The word 'curry' is an English derivative of kari, meaning spice sauce, but curry does not, in India, come as a powder. It is the subtle and delicate blending of spices such as turmeric, cardamom, ginger, coriander, nutmeg and poppy seed. Many of these spices are also noted for their medicinal properties. They, like the basic ingredient, vary from region to region. Although not all Hindus are vegetarians, vegetable dishes are more common than in Europe, particularly in southern India.
Mughlai cuisine is rich, creamy, deliciously spiced and liberally sprinkled with nuts and saffron.
In the south, curries are mainly vegetable and inclined to be hotter. Coconut is a major ingredient of southern Indian cooking. One regional distinction is that, whereas in the south rice is the staple food, in the north this is supplemented and sometimes substituted by a wide range of flat breads, such as Pooris, Chapatis and Nan. Sweets are principally milk-based puddings, pastries and pancakes. Besides a splendid choice of sweets and sweetmeats, there is an abundance of fruit, both tropical mangoes, pomegranates and melons and temperate apricots, apples and strawberries.