mixture of ingredients in the consistency of a paste used in the preparation of a curry. There are different varieties of curry paste depending from the region and also within the same cuisine. It is generally a mixture of fine-powdered spices with either oil and water or coconut milk; the fat content helps extract the flavor. Some cuisines (e.g. Thai) favor the use of a curry paste over a curry powder.

Via trade routes with southern India the curry pastes are believed to have entered Southeast Asian cuisines through the kitchens of Indianized royal courts of Southeast Asia, where the curry pastes were adapted for local taste preferences, as well as available spices and herbs. In Burmese cuisine, turmeric was added to the mixture of chiles, garlic, ginger, and onions. Through Java, the preparation of curry pastes from India entered Khmer royal cuisine, which then made its way into the royal kitchens of Ayutthaya Kingdom, where turmeric was replaced with cardamom and tamarind. In Cambodian and Thai cuisine, lemongrass and galangal was added to the mixture. Malaysian cuisine uses more wild lime leaves, while Vietnamese cuisine adds more star anise. Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine makes a greater use of cinnamon (or cassia), cloves, and nutmeg.{{cite book |last=Van Esterik |first=Penny |title=Food Culture of Southeast Asia |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2008 |page=45 |isbn=978-0-313-34419-0 |quote= The technique may have come from southern India, by way of the royal courts of Indianized Southeast Asia. The recipes reflect taste preferences, locally available spices and herbs, and trade routes. Burma has the most direct Indian borrowings, adding turmeric to the mixture of chiles, garlic, ginger, and onions. Another version traveled from India, by way of Java, into the Khmer courts, and from there into the royal kitchens of Ayuttaya, Thailand, adding cardamom and tamarind to replace the turmeric. Cambodia and Thailand add lemongrass and galangal to the mixture; Malaysia makes more use of wild lime leaves; Vietnam adds more star anise. Malaysian and Indonesian dishes make greater use of the spices that first drew the Europeans to the area—cinnamon (or cassia), cloves, and nutmeg.}}