[BITList] Britain teaches India about curries

[John Feltham]

Britain teaches India about curries

24 Apr 2010

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Britain-teaches-India-about-curries/articleshow/5852000.cms

KOLKATA: Britain exporting curry to India? The idea seems
ludicrous but a group of chefs are in the subcontinent determined
to teach locals about British versions of traditional Indian recipes.

Indian food has become a mainstay of the British diet, eaten in
vast quantities across the country, but few people in the homeland
of the curry have ever heard of the dishes that pass off for their
national cuisine in Europe.

Chicken Tikka Masala, known for its spicy red yoghurt-based sauce
and said to be the most popular dish in British restaurants, is unheard
of in India where even the word "curry" is seen as a British invention.

Dishes with "gravy" are what Britons, or "Britishers" as they are still
known in India, would recognise as a curry, though gravy for traditional
English folk is something served with roast beef on a Sunday.

"The Taste of Britain's Curry Festival" has been running this week in
Kolkata, eastern India, the first capital of the British empire on the
subcontinent. Advertised widely across the city, the idea is to introduce
Indians to some of the dishes that have developed in Britain in the 300
years since the two countries have been linked by trade and colonial rule.

"The British Raj in the Indian subcontinent started from Kolkata and
Britons had the first Indian curries in this historic city," festival
director Syed Bilal Ahmed told AFP.

"Bringing back curry to its original place is like a homecoming."

The festival features 50 dishes by four Britain-based Indian and
Bangladeshi master chefs.

Some of the recipes on display are British curry house staples,
such as Balti, Jalfrezi and Tikka Masala.

"British curries are healthier as they have less spice, less oil
and less sugar and salt," added Ahmed, who believes Britain
no longer deserves its reputation for poor food.

The festival, which organisers plan to take to Bangladesh and
Spain, ends on Sunday but its impact might be long-term in
Kolkata, a bustling city famed for its passionate gastronome
residents.

"We plan to continue some dishes of Britain curry even after the
festival," said Utpal Mondal, executive chef of host hotel Hindustan
International, where sales are up 18 percent since the festival
began.

Locals appeared to be enjoying the fare on offer. "We came here
to get the taste of Britain curry. It's delicious," said Sutapa Sanyal,
an employee of a city-based firm who walked into the restaurant
with her husband for the first time.