8/9/2019 A Take on History - How Brits Came to Love Indian Cuisine

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A Take on History: How Brits Came to Love Indian Cuisine

Although Chinese cuisine have recently been taking ground as one of the most loved ethnic cuisine in Britain, British

beer-and-curry weekends are not going anywhere. Britons love affair with curryis dug way too deep into the roots of

history for it to be displaced in a snap. No doubt, Indian curry is the comfort food of millions of Brits, and its popularity

goes back almost four hundred years ago.

When Queen Elizabeth I Said Yes

At the dawn of the 17th

century, London merchants decided it would be a worthy undertaking to cross the Indian Ocean

to see if they can trade with an exotic land called India. They formed a joint-stock company called the East India

Company, the sole purpose of which was to establish trade with the East Indies. They filed a petition to Queen Elizabeth

I for permission to set sail, and on 1600 the petition was granted and a royal charter was bestowed upon it.

Amidst wars against Portuguese and Spanish forces, the company hadmanaged to become the most powerful and

dominating trading corporation in India. This further strengthened Britain as a world power. Soon after, British people

settled in India and intermarried with Indian women. Indian seamen, known as langars, also boarded British ships and

landed in London. By 1810 there were an estimated 1400 langarson English land, and more Indians entered the country

in the following years.

Brits Spicy Tastes

It was not long before Brits took an interest in Indian cuisine. Curry powder was particularly popular even back then,

leading to the publication of recipes and commercial production of curry powder in 1780. The Coffee House in Norris

Street, Haymarket, Londonwas the first English restaurant to have offered curry on a menu in 1773.

The first ever establishment that offered solely Indian food, however, was the Hindostanee Coffee House at Portman

Square, London which opened in 1809. Owned byDean Mahomet,the restaurant sought to provide for the

entertainment of Indian gentlemen, where they may enjoy the Hoakha, with real Chilm tobacco, and Indian dishes.

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8/9/2019 A Take on History - How Brits Came to Love Indian Cuisine

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Since then, the love for Indian cuisine spread across the country, becoming one of the fastest growing food and

drinkindustry sector. This exponential growth was partlytriggered in 1984 by Pat Chapmans The Curry Club and Good

Curry Guide, which publicised the cuisine and caused supermarkets to stock curry ingredients and chilled meals. Other

publications also taught how to recreate curries at home. Asian catering London, particularly Indian and Chinese

catering, also boomed around this time.

Indian Cuisine Today

Bangladesh is entered the catering industry around 1970, and since then dominated the industry ofIndian wedding

catering London.They own approximately 65 to 75% of the more than 9000 Indian restaurants in the country.

Chicken tikka masala is now often cited as the nations most favourite ethnic dish, even called by the then foreign

secretary Robin Cook as a true British national dish. With the popularity of Indian foods, Bangladeshis will remain as

topAsian caterers London.

Colonial relations play a huge role in Britains love for curry, and the dish will continue to represent a rich historical er a

when Britain dominated the worlds economic and political affairs.

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