TamilCurry

12/08/2026

When Curry Becomes an Economic Indicator

Forget the Big Mac Index.

A Bank of New York Mellon strategist has created a “Katsu Curry Index” to measure just how undervalued the Japanese yen may be.

Using prices from CoCo Ichibanya — the curry-rice chain with around 1,500 outlets globally — the index suggests a strikingly different valuation for the yen than conventional exchange rates.

But for me, there is another fascinating story here.

Tamil Curry arrived in Japan through its British connection. Today, it is so deeply embedded in Japanese everyday life that economists can use the price of a plate of curry to help explain the value of the yen.

Think about that.

A food that travelled east during the British era didn't merely survive in Japan. It was adapted, embraced and ultimately became part of the country's modern food culture.

Today we have a Katsu Curry Index.

Meanwhile, back in Britain, we are talking about a £5 billion Curry Crisis.

Perhaps curry history still has something to teach us.

There is a striking contrast here: Japan, where the post-chilli-era curry tradition arrived through British Empire links, turned curry into something so mainstream that it can now become an economic index — while Britain is discussing a £5 billion Curry Crisis, without recognising that much of what it still serves is rooted in the pre-chilli-era Company Curry tradition.

Sometimes the foods that travel are reinvented.
Sometimes the foods left at home stop evolving.

Source - Further Reading:

One bank strategist argues that an international price comparison for the pork-and-rice dish — rather than burgers — gives a better sense of how the yen’s retreat feels.

11/08/2026

Now available in the UK: LumpRice™ — the Crown Curry Britain missed.

👉 Discover & order LumpRice™: https://www.thatscurry.com/lumprice

For centuries, Britain knew the curry that travelled west during the East India Company era.

But another curry tradition was developing across the Tamil regions during the Crown era.

As Tamils were taken across the British Empire, their curry travelled with them — to Malaya, South Africa, Mauritius, Burma, the Caribbean and Guyana.

Japan was different. Curry reached Japan through the British Royal Navy connection and went on to become one of the great global curry success stories.

Yet remarkably, modern Crown Curry never truly followed the Crown home to Britain — while the ancient Company Curry Britain inherited is now facing its much-discussed Curry Crisis.

Until now.

If you are in the UK and would like to experience a Crown-era luxury delicacy, try LumpRice™ — a Tamil–Dutch masterpiece that emerged as Lampris and was later refined during the British Crown era.

Banana-leaf wrapped. Multiple curries and accompaniments, including sambal — a Dutch-era speciality. Traditionally prepared, wrapped and double-cooked, allowing the flavours to come together inside the banana leaf.

And no — it isn't biryani.

🇬🇧 Freshly handcrafted in Britain
📦 Delivered chilled within the UK
👉 Order here: https://www.thatscurry.com/lumprice

Perhaps the answer to Britain's Curry Crisis isn't another new curry. Perhaps it's the Crown Curry Britain missed.

And what about the Crown-era bites?

Discover Pints with Bites™ — rolls, cutlets, patties, vadai and other savoury finger foods made for sharing:
https://www.thatscurry.com/pints-with-bites

🌶️🥥✨ 🌍🌿 " 🌍🌿

23/07/2026

Did Britain Learn Curry in Reverse? An Overlooked Cause of the Great British Curry Crisis.

I'm currently completing my second book, which explores the Curry Crisis in depth. Rather than discussing labour shortages, immigration or rising costs, I shared one historical observation that I believe deserves far more attention.

It comes down to the order in which Britain learned curry.

Historically, the culinary journey was remarkably simple.

Fresh curry paste came first.

Only later, following the arrival of chilli with Portuguese, did curry powder become a practical way of preserving, transporting and recreating those complex flavours.

The story becomes even more intriguing when we look at Japan.

During the Meiji period, the Imperial Japanese Navy adopted British naval curry—seasoned with British tinned curry powder—to feed its sailors. That single historical adoption established Japan’s enduring curry-powder and solid roux tradition and now its gone global including Britain.

In other words: Fresh Curry Paste ➜ Curry Powder

Yet Britain's commercial experience followed the opposite path.

Consumers first encountered commercially manufactured curry powder, particularly Madras Curry Powder.

Decades later came bottled curry pastes, cooking sauces and supermarket jars.

So Britain's commercial experience became:

Curry Powder ➜ Bottled Curry Paste

The order had been reversed.

At first glance, that may seem like a small historical detail.

But consumers naturally assume that the order in which products appear reflects the order in which they evolved.

In today's information age, consumers are more informed than ever. They increasingly expect authenticity, transparency and historical accuracy. Businesses that underestimate those expectations may ultimately underestimate their customers.

British retailers should take note.

The success of Japanese curry demonstrated by CoCo Ichibanya, the world's largest curry restaurant chain with more than 1,400 restaurants globally, including London, reflecting growing consumer interest.

