chicken curry

Hindi translation: मुर्ग़ करी (Murgh Karee)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:chicken curry
Hindi translation:मुर्ग़ करी (Murgh Karee)
Entered by: bochkor

12:46 Jun 21, 2006
English to Hindi translations [PRO]
Food & Drink / Indian cuisine
English term or phrase: chicken curry
I need the exact translation in Unicode (UTF-8) and the exact pronounciation in Latin letters. No English in Hindi! So yes, chicken should be translated. (Wherever there's a Hindi word, that should be used, not English.) I'm unsure, whether it's gonna be MURG or MURGHI, whether the I is long or short, whether the H is needed correctly or not, plus there are other words for chicken, so I need the best one used in this context. Also, the transcription & pronounciation of KARI (curry) is very important, because I think, not the regular R is used, but the RH, which I don't know, how to pronounce. Also is the A long and is the I long? Also, is this the order, in which it is mostly/correctly used (or curry chicken rather)? All answers needed. I appreciate it.
Laszlo
मुर्ग़ शोरबेदार (Murgh Shorbedaar)
Explanation:
Here curry means gravy. So शोरबेदार is the right word here.

Chicken > मुर्ग़ (murgh), it is 'gh'
Curry > शोरबेदार (Shorbedaar)

Hindi word Curry or Karhi (कढ़ी)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2006-06-21 17:47:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hindi word 'curry' or 'karhi' (कढ़ी) is a dish made with gram floor, spices and buttermilk.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2006-06-21 17:49:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Please note that it is ग़ (ghha) not ग (ga)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2006-06-22 07:17:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'Karhi' (कढ़ी) in an Indian dish made with buttermilk.

'Curry' in 'Chicken Curry' is not an indian word. The word 'curry' is also used for vegetarian dishes. It means a dish containing spiced gravy.

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/curry.html

That's why I used the word 'shorbedaar' which is used for a dish containing gravy.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2006-06-22 07:23:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Though 'curry' in 'Chicken Curry' is not an Indian word, but still it is widely used and understood. When it comes to chicken dishes, the English word 'chicken' is more widely used then the Hindi word 'murgh'.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2006-06-22 11:10:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I am sorry, कढ़ी should be transliterated as 'kadhi' and not 'karhi' as I did above.

Now to remove any confusion, both kadhi ( कढ़ी) and curry (करी) are Indian words.

While कढ़ी (kadhi) is an north Indian dish made out of buttermilk, 'curry' is derived from a Tamil (not Hindi) word 'kari'.

Here I found a very good information on the net:

"The term curry derives from kari, a Tamil word meaning sauce and referring to various kinds of dishes common in South India made with vegetables or meat and usually eaten with rice. The term is used more broadly, especially in the Western Hemisphere, to refer to almost any spiced, sauce-based dishes cooked in various south and southeast Asian styles. This imprecise umbrella term is largely a legacy of the British Raj. In India, the word curry actually refers to anything cooked and eaten with rice. Anything can be made into a curry if it is cooked and spices do not necessarily have to be added to it. There is a common misconception that all curries are made from curry powder or that a certain meat or vegetable is curried; rather, one makes a curry out of these ingredients."

taken from:
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/curry

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2006-06-22 11:25:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

To clear some of your other doubts:

murghaa (मुर्ग़ा) > a cock
murghee (मुर्ग़ी) > a hen

When we use it with a dish, we say 'murgh' (मुर्ग़) as in 'मुर्ग़ मक्खनी' (murgh makhanee or Butter Chicken).


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2006-06-22 11:45:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Now, to write 'Chicken Curry' in Hindi, I think the the best way is to keep it as it is, because 'murgh kari' or 'murgha kari' (simple translation, also mentioned by Keshab above) are not widely used terms and 'Chicken Curry' is very widely used term in India and other parts of word.

So it would be:

चिकन करी (Chicken Curry)



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day4 hrs (2006-06-22 17:26:26 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

I agree with your choice. Though the term मुर्ग़ करी is not widely used but anyone in India will easily understand this term. Strangly there are many Chicken dishes in India called 'murgh', for example, Murgh Do Piaza, Murgh Rizala, Murgh Methi Malai etc. (http://www.ndtvcooks.com/search/search.asp?searchtext=murgh)... but Chicken Curry is famous in its English form. I think it is mainly because Murgh is an Hindi/Urdu word and Kari is orginally a Tamil word. Also because this name (Chicken Curry) was given by the British.

