• Learn the legacy of chilli con carne
• Is chilli con carne healthy? 
• Your burning chilli con carne questions answered

Rich. Smoky. Meaty. Meatless. Tangy. Creamy. Healthy. Earthy. 

An immense melting pot of ingredients, styles and variations, modern flavours of chilli con carne recipes have imaginatively stewed beyond the dish’s humble origins. Once the picante heart of south Texan marketplaces, chilli is now an intercontinental favourite, with everyone from the BBC to your next-door neighbour’s pet tarantula owning their own recipe. 

But where, officially, did chilli con carne emerge from, and what makes this spicy sensation a hearty superfood you should be enjoying in the currently crisp new year? 

Learn the origin of chilli con carne

Two centuries ago, amidst the smoky hustle and bustle of San Antonio’s public squares, the cooking of this meaty staple was certainly not whipped up with chilli powder in the dazzling kitchens of Jamie Oliver or the Hairy Bikers. 

Setting up provisional tables, so-called Chili Queens arrived in the Texan city’s plazas to cook batches of chilli in huge pots over open fires. Serving everyone and anyone from local families and businessmen to soldiers, singers, troubadours and tourists, the Queens’ grub was an illustrious enticement into a hub of music, politics and socialisation. 

However, some argue chilli con carne’s genesis dates back much further. 

Specifically, 2000 years further, to an indigenous recipe which Ute tribe member Rudy Valdez won the World Championship Chili Cook-off competition with in 1976. 

According to Valdez, the original meal excluded beans and was made with horse or deer meat, cornmeal and chile peppers. 

A far cry away from the vegan chilli con carne recipes popular today perhaps, but certainly delicious enough for Valdez to triumph in the annual event, hosted each year since 1967 by the International Chili Society. 

Identifying the exact founder of chilli is a hard task though. 

Early 16th century writings by Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún speak of a chile pepper-seasoned stew eaten in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. 

Others speculate that sixteen families from the Spanish Canary islands, who were sent to San Antonio in the early-to-mid 1700s, concocted the earliest version of chilli con carne in the form of a spicy, Spanish stew. Under pressure from French invaders, King Philip V of Spain allegedly shipped out the families to settle in the area where they established a meal from beef, hot pepper, garlic and oregano. 

Today though, most attribute the meal’s origin to the Chili Queens despite no record existing of a specific woman who founded the chilli recipe. 

A mystery to stew over, but at least we can be certain today of the nutritious content this now evolved culinary delight has to offer. 

Is chilli con carne healthy? 

Exploding across the world’s taste buds, meat, vegetarian and vegan chilli con carne recipes have evolved into a nourishing go-to, rich in protein and healthy fats. 

Pinpointing the exact nutritional value of chilli con carne ingredients can be a little tricky though, particularly considering the internet is awash with recipes, each containing their own collection of components. 

So we did the work for you. Below are the health benefits from a selection of popular chilli con carne ingredients.

Chile peppers 

Used in recipes both archaic and modern, chile peppers are the hot centre of chilli con carne, the capsaicin capsule unleashing spice into this Tex-mex classic. Albeit eaten in small quantities, these fiery fruits contribute to your daily intake of several helpful nutrients. 

High in Vitamin C, chile peppers contain a lot of this antioxidant which aids immune function and wound healing. They are also a good source of Vitamin K1, crucial for blood clotting and strong bones, and copper, which is essential for healthy neurons. 

Onions 

Found in almost every cooked meal, onions are the foundation of great food. They also happen to give a wealth of goodness too, possessing over 25 flavonoids, a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites which have antioxidant properties. Onions have equally been linked to supporting heart, bone and gut health. 

Red kidney beans 

Concave-shaped and native to Mexico and Central America, these little beans are cheap, cheerful, and crammed with fibre and protein. As well as being a complex carb, kidney beans can help to control blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. They are also believed to boost your energy and support regular, cognitive function. 

Butternut Squash 

This umami-oozing meat alternative which we fill our vegan chilli con carne with has been shown to protect against cognitive decline. Moreover, containing phytonutrients such as zeaxanthin and lutein known as carotenoids, butternut squash has been linked to improving our eye health. 

Beef 

Consumed in large quantities, red meat has been proven to be bad for us and the environment. But there is no arguing that in small doses, beef is a rich source of iron, zinc and B vitamins. 

