Why This Dish is Killing Indian Restaurants

[@Faultlinevideos]

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[@signintoconfirm6168]

How about no. .. Also, to save people time: it is chicken tikka masala. And nobody cares.

[@h.l.malazan5782]

"De-industrialization bad! Mmmm, this foreign cuisine is our national dish! Diversity!" Really? This is the alternative from your straightforward racist? Is there any version of you that acknowledge the existence of human history before the last two hundred years. There can be no other way besides your way, right?

[@DungTran-li2wn]

Restaurants in britain are aimed at britons? Wow. Shocking.

[@heisenberg19989]

Moti mahal invented butter chicken.... I guess Which is a tandoori chicken based dish.

[@poppinc8145]

Why are you using the Indian government's version of the map which has India controlling Gilgit-Baltistan and literally bordering Afghanistan, which is neither true nor do any other country recognize India's territory as such?? At least come back to the real world.

[@coyotelong4349]

As an American, I feel like Indian food is to the UK what Mexican food is to the US

[@alliedatheistalliance6776]

A Mexindian restaurant would be fire. And by that I mean it would be hot af, and delicious. Tikka con carne to start with.

[@bradley8575]

Indian and Asian food is very popular in the US too

[@Nitzpitz]

Yes, and Indonesian food to the Dutch

[@fad23]

This analogy makes sense to me. Some argue that burritos were invented in the American southwest.

[@fad23]

I feel like Chicken Tikka Masala there is analogous to Pad Thai for American Thai restaurants.

[@davesprivatelounge]

Britain: colonises India India: colonises British food Resistance is futile.

[@rustyhowe3907]

It really gives a new twist on "getting a taste of their own medicine" in the most literal (and highly humorous) sense.

[@sakurakou2009]

​@@rustyhowe3907india give them best food, british give them death and famine, how is this taste of their own medicine ☠️

[@sonfire1]

And now, Indian origian PM in UK ❤❤❤ Revange taken 😂😂😂

[@helenswan705]

Thanks for this comment but I am not agreeing. I feel so sad that so many Indian Pakistani bangladeshi jamacan Middle Eastern and Chinese/far Eastern people who have made it over to the UK (always wonder why they want to, specially now) have been obliged to go into catering, not their original occupations. And then, obliged to pander to the very narrow UK tastes, the standard menus you will see from cornwall to Scotland because . . . well you can fill in the reasons for yourselves.

[@globalcitizenn]

No it’s still Britain has colonised Indian food. They’re now claiming a very Indian Chicken Tikka Masala is a British dish. That’s colonisation.

[@heart5929]

>it's not overpowering >eyes went watery in an instant, immediately grabs a bottle of water

[@akshayhazari6570]

Muslims claiming something their own, nothing new Sheesh Mahal story is BS It may be Bangladeshi or Indian but those stories of Sheesh Mahal are typical lies

[@gamingweb1090]

boo'h of waahr

[@NeoCoreSaturn]

Jamaican Food would probably be heaven for British people since most of it is a mixture of British and Indian foods

[@Anonymoose66G]

Yeah, British people love Jamaican food, it's less common in The UK compared to Indian, Bengali, Pakistani, Chinese, Thai, but still known and loved.

[@tomh2121]

@@Anonymoose66GIndian food is everywhere while Jamaican food is more common in cities with Caribbean communities like London, Manchester and Birmingham

[@Anonymoose66G]

@@tomh2121 Yeah.

[@harry.flashman]

i eat jerk fried rice and curry goat gravy everyday on my way home from work. its definately my favorite food.

[@BBWahoo]

Do brits like Mexican food?

[@satyakisil9711]

It's important to know that India itself has more than 100 million Bengalis, and their own cuisine is not the same as the cuisine from Sylhet. It is a lot more dessert oriented with more focus on the sauce and gravy rather than the spice mixture of the fish itself. Pilau is cooked sweet as well.

[@arnavranka4510]

We need to stop Bangladesh from claiming the Bengali identity for themselves. People of Bangladesh are Bangladeshi, not Bengali. They do not follow Bengali culture, and follow and Arab religion.

[@OscarOSullivan]

Thanks Satyakisil9711

[@GobbiExists]

@@arnavranka4510in my opinion, your opinion is too extreme, but I agree with your main opinion of Bangladeshi people should not be the only people claiming the Bengali identity. I should actually try different types of bangla food someday when I have the chance :)

[@arnavranka4510]

@@GobbiExists Read my comment again, whenever Sheikh Hasina loses in Bangladesh.

[@zhozhoe]

There are Sylhetis in India as well. Ever heard of Silchar? And most Tripura Bengalis are originally Sylhetis.

[@MikeRees]

This would not have been out of place on the BBC. I feel like I've watched a fair few documentaries like this on TV. Nice work!

[@AMPProf]

YO SOO TRUE then made fun of on Monty..

[@hoogyoutube]

Clicked on this video thinking I'd get a lot of b-roll of drunk British lads eating Indian food, but instead I got a fantastic, insightful rabbit hole of how the homogenization of Indi- no Bengali food is harming the industry. Thank you Andy. I will purposely veer away from tikka masala and try and go for the chef menu.

[@Dani-ln6sp]

A wild Hoog appears, neat!

[@mefisto05s.20]

Lol! American selling sushi doesn't make sushi American food

[@saeefrayhan9717]

been binge watching hoog and fern for days, nice that you appear now.

[@kindofanmol]

Bengal is literally a state in India so its still Indian food. Always will be.

[@munemshahariar2503]

​@@kindofanmol UK is mostly sylhet Bangladeshi .. soo there's that

[@STARK50]

As a North-East Indian, I have eaten Chicken tikka masala probably once or twice in my life. That would be case for majority of Indians. I am from Assam and we eat lots fish, chicken, duck, mutton and pork dishes. Pork with ghost pepper and bamboo shoot is a delicacy here. Fish tenga(Sour fish curry), Alu pitika(smashed potatoes with mustard oil, onion and chilli), Dali bota(soaked lentil paste with chilli, black pepper, salt) Khar(alkaline dish made with papaya, water gourd etc.) are some of the best tasting dishes here. Hope foreigners get the chance to eat foods from all parts of India.

[@LifeofBrad1]

That sounds interesting. I'll have to look for an Assamese restaurant now because I'm intrigued.

[@suhanaahmed4960]

as a sylheti from bangladesh, we eat smashed potatoes too (aloo borta) and fish tenga. so good !