I too wish less English in Indian languages but I do not think this is going to happen. The main reason for influence of English on Indian languages is that British ruled India for many years. Even after India’s independence, English remained the main language of India. It still remains the important language of India. English schools are still considered better schools. Many subjects in higher education, Including Medical and Engineering, are only taught in English. Check this: http://www.wordwizard.com/critq2.htm
Selected response from:

Tejinder Soodan
India
Local time: 05:12
Grading comment
Well, it was extremely hard to make this choice. चिकन was out of the question from the beginning, since it was in my original posting. The reason I posted it this way is that I don't think, there's one person in India, who doesn't understand मुर्ग़, so if all do, then why use a foreign colonizer's word, when you have your own? I feel very strongly about this. When you don't have your own word, that's a different story, but that's not the case here. Regarding करी, most people seemed to write it with a short A, so that's the version I chose. The Tamil (kari) vs. North Indian (karhi) explanation was very helpful, so I made my choice based on most helpfulness, not based on the main, first translations in larger letters on top of each answer, because none of those I could accept/use. The Tamil origin contradicts my Bengali waiter's claim of origin, but that I'm not able to judge now, because I don't want to drag this out too much longer. Anyway, you may disagree with my choice, but I just want to say that I appreciated everybody's input, who participated, large or small. Thank you all, good luck to India and less English in Indian languages, be proud of yourself, you don't need English! Thanks a lot!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5murg saalan, murg kadee, murg curry, chiken karee, chiken curry
englishhindi
5chicken curry
Pundora
4 +1मुर्ग़ शोरबेदार (Murgh Shorbedaar)
Tejinder Soodan
4चिकन करी
Mrudula Tambe
5 -1moorg masallam/ moorgaa kaaree (मुर्ग मसल्लम/ मुर्गा कारी)
keshab
4मुर्ग मसाला
Balasubramaniam L.


  

Answers


25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
murg saalan, murg kadee, murg curry, chiken karee, chiken curry


Explanation:
Curry- Saalan, Kadee

englishhindi
Local time: 05:12
Native speaker of: Native in HindiHindi

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  bochkor: Just 1 answer, not a choice of 5 and in Hindi Unicode, please!
2 hrs

agree  bhigisha patel
1 day 5 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
chicken curry


Explanation:
This is a term widely used and understood in all the cities of India. It would be understood by maximum number of people if transliteration is used instead of translation.

Pundora
India
Local time: 05:12
Native speaker of: Hindi

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  bochkor: Widely used & understood: that's why I don't understand Mr. Balasubramaniam, who says, in India there is no such dish. I disagree with transliteration to be used, but you left it in English entirely. Transliteration means with Hindi letters, not Latin.
2 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
चिकन करी


Explanation:
I think it is a special noun hence should not be translated. Because then it'll change the recipe thoroughly.

Mrudula Tambe
India
Local time: 05:12
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SanskritSanskrit, Native in MarathiMarathi
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
moorg masallam/ moorgaa kaaree (मुर्ग मसल्लम/ मुर्गा कारी)


Explanation:
At first,I have to convey special thanks to you from all non-vegeterians to discuss such a delicious matter!! Perhaps you know there are many recipies of chicken curry in the world, specially in Indian sub continent and surroundings. Mughal recipy became a tradition in this sub continent ("Mughlaai Khaanaa"). According this traditional recipy,"Moorg Masallam" is best and very well known chicken curry here. Another is "Moorgaa Kaaree" which is a general chicken curry called here.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2006-06-21 16:39:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I understand the requirements. No doubt your chicken curry is "murgA kArI".(Please note that 'A' sounds like "umbrella "& I for "Italy""India" ).
I do not know what dictionary you follow, so I cannot comment whether it is right or wrong in a whole. But in this case it not works correctly.




