Curry powder
A British-era spice blend that packaged Indian flavour for export, not a traditional Indian product.
Also: Madras curry powder, British curry blend, kari powder
Curry powder is a ready-made blend, typically of turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, chilli and pepper, developed for British and later global kitchens in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Merchants in Madras and Calcutta sold early versions to returning colonial families. The word curry probably derives from the Tamil kari, meaning sauce or relish. In India itself, cooks do not usually use a single powder for every dish. They mix spices to suit each recipe. Curry powder nonetheless became part of British, Japanese and Caribbean cooking, with Japanese curry roux and Jamaican curry being unique local traditions.