Vital for the production of red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body, iron is equally needed for gastrointestinal processes and regulating body temperature. Meanwhile, zinc helps to process nutrients from our food whereas B vitamins, of which there are eight, aids everything from healthy brain function to good eyesight to our cardiovascular health. 

Original Chili Queen chilli con carne recipe 

(Uploaded by Rebecca May Johnson)

Ingredients: 

• 900g of beef chuck or stewing beef, cubed into 1-2 inch pieces
• 450g of pork shoulder, cubed into 1-2 inch pieces
• 100g of beef fat cut into small bits (the butcher should give it for free) or suet
• 100g of pork fat cut into small bits
• 3 medium sized onions, roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 litre of water
• 4 ancho chillies (essential)
• 6 dried red chillies
• 1 serrano chilli (or other similar mexican chilli)
• 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds, toasted then pounded
• 2 tablespoons of Mexican Oregano (or just oregano)
• 1 tablespoon of treacle or dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar (red wine, white wine, or malt)
• salt

Method: 

1. Soak the dried chillies in hot water for 20-30 minutes.
2. Toss the cubed meat lightly in flour (optional) then add to a large heavy bottomed pan along with the fat, and fry quickly, stirring often for a few minutes until it begins to brown.
3. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring every 30 seconds until the onions are soft. Don’t have it too hot so they burn.
4. Add the water and simmer gently while preparing the chillies.
5. Remove the stems and seeds from the chillies and pound in a pestle and mortar or blitz with a hand blender into a paste, along with the cumin seeds too. Mix in the oregano and a hefty pinch of salt.
6. Add the chilli mixture and sugar to the pot and simmer on a low heat, not allowing it to boil, for at least 2 hours. If you are worried about it drying out, place a lid half-on or add a bit more water. Skim off some fat.
7. Next add the vinegar and salt. Keep adding salt and tasting until you are happy with the seasoning. 

Your burning chilli con carne questions answered

Is chilli con carne Mexican or American?

Whilst it certainly maintains a Mexican influence, chilli con carne most likely originated in America, specifically San Antonio in southern Texas. 

Who invented chilli con carne?

The most commonly accepted inventors are the Texan Chili Queens, who began cooking chilli con carne in San Antonio’s market squares.

Can chilli con carne be frozen?

Yes! Chilli con carne can be frozen. Check out the meat and veggie versions we offer on our website. 

Is chilli con carne healthy?

Yes, chilli con carne is packed-full of vital vitamins, especially those recipes which maximise on vegetables and pulses.

How do you spell chilli con carne?

The simple answer is, there are many variations. Americans spell it ‘chili’, the Spanish spelling is ‘chile’, and the British spelling is ‘chilli’, so take your pick!

Read more at Hey Fresto

• What is food justice? 
• What are the problems with our food system?
• Some solutions to food insecurity
• Are your food shops costing you a pretty penny? 

We have entered an age where food insecurity is commonplace.

Families who could once afford a diverse and healthy diet are now faced with crippling prices and growing shopping bills.

Evidence of how big the problem has become can be seen in food banks which are running out of supplies and have been forced to turn people away due to “overwhelming” demand.

In response to the global issue of food insecurity, Birmingham City Council has encouraged cities worldwide to sign the ‘City Pledge Commitment’ to ensure everyone can benefit from a more affordable, nutritious and sustainable food system.

Councillor Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “Whether you are a city that is saturated by fast food or a city in a food desert, food security is now an issue for every citizen across the world.”

Undoubtedly, the covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on household food security and nutrition, and ongoing global conflicts continue to hamper the state of food security for millions.

With an ever-surging global population, the time to rectify the disproportionate access to healthy food is now – it’s just a matter of how.

What is food justice? 

Food justice is the human right to grow, sell and eat healthy food, a perspective upon which the Food Justice movement was founded.

Emerging as a grassroots initiative, the campaign was originally formed during the apex of the civil rights Movement in America after the Mississippi Board of Supervisors decided to cut funding for the Federal Surplus Commodities.

This programme provided many poor Black communities in the South with staples such as flour and meal.

As a result of the cuts, food insecurity among these communities worsened and led to members sharing resources to survive.

Such mutual aid brought about the movement’s beginnings and was later reflected in the Black Panther Party’s use of food to liberate marginalised people.

Today, the concept of food justice has extended its reach beyond American communities and is a right fought for by thousands of people and organisations.

What are the problems with our food system? 

The way we produce, transport and consume our food is fundamentally flawed.