--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2006-06-21 16:50:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

मुर्गा कारी

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day2 hrs (2006-06-22 15:14:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

According to Wikipedia-"The term curry is derived from kari, (a Tamil word meaning sauce and referring to various kinds of dishes common in South India made with vegetables or meat and usually eaten with rice). [1] However, the term (meaning a stew) is found in English before the arrival of British traders on the Subcontinent, and may simply have been applied by them to dishes which they thought resembled the stews they were used to. Nowadays the term is used more broadly, especially in the Western Hemisphere, to refer to almost any spiced, sauce-based dishes cooked in various south and southeast Asian styles. This imprecise umbrella term is largely a legacy of the British Raj. There is a common misconception that all curries are made from curry powder or that a certain meat or vegetable is curried. In India, the word curry is in fact rarely used. (you can see similarity with Mr.Tejinder Soodan's reply)
NOW, in Hindi Cock= murgA Hen= murgI
and nobody can identify chicken in the dish whether it is murgA or murgI. But we have to name it. OK? Then it is "murgA" undoubtedly.
"murg" is a urdu word (urdu is a sister language of hindi).
we get the "curry"from wikipedia and any small restaurant in India can serve you different type of curries along with chicken curry. Here I have to state that you can get a word in dictionary only when it is accepted by common men. they accepted the curries in their way as follows:

Chicken curry= murgA kArI = मुर्गा कारी
Egg curry = anDA kArI = अण्डा कारी
Fish curry = machhlI kArI= मछली कारी

I have tried to explain the story.


keshab
Local time: 05:12
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in HindiHindi, Native in BengaliBengali
Notes to answerer
Asker: Where did you take the spelling कारी from, when both my dictionary and Mr. Tejinder Soodan wrote कढ़ी instead? Also, why murg once and murgaa another time? What's the difference between the two? Plus on the Internet I also saw murghi. So what's the story with that? Why can't everybody agree on 1 way to say chicken and that 1 way wouldn't be just murgh then?


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  bochkor: Murg or murgaa, I need you to decide. Masallam and masala don't work, as I noted above. R or RH and KA long or short? My dictionary has RH and short A. Are they wrong?
58 mins

neutral  Tejinder Soodan: मुर्ग मुसल्लम is whole roasted chicken, check http://www.indiacurry.com/chicken/cx005chixmusallam.htm
1 hr
  -> Yes,Tejinder, you are correct,this cannot be carried to "curry".Thanks.

neutral  md mujahid (X): http://tumiweb.wapka.mobi
4234 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
मुर्ग़ शोरबेदार (Murgh Shorbedaar)


Explanation:
Here curry means gravy. So शोरबेदार is the right word here.

Chicken > मुर्ग़ (murgh), it is 'gh'
Curry > शोरबेदार (Shorbedaar)

Hindi word Curry or Karhi (कढ़ी)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2006-06-21 17:47:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hindi word 'curry' or 'karhi' (कढ़ी) is a dish made with gram floor, spices and buttermilk.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2006-06-21 17:49:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Please note that it is ग़ (ghha) not ग (ga)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2006-06-22 07:17:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'Karhi' (कढ़ी) in an Indian dish made with buttermilk.

'Curry' in 'Chicken Curry' is not an indian word. The word 'curry' is also used for vegetarian dishes. It means a dish containing spiced gravy.

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/curry.html

That's why I used the word 'shorbedaar' which is used for a dish containing gravy.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2006-06-22 07:23:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Though 'curry' in 'Chicken Curry' is not an Indian word, but still it is widely used and understood. When it comes to chicken dishes, the English word 'chicken' is more widely used then the Hindi word 'murgh'.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2006-06-22 11:10:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I am sorry, कढ़ी should be transliterated as 'kadhi' and not 'karhi' as I did above.

Now to remove any confusion, both kadhi ( कढ़ी) and curry (करी) are Indian words.

While कढ़ी (kadhi) is an north Indian dish made out of buttermilk, 'curry' is derived from a Tamil (not Hindi) word 'kari'.

