Roma Choudhury was born and brought up in Calcutta, India. She studied Sanskrit and music, and taught at a Girl's High School in Calcutta. At the age of twenty seven her family arranged a marriage for her.

Roma describes the biggest Bengali gathering in Wales (Need help with RealPlayer?)

Her husband's work took them first to America, and finally to Cardiff where the couple settled with their two children. For sixteen years, Roma worked at Cardiff Central Library building collections for ethnic minority communities. She is now retired and spends her time singing and painting. She was recently awarded an honorary fellowship by Cardiff University.

How important is food in your life?

Unlike many Indian women, food is not central to my life. I prefer to spend my time playing music and painting. I do cook, but I don't spend time getting the right fish just in from Bangladesh as some women do. I tend to improvise with what is available.

What food do you most enjoy cooking?

My main influences are Bengali. By Bengali food, I mean food from both West Bengal in India and Bangladesh. We were partitioned after independence, but our cultures are similar.

Curry comes from the Bengali word tarkari meaning a stew-like dish.

Fish is a major ingredient in Bengali food as there are many waterways and rivers in the region. We also use a lot of leafy vegetables such as spinach or radish leaves which we call shaak. We don't waste any part of the vegetable. If I am making cauliflower tarkari, I'll cook the leaves as a separate dish of shaak.

Aubergine is popular with Bengalis, either fried or mashed with onion and mustard oil and served as a dish known as bhartaa. I cook different kinds of lentils with onion seeds, coconut and cumin, known as daal. If cooking with meat or egg, I add stronger spices such as ginger. My husband doesn't like hot food so I tone down the curry, but I always keep some fresh chillies to add in later.

How has living in Wales influenced your cooking?

Chinese cooking has had a big influence. Stir-frys are wonderful as they are quick and easy to make. I use soy sauce, sesame oil and Chinese five spice, which I never used before moving to Cardiff.

I think food culture in Britain has changed for the better. When I first arrived, people were conservative in their taste. Now people experiment more with food. I would say it has taken Britain twenty-five years to wake up to Eastern flavours.

Where do you go to shop for specialist ingredients?

I go to local Indian stores. They stock the full range of lentils, spices, and a Bengali favourite called moori, which is a kind of puffed rice. For dinner parties, I serve Indian sweets, which I buy from a specialist shop in City Road.

Is food an important part of festivals and Bengali community gatherings in Wales?

Bengalis enjoy talking. We call it adda. We talk about anything, from sports and politics to arts and fashion. The more passionate we get, the more our voices are raised. Food is never far away. Every half hour or so some food and tea will come out of the kitchen. It is the fuel to keep the adda going. Popular snacks that are served during the adda are nimki (deep fried savoury pastry), loochi (puffed fried bread) and aloor-dam (potato curry).

Food is also important in Bengali Hindu festivals. One example is the festival Durga Puja which takes place around September or October. In Cardiff there is big celebration which goes on for four days.. People come from all over Wales to worship the Mother Goddess Durga. In the morning the devotees fast. They worship Durga and offer her fresh fruit and sweets. After worshipping, the consecrated food is shared out. In the early afternoon a dish called Khichuri is served, which is a mixture of rice and lentils served with vegetables.

Do you enjoy eating out?

I prefer simple food at home. I would rather spend my time and money on a good film or concert. I am typical of my generation of Indians. Society is changing fast though, and the younger generation in the UK and back in India love to eat out.

What are your favourite places to eat out?

I never eat in Indian restaurants. The menus are standardised and I can cook the food myself at home.

I do like to go out to Chinese restaurants as I love stir fry bamboo shoots and prawns. I also like Italian restaurants. I don't have any favourite places, but I usually go to restaurants in town for convenience.

Your comments

Prem
Can anybody give me some information on East Bengal cuisine and names of its dishes?

Chayan Roy, CIFRI, Barrackpore
Most probably this word come from the South India as they like, Use, and know what the presend days all about spices. Last November I went to attend a International Seminar at Kochi somehow during the time of purchase of diff. spices owner talk about the "curry" and the the history I still remember that the words differ what it was originally in Portuguese I can not remember. Another thing I belongs to a rural district Bankura where people Tarkari/Torkari means both green vegetables as well as processed/coocked food item.

