3 min readApr 16, 2010 12:49 AM IST
First published on: Apr 16, 2010 at 12:49 AM IST
How the Indian curry took the Brits in its fold
When Ataur Rehman Harun left his home in Sylhet,Bangladesh some fifteen years ago,he had never imagined that some day he would revisit the other Bengal as a British Chef. But fate had some definite plans for the man . Rehaman is here,a land so near yet so far from his homeland to promote the Indian diaspora’s biggest culinary success—the curry.“Taste of Britain Curry” festival being held at Mythh,Hotel Hindustan International (HHI) in association with the UK based Curry Life magazine which endeavors to promote the artistic culinary and creative skills of the British Curry chefs all over the world,has brought together three chefs from the United Kingdom to tour the country—Partha Mitra from Bengal Dynasty (Flintshire),Abul Monsur from Taj Cuisine (Kent) and Ataur Rahman Harun from Taj Mahal (Stevange).
‘Curry’ is a generic term used in Britain and America to describe spiced dishes from the Indian subcontinent. The British preoccupation with Indian cuisine probably a Raj legacy which was to rediscover itself by the late 1960’s. Over decades with the arrival of South Asians mostly Bangladeshis,Indians and Pakistanis looking for work,the word curry gained a greater significance in the British vocabulary.
Over decades,curry in all its avatars — hot,mild,creamy or dry — has become UK’s most preffered dish. there are about 15000 restaurants in UK that cater to the ever increasing love of Indian food. It has ,in fact,even managed to outsell the quintessential British favourite, fish and chips. “Our main endeavor is to bring back the curry to its birth place,India. Considering the city’s passion and love for new cuisines,we hope that the city’s food lovers would enjoy the several dishes ranging from Balti dishes to Chicken Tikka Masala”,says Chef Partha Mittra,a member of the team.
With this ten day long food festival(from 16th -25th April) HHI plans to woo the festive crowd . The cost of buffet will be Rs 1299 (taxes extra). As Chef Utpal of HHI says,“Kolkata has always welcomed changing culinary delights. We hope that they will heartily experience innovative forms of ‘curry’ which is primarily an Indian dish”.
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