Curry, is more a category, whereas madras is a specific kind of curry. Think of it like cat family (curry) and Tiger (madras curry). So, it's hard to say is a tiger like a cat - sure, it is a cat, but not all cats are tigers. Madras curry is a curry, but not all curries are...well, you get the idea.
There are companies that make stuff called just curry, curry paste, curry sauce, mild curry, hot curry, &c., but when it comes down to it, it's just the companies unique mixture of spices. It varies from company to company what that actual mixture is. So, if we are talking about being in a shop looking at two bottles, one labeled curry and one labeled madras curry - they probably won't taste the same, but are probably interchangeable in a recipe.
I've seen the word curry (or variations on the spelling) in medieval cookbooks, meaning a cooked mixture, with spice, and often meat, something like a stew. But a lot of people say the word comes to the English language from India during the 19th Century, meaning something like mixed spice. Either way, it basically means spicy mixture and is a category rather than a specific recipe of spices.
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Spicy potatoes... mmmm... now I want aloo gobi and poppadoms for lunch.
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There are companies that make stuff called just curry, curry paste, curry sauce, mild curry, hot curry, &c., but when it comes down to it, it's just the companies unique mixture of spices. It varies from company to company what that actual mixture is. So, if we are talking about being in a shop looking at two bottles, one labeled curry and one labeled madras curry - they probably won't taste the same, but are probably interchangeable in a recipe.
I've seen the word curry (or variations on the spelling) in medieval cookbooks, meaning a cooked mixture, with spice, and often meat, something like a stew. But a lot of people say the word comes to the English language from India during the 19th Century, meaning something like mixed spice. Either way, it basically means spicy mixture and is a category rather than a specific recipe of spices.