It is a system that profits some and leaves others without access to nutritious food and faced with hunger and forms of malnutrition.

One group who are particularly victimised by the food system are local farmers, especially those in developing countries, who struggle to compete against big agricultural corporations.

With nearly 65 percent of the world’s agricultural land occupied by large farms, local farmers are left with few opportunities to make a decent profit.

But that is far from all that is wrong with the global food system.

According to a UN Environment Programme article, there are many ways in which the system is failing humanity. Examples include:

• the overuse of agricultural chemicals which can cause people to become sick.
• intensive livestock and farming practices which have increased the risk of animal-borne diseases spreading to humans.
• the release of carbon emissions and destruction of natural habitats which contribute to climate change.

Equally worrying is the growing global population which is estimated to rise to 10 billion by 2050.

With more people comes a greater demand for food and a subsequently greater divide between those who can afford a nutritious diet and those who cannot.

This is an issue raised by Robert Biel in his book, Sustainable Food Systems, who stresses that the way we produce food is not ecologically sustainable and will lead to a lack of it to go around.

Biel also explains that food insecurity derives from problems with distribution as much as it does from production.

Concurring with the concept of food justice, Biel said: “The issue of access to food is by no means just a matter of technical logistics; it is, ultimately, about distributive justice: decent nutrition should be addressed not through hand-outs or largesse, but as a right.”

Some solutions to food insecurity 

As Tamar Mayer and Molly D. Anderson point out in their book, Food Insecurity: A Matter of Justice, Sovereignty, and Survival, every country has populations who suffer from food insecurity, no matter how wealthy the nation is.

Due to it being an integrated problem, food insecurity can only really be resolved with a complete restructuring of the global food system – an unlikely outcome for the near future at least.

However, there are measures which can be undertaken to help those living in food insecurity.

Good examples of such actions include improving trade policies to provide local farmers with more opportunities to sell their produce and tackling food waste in developed countries.

The UK is a prime suspect of the latter, wasting two million tonnes of edible food a year – a disgrace when you consider this discarded, fresh food could make 1.3 billion meals and help feed the 1 in 10 people in the UK who can barely afford to eat.

Addressing climate change is also another major way of tackling food insecurity.

Pests, disease, floods and droughts are all extremely detrimental to food cultivation and all have been predicted to increase with the changing climate, affecting farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia the most.

Are your food shops costing you a pretty penny? 

There are multiple factors which are causing your food bills to go through the roof.

Regardless of the cause, read our blog on five handy methods to help you cut your weekly shopping cost.

Read more at Hey Fresto

1. Where does the word curry come from? 
2. What is the most expensive curry in the world? 
3. When was the first curry house opened in the UK? 
4. What is the UK’s favourite curry? 
5. What is the world’s hottest curry? 
6. What is the world’s largest curry? 
7. What is the most commonly used spice in curries? 
8. What is the most expensive spice used in curry? 
9. What is curry powder made from? 
10. What is the world’s oldest curry? 
11. Explore Hey Fresto!’s curries

Curries, whether consumed at home or in a restaurant, are as warming, indulgent and comforting as food gets.

Albeit a simplified resemblance of traditional Indian food, British curries have become a staple of our cuisine.

With another National Curry Week nearly over the horizon, here is a consolidated list of top curry facts for you to savour as you tuck into a garlicky beef madras or chicken achari.

Where does the word curry come from? 

The Tamil word ‘kaṟi’ or ‘கறி’, is said to be where the word curry originates from and was a term used by the west to simplify a richly diverse cuisine. 

According to Raghavan Iver, the word curry does not exist in any of India’s official languages nor its 1600 dialects. 

What is the most expensive curry in the world? 

According to multiple sources, the most expensive curry in the world is the Samundari Khazana, which translates to seafood treasure, an apt name for a dish which will cost you a LOT of financial treasure. 

Priced at over $4,000 per portion, the dish included oceanic luxuries like sea snails, lobsters and caviar, topped with 24 carat edible gold. 

Created by London’s Bombay Brasserie, the meal was allegedly based on a simple Indian recipe, enhanced by some of the world’s priciest ingredients. 

When was the first curry house opened in the UK?

In 1810, Sake Dean Mahomed opened the UK’s first curry restaurant in Mayfair, London.

The restaurant was named Hindoostane Coffee House and was opened with the intention of capitalising on the nation’s burgeoning love affair with spicy food. 

