| Four British master chefs showcased popular British curries at the Taste of Britain Curry Festival in Kolkatta in April.
The festival played to packed diners, who dished out almost $30 apiece at Hotel Hindustan International for British curries, which typically based on nut pastes, are milder, sweeter and thicker than curries in India, which are commonly tomato based. Indian food is the most popular cuisine in Britain and chicken tikka masala is frequently referred to as the country’s national dish. An estimated 12,000 Indian restaurants in Britain rake in $6.4 billion sales annually. Syed Belal Ahmed, the festival’s director, argues that British curry is “healthier, has better ingredients, and is milder.” But now, “The great British curry is going back to its roots — Kolkata. Once the proud seat of the British Raj in India, Kolkata is the place where the curry trail really started.” |