Here I found a very good information on the net:

"The term curry derives from kari, a Tamil word meaning sauce and referring to various kinds of dishes common in South India made with vegetables or meat and usually eaten with rice. The term is used more broadly, especially in the Western Hemisphere, to refer to almost any spiced, sauce-based dishes cooked in various south and southeast Asian styles. This imprecise umbrella term is largely a legacy of the British Raj. In India, the word curry actually refers to anything cooked and eaten with rice. Anything can be made into a curry if it is cooked and spices do not necessarily have to be added to it. There is a common misconception that all curries are made from curry powder or that a certain meat or vegetable is curried; rather, one makes a curry out of these ingredients."

taken from:
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/curry

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2006-06-22 11:25:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

To clear some of your other doubts:

murghaa (मुर्ग़ा) > a cock
murghee (मुर्ग़ी) > a hen

When we use it with a dish, we say 'murgh' (मुर्ग़) as in 'मुर्ग़ मक्खनी' (murgh makhanee or Butter Chicken).


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2006-06-22 11:45:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Now, to write 'Chicken Curry' in Hindi, I think the the best way is to keep it as it is, because 'murgh kari' or 'murgha kari' (simple translation, also mentioned by Keshab above) are not widely used terms and 'Chicken Curry' is very widely used term in India and other parts of word.

So it would be:

चिकन करी (Chicken Curry)



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day4 hrs (2006-06-22 17:26:26 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

I agree with your choice. Though the term मुर्ग़ करी is not widely used but anyone in India will easily understand this term. Strangly there are many Chicken dishes in India called 'murgh', for example, Murgh Do Piaza, Murgh Rizala, Murgh Methi Malai etc. (http://www.ndtvcooks.com/search/search.asp?searchtext=murgh)... but Chicken Curry is famous in its English form. I think it is mainly because Murgh is an Hindi/Urdu word and Kari is orginally a Tamil word. Also because this name (Chicken Curry) was given by the British.

I too wish less English in Indian languages but I do not think this is going to happen. The main reason for influence of English on Indian languages is that British ruled India for many years. Even after India’s independence, English remained the main language of India. It still remains the important language of India. English schools are still considered better schools. Many subjects in higher education, Including Medical and Engineering, are only taught in English. Check this: http://www.wordwizard.com/critq2.htm


Tejinder Soodan
India
Local time: 05:12
Native speaker of: Native in PunjabiPunjabi, Native in HindiHindi
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Well, it was extremely hard to make this choice. चिकन was out of the question from the beginning, since it was in my original posting. The reason I posted it this way is that I don't think, there's one person in India, who doesn't understand मुर्ग़, so if all do, then why use a foreign colonizer's word, when you have your own? I feel very strongly about this. When you don't have your own word, that's a different story, but that's not the case here. Regarding करी, most people seemed to write it with a short A, so that's the version I chose. The Tamil (kari) vs. North Indian (karhi) explanation was very helpful, so I made my choice based on most helpfulness, not based on the main, first translations in larger letters on top of each answer, because none of those I could accept/use. The Tamil origin contradicts my Bengali waiter's claim of origin, but that I'm not able to judge now, because I don't want to drag this out too much longer. Anyway, you may disagree with my choice, but I just want to say that I appreciated everybody's input, who participated, large or small. Thank you all, good luck to India and less English in Indian languages, be proud of yourself, you don't need English! Thanks a lot!
Notes to answerer
Asker: Mr. Balasubramaniam also wrote above (not just me) that curry/karhi is an Indian word. You say, it isn't. Then what is it? It's certainly not English, although there is an English word "to curry", but that means to clean, to groom, to beat or to seek (to curry favor = to seek favor), so it has nothing to do with THIS curry. So curry is just the transcription of what should correctly be kari or karhi. So curry/karhi being neither English, nor Indian/Hindi, then what other language does it come from? Because if it's not Indian at all, then I must wonder, whether the curry dish offered in authentic Indian restaurants with Indian cooks worldwide is not an Indian recipe/dish itself? That again would be very strange, since a Bengali waiter in an Indian restaurant claimed that curry was originally a Bengali dish. So what's the truth? Neither word, nor dish are real? I'm very confused now. Please, more Indians help me decide this issue!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  bochkor: I guees, you meant gram flour. But gram flour, (which?) spices and buttermilk is not my recipe. Plus I haven't seen shorbedaar in 1 single Indian restaurant yet, so where did you get that from?
12 hrs
  -> Sorry for the typo, yes it is flour, mainly black gram flour, main ingredient of कढ़ी is buttermilk, but it is entirely different for 'curry' in 'Chicken Curry'.