[@BlackDoveNYC]

I wish all these were available everywhere. They sound like they are really good.

[@sonurejuven3209]

Northeast Indian pork food is heavenly 😋

[@helenswan705]

I love the sound of all these things I have never heard of! Even though I am UK vegetarian. If only we stopped saying 'Indian' as if it was one thing. Even in a land as small as ours, English is not the same as Welshor Scots or Irish. Even N and S English are different. We are so ignorant.

[@BAZUKA-es4ht]

As an Indian, I'm more amazed than offended about a new dish emerging from Indian cuisine mixing with British influence. I'd like to try chicken tikka masala myself once 🤤

[@ionfreak83]

Similar to Hong Kong where its cuisine are influence by both Cantonese and British style because of its colonial past.

[@stalfithrildi5366]

There's also a fight going on between Birmingham and Glasgow about which one invented the Balti

[@jugo1944]

It's good. I like goat curry more tho

[@devonbotney2762]

It is usually my go to dish (I'm american) but I know that chicken makhani and some other curry is there for me to try. I might branch a bit more

[@fanny2081]

You need to get a toilet. Your food is so bad, that bacteria gets sick from it

[@sinsan0374]

As an Indian with significant exposure to Bengal, Bengalis and Bengali food, let me state for the record that typical British Curry House staples are a far cry to everyday bengali Food. British Curry House Food is just that - simply British - made by Bangladeshi Britons for fellow Brits. It’s a beautiful thing!

[@just_a_memer_lol]

biriyani crying in the corner

[@rutvikrs]

It's Punjabi cuisine tbf

[@AYBIOM]

In the UK the food served is Punjabi but food like biryani, halim, korma, nihari, baklava, etc. is Mughali Cuisine and belongs to Bangladesh and India @@rutvikrs

[@nicktecky55]

Exactly, it's even called BIR food for short. (British Indian Restaurant) It is especially true when it comes to CTM.

[@johnnyw525]

It is indeed a beautiful thing! There's a reason it became the most popular takeaway... it awakened dormant British palettes! Thank you

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

Chicken tikka masala is also popular in the US now. The whole impact of Indian food in the UK is similar to Chinese and Mexican food impact on the US. Every small town and evensny villages have at least one Mexican and one Chinese restaurant.

[@dunnowy123]

Yeah thats accurate. I'd say in parts of Canada, especially Ottawa and Montreal, Lebanese shawarma takes the role that Indian food does in the UK

[@harry.flashman]

Is Jamaican food popular in U.S. and Canada?

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

@@harry.flashman Jamaican food Probably in parts of Canada because there are some decent size immigrant populations in some areas. In the US I would say NYC & parts of FL do have decent number of restaurants due to the Jamaican population. Outside of that, in the large cities they tend to be not popular but also not unpopular. You won't find them everywhere but people do love Jamaican Jerk Chicken and the curry goat but the restaurants have a more niche audience. I'm in Chicago and my food app, I can find a few jamaican restaurants that deliver to me. So not anywhere near on par as Mexican/Chinese nor the next tier of Indian but EVERYONE knows Jamaican food and its easier to find then say food from every country except maybe 10-15 countries?

[@iroseland]

While Chicken Tikka Masala is pretty easy to find over here. Tech worker visas have been really good to the US in the shape of really good, and very representative food from all over India. Just go to Devon street in Chicago, but be sure to be hungry. As for me, I am more of a Ghobi Aloo kind of guy.

[@somerandomperson6511]

Like 80% of the Chinese restaurants are the same too, the food tastes the same and they have the same things and often even similar prices, it may as well be one big chain (but I still love it)

[@Musicofwei]

Ayo that's crazy, I randomly found my track 'back in Singapore' at 1:18 in this video. Thanks for the support on my WEI songs, Faultline!

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

People always rely on stereotypes instead of properly understanding places, Thanks for this video explaining this

[@anathardayaldar]

Most American towns have a "chinese takeout" that does not specify what area of china they are from. And it seems like they all get their menus from the same printing company. You have to drive to a city center to get anything "regional". I image that's what indian food choice is like in the UK.

[@arifshahabuddin8888]

@@anathardayaldar Chinese food in the U.S. is an American cuisine. The items found on an American menu is unlikely to be found in any menu in the Far East. Indeed, every country with a sizeable ethnic Chinese community will have restaurants serving food unlike any found in other countries. This was my experience in the Caribbean, the UK, even India. As for the origins of Chinese food in America, it's basically Cantonese (Guangdong). The vast majority of Chinese immigrants came from there. The Chinese Exclusion Act kept more Chinese from immigrating until the 1960s. Hence, Chinese-American food was really Cantonese-American food. More recently, at least in the American northeast, there has been a strong influence of Fuzhou and very many of the restaurants are owned and/or staffed by Fujian immigrants. So, the printing company that prints out all of those menus is an American company.

[@AMPProf]

Like all Brits eat eels

[@XiadaniLicarayen]

I love takes like this. It's so important to realize that the restaurants in your area are shaped by the customers in that area. Family restaurants often don't have the budget for massive advertising campaigns to sway public opinion. People say that the #1 reason restaurants fail is because of location. What that really means is that the only way for new cuisines and new food to show up in your area is if people go out and support those locations, if your town only has simple crappy restaurants, it's because those are the only sort of restaurants that can be successful in your town.

[@drbarnowl]

The saddest part of this is that sought-after locations mean higher rents, which mean the landlord gets a bigger slice of whatever your restaurateur brings in and prices are largely dictated by this overhead. In my town, there's a lot of council-owned properties in the centre of town, and I'd honestly love them to devote a swathe of them to "pop up" restaurants that can make themselves a name before branching out into their own premises.

[@mirta000]

Places with crappy restaurants have a population that can't afford to eat out.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Reminds me of that one episode of Kitchen Nightmares where the owner tries to establish fine dining in Scotland. And the place is failing because complex french cuisine completely misses the taste of the locals.

