Making a big dhal of National Curry Week!
A dish that the British public have
well and truly adopted as their own, National Curry Week is a great excuse to
tuck in to this delicious delicacy! First introduced to the UK in the 1700s,
the Indian speciality is eaten by around 23
million British people regularly.
Read on to find out more about one
of the nation’s favourite dishes, and how to use the premium meat from our Best
of Local selection for a homemade culinary masterpiece.
British Curry: A History
The curry that we know and love in
the UK has been modified from traditional Indian dishes over the years, which
isn’t surprising when you look at its long history! As early as 1733, curry was
served in some coffee houses in London, due to a rising demand from those
returning home from India, who couldn’t afford to bring their cooks with them.
The first restaurant to serve only
Indian food was the Hindoostanee Coffee House, which opened in 1810 in Mayfair,
and the popularity only grew from there. There was a sharp increase in the
number of curry houses in the 1940s, and then in the 1970s, and today there are
an estimated
9000 curry houses and restaurants in the UK!
Meat your match
Curries can be surprising quick to
whip up at home, so if you’re feeling experimental, you’re in the right place!
With our Butcher range from Little Pigs, you’re spoilt for choice when it comes
to choosing your meat. Here are our suggestions:
- For a classic Tikka Masala, you can’t go wrong
with chicken. Choose from our free range chicken
breasts, or for extra tender meat, try these boneless
chicken thighs.
- It doesn’t get much better than lamb meat for a Rogan
Josh, and this diced
lamb meat is ready for cooking, low in fat and rich in flavour.
- Fancy something a little different? Try a south
Indian curry with prawns – these ‘Royal
Star’ King Prawn Tails have been peeled and de-veined and are ready
to be cooked.
- One for the veggies, a dhal is perfect for
whipping up with sweet potatoes. BBC
Food has a great recipe, and you can stock up from our Greengrocer
section here.