Could this be one of the overlooked reasons why Britain's understanding of curry has become so confused?

Perhaps Britain's Curry Crisis isn't only about restaurants.

Perhaps it is also about chronology.

When commercial history replaced culinary history, our understanding of curry's evolution became increasingly blurred.

Britain's retailers have a unique opportunity. By researching the historical evolution of curry and recognising the growing consumer demand for authentic regional cuisines, they can help reshape the future of Britain's curry market.

If they fail to recognise these changing trends, the Great British Curry Crisis may increasingly affect not only restaurants, but the wider British curry industry itself.

Has Britain learned curry in reverse?

Tesco Sainsbury's Morrisons Asda ITV Studios BBC Studios

13/06/2026

Curry – The Company Version and the Crown Version

Britain's love affair with curry began during the era of the East India Company.

The Company established its first major fortified base in Madras (now Chennai), on the coast historically known to Europeans as the Coromandel Coast. Some historians trace the name Coromandel to the Tamil term Kari Mandalam – the Curry Region.

The first known curry recipe published in Britain appeared in 1747, introduced by Hannah Glasse after traders and travellers returned from Madras. Britain's first curry house followed in 1810, founded by a former East India Company army sergeant.

Many people do not realise that curry itself is a Tamil word that entered the English language, alongside words such as mango, mulligatawny, congee, poppadom, rasam, kothu roti and wattalappam.

When the East India Company was dissolved in 1858, the story did not end.

What happened next is often overlooked.

The British Crown continued to govern India through the British Raj, while another Tamil homeland had already become part of British Ceylon decades earlier. For the first time, both traditional Tamil curry regions were under the same Crown.

Yet while "Company Curry" evolved into what we now know as the British curry industry, many of the culinary traditions preserved within Tamil communities remained largely unknown outside them.

Today, Britain faces what the media and industry often describe as a "Curry Crisis" – concerns about authenticity, skills shortages and the growing gap between restaurant curry and regional traditions.

Perhaps the conversation should not only be about saving curry.

Perhaps it should also be about rediscovering the traditions that inspired it.

That is the idea behind what I call Crown Curry – the continuation of Tamil curry traditions that evolved during the Crown era and have been preserved through generations of families, cooks and communities.

In the information age, consumers can now compare regional cuisines, recipes and food traditions from around the world with a few clicks. As expectations around authenticity continue to rise, the gap between Britain's traditional curry industry and the diverse curry traditions of the Tamil regions has become increasingly visible.

Perhaps the challenge facing the industry is not simply one of labour shortages or rising costs. It may also be a question of rediscovery and renewal.

If Britain is experiencing a Curry Crisis, perhaps part of the solution lies in revisiting the traditions that continued to evolve during the Crown era and introducing those flavours, techniques and food experiences to a new generation of consumers.

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07/06/2026

Could the solution to the Great British Curry Crisis lie within Britain's own imperial history?

Most people know the Company Chapter of Britain's curry story.

Far fewer have explored the Crown Chapter.

This video explores why that distinction may matter.

06/06/2026

The Untold Story of Curry - the Crown chapter!

Britain was first introduced to curry through the East India Company during the 18th century.

But there is another chapter of the story that is rarely discussed.

By the end of the 18th century, the British Crown had also become a major presence in the curry regions of the Indian subcontinent.

The Crown established rule in Ceylon in 1796 through the Letters of Kew and later assumed control of the East India Company’s territories following the events of 1857–58.

What many people do not realise is that curry’s traditional Tamil regions came to be administered under two separate Crown colonies:

• British Ceylon
• British India

Yet these regions had experienced very different histories.

Before British Crown rule, the Tamil regions of Ceylon had already experienced centuries of Portuguese and Dutch rule. By contrast, the Tamil regions of India remained outside those colonial systems and later came under British influence through the East India Company and, subsequently, the Crown.

From a culinary perspective, this distinction may be significant.

The curry traditions that Britain first encountered through the East India Company reflected an earlier chapter of curry’s evolution.

By the time both British Ceylon and British India came under Crown administration, curry traditions across the two Tamil regions continued evolving through new ingredients, techniques, and cultural influences.

This may help explain the distinction I draw between Company Curry and Crown Curry, and perhaps also why the curry served in Britain today often differs from many of the curry traditions found across the Indian subcontinent.

The former is associated with the curry traditions first introduced to Britain during the Company era.

The latter represents the curry traditions that continued evolving under Crown rule across British India and British Ceylon after 1858 and 1796 respectively.

Perhaps Britain’s curry story contains two chapters:

The Company Chapter

and

The Crown Chapter

Most people know the first.

Far fewer have explored the second.

And perhaps understanding that second chapter may help explain why Britain is now facing what many call the Great British Curry Crisis.

