THE BRITISH LOVE AFFAIR WITH INDIAN FOOD

Indian cuisine is one of Britain’s and many other nations’ favourite foods. While meals from Indian takeaways sell in their abundance each year there is still a lot of traditional Indian cuisine that people are yet to discover and enjoy.

The British colonization of India has had a lasting effect on the cuisine of both countries. The British introduced to India a number of ingredients from the Americas, including potatoes, tomatoes, and chilies. Meanwhile, the Indian subcontinent gave Britain a love of curry that lasts to this day. It has even been said that Chicken Tikka Masala is more popular in England than british beloved fish and chips.

The history of Indian food in Britain is now almost four hundred years old and not only has the cuisine undergone a great change in the United Kingdom but also in its native land. Apart from the reports of occasional explorers, the story really starts with the arrival in Surat of the English merchants of the East India Company in 1608 and then again and more successfully in 1612.

As the influence of the British in India grew, so did the interest in Indian food back in Britain, leading to the publishing of recipes and the commercial creation of curry powder in 1780. The first appearance of curry on a menu was at the Coffee House in London in 1773 but the first establishment dedicated to Indian cuisine was the Hindostanee Coffee House in London, in 1809.

Novelist William Thackeray - who was born in Calcutta - penned a Poem to Curry, and inflicted a blisteringly hot curry on his anti-heroine Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair.

The first restaurants of the twentieth century were, not surprisingly, mainly for Asians but in 1927 the first fashionable Indian restaurant opened when Edward Palmer opened Veeraswamy’s Indian Restaurant in London’s Regent Street.

At the same time, a number of Indian sailors jumped ship or were dumped at major ports including Cardiff and London. These seamen from Sylhet - now a region in Bangladesh - opened cafes, mainly to cater for fellow Asians. In the 1940s, they bought bombed-out chippies and cafes, selling curry and rice alongside fish, pies and chips. They stayed open really late to make money to catch the after-pub trade. After 1971, there was an influx of Bangladeshis following war in their homeland, particularly to London's rundown East End. Many entered the catering trade, and today they dominate the curry industry.

Of course as with any cuisine, it was adapted to suit local tastes, hence Tikka Masala and Mulligatawny Soup, the latter being an Anglo-Indian dish and until some time ago, people of Indian origin or visitors from India would complain that the so-called 'Indian' food available in Britain is not the real thing. It is customised to the British taste, and is not tingling enough to satisfy the 'desi' palate.

The situation cannot be more different now, with several well-known Indian restaurant chains opening branches in various towns, and recent immigrants opening outlets offering authentic fare from their respective culinary regions in India. Branches of well known restaurant chains offering south Indian fare at modest prices can now be seen doing brisk business in Britain.

By Sonia Marañón