Brits Abandon Curry in favour of Chinese Stir-fry: Is culinary bastardisation to blame?

If statistics are to believe, the ‘love affair’ between the British and their once favourite dish, the curry, has strained seriously. Its place, according to the same source of data, has been won over by Chinese stir-fry.

When the influence of China in other areas of British life is taken on board, the trend seems to be irreversible, much to the horror of both curry lovers and the folks who own curry houses, alike.

The British, more often than not, associate curry with Indian chicken tikka masala – dice of chicken submerged in a sweet creamy concoction. Therefore, when we say that the curry is under threat, it means, more or less, the fate of chicken tikka masala.

Chicken tikka was something invented by the petrified chefs of Mughal emperor Babur, when the latter, threatened them with ‘roasting’ instead of usual meat, if they couldn’t get rid of tiny bones in chicken, which he used to choke on while having meals. Since its birthplace appears to be Punjab in North India, the fascination of Punjabis with this particular dish is fully understandable.

Since the emperor was not someone to mess with, the chefs carefully sliced up chicken while removing the bones, marinated in a mixture of yoghurt, seasoned with spices including chilli powder, paprika and cayenne pepper. The proportionate addition of turmeric powder guaranteed the unique orange-yellow colour – the obvious identification characteristic.

Chicken tikka became a popular dish in Britain in 1950’s, in proportion to the number of Indian restaurants sprang up in the country. What came with the growing popularity of the dish was a serious challenge; the diners wanted a sauce to go with it. A compromise was made by adding a form of very thick gravy and the name of the dish was rewarded with an extension; it came to be known in Britain as chicken tikka masala since then.

The move certainly did curry favour with the British dining public; chicken tikka masala rose to the stardom in the culinary realm in just four decades to such an extent, that a former Foreign Secretary once even branded it as the true British national dish. However, the conservative chefs in the Indian subcontinent did very little to conceal their frustration for the changes made in the dish in Britain, to appease the domestic audience.

They called it bastardisation of chicken tikka. In other words, chicken tikka masala is a culinary equivalent of a bastard. The die-hard chefs of the Indian subcontinent, however, do have a point to make, indeed.

If you taste chicken tikka masala, sold by some supermarkets and downmarket restaurants, it becomes obvious how far the bastardisation has gone. The process of mixing boiled chunks of chicken and a gloopy curry sauce- made in complete isolation – is neither cooking nor making a great curry. It is cheap money making at its worst.

Sadly, the damage is already done and the Chinese stir-fry has knocked the curry off the league table of favourite British dishes. The popularity of the former has been phenomenal, especially, in the light of its obvious health benefits in the era of healthy-eating.

Curry may have been around in Britain for over five decades. However, it became popular in Britain during the last decade and, then, the favourite dish at the beginning of the new Millennium. Its ascent to the top slot was neither accidental nor smooth.

In the past, there were endless debates about the impact on human health by the ingredients of a curry. Those who were reluctant to embrace a curry often picked on one ingredient to demonize whole thing; it was chilly.

Some of them used to warn the regular curry eaters about killing taste buds by frequent exposure to chilli. Then, there were others who justified their reluctance to eat a curry with the presentation of chemical facts: they, for instance, would point the finger at capsaicin, the chemical that makes us emit rather unpleasant acoustic pulses in the form of ‘shoooh’ at regular intervals – if not eaten in moderation, of course; they say by consuming this particular chemical, we are eating the plant’s natural God-given defence against being eaten!

Then, there were folks who looked at chilli from an erotic point of view. They thought that the capsaicin can make their women ‘hot’, even if they have been ‘cool’ before eating a curry rich in chilli.

With the unstoppable rise in popularity of the dish, the curry-haters became a dwindling species. However, the extreme ambition of some supermarkets and restaurants appears to have done an irreversible damage to the quality of the dish, which, in turn compelled the British to look elsewhere for culinary satisfaction.

I always wonder why Sri Lankans cannot make attempts to fill the gap left by chicken tikka masala, especially when the British tourists are visiting the island en masse, as never before.

Very recently, an Indian friend of mine, who runs a very successful travel company in the City of London, told me that the British people love Sri Lanka. Then, there is no doubt that they certainly love our favourite dishes too.

So, we can only hope that someone take the initiatives to promote at least two of our favourites to win the slot lost by chicken tikka masala in the British culinary ladder: Ambul Thiyal, tuna chunks, cooked in a paste of Goraka - Garcinia Cambogia, salt and pepper – a unique dish from the down south and Koththu Roti – universally popular throughout the country - stand a strong chance of winning the place or even knock off Chinese stir-fry, if popularized in the right way.

To deal with the strong taste of the former and the hotness of the latter, a mild form of bastardisation can be done – and is justified, when done. If we can win over the British public by such a move, it will make abundantly clear, that bastardisation in culinary realm, does not always exist in destructive form. It can have a very constructive side as well.

- Asian Tribune –

Tweet