World's Best Traditional Dish No.1 'Japanese Curry'... Indians Say "What Are You Talking About"

Gourmet Platform 'Taste Atlas' Launched
Strong Backlash from Indian Netizens, the 'Curry Homeland'

The Taste Atlas, known as the "World Food Map," recently announced the "2022 World's Best Traditional Dishes" list, sparking a war of nerves among netizens worldwide.

Japanese dish "kare" (curry) took first place, but Indians are protesting, saying, "Curry is a representative dish of India."

In December last year, Taste Atlas selected the top 50 best traditional dishes in the world in 2022. The first place went to Japanese kare, followed by Picanha (Brazil) in second, Am?ijoas ? Bulh?o Pato (Portugal) in third, and Tangbao (China) in fourth.

Japanese kare received a rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars, securing first place.

Taste Atlas explained via Twitter that the main difference between Indian and Japanese curry is that "the Indian version uses a combination of spices, whereas Japanese curry is made with curry powder."

Besides curry, Japan also featured dishes such as Tonkotsu ramen, Katsudon, curry rice, Shoyu ramen, sake nigiri sushi, and gyoza, occupying a significant portion of the top 50 dishes.

Indian netizens, who claim to be the "homeland of curry," are opposing this evaluation. Indians responded to the tweet, saying, "This (curry) is neither a traditional Japanese dish nor the best dish."

One netizen said, "Japanese curry uses curry powder with fewer spices, whereas Indian curry uses various bases like cumin, paprika, and turmeric," while another added, "Curry powder itself is made from a combination of spices."

Japanese Curry
[Image source=Taste Atlas Twitter]

Meanwhile, Brazil's Picanha, ranked second, is a dish where beef cuts are eaten as churrasco or steak. Unlike smoked American barbecue or Korean-style galbi cooked in restaurants, Brazilian barbecue is characterized by slowly cooked chunks of meat served on metal skewers shaped like knives at the table. Taste Atlas introduced Picanha as a specialty of Brazilian steak houses (churrascaria).

Portugal's Am?ijoas ? Bulh?o Pato, ranked third, is a dish of clams cooked without fishy smell using garlic, lemon juice, and white wine, often eaten with warm bread or rice. The dish's name comes from the 19th-century poet Raimundo Ant?nio de Bulh?o Pato. Both Picanha and Am?ijoas ? Bulh?o Pato received ratings of 4.86.

Chinese dumplings, Tangbao, received a rating of 4.83, ranking fourth. According to Taste Atlas, dumplings can be made with either yeast or regular dough depending on their origin, and the filling usually contains minced pork or crab meat. There were no Korean dishes in the "2022 World's Best Traditional Dishes 50" list.

Taste Atlas is a global gourmet travel guide based in Bulgaria, established in 2015. It is connected to 9,000 local restaurants and provides readers with descriptions and reviews of dishes. It mainly promotes traditional cooking methods and authentic restaurants and also introduces culinary experts and research.