Curry serves up a delectable history of Indian cuisine, ranging from the imperial kitchen of the Mughal invader Babur to the smoky cookhouse of the British Raj. In this fascinating volume, the first authoritative history of Indian food, Lizzie Collingham reveals that almost every well-known Indian dish is the product of a long history of invasion and the fusion of different food traditions. We see how, with the arrival of Portuguese explorers and the Mughal horde, the cooking styles and ingredients of central Asia, Persia, and Europe came to the subcontinent, where over the next four centuries they mixed with traditional Indian food to produce the popular cuisine that we know today. Portuguese spice merchants, for example, introduced vinegar marinades and the British contributed their passion for roast meat. When these new ingredients were mixed with native spices such as cardamom and black pepper, they gave birth to such popular dishes as biryani, jalfrezi, and vindaloo. In fact, vindaloo is an adaptation of the Portuguese dish "carne de vinho e alhos-"-the name "vindaloo" a garbled pronunciation of "vinho e alhos"--and even "curry" comes from the Portuguese pronunciation of an Indian word. Finally, Collingham describes how Indian food has spread around the world, from the curry houses of London to the railway stands of Tokyo, where "karee raisu" (curry rice) is a favorite Japanese comfort food. We even visit Madras Mahal, the first Kosher Indian restaurant, in Manhattan. Richly spiced with colorful anecdotes and curious historical facts, and attractively designed with 34 illustrations, 5 maps, and numerous recipes, Curry is vivid, entertaining, and delicious--a feast for food lovers everywhere.

莉澤特•科林厄姆（Lizzie Collingham）在劍橋耶穌學院充任訪問學者之前，曾在沃威剋大學教授曆史。她著有《帝國體製：英國統治印度時期的物質經驗，1800-1947年》。現在身為自由學者兼作傢的她曾在瑞士、德國、奧地利和法國生活過，但仍在尋覓定居之處。 邵文實，文學博士，現為東南大學中文係副教授。教書研習之餘，以翻譯為樂，迄今已齣版的譯著有《女性白皮書》、《非常女人》（北方文藝齣版社，2000年）、《贏者之師》、《美國悲劇》（昆侖齣版社，2001年）、《日本魅影》（鷺江齣版社，2006年）等十餘部，共計三百餘萬字。