[@Arthur3148]

As a French guy, I find it similar to the way "Chinese" food is seen in my country. The first "Chinese" restaurants you could find in France were in fact run by Vietnamese people (which makes sense as Vietnam was a former French colony and many Vietnamese people emigrated here). So for example one of the staples of "Chinese" restaurants in France is nem (filled with pork, chicken, shrimp or vegetables) which is a truly Vietnamese dish, close to the Chinese egg roll but not the same. They marketed their restaurants as "Chinese" even though they mostly made Vietnamese food. And then when Chinese people emigrated to France and opened Chinese restaurants they had to make nem because it's what French customers would expect to get.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

It's like how Pad Thai, and Thai food in general, has become so popular in the US. Though the reason Pad Thai became so popular is a different story. Basically as Thai food gained steam in the US, the Thailand government took note of this. And so in the early 2000s, they launched a program that would train Thai chefs and send them abroad to open new restaurants with the aim of promoting Thailand as a destination to visit through their cuisine. As part of that campaign, the government also attempted to standardize Thai restaurants and their menus, in hopes of making dishes like Pad Thai as synonymous with Thai culture as say, the Big Mac is with McDonald’s. A surprise to no one, this tactic worked. It's also like how fortune cookies have become synonymous with Chinese culture...despite the fact fortune cookies aren't actually Chinese in origin. They were brought to the US by Japanese immigrants! Originating in Edo-period Japan, cookies very similar to the modern fortune cookie were made called the 辻占煎餅/tsujiura senbei. They were made with miso and sesame, different than the modern ones. But like the modern ones, it had fortunes inside called tsujiura or omikuji. These cookies are still sold in Japan today. It switched to a Chinese-American staple during WWII because of Japanese internment.

[@cloroxbleach9222]

oh my god its avery the cuban american

[@robmartin5448]

at this point you have to be a chatbot gpt

[@cloroxbleach9222]

@@robmartin5448 I've seen Avery every now and then continuously since like 2019 though, highly doubt they're AI

[@TankEngine75]

Yeah I've seen a Video on that Thai Food Program, I live in Malaysia (which borders Thailand) and there's so many Thai Restaurants here, I'm willing to bet a good portion of them are apart of that program

[@TankEngine75]

​@@cloroxbleach9222I keep seeing them in comments too, I doubt they are an AI

[@jbusniewski]

As an American who has lived in India (mostly Uttarakhand) and visited the UK, I find that the chicken tikka masala I've had isn't that far removed from the standard butter chicken. Of course, no two butter chicken recipes are quite the same, but I don't find chicken tikka masala to be all that foreign to foods more traditional to the subcontinent, or at least a particular style of food there. What we get in Indian restaurants in the US and what I've experienced of South Asian food in the UK tends to gravitate towards a sort of pan-North Indian set of curry dishes, as sort of an at least somewhat Mughal-derived style (in my understanding anyway). In Uttarakhand, many restaurants of this type are operated by Punjabi Sikhs, but I can't guarantee that's the same elsewhere. Not quite what you'd get at the typical bhojnalay or dhaba or in most people's homes, but certainly something you can find pretty much all over the place. I enjoy this cuisine for what it is and chicken tikka masala as a diasporic dish, although I do long for momos, noodles, and thukpa as well as a nice, simple thali.

[@escalocity]

Never had Chicken Tikka Masala, but I think I can relate it now that you have mentioned that it is similar to butter chicken. Obviously home cooked food from North and central India is not all Curries, you don't eat so many spices everyday. Generally it is more like Thalis you get at bhojanalaya. Daal, Sabji, Phulkas and Rice with curd or Raita.

[@ChaosPod]

@@escalocity Same, I've never had Chicken Tikka Masala, but I do like butter chicken, and out of the Indian food I've tried I like it the best!

[@csr8924]

Even within uttrakhand we have two divisions and different dishes from both regions. People have such different pallets with change of the geography and culture around them, it's amusing.

[@mangopudding5979]

Thats not Mu ghal derived.

[@aashishjain3506]

Oh nice, you have been to both the UKs then. Uttarakhand and United Kingdom.

[@silver.shoelaces]

I'm not British and I don't eat meat, so I think it's pretty interesting to see the trend in the UK of always ordering the same dish and compare it to my own habits. I'm in the US. Every time I go to an Indian restaurant, I order chana masala if I'm eating there for the first time. Chana masala isn't even my favorite, but I've found that the flavor of the chana masala will tell me what to expect from the rest of the menu. I usually order something different the second time I visit.

[@chipsthedog1]

I judge a restaurant on its tarka dal, well judge is a little harsh but usually if I enjoy that dish chances are I will enjoy other things on the menu and it is mad how one dish can be so different depending on where you get it.

[@nahor88]

@@chipsthedog1 It's unfortunate that most restaurants were started by Bangladeshis, cuz they're just a slice of what South Asian food has to offer. So many Westerners assume "this is what Indian food is". To your latter point, no two curries are the same, even if they're called the same thing. It's hard to convey this to people unless they just visit India and experience that for themselves. Even Gordon Ramsay didn't understand that until he did a docuseries across India.

[@Shiruvi]

i do the same with italian places, my first choice is always the plain and simple pizza. if they can't handle bread, tomatoes and cheese it doesn't bode well for the rest of the menu. as for indian food i always check the paneer personally.

[@Cantetinza17]

In California they have vegetarian choices that are so good.

[@ernesto8290]

Yeah, I can definitely relate. I do the same with cocktails, if I ask for what I consider a basic drink, the Manhattan, and from there I can infer whether or not too continue or just order beer or something on the rocks.

[@ShanMMQ]

As a Pakistani, my first experience with British Indian Restaurants came in a few years ago. The first thing the owners told me was that they were actually Pakistani and put "Indian Restaurant" in the name as it's what the British had come to love and would get confused if they were offering "Pakistani food". Secondly, the palate it's developed for is so clearly different from a typical Pakistani restaurant you'd eat from in Pakistan. Way more saucy, the sauce is usually much thicker, and less spicier as well. But it works! Fantastically! I love it! So I am definitely a fan of "White People Indian Food" lmao

[@abhij2228]

pakistani food is Indian food.

[@jarjarbinks3193]

It is Punjabi/Mughalai cuisine. Almost all Indian restaurants in both the UK and the US serve Punjabi/Mughalai fare.

[@mangopudding5979]

Je alous and in secure pakeee😂. You just cant handle that Brits love Indian food. No wonder, you came up with such comment. Only some pakeee restaurants call their retaurants as Indian. Brits clearly know what Indian cuisine and what Pakeee cuisine is. Indian cuisine is light years ahead of Pakeee cuisine. Brits also eat South Indian cuisine, so they know what is Indian cusine and what is Pakeee cuisine.

[@mangopudding5979]

​@@jarjarbinks3193wrong.

