When many think of curry they automatically think Indian cuisine, many kitchens across the nation now have the spice in there spice cabinets. The word curry refers to both a spice mixture and a style of cooking. Curry is a spice used in a dish of meat, vegetables, etc., cooked in an Indian-styles spicy sauce and served with rice, bread or flatbreads like Roti. (http://www.merriam-webster.com) It is usually a golden yellow mustard colored spice that includes a mixture of various eastern/Asian spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, ginger, cloves and many other ingredients
Curry comes from the word Khari which means sauce in India. Curry can be traced to being used in 1700 BC Mesopotamia. Found to be used outside of India in countries like Japan, China, Thailand, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Africa, and even the Caribbean (http://www.indepthinfo.com/curry/history.shtml). Due to its use in so many different countries the cultures vary as well as the ingredients used to prepare the spice. Depending on the ingredients used the curry spice can range from mild to really spicy and yellow to red. The ingredients used can also alter the aroma the curry releases once it is used.
Aside from its usefulness in the kitchen, curry is known to be helpful in many other ways. It is frequently used in traditional Indian cooking. However, there are several other uses for curry powder that can spice up an average dinner anywhere or add a kick to an everyday dessert. Some may even improve the user's health. Research conducted by the Cork Cancer Research Centre in Ireland in 2009 spoke about strong anticancer nutrients found in curry powder spices. It precisely concentrated on the composites of curcumin, which is found in turmeric. Turmeric is known as the spice in the powder that gives curry powder its strong mustard like coloring. "Scientists have known for a long time that natural