Rajesh Indu
Curry is mentioned in old Tamil literature. Also one should note Siddha System of Medicine which is not practiced outside of Tamil Nadu where different types of curries are used for medicinal purposes is quite old.

Edwin Webb
You are all wrong: the word 'curry' comes from the old French word which came into 14th century Middle English - meaning to mix together. Here's the evidence: the first cookbook in English (14th century) was called 'the currie of ancient english cooking' or similar. The word curry may ALSO have come into English usage from 16th century Tamil - but it did not come with Asian immigration, or even colonial trade. 'Currie' meant 'sauce' in the 14th century - so the word is not of Asian origin at all!!!Obviously, people's food is an important part of their identity, especially in countries witho! ut anything else to be proud of - such as institutions, inventions etc. Sorry to disappoint proud Bengalis - but those are the facts, not the nationalistic propaganda. (PS Wikipedia is not evidence - and many dictionaries are wrong here too). Please feel free to look up 'the first cookbook in English' and you'll accept the word 'currie' in of European origin.

Shreeram Sugavanam, Aberdeen
Tarkari (Pronounced tar-kaari) is a word also used in the Kannada language which means vegetables. Takkali is a Tamil word which means tomatoes. The word Kari literally means coal in Tamil and it is also used to denote meat and Tamil brahmins use the word for any vegetable that is shallow-fried in oil (Example: Carrot Kari) The word also means the colour black in tamil (Kariveppalai - Curry leaves) Coal was the main medium of fuel in the olden days to cook food and therefore the origin of the word can be linked to any type of food that is cooked over a coal fire.

Bose
These guys are literally fighting for the origin of the word "Curry". How ridiculous. Stop all those regional fights and do what you all do good - enjoy delicious regional cuisines.

Aparna Bakshi, Harrow
In West Bengal tarkari means cooked mixed vegetable. Raw vegetables are saag - sabzi. I think tarkari in East Bengal can mean cooked vegetable dish or uncooked vegetables. Yes, jhol is a soupy dish with vegetable and pre fried fish. Kancha jhol is when Hilsha fish, fresh and not fried, is put in jhol. I bet your mouth is watering! Jhal is a fish dish but spiced with chilli, as chilli is jhal in Bengali. I think curry is a British colonial made up word to mean all sorts of spicy Indian dishes they loved but did not know how to cook!

Mukherjee
I think curry originates from Bengal. We all know the "baari" means house in Bengali. Curry rhymes with Baari and we all know food and shelter go together. So there you go.

Arun Vathavooran, Cardiff
I strongly belive the word "Curry" originally from Tamil. We have the word "Curry" in our anicient litreatures.

Keshini Joseph, South Africa
I think Indians in South Africa make the best curry ever.

Aysha Choudhury
I think it is important to know where certain words, culture etc originate from but where ever in the world we are its going to be pronounced and spelt differently but the meanings are all the same ... what is important is to carry on the traditions of passing down such skill of making curry so that even in the modern ways of using curry paste and ready made products we don't forget our ancestrial skills. Food is what brings families together ... we enjoy eating at the table (not in front of the television) and socialising together at meal times, not eating separately at different times which is often seen in today's society. The real importance of Indian/Bengali cooking is the essence of embracing family life, helping one another and keeping in contact with one another. It should be shared with others.

SG Lynn, Hong Kong
The word "curry" definitely comes from the Tamil word "kari" (pronounced exactly like English "curry") which simply means "meat". This can easily be verified through any standard dictionary which gives etymology. "Tarkari" incidentally, is a Sanskrit word that is not exclusive to Bengali, and has been adopted by many South Indian languagues including Tamil (where it's pronounced "thakali"). In South India, it means "vegetables",-- probably in the original Sanskrit too.