[@jarjarbinks3193]

​@@mangopudding5979 I have been to both the US and UK. Indian restaurants there mostly serve what is referred to as Punjabi and Mughalai dishes in India. Food like Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken, Paneer Butter Masala, Naan etc. In fact, that is what most native European and American customers order/prefer as well. Yes, there are restaurants that serve Dosa in the US, but they are NOT all that sought after by locals. Moreover, South Indian food like Dosas don't work well for carry-outs as they are good ONLY when eaten fresh off the griddle.

[@davidcookmfs6950]

There was a Gordan Ramsay episode where he went to turn around an Indian restaurant on the ropes. The first thing he realised was that there were so many versions of curry dishes, that not even their cooks and staff could tell them apart when they were asked to taste them.

[@70newlife]

Those are the Frankenstein type dishes used in Indian restaurants they have very little to do with indian cuisine.

[@xdeser2949]

Talking about tomatoes and chilies always adds a new dimension to food history considering they've only been available outside of the Americas for about 500 years now, imagine what kind of foods their introduction displaced a few centuries ago, in a way you could describe indian/bengali food imported to the uk as indian/bengali/"american" fusion

[@madewithloveduh]

underrated comment

[@mintpaintome]

by this logic, a lot of italian food is italian/american then. Something I'm not too sure italians would like hearing :^)

[@suhridguha2560]

Most food on the planet is fusion food tbh

[@OmniversalInsect]

@@suhridguha2560 Most culture on the planet is at least somewhat fused as well.

[@suhridguha2560]

@@OmniversalInsect yeah true

[@TheRishijoesanu]

Indian cuisine is vast. I actually urge all Brits to try out Malabar curry cuisine since that region has much longer history with non-vegetarian food (especially sea food). Also Malabar is where much of Indian spices originated and consequently where you'll find the most diverse offerings.

[@harry.flashman]

We need a full length docu series or books explaining the history of this food.

[@callistine8559]

Kerala cuisine ftw

[@sandipkrmunda]

Malabar cuisine is a dwarf compared to Bengali cuisine(Greater Bengal). This is because of the vast Geography, long and complicated History, and sheer demographics in the region. It is the only region that touches the Himalayas on one end and touches the sea on the other end, there are old alluvial plains leading to the plateau, one of the largest fertile river basin systems of the world, the largest delta/mangrove forest, and scattered hill tracts.

[@artman12]

It’s not “Malabar cuisine”. It’s Kerala cuisine as Malabar only encompasses the northern districts of Kerala. The cuisine from the Malabar districts are not really famous for seafood as the speciality here are other meat dishes like Thalassery Biryani. The central and southern districts of Kerala, especially Alappuzha and Kottayam, are more known for seafood curry dishes.

[@baldwinivofjerusalem47]

@@callistine8559 Fr it tastes so gooood!

[@xeropulse5745]

I had a housemate from North India for a year, and the food she would make is so drastically different from the curry shops around me, and it really gave me an appreciation for places that have the ability to make their own authentic food.

[@70newlife]

Restaurants are a recent phenomenon in india especially among hindus. The restaurant food in North India ( cooked/ assembled on demand like european food) was pioneered by Punjabis who are Sikh religion influenced thus fewer punjabis have food taboos and religious caste untouchability taboo. Hindus upper castes( the only people who had/ have disposable income ) rarely ate outside there caste homes or their own homes for fear of having an lower caste handle their food. The Punjabis started these restaurants for the world travelled elite of independent India and gave them the equivalent of an European cuisine with indian flavors and ingredients.

[@xeropulse5745]

@@70newlife Actually since I wrote that comment an Indian lad moved into the house who's a professional chef from the same area as the old housemate. Everything you said makes so much sense. 😂 The old housemate was upper caste (she went to a college where all the students drove Lamborghinis.) She actually wouldn't order food, even if she worked a 12 hour shift she would still make her own food at the end of the day. It's the same with the new housemate. He spends all day cooking, then comes home and cooks some more.

[@Aightbet-ng2si]

@@70newlifethat’s a load of bullshit it started much before in mughal era the street food of Delhi can literally be traced back to them which is still sold in those streets near lal qila

[@ayanavaroy1186]

@@70newlife tf are you talking about. If you define ‘recent’ as colonial times then sure, that’s true. But I think modern restaurants also didn’t start until the late 1700s. And restaurant like eateries opened in colonial India just about a hundred years later. Even then, inns or taverns had been there in the subcontinent throughout history.

[@DinuMbackup]

@@xeropulse5745 Just to clear up something about the Lamborghinis part...Upper caste doesn't automatically equate to wealthy. This is some kind of western projection imo. In the west, nobility is considered upper class. However, in India uppercastes can be extremely poor while lower castes can be extremely wealthy. People of upper castes are not necessarily wealthy. Having said that, everything else that you assumed is correct. Most upper castes emphasize on some notion of purity and won't eat food cooked outside unless they know it conforms to their expectations of purity.

[@Mizan215]

I grew up in a family that owned a curry house. Thank you for putting the respect on the Bengali contribution!

[@rafisyed8624]

I’ve heard the story about the chef in Scotland before, and it does make sense to try and modify a traditional recipe to make it more palatable to a different region. I’d even say it’s essential to simplify the menu, like Chipotle does with Mexican, and to offer alternatives like boneless chicken that can be eaten with a knife and fork rather than the traditional hands. I’m Bengali-Canadian and I really enjoy all your videos, please keep it up!

[@alliedatheistalliance6776]

As a Scot, I also love the disrespect of it as well. 'Add some ketchup, these savages love ketchup'. And he was right

[@tehfiredog]

Yeah, everything about it makes perfect sense... "Damn Brits want gravy on everything so that's what I'll give em" but with too much self respect to have it taste bad just feels properly organic.

[@ChoobChoob]

There's a 4th sector of Indian food you should consider: Traditional "Café Style". It's where the restaurant would make vats of curries and reheat them to order. The curries in these places taste homemade. You actually showed footage of the former legendary Sweet & Spicy 9:18 which was your traditional café style Indian restaurant!

[@drbarnowl]

Absolutely : if you're in Manchester, there's a good selection of these, including the iconic "rice & three" places that will serve you rice and three curries for under a tenner, like This & That in the Northern Quarter.

[@selectionn]

reheated food sounds pretty mid but ok

[@joonseokim2364]

is there a benefit of them being premade and reheated? Wouldn't it taste better if it was made fresh? Just a question tho👍.

[@midoriioyama9548]

I often make curries at home, and they taste better the next day because the flavors have more time to marinate. @@joonseokim2364

[@ddacoe0]

interesting!

