Its rich and complicated taste makes it a favorite seasoning that is now considered a staple of Singaporean cuisine. The preparation of curry powder in Singapore has evolved over time and has its own distinct flavor given the Singapore’s multicultural nature with a predominant Indian, Malay and Chinese population. The history and uses of curry powder in SIngapore provide an interesting perspective on the food culture of this nation.
Originally, curries reached the Singapore shores with Indians who migrated to South East Asia from as early as the 13th century. When Indian traders first began travelling in this part of the world as part of the early spice trade route, they would have brought such spices as turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, chili peppers and curry leaves which would form the main ingredients of curry powder. In the early nineteenth century, when the British settled in Singapore to develop it as a trading port in 1819, immigrants from Southern India soon introduced genuine recipes and spices into the colony. This included ready to use Madras curry powder blends with up to 20 spices for added flavor and aroma.
Curry dishes moved into the mainstream and were popularized as Singapore witnessed increasing economic affluence at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. This exposure ensured that Chinese coolies, traders from other Asian countries, and Arab and European settlers were gradually developing a taste for the diverse and rich flavors offered by curries. In local kitchens and food stalls, cooks and stall owners started to innovate as they ground their spices to serve a diverse customers. Also, locally prepared curry powder was supplemented by packaged spice mixes such as Baba’s and Royal umbrella, making it even easier for domestic cooks to prepare.
When Singapore attained independence in 1965, there were attempts to solidify or forge a Singaporean identity, including food. The hawkers and the home cooks standardised the curry powder recipe using the available spices in a particular region. Belacan (dried fermented shrimp paste) and galangal were adopted from Malaysians’ way of preparing the dish while the methods and the proportion of the spices used were modified to meet the Chinese palate. This gave birth to a Singaporean curry powder that is not purely Indian nor strictly Southeast Asian but a blend of flavours from the two regions and possibly more. It became a national practice devoid of ethnic and economical divisions; it was viewed as a pride of the nation.
Curry powder is however more than just a spice used to enhance the flavor of food in Singapore as it has more meaning symbolically. The gradual and intricate procedure of preparing a curry which involves grinding, frying and cooking spices and then marrying them together in stages is like the culture of Singapore itself – complex and filled with layers. Every Singaporean home would have one or several kinds of curry powder for different sorts of preparations, be it the thick Chicken or Mutton curries or mild Seafood and Vegetables. Cookery skills and knowledge of recipes would become the family affairs and secrets that are being inherited by generations as the permanent kitchen values. Some of the spice mixes also act as remedies for various ailments, with the use of heat as the approach to treatment, pain relief and restoration of health as claimed by the Indian Ayurveda and Chinese medicine.
Even with the ever-changing Singapore society that is still rapidly developing, the local curry powder retains its traditional base with some flexibility. Some cooking schools explaining both the original ‘aromatic spice mixtures’ and shortcuts like ‘curry paste’ that are more convenient for youthful busy wives and mothers. Certain exotic brands present creative concepts of fusion curries that incorporate elements of East and West which indicate receptiveness to change. Nevertheless, housewife and hawkerstall recipes and spices, which are prepared from whole, freshly ground spices, remain more prevalent than their modern counterparts.
The process is time-consuming but the outcome is worth it and the customized trolleys symbolize the hard work that goes into culinary arts. This is the legacy that early immigrants left behind in Singapore – a group that contributed to the sustenance of a struggling settlement; their hard work and tenacity are eternally captured in the spiciness of the nation’s pulse. The olfactory memories of curry, sandwiched between the harsh reality of history and the soft embrace of contemporary, outlines a different Singapore. Indeed, curry is so central to the identity of Singapore’s culture and its eating habits that any alterations to the preferred mix elicit wrath, as people realize that the altered mixture undermines Singapore’s core values. Curry and its history has been a part of the Singapore story more than just spices to create this dish.
