Dhansak them the tradition of cooking meat with lentils and/or vegetables. However, tomatoes, chilies, pumpkin and potatoes are native to the Americas and were unknown in India until some time after the Portuguese (who in turn got them through trade with Spain) brought them to India in the 16th century CE. The dhansak is flavoured with a spice mixture called "dhansak masala", which is similar to "garam masala" except that the spices chosen are more aromatic and sweet rather than pungent. Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, dried ginger, coriander seed and cumin seed, as well as a pinch of asafetida, are among
Curry in the Crown: The Story of Britain's Favourite Dish Curry in the Crown: The Story of Britain's Favourite Dish Curry in the Crown: The Story of Britain's Favourite Dish is a 1999 book written by Shrabani Basu. The book discusses in detail the growth of the Indian food business in Britain and how it became a million dollar business there. A 1997 Gallup poll of British tastes in food proved that curry, basically an Indian food, was the nation's favourite food with over a quarter of Britons eating it at least once a week. Tunku Varadarajan, writing in "India Today", argued that the story of the conquest of Britain