Lachmi Sen, Calcutta, India
The masala used in UK takeaway curry has medicinal values such as turmeric, pepper or garam masala besides the fat/ghee/oil which has a lot of cholestrol. For a healthy quick option, opt for a homemade curry which could be made using curry paste. It's healthy, fast, delicious & an economical way to savour curry.

Anuj
I am from Delhi. I think it's really a south indian word which originates from malayalam (I think source of malayalam and tamil are same - Grantha). My friend is a mallu. They say curry for all with sauces (veg or meat). Also they say meethu neem as Karivappila (curry neem leaf) and they use the word 'pachacurry' (green vegetables)for veg.

Roma Rani Malakar from Malaysia
Bengali curries are the best and tarkari is definitely a bengali word which could have derived from Sanskrit. Keep the wok warm. good luck.

Mridul Biswas from Cardiff
Being a Bengali (from India) I have to say to me it doesn`t matter where the word "curry" originated what matters is Bengalis cook the best curries!!

Syhlety Gunda
Don't the Bengalis from both side call curry "salon"

Abhijeet Ganguly from New Delhi
i think it would be a bit difficult to find out where the word originated from..west Bengal or east Bengal(Bangladesh)..the people of the two countries i am sure would like to debate on it!!..anyway the bottom line is my mom like most other Bengali moms make tasty torkari..

Suskitaroy Chowdhury from Bridgend
Curry according to me is a mixture of oil, onion, ginger, garlic, curry. but it is different from torkari, as torkari includes vegetables. but there can be fish curry, chicken curry. i think it originates from bengal, the place where i come from.

Bodhisattwa Chatterjee from Asansol, West Bengal
I think that curry is indeed derived from tarkari..It would be a good idea to see when the word has started to be in use. We all know that the East India Company used Bengal as their capital, and it is not unlikely that some cultural exchange has taken place. So, for now, I vote for Curry as in Tarkari!!

Prabu from Germany
The term Curry derives from Kari, a Tamil word meaning dishes prepared made with vegetables or meat and usually eaten with rice. And the spices which are ground to powder form which is used to prepare Curry is called Curry powder (Karithool in Tamil). For more see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry

Ashok Nair from Kerala
Curry is derived from kurry (malayalam). Kaaram in Tamil means something spicy.

Ananda, Dhaka, Bangladesh
While you're talking and dispuing about Bengali curry, I love the adda (gossiping) which is the central piece of Bengali culture. We make storm in tea cup with samucha and singara, chanachur (light refreshments) and adda. Wherever we go, adda will stay with us. www.addabas.blogspot.com

Ravi Basu, Chennai
It seems we are fond of creating controversy. All comments about curry do not have any substantial support, its all hypothesys. So friends lets be quiet with all our personal comments about 'curry'. Lets comment about something constructive. Isn't that better?

Chakri from Newport
Hi all I don't think CURRY is an Indian term at all. I feel its a perfect English word.

Chirag Choithani, Baroda, India
I think curry comes from the word kalia that is thin gravy like jhol.

Saran from Newport
As I have mentioned previously on the other topic, please find below the info. "The origin of the word 'curry' can be traced back to the Tamil word 'kari' meaning spiced sauce." I have found this information in the following web site - www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2003/nov/curryfacts

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Niloy Roy from Delhi
Curry is a word which actually has come from Kadahi. Food prepared in Kadahi (essentially an Indian food preparation vessel) with lot of spices and other items is called curry. Therefore we get, curry (Kadhi) pakora, egg curry etc. 'tarkari' means vegetables and looking at the history of bengali literature, it doesn't have anything to do with the word 'CURRY' and thus curry doesn't have any lineage to Bengal. Bengalis call it 'Jhol'

Myth in Perugia, Italy
In old Madras State (large part of present day Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka), 'curry' was the word used for meat by the local meat-eating population. In all probability the British took it to be the name of the spicy dish itself, and this was later transferred to mean the spice mixture used to cook the dish.

Hasneen Coudhury
The Bengali term for curry is tarcurry or tarkari. This is a stew-like dish eaten by every household in Bangladesh and West Bengal.

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