London: Foodies in Hyderabad can loosen their belts to tuck into authentic British curry this summer when seven of the UK's best chefs will present some 80 dishes, including favourites like British Chicken Tikka Masala.
The 10-day Taste of Britain Curry Festival returns to India from June 12-21 after a successful show last year. Seven of the UK's best chefs will produce 80 dishes, many high street favourites, including British Chicken Tikka Masala, Balti and Jalfrezi at the foodathon which takes curry back to its spiritual home.
Prime Minister David Cameron has also lent his weight to the festival, saying he is "delighted to see that more than 200 years after the first curry house opened in Britain, our unique brand of Asian cuisine is now being sought in the countries where it originally came from".
Cameron said: "In recent years, curry has become part of the British identity - a firm favourite that is enjoyed by more than two million people every week. But it's so much more than just good food. "It's about talented restaurateurs and chefs; it's about hard-working families; it's about enterprising small businesses that provide tens of thousands of jobs and it's about bringing in billions of pounds into our economy."
Celebrity chef Dominic Chapman will produce some of his 'Best of British' signature dishes, including a selection of fish, meat and vegetarian dishes besides his famous desserts. Dominic, who will be on his second trip to India, said: "I loved my last visit to India and jumped at the chance to come back. It was a great personal experience and also the chance to work alongside some experts of Indian cuisine. "British curry chefs have their own unique take on Indian food and public reaction during the last festival was great."
Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, has also lent support to the festival, saying he is "a proud Hyderabadi myself so am looking forward to the reaction the chefs get". He said: "I have every confidence this year's festival will be the greatest yet. "Hyderabad is famous for its Biryani so it will be interesting to see what the people of Hyderabad think of it." India could prove a lucrative market for Britain's chefs if public reaction to the dishes proves as popular as it did in Kolkata last year at the festival.
Festival founder and the Editor of Curry Life, Syed Belal Ahmed, said: "Taste of Britain Curry Festival promotes the skill and creativity of British curry chefs and this is also a celebration of the amalgamation of two very diverse cultures.
"The cooking process in the United Kingdom is different than India. For example, in India they cook with a big pot like a Nowabi or Mogul style dinner. Here in the UK we follow the completely different style of cooking, like French cooking. We cook each dish individually with premier quality ingredients."