[@Talik13]

This was fantastic! I'm from the USA, and while we also love Chicken Tikka Masala, I had a few friends who introduced me to multiple types of Indian food relatively early on. I love this little bit of history into this famous/infamous dish! Kind of reminds me of Xiran Jay Zhao's defense of "Chinese American" food. It's an adaptation of humanity - it should be celebrated, but also used as a gateway for people to experience other foods and cultures.

[@LavitosExodius]

Also American here yes we love Chicken Tikka Masala but honestly it's either Chinese Food or the Tex-Mex fusion that we love like the UK loves Indian food.

[@The_AA_Meetings]

As a British Pakistani it’s pretty cool to see the country I was born and raised in have such love for a cuisine I grew up with. Shoutout chicken tikka masala

[@pinklady7184]

Irish here. Pakistanis in my town were the first people who introduced me to basmati rice, biryanis, kormas, etc.

[@shashankdixit8949]

​@@pinklady7184all those dishes and things are indian by the way it's just pakistan doesn't have there own different cousine

[@ea3414]

@@shashankdixit8949 avg Indian. Always going on about how varied India is but completely blind when it comes to Pakistan

[@Dr.SyedSaifAbbasNaqvi]

​@@ea3414He is right though. Those are Indian staples. We use Basmati rice for every occasion. If you check the stores in the UK all those are imported from India. India accounts for over 70% of the world's basmati rice production. Pakistan really doesn't have any role in it.

[@suraj.1889]

its fine i think it is not right to separate pakistan when it comes to indian dishes, essentially pakistan and india are part of same land so to alienate them from INDIAN dishes is not so right, remember the border was created only in 47, before that it was one land for thousands of years@@shashankdixit8949

[@perhapsyes2493]

Very interesting. Here in the Netherlands we have roughly the same kind of situation with what we call "Chinese", but it's actually more like a Dutch-palate adjusted Indonesian cuisine. The concept of a "Chin.Ind.Spec.Rest" (Chinese Indonesian Specialties Restaurant) is something that actual books have been written about.

[@whome9842]

I'm curious about what even is "Dutch-palate adjusted Indonesian cuisine". I don't even know what Dutch people like or dislike.

[@perhapsyes2493]

@@whome9842 I cant exactly explain Dutch tastes, but our "Chinese" is generally a lot less spicy, more oily, more sweet than the original.

[@tessie7e777]

The best food I had in my two month whirlwind tour of Europe in 1988 was the Indonesian food I had in the Netherlands. 😊

[@nad4243]

Now I wonder how those indonesian food could be labelled as chinese considering china and indonesia is very far away from each other

[@Rossy167]

@@nad4243Chinese Indonesian food is its own thing inside of Indonesia, as there’s a Chinese minority population there. It bears similarity to Chinese dishes but is influenced by Indonesian ingredients and cooking styles, especially as the Chinese Indonesian population has diverged quite a lot culturally from China. Indonesian food in general has lots of different types as it’s a huge set of islands. I’m not sure how to describe Chinese Indonesian, only that it’s a little less rustic and more approachable than say Padang food, another popular Indonesian style. Chinese Indonesian dishes are among my favs as a British guy, especially their noodle soups and their versions of nasi campur (basically just a catch all for rice with assorted stuff).

[@stephengrimmer35]

I shared a flat with a Pakistani student in the 80s (now a professor at Quetta University) who shared his mother's rogan josh recipe. Always lamb, never beef, fresh roasted spices, never paste. Still cook it to this day. There's a lot better than chicken tikka out there.

[@convergentradius]

I believe you'd like Biryani or Nihari too

[@shahriartanvir977]

I am someone from Sylhet, Bangladesh (The place mentioned in the video). Currently living in Germany for half a decade. I sort of felt proud seeing the video. I have so many relatives living in the UK who own a restaurant. Nice video, cheers!

[@armadhillo]

So the Chicken Tikka style which is from the northern state of Punjab was the most popular Indian dish that was labelled as "generic Indian food" and is served by mostly Bengali restaurant owners from Bangladesh... that is a crazy south asian fusion right there... Personally my favourite Indian food dish is Pav Bhaji which is from the state of Maharashtra and has some Portuguese influence as well from the use of Pao (which means bread in Portuguese).

[@savioblanc]

The Portuguese also introduced chilies and potatoes to India. So the entire dish is "Portuguese introduced but with Indian spices"

[@jpdemer5]

@@savioblanc The same is true of lamb vindaloo.

[@savioblanc]

@@jpdemer5 all vindaloo, which is a Portuguese dish, which went from tangy vinegary to spicy vinegary due to the introduction of Indian spices, then became spicy, more saucy when Indian chefs introduced it to the British

[@whorcruxed]

​​@@savioblancI travelled to Goa (former Portuguese colony) last year and we wanted to try some local food. We asked the waiter about Vindaloo and his exact statement was 'khatta, meetha aur spicy' (transl: sweet, sour and spicy). I was so confused, I thought he's asking me how I want my dish to taste like among them because usual Indian dishes don't combine these flavours together. When we were served and I had my first bite, I couldn't believe it was exactly 'sweet, sour and spicy'. I didn't know it's a Portuguese dish, I thought maybe it's a coastal dish.

[@savioblanc]

@@whorcruxed awesome. It's essentially a Portuguese dish, adapted to Indian tastes and in its original form, primarily made with pork

[@gooifgeffpawkek]

Really great video. The production was so tight I thought I was watching some professional network television mini-doc until I started poking around looking for more info after the video. Amazing work!

[@juanrosado9713]

I don't really know how this video came across my home page, I'm not subscribed to you, I'm not British, and I'm not a massive fan of Indian food, but I am so thankful for the algorithm in this case. This video was so well made and informative but yet entertaining. Keep up the good work, this really was a quality video.

