The British curry is going back to its roots this week as it is showcased at a food festival in India.
Chicken tikka masala and balti chicken are among 50 English versions of traditional Indian dishes on the menu at the event in Kolkata, the city that claims to be where the UK’s love affair with curry began.
Organisers of the 10-day Taste of Britain’s Curry Festival, which started on Monday, said locals are curious to find out what makes the meals so popular.
Syed Belal Ahmed, the festival director and editor of UK-based magazine Curry Life, said: 'It was like a homecoming for the great British curry, as Kolkata was once the proud seat of the British Raj in India.
'It is where the curry trail really started.’
The festival at Hotel Hindustan International is showcasing dishes produced by four UK-based Indian and Bangladeshi master chefs.
'It is running to packed houses,' Koushik Sengupta, food and beverage manager at the hotel, said.
Encouraged by the enthusiastic response, the hotel plans to incorporate some of the dishes into its main menu, with a few modifications mainly to dial up the spice levels.
'British Curry uses less spices to suit the English taste. Hence a little alteration will be required,' visiting chef Partha Mittra said.
Britain’s love of curry has produced a serious industry which employs more than 100,000 people and produces an annual revenue of £4.2billion. Chicken tikka masala is now considered the UK's national dish.
Such is our love for Indian food – which has been toned down in terms of spiciness – London has even dedicated a street in the East End called Brick Lane or 'curry mile'.
The festival will travel to Madrid in Spain in June and to Dhaka in Bangladesh in October, completing its homecoming in South Asia.
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