Hot or Not: Test Your Curry IQ

Despite the fact that, for many Czechs, curry was, before 1989, primarily a non-descript powder (“kari”) used to color rice, Indian cuisine in the Czech Republic and especially Prague, where Indian restaurants thrive, has many devotees today.

H.E. Mr. V. Ashok, the Ambassador of India to the Czech Republic, chalks this up to the many common threads shared between Czech and Indian culture. “Czechs are very fond of all things Indian including spiritualism, yoga, Ayurveda, music, dance, and, of course, cuisine. The large number of restaurants serving Indian and South Asian food is testimony to the growing Czech appreciation of the cuisine of the region of South Asia,” he says.

But Aditya defines true curry as, “A gravy or sauce made by cooking meat or vegetables with a thickening agent and a combination of spices.” He says that the variety of spices used can be extensive but that chili, cumin, coriander, and turmeric are the most common. Other basic ingredients are a paste of garlic, ginger, and onion, or yoghurt, cream, and ground nuts.

Czechs – and expats – who fall into that second category, might be surprised to discover that traditional Czech and Indian cuisinses aren’t so dissimilar. Says Aditya: “In Czech cusine spices are also important. These spices are not as strong as the Indian ones but still give good flavour to the food. The sauce is similar, too. And Czech dishes are often served with a nice aromatic and tasty sauce.”

He sees rogan josh (a deep red curry of braised lamb chunks cooked in a gravy of onion and spices) in particular as strikingly similar to that mainstay of Czech pub menus, goulash. “In Czech goulash, bell pepper is used to make the gravy which is not common for us but the final dish bears a strong resemblance to rogan josh and can be served with rice.”

While the Czech capital may be in the grips of India-mania with food, culture, and Bollywood film fests taking place annually, new tour companies specializing in trips to India on motorbike, and rickshaws tooling around Prague, the kinship between the two cultures runs deeper than just a passing trend (Ambassador Ashok notes the similarities in grammar and words in Czech and Sanskrit and the Czech practice of removing their shoes upon entering the house). But it is definitely curry that ignites the country’s passion for the Asian subcontinent. 

Expats, too, especially those who hail from Britain and other countries with a sizeable Indian population, have enthusiastically greeted the rise of Prague curryhouses and opinions on this site and elsewhere over the city’s best curry are often debated with as much heat as a proper vindaloo.