agree  Balasubramaniam L.: Quite a bit of research, Tejinder, on a subject that obviously interests you! I myself could not have done it, being a strict vegetarian. But I must disagree with your views on English. I am more with the asker on this.
1 day 7 hrs
  -> Thanks Bala, It was fun. I too am with you/asker on English, but I was just stating the facts. Another example is that almost all the Hindi movie actors, while giving interview on a Hindi news channel, only speak English. People feel proud in speaking Eng

agree  md mujahid (X): http://tumiweb.wapka.mobi/video/list/
4234 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
मुर्ग मसाला


Explanation:
मुर्ग मसाला (murg masala)

http://www.dishesofindia.com/specialities.php

chicken curry is a rather unspecific term. If you could post a brief recipe then we can suggest a more accurate term.

Other chicken recipes common in India are the following:

मुर्ग तीखा मसाला (murg tikka masala)
मुर्ग मखानी (murg makhani) - this is butter chicken

This site mentions some more.

http://www.dishesofindia.com/specialities.php


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2006-06-21 13:59:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

masAlA (capital A signifies a double-length a vowel).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2006-06-21 17:04:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hi,

Curry is just a term that is used for flavouring any dish with condiments (masaala). Even though curry may be the de facto national dish of UK, in India, there is no such dish.

There is kadi of course, which is an entirely different dish made out of buttermilk.

I give here the recipe of murg tikka. Compare the recipe with the one you have posted and you will see that both are more or less the same:

http://www.syvum.com/cgi/online/serve.cgi/recipes/inc/nrcpc1...


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day12 hrs (2006-06-23 00:52:51 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

A final (?) note:

The term curry is best understood when it is looked at as a method of cooking rather than as a recipe.

Just like roasting, grilling, broiling and steaming, you have currying, in which the main ingredient, whether vegetable or chicken is cooked and mixed with condiments to make a gravy rich recipe which is generally eaten with rice.

Also, curry does not form the main course, it is a supplimentary dish, a kind of an appetiser for the main one which could be rice or roti.

This is why if you ask for curry in India you won't get a definite answer, for curry can be of many types and of many things.

Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 05:12
Native speaker of: Native in HindiHindi
PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: There's no such dish in India called curry??? That contradicts Mr. Pundora below, who wrote that chicken curry is widely used and understood in all the cities of India. I've never been to India, so whom should I believe? That's fine, if curry/karhi means spicy, but so does masala (spice). But why did you change curry/karhi to masala then? Just because you don't acknowledge curry as a dish? Can a few more Indians, please, comment on this statement, whether there is really no such dish in India as curry? I would be shocked, if that was true.

Asker: Mr. Balasubramaniam also wrote above (not just me) that curry/karhi is an Indian word. You say, it isn't. Then what is it? It's certainly not English, although there is an English word "to curry", but that means to clean, to groom, to beat or to seek (to curry favor = to seek favor), so it has nothing to do with THIS curry. So curry is just the transcription of what should correctly be kari or karhi. So curry/karhi being neither English, nor Indian/Hindi, then what other language does it come from? Because if it's not Indian at all, then I must wonder, whether the curry dish offered in authentic Indian restaurants with Indian cooks worldwide is not an Indian recipe/dish itself? That again would be very strange, since a Bengali waiter in an Indian restaurant claimed that curry was originally a Bengali dish. So what's the truth? Neither word, nor dish are real? I'm very confused now. Please, more Indians help me decide this issue!

Asker: My above answer was actually meant for Mr. Tejinder Soodan below, but now I can't delete it from here any more.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  bochkor: Murg masala is just spicy chicken, not curry chicken. Curry is an Indian word, not English, so why would it be unspecific? You did not use the word CURRY in your answer. Recipe: http://www.wildboar.net/multilingual/asian/hindi/recipes/chi...
1 hr
  -> Curry may be an Indian word, but it has an entirely different meaning. It simply means spicy. Please see note added to my answer.

agree  md mujahid (X): http://tumiwap.wapka.mobi/video/list/7145141
3787 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search