[@richardcgs2001]

Although American, I adore Indian food and have indulged in it for some forty-odd years. I like chicken vindaloo, mutton kadai and mutton rogan josh, as nonveg options, and chana dal, chole bathure and aloo bharta (eggplant) as veg options. I like jeera/zeera rice and puri and lotcha porotha bread. I favor north Indian (except Rajastani where they routinely, to my taste, spoil dishes with sugar) and Pakistani especially Punjabi cuisine. In the main, I am not into South Indian, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan cuisine. Moreover, dishes like tikka chicken masala, butter chicken and (any) korma I do not order; I find them too saucy/creamy and grossly underspiced. I absolutely detest how many Indian chefs in Bahrain gratuitously add copious amounts of sugar to curries so much so that I need to warn the waiter in advance not to do so on pain of my returning the dish unpaid for. Accordingly, I tend to prefer Pakistani restaurants whose chefs, at least in Bahrain, do not exhibit a tendency and are not wont to add sugar. Routinely, I bring my own chilis to enliven dishes. While I would not bother with chicken tikka masala, not all synthetic dishes are bland and rendered anodyne for the British palate. I did sample in the UK, at the insistence of British colleagues, fal and tinderloo, which, I did enjoy. In Chicago, there was a cluster of Indian restaurants on Devon street in the far north of rhe city. In my university days, I used to order vindaloo but telling the waiter no tip unless I am writhing on the floor in agony after the meal. (Accordingly, I tipped very infrequently.)

[@NickIrvineFortescue]

I got so obsessed with british indian restaurant food that I got a job washing their dishes just so I could learn from the chefs. Once they realised this, they got me cooking the staff meal of chicken curry every Fri/Sat night. What a responsibility! I learnt a lot - but they got me learning what they wanted me to, and who was I to argue. It was hard work and low pay but they treated me like a brother. An amazingly supportive work environment. They kept encouraging me to take a break and eat more food. Legends.

[@apoorv_mc]

Daam, you must host some dinner sometimes

[@garywheeler7039]

Darn, take a break and eat more food, how "unamerican"(!)

[@NickIrvineFortescue]

@@apoorv_mc yes true, when people come over I love to cook Indian/Bangladeshi/Nepali food for them. Chicken curry on the bone is the one I do best, and is the one I cooked for the staff

[@NickIrvineFortescue]

@@garywheeler7039 yes it was different to most of the jobs I've had in England. It was a lot of work but I felt they actually cared about me as an employee. The fact they fed all their staff daily is testament to that also

[@johndoe-vc1we]

Hard to find good labour. They try to hold on to who they get

[@pmamidipudi237]

05:41 and 07:36 . When the restaurants are referred to as “Indian”, it refers to the subcontinent and not merely India. It is true that much of them are Bangladesh owned and sell foods of Bengali origin. But keep in mind that Bengali cuisine is found across border in West Bengal as well , and so calling it as belonging to Bangladesh only would be incorrect. The same would be with true for Pakistani restaurants. The food consumed in Punjab, Pakistan is identical to the Punjab, India. The only difference is that because Muslims tend to consume more meat, the food consumed in Pakistan and Bangladesh - Muslim majority countries - tends to have more meat. The term “Indian cuisine” is more of an umbrella term referring to food belonging to all of the cultures that exist within the subcontinent, and where exactly one draws the line between different cuisines in the subcontinent is unclear.

[@Lalitaditya100]

As an Indian myself, I've really learnt a lot from this video, keep up the good work!

[@thepalebluedot4171]

Yeah , you did learn about the East Pakistani airforce/military fiercely fought with the Pakistani airforce/military ...🤣🤣

[@phabove7]

@@thepalebluedot4171 : Spot On. Not mentioning India made it hillarious.

[@mahfuzwuddin]

Top video. I'm a British Bengali, my dad who came here in the 1960s and has spent the last 50+ years cooking up curries. Personally I've always been frustrated by how curry houses have always been referred to as "Indian," I always felt it diminishes the impact Bengalis have had on British culture and lexicon. In regards of the decline of the curry house, I felt it would have been worth mentioning both the long hours and poor pay of this work which has meant second and third generations of British Bengalis have no interest in working in the restaurant industry . I recall not seeing my dad much growing up because he was always working and we didn't have much growing up, I didn't much have in material possessions, we never went on holidays but I'm not going to say I was in poverty, we had a mortgage and I never went hungry but it was just about getting by. If this was now, then I'd be in poverty city with the stagnation of wages since 2008. I will defend British cuisine, fish and chips are top tier, I love yorkshire puddings and beans on toast is proper struggle meal. Is it mild AF? Yes but I still enjoy it. (Though I do put curry power in bakes beans)

[@nabilalhami1681]

I mean British Bengals can be classified into British Bangladeshis and British Indians (who can trace their ancestry from West Bengal of India). Which one are you?

[@sakshamrai1803]

Yeah well Bengalis are also Indian. Bangladesh doesn’t have a monopoly over Bengali identity. You can clarify in front of the shop that you are from Bangladesh, however don’t say that Bengalis are not Indians. And no offence, but Indians did fight a whole for the sake of Bangladesh’s liberation.

[@harry.flashman]

Its a brilliant video. Very educational, now I know.

[@JRCSalter]

I also put curry powder into baked beans. Good choice.

[@sassythesasquatch4425]

I hate it when Bangladesis use “Indian”. Stop hiding under Indian when you dont even like Indians. 🤣 i have to avoid so many restaurants as its not Authentic Indian food.

[@lolechi]

Great video, had to be said, this was worth every byte of KZbin server space it takes up. Faultline talking about the real issues.

[@basu_104]

As a Bengali, with connections in Bangladesh, it's great to see this. Nobody believed me when I told that the whole of UK is actually eating Bengali cuisine or derived a lot from it. I wasn't being elitist, it was an observation. Its great now that there's this well researched video.

[@BruceWayne_notBatman]

almost none of the dishes they serve are Bengali, most dishes they serve originated in northern present day pakistan or India, they are just run by Bangladeshi bengali immigrants, and that is a fact this video was not able to get across the audience. so technically, you would be wrong

[@BruceWayne_notBatman]

Because many popular curry house dishes like vindaloo and butter chicken are of west and north indian origin. Tikka masala too is heavily inspired by something that would be served in the punjab region. Bengali dishes are very different, and something im not sure your palette is used to

[@basu_104]

@@BruceWayne_notBatman your writing is incoherent or you're tying very hard to put me down. "Bengali dishes are very different, and something im not sure your palette is used to" - how do you know that bro? Have you met me or my family? would you shut up if i gave you the cv of all my family members that were chefs? how the heck do you assume my palate is not used to bengali food when I've started the sentence with "As a bengali and roots in bangladesh" lol next, i'll repeat what i said: "the whole of UK is actually eating Bengali cuisine or derived a lot from it." Note the word derived. here's what it means in this context: like every culture has their own set of spice mix, we bengalis do too. the preparations in uk reflect a very close resemblance to the spice mix that bengalis use. and bengali spice mix is very unique jsut like say south or north cultures. so its very easy to distinguish if the tikka is "adulterated" with bengali mix or mallu mix. If you are still refusing to belive this, then maybe you need a lesson on what are considered as common in bengali spice mixes and then search for the spices used in uk for preparing punjabi dishes. OR do you want me to post the ingredients for you? my point will always be that uk citizens consume bengali spice mix disguised as a punjabi/pakisthan dish. and yes, this is totally happening due to the massive influx of Bangladeshis. that has nothing to do if the original dish was from punjab or wherever. if these same bangladeshis served tacos, they would still use the bengali spice mix. just like americans use their own mix for the tacos that are clearly labelled as mexican tacos. Stop trying to attack me personally to compensate for your lack of knowledge and basic courtesy.

