The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
The rise and fall and rise again of curry in the UK
Britain’s love of curry is nothing new.
It is more than two centuries since the first dedicated Indian restaurant opened in London to bring spice to the life of diners. But even before that many coffee houses served up curried dishes alongside the more traditional fare.
But in fact western tastebuds might first have been tingled by exotic spices centuries earlier, when those fighting in the Crusades sampled dishes.
Queen Victoria made the cuisine popular, but it dipped out of favour by the start of the 20th Century as Britons stuck with the staple meat and two veg.
The spread of eateries appears to have originated from Indian sailors jumping ship and turning their hand to serving the nation British versions of their cuisine.
It really took off in the years surrounding the Second World War where they opened late to catch the after-pub trade.
In the 1970s too there was an influx of Bangladeshis, who laid the foundations of today’s booming curry trade through hard graft and skills.
Now a decent curry is rightly up there with fish and chips as a favourite.
So much so that the late Robin Cook, in a speech as foreign secretary celebrating Britishness and its rich cultural diversity, said: “Chicken tikka masala is now a true British national dish, not only because it is the most popular, but because it is a perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences.”