curry [Malayalam], condiment much used in India and elsewhere in Asia and the Middle East, in combination with rice, meat, and a variety of other dishes. It is compounded of such spices as turmeric, fenugreek, cloves, cumin, ginger, black and hot red pepper, and coriander. When the pungent leaf of an Indian tree of the rue family is included, the curry powder is used not only as a stimulating flavor, but also for medicinal purposes. Curry paste is made from the slightly acid, jellylike pulp of the tamarind pod, combined with a variety of spices.

Curry, John Steuart, 1897-1946, American painter, b. Dunavant, Jefferson co., Kans. He spent his youth on his father's farm. In 1916 he entered the Kansas City Art Institute and later studied in Chicago and New York and in Paris. His early paintings of Kansas life, such as Baptism in Kansas, aroused interest by their simple and authentic character. He often chose typically American subject matter, from rural life to circus scenes, which he depicted with a dramatic flair. In addition to his oil paintings he is well known for his murals, such as those in the Dept. of Justice Building in Washington, D.C., and the statehouse in Topeka, Kans.

Curry, Jabez Lamar Monroe, 1825-1903, American educator, b. Lincoln co., Ga., grad. Univ. of Georgia, 1843. He studied law at Harvard and later became a member of the Alabama legislature, then of Congress (1857-61) and of the Confederate Congress (1861-64). After the Civil War, Curry served as president of Howard College (1865-68), as professor of English and public law at Richmond College (1868-81), and as U.S. minister to Spain (1885-88). After 1881, as administrative agent of the Peabody Fund for Southern Education, Curry established state normal schools and fostered better rural schools throughout the South, further extending his work after 1890 as agent of the Slater Fund. He became (1901) supervising director of the Southern Education Board.

(from Tamil kari, “sauce”) Dish or sauce in Indian cuisine. It is seasoned with a mixture of spices often including turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, as well as garlic and chiles. Some of the curry spices are known for their antiseptic and preservative properties. Curries have been a part of South Asian cookery since antiquity. The primarily vegetarian curries of southern India are the most pungent. Those of northern India, where lamb and poultry are eaten, generally avoid hot or pungent ingredients.

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