Sadly for Mahomed, it was not to be and the eatery closed just 2 years after opening its doors.

What is the UK’s favourite curry? 

You would be hard pushed to find someone in the UK who doesn’t love curry.

It is regarded by many sources to have long been the nation’s favourite dish, knocking opposition like fish and chips or roast dinner out of its victory path.

And whilst prawn balti, lamb bhindi gosht and aloo baingan were named the top three restaurant curries in Time Out’s 2022 rating of the UK’s best curries, chicken tikka masala is still commonly considered the UK’s favourite curry. 

But emerging from the cooking pot is another contender, a milder, more coconutty curry which has been reported to be this year’s favourite. 

You guessed it – chicken korma has, according to food delivery service, FoodHub, knocked tikka masala off its podium.

How long this reign will last remains to be seen. 

What is the world’s hottest curry? 

The question of the world’s most tongue-sizzling, throat-flaming curry is a ‘hotly’ debated topic. 

A quick Google search will tell you that the hottest curry in the world is phaal curry, a British-Asian curry which originated in Birmingham and includes the likes of scotch bonnets or ghost peppers. 

A big competitor for phaal curry though is any made with the Carolina Reaper pepper which has a record Scoville heat scale measurement of 1,641,183. 

What is the world’s largest curry? 

If you had to guess, where in the world would you think that the largest ever curry had been concocted? 

America? India? The UK? 

Wrong – it was actually Singapore where, in 2015, members of the Indian Chefs and Culinary Association cooked up a whopping 15.34 tonne curry. 

What is the most commonly used spice in curries? 

Whilst curries are known for their inclusion of many, many different spices, the one which perhaps trumps them all is cumin. 

Native to the Irano-Turanian region, cumin is frequently used in curries to add a warm, umami depth to dishes. 

And it’s so popular that an estimated 856,000 tons of the stuff is harvested each year! 

On top of this, cumin brings it with it the added bonuses of possessing antioxidants, potentially aiding digestion, and having antimicrobial properties.  

What is the most expensive spice used in curry? 

Saffron, or red gold as it is commonly known, is a spice made from the saffron crocus, aka crocus sativus. 

Coming in at $5,000 (£4,500) per pound of the stuff, it is by a mile the world’s most expensive spice, outdoing vanilla by a staggering $4,400 (£4,000). 

This is due to the intensely laborious process of producing the spice which involves hand-picking the flowers and extracting the plant stigmas for dehydration – one kilogram of saffron can be made from 15,000-16,000 flowers.  

From flavouring rice to being a dish’s star component, saffron is used frequently in curry despite its eye-watering price tag, adding an earthy, floral extravagance to any meal into which it is added.

What is curry powder made from? 

Curry powder, much like the dish it’s named after, is a British invention, developed to imitate some of the flavours present in Indian cuisine. 

It was first commercially sold in Britain in the late 18th century and is now frequently used as a flavour enhancer in soups, stews and more. 

There are multiple variations of ingredients used to make this spice blend but common mixtures include coriander seeds, bay leaf, chilli powder, cinnamon, garlic powder, ginger, paprika, turmeric, fenugreek, black pepper, clove, salt, cardamom and cumin seeds.

What is the world’s oldest curry? 

Amazingly, the world’s oldest curry was determined by two archaeologists who discovered remnants of the proto-curry on fragments of pottery in Farmana Khas (Daksh Khera), an archaeological site in the north Indian state, Haryana. 

Using a process called starch grain analysis – a method of identifying plants on a microscopic level – the archaeologists found the remains of aubergine, ginger and turmeric. 

In a piece about the oldest known curry, Tribune India noted: “The Greeks turned it into moussaka, a wholesome casserole complete with meat and potatoes. The French lined a dish with neatly sliced eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and potatoes, threw in some garlic, baked it, and called it ratatouille.” 

Over 4,000 years later, billions around the world are still gobbling up this ancient stew. 

Explore Hey Fresto!’s curries

From aromatic Goan prawn curry to tender lamb dhansak, Hey Fresto!’s range of curries has a meal for every tastebud.

Dip into our menu of spicy, succulent and scrumptious curry dishes by heading to our dedicated page.

Read more at Hey Fresto

• Meat and fish 
• Seasonal vegetables
• Herbs and spices
• Take the pressure off with Hey Fresto!’s stew range

Stew is timeless, a meal which dates all the way back to the Jōmon period between 14,000 – 300 BCE and one which is still thoroughly enjoyed by people across the world today. 

