Some like it hot..
BUT RESTAURANT BOSS JAS RECKONS SURVEY FINDINGS ARE OUT OF DATE.. AND DINERS’ TASTES HAVE CHANGED
BRIGHT red face, runny nose, gasping for water. According to a survey, this is how a third of us want to feel after eating a curry.
One in three of those asked by Sainsbury’s like their Indian food “ridiculously” hot. Then there is the hardcore 10 per cent who go one step further.
They want their curry so “eye-wateringly” spicy you almost can’t eat it.
Leeds was home to the highest concentration of chilli hard cases, with 15 per cent of the folk asked wanting a meal that brings them out in a prickly sweat.
And the survey also found entry-level Indian dishes – such as korma and tikka masala – had fallen from favour, as diners reject milder options in favour of volcanic vindaloos.
There’s no doubt Scotland is a nation of spiceaholics, with Indian voted the country’s top takeaway for 11 years in a row.
But not everyone likes it fiery, with some city curry houses turning their backs on ultra-hot dishes and serving milder, more delicately flavoured options.
Jas Singh has just opened the Little Curry House, on Glasgow’s Byres Road. He thinks the Sainsbury’s survey must have ignored our cities as his customers want a sophisticated curry that does not leave them gasping for breath.
He said: “That was a different generation. Back then flavours were less of a concern, something hot and spicy was what people were after.”
There was an element of showing off when ordering the most ferocious dish on the
There’s nothing that would blow your socks off
JAS SINGH ON HIS MORE DISCERNING CUSTOMERS
menu. He stressed: “It was a laddish thing – pints and spicy curries and who can have more.
“But customers and tastes change. They have shifted drastically from that stuff on to dishes that have more depth of flavours. My customers have a more developed palate.”
He thinks vindaloo diehards are the ones who have not changed their order for the past decade or more. Jas added: “There is a lot of customer loyalty. Once people are on to a place and are happy, they stay there for a while. They may not be aware of what else is available out there.
“They stick to what they know and it might very well be something that’s extremely hot.”
Most dishes at Jas’s restaurant are “medium to mild”. He said: “There’s nothing that would blow your socks off, although that can be done on request. But most folk are happy with it as it is and trust us to get it right.”