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Good Eats: The Curious Case of Curry
Alton takes on a staple of Indian food – curry – only to reveal that it is actually not a staple of Indian food! Curry, as Westerners understand it, arose in England as a one consequence of the English colonization of India. Indians don't eat anything like the English dish, but they do eat a lot of interesting foods, blending spices specifically for each dish. Alton takes viewers through this step-by-step as he builds a Lamb Tikka Masala, cooked in a home made tandoor (Indian oven).
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Episode Info
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Episode number: 13x17 Production Number: EA1316H Airdate: Monday March 29th, 2010 Writer: Alton Brown
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Recap
Alton has been researching material for a new book on misused culinary terms, or so he tells viewers. He has discovered that the most misused such term is... curry. Several hundred lines in various dictionaries agree that curry comes originally from the Tamil language, where it means a sauce or relish for use over rice. More recent definitions expand on this, stating that curry is “meat, fish, fruit or vegetables cooked with bruised spices and served with dishes made or rice.” To Alton, that's useless to the point of absurdity – nothing that fits that vague description could be... Good Eats...Read the full recap
Episode Notes
Cards
- Whole spices stored in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place will keep for several years.
- “Tandoor” comes from the Persian word tannur, which derives from the Babylonian word tinuru, based on the Semitic word nar, meaning fire.
- While wooden or bamboo skewers are fine for the grill, don't use them in your tandoor, lest they be reduced to ashes.
The title of the episode comes from a number of stories and television episodes based on mysteries, most famously and recently, the film adaptation of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Episode Quotes
Alton: As I've been researching subjects for my new book, regarding culinary terminology misunderstandings, misnomers and misuses, I've, uh, come across many curious cases of food related words whose connotations have been contaminated, either through cultural misappropriation or etymological foul play. Now, uh, so far, I have to say the most messed up term I've come across is the word, 'curry.'
Alton: The modern definition is given as, and I quote, “a preparation of meat, fish, fruit or vegetables cooked with a quantity of bruised spices and used as a relish or flavoring, especially for dishes composed of or served with rice. How very, completely, utterly... non-specific! Certainly not the kind of descriptor that I would apply to anything that I would call... Good Eats!
(Alton calls India to ask where to find curry.)
Alton: Oh, c'mon, “Bob.” I'm going to be in your neck of the woods next month, and want to know where I can go, you know, for some decent curry.
“Bob”: No self-respecting Indian would ever eat anything by that name. Perhaps you should visit London instead.
Alton: Oh, c'mon, “Bob.” I'm going to be in your neck of the woods next month, and want to know where I can go, you know, for some decent curry.
“Bob”: No self-respecting Indian would ever eat anything by that name. Perhaps you should visit London instead.
Alton: Each and every businessman, soldier, merchant, bureaucrat and royal who made the trek returned to England with a serious jones for Indian flavors. Now since they didn't have Indian skills, ingredients or cookware, they best they could do was smother everything in a gravy, or kari, packed with ground spices, which were eventually mixed and sold as curry powder. Thus an entire multifaceted culture was reduced... to a dust. How very modern.
Alton: You can think of heat like having a good pre-amp on your stereo.
Alton: Check it out... 3/16” wide, 27” long, nickel-plated steel... these are super skewers, kids... and I'd say you're about a quart low. They're excellent for performing tandoor chores, or for general grilling, or for repelling the occasional home invader.
Alton: Building a true Indian pantry will take time, and several more episodes of Good Eats, but at least you know there is one thing you can live without... (Alton holds up a box of curry powder.)
Cultural References
Seeking an expert on Indian food, Alton uses the customer service number from a credit card. He knows this will work because many large organizations have purchased customer support from Indian companies, who can do it for far less than Americans. Later in the episode, the “ruler” of India whom Vasco da Gama meets is wearing a hands-free telephone set, another reference to the pervasiveness of Indians in this role.
Thing, Jr. appears very briefly, closing Alton's spice cabinet after Alton retrieves his masala kit. Alton revealed in another episode that this helpful sidekick was the son of Thing, from the 1960s television series The Addams Family (1964).
The Good Eats riff which plays out the show into a commercial break, contains sitar-like overtones. The sitar is a popular string instrument in India that occasionally finds its way into Western music (including several Beatles songs).
Pulling out a very long skewer, Alton advises viewers who have the special Good Eats 3D glasses that “now would be the time” to use them. In recent years, movie makers looking for new ways to draw viewers have heavily explored simulated three dimensional films. This practice began with crude technologies decades ago, folks lost interest, and it has made a return with improvements. Such movies typically include props and other elements specifically designed to exploit the simulated third dimension. Alton extends his giant tandoor skewer towards the viewers in this way.
Alton seems disappointed that the Nobel committee has once again overlooked his contributions to kitchen science. Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite, established this prize as his legacy to the world, supposedly following an erroneous obituary released while he was still alive that characterized him as a “merchant of death” for his famous invention. Nobel Prizes are (at least theoretically) awarded for significant achievements in various fields.
Episode References
Alton frequently promises (and often delivers) that a particular topic will be dealt with by a future. Here, he promises that about wet masala, and more generally, about creating a pantry that can support Indian cuisine.
Analysis
Alton constructs a tandoor, a device which is certainly a unitasker. Perhaps future episodes will offer other recipes suitable for this cooking device, but until then it is a unitasker – and Alton Brown generally dislikes such kitchen space-wasters.
Other Episode Crew
| • Creator | Alton Brown |
| • Executive Producer | DeAnna Brown |
| • Editor | Amy Carey |
| • Line Producer | Dana Popoff |
| • Music | Patrick Belden |
| • Costume Designer | Amanda Kibbler |
| • Camera Operator | Ramon Engle |
| • Production Assistant | Brett Soll |
| • Sound Editor | Mike Clark (1) | Mike Filosa |
| • Sound Mixer | James Green (1) |
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