[@basu_104]

@@anivesh I consider it incoherent if someone says my palate is not used to some good when I've mentioned that I am born and brought up in that culture. Lol Theres nothing called "Bengali spice mix", definitely. Certainly not same as any other belt. I used it as a colloquial term to refer to the unique herbs and spices we mix. Don't be dense. How else would I refer to the unique blend every community has? Bengalis use spices that northern people don't use, again, Punjabis don't use spices that the southern belt uses. If you still think every state doesn't have a unique spice, let me know, I'll write it out. No problem. Hold back your assumptions before that. And yes Bengali food is far way from this, and Bengali food is far more than this too.

[@rutvikrs]

Name one Bengali word in those dishes. Also Bangla food has plenty of fish which are minimal in these curry houses. They are making Punjabi Mughlai fusion

[@ShankhaShubhra]

I loved the way the history of the countries was covered to give context to the evolution of cuisines!

[@AlexHand]

People like chicken tikka masala because it's easy to eat for someone who is not used to Indian food and it's usually somewhere between really good and ok. A lot of Indian dishes are overwhelming with the spice, powders and herbs. If you like CTM, try korma. It's a cashew cream sauce that I learned to like more than CTM.

[@nahor88]

The funny thing is, there are a lot of regional cuisines in India that are on the blander side, and don't use such an overwhelming array of spices. A lot of South Indian dishes are fairly straightforward, using just a couple spices and otherwise relying heavily on coconut, lentils or tamarind for flavor. However, there is a much higher percentage of Indian migrants from the North in the Western Hemisphere compared to the South. I would go to Indian restaurants with my non-Indian friends, and they'd ask me how "authentic" the naan, Chicken Korma and Rogan Josh is, and my answer is "I have no fucking idea, I didn't grow up on this food".

[@Laeiryn]

korma chicken is fkn amazingggg

[@syedmislam]

Tip for anyone who wants to explore a Bangladeshi dish at any of these Curry Houses. Go there and ask if the Chef is from Bangladesh, if so ask him to make you a "Chicken Jhal Fry", "Chicken/Lamb Korma". The first one is spicy and the second one is sweet. These two are authentic dishses that you can find anywhere in Bangladesh. If you are into beef then order "Beef Rezalah". If you are vegan then ask for "Bhorta Bhaji".

[@samvishal3450]

This video is about Indian restaurants.

[@xenon6947]

@@noggintube There is stigma attached to Pakistani and Bangladeshi as men from these countries are engaged with Grooming Gangs . 1000s of girls are affected by grooming gangs however police hands are tied on these cases.

[@edwardliu111]

@@samvishal3450 Mate, did you not watch the bloody video?

[@handles_are_a_bit_rubbish]

Kormas are a standard dish at any regular Indian place.

[@70newlife]

​@@samvishal3450that is pre independence British India. . By the way 70% of Bengalis are Muslim as are Punjabis. Burn!!!

[@seeranos]

It would be interesting to see a restaurant experimenting with giving a choice of menus off the bat, a chefs menu with all the staff favorite dishes, a regulars menu with all the bestsellers, and an trials menu with all the dishes the chefs and cooks are testing out or which are meant to challenge the palette.

[@fritzyberger]

Here in USA I feel like it is a tie for chicken Tikka and butter chicken curries. Me personally I like saag a lot and also vindaloo or even a korma more than chicken Tikka Masala or butter chicken

[@namenameson9065]

It might be advantageous for these restaraunts to give small samples to their customers so they can get a taste of the other items on the menu. I'm Canadian and love Indian food but have never had chicken tikka masala!

[@myrtlealley]

It's easy to try other dishes when your place has a lunch buffet

[@ibrahimhassen1784]

​@@myrtlealleythat or if not try the non veg Thali which usually has the chicken Tikka masala..

[@redf7209]

I'd never be able to make my mind up. I just promise myself to come back again to try what i missed.

[@IhrBesitz]

it basically looks like butter chicken, no?

[@sameedshariq5080]

Can't believe how many interviews you did and that you even filmed in whitechapel! This is the deep dive the country needs.

[@VeryStrangeweather]

As an Indian. All the information you've presented is very well researched and very true. Not only is your research great, but your style of explaining is very nice. Good job, I subbed.

[@NuckerIThink]

This video was so good, the videography was great, the editing was phenomenal and the story telling was so on point! Keep up what your doing

[@joaovitormatos8147]

"from which Indian city is Chicken Tikka Masala from?" "Edinburgh"

[@stuartmacdonald9289]

I think it was actually invented in Glasgow.

[@pronoydutta614]

It's an Indian dish. You get it everywhere here. You also get 100s of other dishes, which is why it isn't considered special.

[@tantraman93]

I have a 'go to' dish when I try a new Chinese/Asian restaurant. It's a simple dish that you find on most menus. If the chef/cook can make this simple dish tasty, I usually want to eat there again. When I go back I start ordering my way through the menu trying most everything they make over time.

[@jzhou3704]

What dish is it?

[@suitandtieguy]

What is it?

