Evolution of Curries in Australia – My Southeast Asian Perspective

When I first arrived in Australia in 1984 my experience of curries in this country consisted of North Indian-style yoghurt-based varieties and those starchy-looking sliced onion-dense yellow dishes from suburban Chinese restaurants.

I was surprised last week when I found out via this piece in The Conversation – https://theconversation.com/from-curried-wombat-to-rendang-and-doro-wat-a-brief-history-of-curry-in-australia-150370 – that curries in Australia in fact hail back to her British colonial days, and that curry powder was a common pantry item even back then.

Also, apparently I came to Australia too late (mercifully, I would argue) to experience the good old days of curries cooked as a matter of course with tinned pineapple, plum jam, bananas, apples and sultanas.

Inspired by the intriguing article, ABC Radio’s Summers with Adam Shirley decided to have a discussion about all things curry in Australia, and I was invited to join in the conversation and give my Southeast Asian (specifically, Malaysian) perspective on the evolution of curries since the 80s.

Here’s the recording, if you missed it Live >>