Its variations are infinite, a dish shared by many cultures and communities around the world and because of this, it has many forms, flavours and fillings. 

From the Guyanese pepperpot, a meal made from evaporated cassava juice, fish, small game, crushed bones and peppers, to the Hungarian főzelék, a pottage-like dish made with marrow, stews are a comforting, traditional and globally-appreciated staple. 

And when is there a better time to consume such a heart-warming meal than autumn, a period defined by cold snaps and dwindling daylight. 

So without further ado, let’s discover how to make the perfect autumnal stew. 

Meat and fish 

Throughout history, stew was a dish that represented much more than a solution to hunger. 

According to The Oxford Handbook of Food History, the serving and eating of chankonabe was a way of illustrating the ranking system of Japanese sumo wrestlers. 

Traditionally, chankonabe was consumed by high-ranking wrestlers first, leaving the stragglers to finish the few bits of meat and vegetables left. 

Irish stew was also a meal with purpose, a way of eating up old sheep that could no longer be farmed for wool or milk. 

So, in an age where stew is an indulgence rather than a necessity, and the choice of ingredients far more varied and accessible, it can be difficult to know where to start. 

If you fancy a stew that includes meat like beef, lamb or pork, choosing a cut with lots of collagen in it is preferable according to food writer Daniel Gritzer. 

This is because after a long period of cooking, the once tough meat adopts that desirable ‘melt-in-the-mouth’ texture which home cooks dream of. 

Good meat cuts for your stews include the oxtail, chuck and brisket of beef, the shoulder, ribs, tenderloin or leg for pork and the leg, shoulder or neck for lamb. 

For those of you wanting to pack as much omega-3 in your autumnal stew as possible, it’s important to select a seafood that won’t leave you with a dry or worse, mushy, monstrosity. 

Large pieces of cod, halibut, hake, salmon or shellfish like crab and lobster are good choices which work well with herbs like dill and 

Seasonal vegetables 

Vegetables, whether the star or the sidekick, are crucial to making a stew sing. 

With autumn underway, there are plenty of suitable seasonal vegetables to choose from – turnips, carrots, swede and other root veggies are ideal for stews as they can withstand longer cooking temperatures. 

And even if you’re not a veggie-lover, they are important to include in stews for extra goodness. 

Carrots, butternut squash and pumpkins are good sources of beta carotene and vitamin A which help support the immune system; swedes provide a great source of fibre, glucosinolates, vitamins C and E as well as potassium, magnesium and calcium, and leeks contain vitamin K1 which benefits heart health and helps blood clots to form. 

Health benefits and flavour aside, seasonal vegetables are a brilliant way to bring down the cost of your stew, a must amid the current economic climate. 

This can be achieved by substituting legumes and pulses for meat too, ingredients which have been a part of stew recipes since their inception. 

If you’re struggling for inspiration, simple stew recipes such as Tuscan ribollita or Turkish kuru fasulye are bean-bountiful dishes to begin with. 

Herbs and spices 

Herbs and spices are your flavour enhancers where a stew is concerned and will elevate the eating experience of meat cuts and vegetables. 

They are also a great way to reduce your salt consumption – stock already has a high salt content so using herbs and spices instead of adding more sodium chloride is preferable to make the stew healthier. 

The next step is deciphering the best seasoning pairings. 

Here are some recommended herbs and spices to match with your meats. 

Chicken 

Herbs: basil, rosemary, chives, sage, dill, mint, oregano, bay leaves, parsley, chervil, tarragon, thyme and coriander. 

Spices: cayenne pepper, cumin, cinnamon, smoked paprika and cloves.  

Lamb

Herbs: za’atar, chervil, rosemary, basil, sage, basil, thyme and oregano.  

Spices: mustard powder, chilli powder, cumin and sumac, garam masala and cardamom. 

Beef

Herbs: sage, rosemary, thyme and parsley. 

Spices: mustard powder, cumin, Chinese five spice, chilli powder, cayenne peppers and smoked paprika. 

Pork

Herbs: parsley, thyme, dill, rosemary and tarragon. 

Spices: cinnamon, Chinese five spice, star anise, cumin, chilli powder and ginger. 

Goat

Herbs: za’atar, parsley, fennel, rosemary, parsley, thyme and mint. 

Spices: garam masala, chilli powder, ground pimento and cardamom. 

Duck

Herbs: thyme, basil, sage, za’atar, lemongrass and rosemary.  

