Curries--spicy sauces with vegetables, meat, or fish usually served over rice--originated in India. But these traditional and ubiquitous one-dish meals are so delicious and amenable to translation that they have literally traversed the globe.

Some are fiery-hot, others mild. Some end up as creamy gravies, others tomato-based stews. They can be red, green, yellow, or any combination thereof. But all are marked by the distinctive flavor of curry powder, which consists of up to 20 spices, herbs, and seeds, and usually includes cardamom, cloves, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, red and black pepper, saffron, tamarind, and turmeric. They offer the same depth of flavor as marinating or slow-roasting, but in a fraction of the time. That's why curries are great for those nights when you need to put something together quickly but don't want to skip the zip.

In India, cooks often blend their own curry powders, but premixed versions are available at most grocery stores, in varying degrees of spiciness. Pick up a jar, and you'll understand why India's love affair with curries has gone forth and multiplied so prodigiously. Our recipes--from Thai Coconut-Curried Salmon With Greens to Lamb Curry With Apples--make it easy to expand your culinary boundaries.