The next chapter of Britain’s curry story may lie in rediscovering what happened after 1858, when curry continued evolving under Crown rule across British India and British Ceylon.

27/05/2026

Britain Inherited Only Part of the Curry Story.

Britain’s favourite food - curry - is now facing what the media often calls the “Great British Curry Crisis.”

But perhaps only part of the curry story was ever fully presented.
Much of the curry Britain first inherited arrived during the East India Company era.

But after the dissolution of the Company in 1858, curry itself continued evolving further elsewhere under Crown rule across British India and British Ceylon.

Meanwhile, Britain’s restaurant curry culture evolved separately through migration, commercial pressures, adaptation, and changing customer expectations.

And perhaps that growing gap eventually contributed to today’s Curry Crisis.

The Tamil Crown Curry Masterclass explores a broader layered curry world many people in Britain never fully encountered:
• sambals
• white curries
• banana leaf cooking
• fermented foods
• vegetarian flavour systems
• layered rice dishes
• and deeper curry structures shaped across centuries.

Perhaps the solution to the Curry Crisis was quietly hidden within Britain’s own imperial curry history all along.

👉 Explore the Tamil Crown Curry Masterclass today:
https://www.thatscurry.com/masterclass

25/05/2026

Britain’s curry industry is facing what the media now often calls the “Great British Curry Crisis.”

Today, it is openly acknowledged that the curry served in many British Indian Restaurants (BIRs) often differs significantly from the everyday food traditions found across India itself — while many BIRs have historically been operated by the British Bangladeshi community, who also recognise this distinction.

But perhaps the explanation lies within history itself.

Much of the curry Britain first inherited arrived during the East India Company era. Even the first famous Indian curry house opened in London was founded by Sake Dean Mahomed, a man associated with the Company’s military world.

What many people rarely realise, however, is that after the dissolution of the East India Company by Parliament in 1858, curry itself continued evolving elsewhere under Crown rule across British India and British Ceylon — two major traditional Tamil curry regions shaped further during the Crown era.

Meanwhile, the curry culture Britain inherited evolved separately through restaurant adaptation, migration, commercial pressures, and changing customer expectations.

And perhaps that growing gap between Britain’s restaurant curry culture and the broader layered curry traditions that continued evolving elsewhere eventually contributed to today’s Curry Crisis.

Which raises an interesting possibility:

Could part of the solution to the Curry Crisis actually lie within Britain’s own imperial history?

That is exactly the journey explored through Tamil Crown Curry.

👉 Join the Tamil Crown Curry Masterclass and discover a broader layered world of curry traditions many people in Britain never fully encountered.

⏳ The Founding Member offer ends shortly before the course returns to full price.

👉 Explore and enrol here:
https://www.thatscurry.com/masterclass

19/05/2026

Why banana leaf curry meals fascinated me - Tamil Crown Curry

For a long time, I thought banana leaf cooking was mostly about tradition or appearance.

But the more I explored older Tamil curry traditions, the more I realised the banana leaf was doing something much more important.

It wasn’t just wrapping food.

It was shaping it.

The heat, steam, aroma, moisture, and spice layers all interacted differently once the food was enclosed inside the leaf.

And then came another fascinating discovery.

Traditional Tamil curry meals were rarely designed around just one curry.

Each curry and side dish was carefully chosen to balance the others:
white curries,
rasam,
sambals,
vegetable curries,
meat curries,
texture,
aroma,
and spice contrast.

The more I explored these traditions, the more curry started feeling less like one single dish…

and more like a complete flavour architecture.

And perhaps surprisingly, it was also a naturally environmentally friendly way of eating — biodegradable, low waste, and deeply connected to the ingredients themselves.

And if you decide to explore the Tamil Crown Curry Master Class, you may begin seeing curry very differently too — because after the East India Company dissolved in 1858, curry continued evolving under the Crown in ways that never fully reached Britain, and that is the journey we are exploring now.

18/05/2026

Why I finally created the Tamil Crown Curry Master Class

The deeper I explored curry history, Tamil food culture, and everyday home cooking…

the more I realised curry was never just one fixed dish.

It evolved across centuries through trade, migration, colonial encounters, regional ingredients, home kitchens, and changing food habits.

Over time, I began noticing two broad curry journeys:
👉 Company Curry
and
👉 Crown Curry.

Not as “right versus wrong” — but as two different historical journeys through which curry continued evolving.

And unlike Company Curry, much of this layered Crown-era curry tradition never fully arrived in Britain.

That’s ultimately why I created the Tamil Crown Curry Master Class.

Not simply to teach recipes.

But to explore:
the ingredients,
the cooking systems,
the balance,
the layering,
the history,
and the forgotten side of curry culture that fascinated me so much.

Explore the Master Class here:
www.thatscurry.com/masterclass