National Curry Week – October 7-14, 2024

History of National Curry Week

National Curry Week was founded in October 1998 by the prominent journalist, the late Peter Grove, who had fallen in love with curry as many of us have before. He took the extra step to express his passion for the Indian stew by creating a holiday for it. He used to opportunity to raise funds for charity. The holiday has been celebrated annually since then nationally, because who doesn’t love curry? Indian food has become more prominent in our culture, and this exposure has helped to grow the industry and spread the love for Indian food.

Curry existed in India more than 4,000 years before the Europeans arrived. The basic ingredients used to make the stew were garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Archaeologists from the University of Washington at Vancouver were able to discover these spices in skeletons and pottery shards from excavations in India. They used a method called starch grain analysis to examine the human teeth and residue from cooking pots, where signs of turmeric and ginger were evident.

The British termed all sauce-based dishes ‘curry’ in the 17th century; it was introduced to English cuisine from Anglo-Indian cooking. They began to add spicy sauces to plain boiled and cooked meats. In Britain, curry was served in coffee houses from 1809, and by the 1940s and the 1970s, it became very popular. Today, it is a very popular dish enjoyed by many.