Spices: ginger, star anise, Chinese five spice, cinnamon, chilli, cumin and paprika. 

Fish

Herbs: sage, parsley, dill and chives. 

Spices: cumin, ginger and turmeric. 

Take the pressure off with Hey Fresto!’s stew range 

If you’d rather enjoy the rich indulgence of a stew quickly instead of spending hours at your stove eating for the magic to happen then why not try Hey Fresto!’s selection? 

From a luxurious beef and red wine stew to our seriously smoky Catalan style chicken and chorizo stew, we’ve got your autumn evenings covered. 

Read more at Hey Fresto

Steeped in a past of imperialism, spice trading and merchant sailors, the historical identity of this popular British food is complex, not least in the fact its name is an anglicised catch-all for Indian cuisine. 

So where to begin in our exploration of this nationally-adored food? 

Who is responsible for introducing the Brits to the Indian palate, and how did the UK’s menu of curries evolve from the archaic tastes which define the Asian subcontinent’s culinary fare? 

A saga of spice

Probe to the core of South Asian cookery and you will find spices, a lot of them, and some so old, they outdate the beginning of the Roman empire by a gargantuan two and half thousand years.

Pinning the use of ginger and turmeric in Indian cooking back to 2500 BC, two archaeologists revealed in 2013 how they had discovered the ingredients within fragmented cooking pots and human teeth, taken from the ancient archeological site of Farmana. 

Utilising a method of identifying plant residue called starch grain analysis, archaeologists Arunima Kashyap and Steve Weber were able to distinguish a connection between modern and 4,500 year-old recipes through the presence of spice.  

With such aged roots entrenching the use of numerous spices in Indian cooking, it is no wonder many find the basic jars of curry powder and curry paste which frequent Britain’s supermarket shelves to be so reductive. 

“Walk into a grocery store in India and you find that the singular curry powder does not exist, neither as material nor idea. In India, we use endless varieties of spice mixes instead,” wrote Sucharita Kanjilal in Quartz India. 

Whilst it’s fair to say the Brits have not entirely mastered the intricate art of Indian food, our acquaintance with spices does surprisingly date back to the age of the Crusades in the 11th century. 

Yet it wasn’t until the end of the 15th century that demand for spices in the West really boomed following Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama’s forgery of a new trading route from Europe to South East Asia. 

Demonstrating this sudden desire for spice, authors of The Road to Vindaloo David Burnett and Helen Saberi note the rising popularity for spiced food in Britain at the end of 16th century, evident particularly in London’s thriving Eastern spice market.  

But this now readily available crop came with a high cost. 

Harvested in tropical terrain and shipped nearly 5,000 miles across the planet, the value of spices was astronomical, the price increasing with every hand that sold them on.

According to Jack Turner, author of Spice: The History of a Temptation, the price of spice had inflated 1,000 percent by the time they reached the markets of Venice, Bruges, and London. 

Nowadays though, the likes of turmeric, cumin, ginger, cardamom and more are omnipresent in Western supermarket aisles. 

The trick is how to use them. 

• Chicken Tikka Masala£5.25 – £17.85Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 1customer rating
• Keralan Red Pepper & Cauliflower Curry£5.25 – £8.90Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 1customer rating
• Paneer & Palak Curry£5.25 – £8.90Rated 5.00 out of 5 based on 1customer rating

Brief history of British curry 

Etymology

Copied from Portuguese colonisers of India and adopted into the English language, the word curry is not recognised by any of India’s official languages or 1600 dialects. 

Originating from the Tamil word ‘kaṟi’ or ‘கறி’, curry is as nonspecific as gravy or sauce, author of 600 Curries, Raghavan Iyer outlined. In many countries, curry was a word to simplify what colonisers saw as foreign cuisine.

Patrick West outlines, the word is as much a generalisation of Indian cuisine as pasta is an oversimplification of tagliatelle or spaghetti. 

Terminology aside for now though, let us uncover how curries became such a favourite with the British public. 

Seafarers 

Established in 1600, the British East India Company was founded to transport cargoes of goods from the Indian subcontinent to Britain. 

Over 250 years later, the Company had collapsed and Britain had turned to exporting vast quantities of tea from India and Bangladesh for profit. 

Travelling across these tea trading routes, sailors from the city of Sylhet in Bangladesh arrived in London at cheap guest houses, eating spiced stews in the places which were to become today’s curry houses. 

