Curry, a versatile condiment with its own magic, is a savior in the kitchen for those who are not good at cooking. Whether it is vegetables, potatoes, chicken, beef, or soy products, just add curry and cook together, and it will suddenly become delicious. It is simple to operate, rich in flavor, and almost zero failure. In fact, curry is not only a "good companion for cooking", but also a "good companion for health care". This winter, I strongly recommend you to arrange it for yourself~
"Trivia": There is no spice called "curry" in the world
Before we start talking about curry, have you ever thought that maybe everyone means “curry” differently.
In fact, curry is more like a "flavor concept". It is not a single spice, but a complex condiment made of a variety of spices, and the specific combination is not fixed. In South Asian countries such as India, where curry originated, there is no food called "curry" in the local language. The word "curry" was actually invented by the British and comes from the Indian Tamil word Kari, which refers to a sauce cooked with spices. Later, as the popularity of curry increased, many different types of curry appeared around the world.
Indian curry, the "originator" of the curry world, is mostly homemade at home, and each family has a different combination. Most of them are powdery, very spicy, and rich in fragrance.
Thai curry usually adds tamarind, lemongrass, fish sauce, bay leaves and other very Southeast Asian-style herbal spices. Coconut milk is also used. According to the color of the added chili peppers, it can be divided into red curry, green curry and yellow curry.
Japanese curry adds concentrated fruit puree and cream, so it is sweeter and not too spicy.
At present, according to the provisions of my country's national standard "GB/T 22266-2008 Curry Powder", 68 mentioned in "GB/T 12729.1-2008 Spices and Condiments" All kinds of spices and condiments can be used to make curry powder, such as turmeric, star anise, cinnamon, mint, cumin, fennel, pepper, cloves, coriander, etc., and the proportion of spices and condiments must not be less than 85%.
Curry potato chicken wings. Image source: Made by myself + taken by myself
There are so many benefits to using curry in cooking
Adding some curry when cooking can not only add a unique flavor to the dish, but also bring many unexpected benefits.
1. Increase flavor and reduce salt
A high-salt diet is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension. We often advise everyone to control the amount of salt in dishes. It is recommended that the daily salt intake should not exceed 5 grams. In fact, curry is a good little helper for salt control.
The rich spices in curry can provide strong taste stimulation and add flavor to the dishes. Even if the amount of salt is reduced, the dishes will taste full of flavor and not bland, making it easier to achieve the goal of reducing salt. This is really friendly to people with cardiovascular disease who need to control their salt intake.
2. Sterilize and extend the shelf life of food
Many spices in curry, such as cloves, cinnamon, cumin and turmeric, contain antibacterial ingredients and are an important source of natural preservatives. Adding curry to food can help extend the shelf life and inhibit the growth of mold.
3. Control appetite and enhance satiety
There is a very magical thing about curry. It smells delicious and seems to increase appetite, but when eaten, it can bring a clear feeling of satiety, which actually reduces hunger and desire to eat.
A randomized controlled crossover trial from Singapore published in the journal Food in 2018 compared a meal without curry and a meal containing two different doses of mixed spice curry to study the effects of the three on postprandial ghrelin and subjective appetite responses. The results found that compared with meals without curry powder, subjects who ate meals containing 6 grams or 12 grams of curry powder reported significantly lower hunger and desire to eat after the meal, and increased feelings of fullness between meals. This effect may be caused by spices increasing the concentration of anorexigenic intestinal hormones (such as GLP-1 and PYY) in the body.
At the same time, the study believes that the aroma produced by the release of volatile compounds from spices may also contribute to greater appetite suppression, and the aroma of food and non-food materials reaching the olfactory epithelium through the orthonasal and retronasal pathways can cause appetite suppression.
Additionally, in this study, no significant dose response was found in relation to appetite measures, and both curry doses appeared to exert similar effects compared to a non-curry control meal. In other words, as long as curry is added to food, no matter how much it is, it can help suppress appetite and enhance satiety, and the effect is similar.
One tablespoon of curry powder is about 10 grams. Picture source: Taken by myself
4. Antioxidant
The "soul ingredient" of curry, turmeric, is also the core ingredient that gives curry its health value. The main active ingredient is curcumin, a powerful polyphenolic compound with antioxidant effects.
There are currently many studies on the benefits of curcumin on human health, such as preventing and treating type 2 diabetes and its complications, improving rheumatoid arthritis, improving blood lipids, improving non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, improving memory, etc.
This way to eat curry is delicious and healthier
1. Curry powder is the first choice, try not to choose lumps and sauces.
Commercially available curry products are mainly divided into three forms: powder, block, and paste. From a health point of view, it is strongly recommended to give priority to curry powder. This is because the various benefits that curry brings to us are all brought by the spices in curry itself.
Although curry cubes and curry paste have a richer flavor and smoother texture, they usually add additional ingredients such as oil, salt, sugar, and starch. This makes them not only delicious, but also quietly become a "hidden assassin" in a meal high in oil, sugar, salt, and calories.
For example, the curry cubes and curry paste in the picture below have sodium contents of 3464 mg and 9603 mg per 100 grams respectively, which are equivalent to 8.7 grams and 24 grams of salt respectively. Calculated based on one person (using 25 grams), one curry or two spoons of curry paste accounts for 44% and 120% of the daily salt intake. People with heavy tastes may double the amount, and their salt intake is more likely to exceed the standard.
A certain curry cube. Picture source: Taken by myself
Nutritional information table of a certain curry cube. Picture source: Taken by myself
A certain curry paste. Picture source: Taken by myself
2. Pay attention to the ingredient list and choose the right curry.
Even when buying curry powder, you should read the ingredient list carefully, be wary of "curry powder seasoning", and try to choose pure curry powder with turmeric as the first priority and no additional salt, sugar, flavors, starch, etc. added. Such curry powder can bring greater health benefits. If added to dishes in small amounts, it can achieve almost "0 calories, 0 sugar, 0 salt, and 0 fat" while seasoning, making it easier to control the calories of a meal.
Choose this. Picture source: Taken by myself
3. Special groups need to be cautious
Most people can safely enjoy the delicious taste of curry, but some people need to eat it with caution. For example, people who are taking anticoagulant drugs (warfarin, aspirin, etc.) or have bleeding tendencies; people with bile duct obstruction, cholangitis; people with stomach problems, etc.
Tips
If your clothes are accidentally stained by curry and are difficult to wash off, you can expose the clothes to outdoor sunlight for five or six days and the color will fade. This is because curcumin is very unstable under outdoor light, and sunlight can promote its decomposition and make the yellow stain on clothes fade away.