Curry In America
Well, it’s now official. The fine tastes and customs of India, Jamaica, Thailand and the other fine nations that love their curries have officially arrived in America. It’s a fact that every 5th doctor in LA, Chicago and New York originated from India. The same also goes for approximately every 3rd computer expert, and every 5th motel owner and engineer.
Indian specific merchandise is being stocked up on by storeowners and merchants alike. With the large groups of Indians moving around the downtown centers, even grocery stores that had never before heard of Basmati rice are now carrying it on their shelves.
Everywhere you look, an Indian Curry House has sprouted up and, nowadays, India’s Diwali Independence Day parades are held in most big cities.
In scenes that are already quite common in other established countries, however slow to take hold in the US, we now are seeing families and friends heading out for a curry and it is pleasing to see that some Americans now would rather eat a tasty dish of Chicken Tikka Masala than punishing themselves with a quarter pounder burger and fries.
It has also become apparent, in recent times, that curry is not only tasty it can be very good for you. We read about one lady, Darci Jayne, who had hardly ever touched a veggie and lived on fast food like pizza, pasta and other high fat foods.
This terrible diet led to major weight gain and serious health problems that included severe joint pain. By the time she had nearly passed 200 pounds, she managed to finally lose weight by cutting portion sizes. However, she was struggling to keep the weight off.
An Indian cooking class that promoted tasty curry spices along with fresh vegetables helped her to turn things around and she began to conjure up an Indian Meal at least once or twice a week. Jayne found that over time the pain and swelling in her joints began to ease. A lot of spices have medicinal applications. Curcumin, for example, has anti-inflammatory properties and is contained in turmeric, one of the most widely used spices in Indian curries.
In a country that is struggling with a dependency on fast foods, and an ever increasing problem with overweight citizens, could curry be the answer that can help prevent a nationwide epidemic of obesity related problems?
Although curry is often associated with India, Thai cuisine is very popular in many American cities. And Thai curries can by just as tasty and spicy as Indian curries. It is also popular for American restaurants to offer Thai-influenced dishes.
Thai culture in the US is disproportionate to the actual percentile of Thai Americans in the overall population. This goes back to the Vietnam war and the large US presence in Laos and Thailand at that time which exposed US soldiers to Thai culture and then led to the influx of Laotian and Thai Americans.
Writing about the huge impact of curries in the US would have been absurd ten years ago.
But times change.
It’s now time to focus on curry in America.