Nowadays, approximately 90 percent of current curry venues in Britain are owned and managed by descendants of the Sylheti seafarers. 

Glasse and Mahomed 

Using fowl or rabbit, Hannah Glasse’s book ‘The Art of Cookery Made Plain & Easy’ was the first curry recipe to be published in Britain. Distributed in 1747, the first edition contained three Indian pilau recipes. 

Very different from the tikka masala and saag aloo recipes popular in the UK today, Glasse’s recipe stewed the aforementioned game meats with peppercorns, coriander seeds, onions, butter and water. 

It wasn’t until 26 years later though that curry was included on a British menu in 1773, at the Norris Street Coffee House, London. 

Soon after, the cuisine became a regular speciality in the capital’s Piccadilly and in 1810, Bengali entrepreneur and traveller Sake Dean Mahomed opened Britain’s first, exclusively Indian restaurant. 

Situated in Mayfair, the Hindoostane Coffee House was Mahomed’s plan to capitalize on the nation’s growing love of spicy food and appeal to both the British people and Indian aristocracy. 

Unfortunately, Mahomed’s business venture went bankrupt in 1812, failing to entice the Indian aristocracy who had cooks serving more authentic meals at home. 

Still, despite his loss, Mahomed is remembered as the UK’s founding father of modern curry restaurants. 

Birmingham and the balti 

Concocted in the mid ‘70s as a means of creating a lighter, healthier curry, the Birmingham balti was invented by the Pakistani and Kashmiri communities in the southeastern area of the city.

Requiring all the meat to be off the bone and the chefs to use vegetable oil instead of ghee, the bali is made in a thin, pressed steel wok which heats up very quickly. 

Meaning bucket in Urdu, the word balti refers to the deep utensil it is cooked and served in. Traditionally, the meal is served with naan to scoop up the delicious sauce. 

Just three miles outside Birmingham’s city centre, the Balti Triangle is a flavour-fuelled hub of Asian food and where the balti was born. 

Find an official Birmingham balti recipe below! 

Traditional Birmingham balti recipe

(Courtesy of The Birmingham Balti Co.) 

Balti sauce ingredients 

• 3x Tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
• 4x Chopped Onions
• 2cm length piece of peeled and grated fresh ginger
• l large crushed and peeled garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon The Birmingham Balti Garam Masala
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1tsp chilli powder
• 1 large grated tomato
• 1 teaspoon of salt 
• Handful of chopped coriander  
• 300ml water

Balti sauce method 

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a moderate heat then add the onions, ginger and garlic, stirring regularly until onions are translucent. 
2. Add the tomato and stir into the mixture, then add the water and all the other ingredients. 
3. Give it all a good stir and bring to the boil. 
4. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. 
5. Allow to cool completely then blitz in a food processor until smooth. 

Balti chicken recipe for one person 

Ingredients 

• 6 tbsp balti curry sauce or Base gravy
• 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 grated tomato
• 2 small finely chopped onions
• 2 diced chicken breasts (dice in smallish pieces to ensure speedy cooking)
• 2 small chopped chillies (take the seeds out if you prefer a milder taste) 
• 1 tsp of ginger paste
• 1 tsp of garlic paste 
• 2 pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of The Birmingham Balti Garam Masala
• 4 teaspoons of The Birmingham Balti spice pot blend OR 1 tsp ground Paprika, 1tsp dried fenugreek leaves, 1 tsp ground cumin and 1 tsp ground turmeric.
• Water
• Fresh coriander to garnish

Method 

1. Heat oil in a balti bowl until sizzling. 
2. Add chopped onion and tomato and cook until onions are translucent. 
3. Add ginger, garlic purees, chillies and give it a quick stir, then add in 4 teaspoons of balti spice blend or individual spices and stir, adding a splash of water. 
4. Add chicken, cook for a few moments then add 1 tablespoon of Garam Masala and 2 pinches of salt. 
5. When the chicken is nearly cooked add in 6 tablespoons of your balti sauce. 
6. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with Naan bread.

• Chicken Tikka Masala£5.25 – £17.85
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• Garlic Chilli Beef Madras£5.75 – £10.35
• Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken)£5.25 – £8.90
• Lamb Dhansak£5.75 – £10.35
• Goan Style Piri Piri Prawn Curry£5.75 – £10.35
• Chicken Achari£5.25 – £8.90
• Keralan Red Pepper & Cauliflower Curry£5.25 – £8.90

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