An Older Queen’s Unlikely Friendship Brought Curry To The High Tables Of Britain (And Beyond)

Abdul Karim, sent to England as a gift to serve at Queen Victoria’s table, became one of her closest confidants. Though the relationship, says NPR, was “clearly maternal” on her side, the outcome of the friendship wasn’t simply that she learned some Urdu. “A spicier outcome of this friendship was the elevation of a dish already popular in England: curry.”