Stupid Curry Question?!

spikeyjac

I'm guessing that most of the restaurants around me are of Asian-Pakistani descent while the further down south, especially in smaller towns, they are Indian?
Could that be why they taste different?
Jack

dc8900

65% of curry houses or ones that call themselves Indian are actually Bengali/Bangladeshi (used to be high as 85% according to Wiki) but the reason for the variation in taste is as you guessed, down to where the restauranteurs ancestral heritage originates from. As within each country, the same dish can vary quite a bit from province to province or even town to town. Hence why for example a Korma can be prepared completely different between two restaurants even if they are both from the same country.

brumhee

When I worked for a large Indian company one of the guys told me the easiest way to tell if you are in a proper Indian restaurant was to look at the menu. If it had balti on it then it wasn't a proper Indian, not sure how true that statement is though.

Sonic67

Balti refers to the pot it's cooked in. It's popular in Birmingham. Google "Balti Triangle".

dc8900

To be fair though, half of the items on any menu are for all intents and purposes, British, as dishes have been modified/altered to suit a UK palate and thus don't really resemble what is found on the sub-continent.

SBT

That's the same as your local Chinese.Doesn't resemble what they eat back home.

Bill Hicks

Thank god for that!
Rather eat an Anglicised prawn ball than an authentic pigs spleen!

FZR400RRSP

I agree, and this goes for curries too.
I've been to restaurants where authenticity is their aim, and I've always left disappointed.

SBanga

I can only think of a handful of "Indian" restaurants in Bradford that are truly Indian.  However, a lot of curries aren't here in their original form.

Bill Hicks

South Indian, Sri Lanken & Mauritian food is tasty, especially the Dosas and breakfast puris consisting of pancakes, dhal, potato curry, coconut chutney & chilis.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

In the east end of London there are a good few authentic Bangladeshi korahi houses that are authentic to what you would get on the sub continent (I think)
Simple dishes of meat or veg with rice & chapatis. Tasty pakoras with dips etc.

Ambala is a chain that exists here in London that sells good authentic curries as well as some gorgeously sweet cakes. Not sure if they are UK wide?