A dummy’s guide to Indian curries

Walk through most high streets in London and you’re bound to find an Indian restaurant of some sort. The curry industry is worth in excess of £1 billion a year in the U.K. Curry has captured the hearts of the nation to such an extent that the England 1998 World Cup anthem was named after a dish first concocted on the other side of the globe. The curry was only narrowly beaten to Britain’s favourite dish by the pizza. But what are the stories behind these national treasures and are they even truly Indian or an example of multiculturalism working at its best.

Tikka Masala

Ahh the treasured tikka masala, for so many a delicious regular takeaway and for a few with stranger tastes, a pizza topping. However go to India and ask for a Tikk Masala and you’ll be greeted with a blank stare for this so called ‘authentic Indian cuisine’. Thought to originate not from the streets of Delhi but rather from the kitchens of a Pakistani or Bangladeshi restaurant in Britain. According to legend the creamy masala sauce was created to satisfy the British need to have gravy with all meats. However the chicken used in the Tikka Masala, known as Tandoori chicken, can trace its roots back to the subcontinent. The tandoor refers to a clay charcoal fire oven where the fire is in the oven itself adding to flavour of the meat being cooked, this technique is still used in Indian restaurants. The Chicken Tikka has done a full circle and is now even exported back to India from Britain!

Vindaloo

Ahh the treasured tikka masala, for so many a delicious regular takeaway and for a few with stranger tastes, a pizza topping. However go to India and ask for a Tikka Masala and you’d probably be greeted with a blank stare for this so called ‘authentic Indian cuisine’ is thought to have originated not from the streets of Delhi but rather from the kitchens of a Pakistani or Bangladeshi restaurant in Britain. According to legend the creamy masala sauce was created to satisfy the British need to have gravy with all meats. However the chicken used in the Tikka Masala, known as Tandoori chicken can trace its roots back to the subcontinent. The tandoor refers to a clay charcoal fire oven where the fire is in the oven itself adding to flavour of the meat being cooked, this technique is still used in Indian restaurants. The Chicken Tikka has done a full circle and is now even exported back to India from Britain!

Balti

It’s a curry with a murky history, no one is sure where it came from or the origins of the name. Some say that it was invented in Birmingham in the 1980s and named after a Balti, the Hindi and Urdu word for ‘bin’. Others claim that it refers to the Baltistan region of Pakistan, where people cook in cast-iron pots similar to the Chinese wok. Another story states that it is a slang term for hubcap since truck drivers on long journeys would remove their hubcaps and cook curry in them by the side of the road. Whichever story is true, it is fair to say that Balti has really taken Britain, in particular Birmingham, by storm. The Balti-Triangle there has around 50 Balti restaurants in the space of 3 streets. Like whoa?