Oldest BRITISH CURRY Recipe Ever Written (1751 Revival)

This historical deep-dive from Backyard Chef explores the earliest known curry recipe printed in English, written by Hannah Glasse in her 1751 culinary manual, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. For modern development chefs and culinary historians, this recipe provides a fascinating look at the foundations of Anglo-Indian cuisine. Far from the punchy, garlic-and-chilli-laden British Indian Restaurant (BIR) dishes of the twentieth century, this mid-eighteenth-century dish offers a delicate, aromatic, and comforting flavour profile adapted for the Georgian palate.

Key Techniques and Historical Adaptation

The preparation begins with a two-step cooking process for the protein. First, the chicken is lightly boiled to par-cook the meat and create a clean, simple broth. Following this, the meat is fried alongside sliced onions and three dry spices: turmeric, ginger, and black pepper. This technique of frying the spices directly with the aromatics and meat allows the fat-soluble compounds in the turmeric and ginger to bloom, building a foundational warmth without any garlic, tomatoes, or chillies—ingredients that were either unavailable or unappealing to the British public at the time.

The dish is then simmered in the reserved chicken broth to tenderise the meat and integrate the flavours. It is finished off the heat with a generous splash of cream and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. The addition of cream serves as a thickening agent and balances the earthy turmeric, while the lemon juice provides the necessary acid to cut through the richness, mimicking the souring agents like tamarind used in traditional Indian cookery.

Balancing 18th-Century Flavours

When preparing this historical dish, a chef must pay close attention to the balance of the spice ratios. Without the masking heat of capsicums or the pungent depth of garlic, the bitterness of turmeric can easily overwhelm the sauce. The ginger and black pepper must be measured carefully to provide the sole source of heat. Additionally, the final liaison of cream and lemon juice requires precise temperature control; boiling the sauce after adding these ingredients risks curdling the cream and splitting the emulsion. Understanding these early adaptations helps chefs appreciate how culinary styles evolve through trade, substitution, and local preference.