Today, it is virtually impossible to talk about Singaporean food or Singapore in general without mentioning curry powder as it has been a staple item in the country’s food culture for the last 200 years. It can be dated back to the early months of the nineteenth century during the colonization of Singapore by the British and the formation of Singapore as a trading port. Singapore being open for business and employment opportunities at that time also admitted Asians from all parts of the continent including India. The food that these Indian immigrants cooked and ate in sugar cane fields of Louisiana and other states included the use of curry powder. 

Curry powder are actually a mixture of other spices such as turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek and chili peppers among others. This spice mix evolved from India and the people who migrated from there introduced it in the Malay Peninsula and Singapore. During the colonial period, Singapore was also settled by the British who used it as a trading center as well as a naval base. The British later took curry dishes to another notch by putting up curry tiffin houses, restaurants that offered Anglo-Indian food to their officers, administrators and military troops. These tiffin houses served localized Indian curry dishes such as fish head curry and devil’s curry prepared with curry powders.

Another related cooking style that also began using the curry powder at some point was the Nyonya or Peranakan style which is a combination of Chinese and Malay styles of preparing food. The Nyonya culture also cooked meals using spices and herbs where curry kapitan (chicken curry), curry laksa (curry noodle soup), and curry puffs incorporated curry powder for spiciness and flavor. This spice blend began to be incorporated in Chinese food where curry noodles and curry chicken dishes were being sold. By the fifties, curry dishes became available as street food and hawker food in Singapore due to the diverse culture of the people. Therefore, beginning with simple curry tiffin shops, curry powder even found its way into the new generation Chinese, Malay and Eurasian restaurants, though the recipes might have been more elaborate.

Singapore’s nation-building policies after its independence in 1965 conformed closely with the heightened use of curry powder. When Singapore was evolving from a third world colonial city to a cosmopolitan, multicultural society, food had the unenviable task of acting as a great ethnic reconciler. Food culture such as curry puffs, mee siam (vermicelli noodles in spicy gravy), fish head curry called people from different ethnicity together, especially the Chinese, Malay, and Indian. Singapore was hence able to associate these curry-flavored foods with its cultural distinctiveness. They were famous globally, promoting Singapore food internationally under the Singapore Tourism Board.
 

In the present times, any type of curry prepared using curry powder is seen to be widely available in hawker centres, food courts, coffee shops and restaurants all over the island nation. Different from the Indian curry Singaporean style curry has been adopted over two hundred years ago and thus, is less hot and richer in coconut than Indian curry. Some of the common examples of dishes that are prepared using curries are curry noodles, curried vegetables, curried chicken and mutton. Some vendors have also developed fusion derivatives, for example, lor mee which is made using braised noodles and mixed with curry powder. 

In addition to food, curry is also a part of other Singaporean popular culture aspects, such as media. Cultural references to curry nyonya and traditions in novels, movies, theater and media are commonly portrayed. The Curry Puff Man mascot familiar in the 1990s linked to the Singapore food presented this dish and ingredient. Supermarkets, in particular, have been observing a phenomenal increase in the consumption of curry powder and paste as well more recently. Every other home kitchen stores various curry powders and pastes for preparing instant meals from a variety of ingredients. NEA campaign to reduce the use of plastics and food waste, for instance, through encouraging people to make homemade curry has also contributed to home-made curry dishes. 

To sum up, during almost two centuries, Curry Powder was not only enhancing Singaporean food but also Singaporean tradition. Having been brought in by migrants and adopted by government as part of the nation building process and having become an integral part of the Singaporean daily life across the ethnic divide, it defined the Singaporean heritage. It is easily the most versatile, adaptable and popular condiment that made a culinary mark for itself in Singapore. As more hawker and home-cooks advance the recipes for curries, the future of the curry dishes in the city state also looks as bright and appetizing.