[@potssnpanns8418]

my go to is usually pork fried rice if they got it

[@trevorjones8969]

Love this. I live in Scunthorpe, where, post-war, many of those immigrants you speak of came to work in the steel industry, and also many set up 'Indian' restaurants (although I believe a lot were of Pakistani heritage; because of your video here I'd have to fact check that). We still have a good number of those restaurants here, and to be honest, you can't get a bad curry in any of them. They're all pretty great. However, I do think the one thing you missed in respect of the 'decline' you speak of is home cooking. I know back in the day, when I was in my early 30s (I'm near 60 now) and ordering Indian food for home delivery was hurting my pocket, 'cos I was hard up at the time, so I started to learn to cook these dishes at home. This was helped by an increasing number of 'celebrity' chefs focussing on 'Indian' cuisine, and I soon found it wasn't that difficult to replicate the British version of such cuisine. Notably, in the first place, using many of Patak's sauces and, even more so, their pastes. And then came TV chefs such as Anjum Anand (whose cook books I still own and revere) whose recipes tended toward a more 'authentic' idea of what real Indian food might be. And now we have the likes of Chetna Makan, following other 'Masterchef' contestants, and also amazing youtube channels where Mums and and Grand-Mums present incredible recipes for us home cooks to try out. I was never a Tikka Masala chap myself, but I have been guilty of reverting to Jalfrezi on so many occasions. Although I love any curry with fish, notably King Prawns. My home cooked faves are Keralan Chicken; various vegetable curries (Chetna again), and homemade Kormas that are not overpowered with sugar and coconut. Yeah, I do wonder how much working class folks like me, and other home cooks, put a dent in the market. It's so much fun to do too. Especially if it's your favourite kind of food. Here in Scunthorpe, the trade still looks good, but, I don't know, I'd have to ask the proprietors. That would be interesting. I rarely go to restaurants now because of aforementioned home cooking. But I am will do soon, just to try that chef's menu. I'm intrigued by that. Anyways, loved this work you did, and you got a new subscriber here. Cheers. :)

[@LaBicho23]

Chx Tikka is big here in the US but honestly, Kadai Paneer is my favorite Indian dish. Chicken Tikka was one of my favorite starting out but now it is one of the last dishes I would eat, there are just too many other delicious options to choose from.

[@amarsingh122]

I loved this video! You touched on a lot of very sensitive topics!! I love that you brought light to the wonderful Bangladeshis and their influence. I would love you to do a video about food in the UK that is Punjabi! Punjabis are a huge part of the South Asian UK population. Also if you found people willing to do so, a video about where WE eat out would be soooo great..

[@chanshuwun]

I am not surprised. 🤣 if you look at Chinese food being serve in the U.K. and over the world, There is no sweet and sour chicken, chop shey and fortune cookies. They are Chinatown’s invention. As a matter of fact, there is a story have been circulated around regarding the invention of Choy Shey. The story goes as Chinese takeaway usually close very late at night. One night as the takeaway come to a close, a few drunk people come in and demand for food. However, all the foods are gone. The chef come up with an idea to Savage whatever in the food waste bin and create a dish from there. As a matter of fact, the term Chop Shey means put whatever available to combine the food in one dish. So, I am not surprised Chicken Tikka Masala is a British invention. 🤣

[@thefutureisnowoldman7653]

True Western don't want to eat dog

[@chanshuwun]

@@thefutureisnowoldman7653 What a stereotype think all Chinese eats dogs? Do you know the history of dog eating culture in China and Korea?

[@thefutureisnowoldman7653]

@@chanshuwun Yes it's a very popular dish in both countries especially the south. Even today there's massive factories where you torture dogs to death.

[@chanshuwun]

@@thefutureisnowoldman7653 Why I am not surprised your ignorant. It is not very popular anymore. It is even illegal to eat dogs and cats from where I am from. Throughout history, there is only one type of dog are meant to be slaughtered for consumption, they were raised just like chickens and ducks. It was meant to be food. Only nowadays people just ate all kind of dogs, which is absolutely mad. My family has two dogs that was raise as pet was stolen and poisoned to be slaughtered for food.

[@thefutureisnowoldman7653]

@@chanshuwun I stand corrected. I'm sorry about your dogs

[@ChineseKiwi]

In reality, you can copy + paste these trends (including the 'old school' 'premium' and 'new wave') and customer preferences with every single food that isn't of that country. This is how dishes evolve in reality. Tempura isn't Japanese for example. Curry was introduced to Japan by the British. Fried chicken was introduced to Korea by Americans during the Korean War and like curry houses in the UK, Korean fried chicken shops are everywhere in South Korea. This has even occurred in India with historic Indian-Chinese food with the Chinese immigration to Kolkata in the 1700s. Here in Australia, you had this timeline resulting in that 'old school' 'premium' and 'new wave', particularly with Chinese food, and in the major cities, you can get highly regional food like you pointed out with subcontinent food in the UK.

[@alliedatheistalliance6776]

British food is the only one that isn't popular with anyone else. You will never find a chip shop outside the UK, except as a novelty or targeting British visitors.

[@episode6691]

@@alliedatheistalliance6776 I can't think of that many immigrants which are british that go to fuckin india or something lmao. These shops are opened because of immigrants. These immigrants go to western society, not the other way around.

[@holeeshi9959]

@@alliedatheistalliance6776 you may want to visit Boston, Massachussetts, they are actually really proud of their Fish and Chips.

[@LifeofBrad1]

Yeah. Authentic Chinese food is great. Used to eat it regularly when I lived in Manchester. Now I'm living back in my hometown and nowhere around here serves it. Once you've had authentic Chinese food, eating the Anglicised version of Chinese food just feels wrong, so I tend to go for the Thai curries instead because a lot of Chinese takeaways serve them nowadays. Obviously these Thai curries aren't authentic either, but they're better than the Anglicised Chinese dishes that are jam packed full of sugar, salt and MSG.

[@MonsterJuiced]

​@alliedatheistalliance6776 this is how much a dunce you really are. Japan has a whole culture around British food. They try their best and no it's not just fish and chips either. British food is hearty, beefy, potato stew type foods. Roast chicken, sausages, yorkshire pudding, gravy, dumplings. Beefs steak, cheeses, Seasonings. Stuffing. Etc etc.. we have a rich and dense cuisine and you're just ignoring all of that. Other countries do inspire from our cuisine don't pretend that somehow Britain is just shit and other countries don't like anything strictly British because that is absolutely wrong on so many levels.

[@sweettorello]

Chicken tikka masala was invented in the UK. The masala sauce was added to help fit the British palate.

[@747Cone]

Very interesting that most “Indian” restaurants are from a specific region of Bengal/Bangladesh. Here in Canada, I find that most Indian restaurants are based on Punjabi cuisine (both India and Pakistan). Thanks for the interesting video.

[@rourib.dutt20]

The Brits resided in Bengal and made Calcutta the capital of India for hundreds of years. What can you expect 😂

[@SamDy99]

@@rourib.dutt20 Cringeeeeeeee

[@rourib.dutt20]

@@SamDy99 what cringe? It's a known fact. The Britishers loved Calcutta more than anything in India. That's they constructed only our city on the lines of London as the capital of British Raj and other cities as Presidency Towns.

[@peace163]

​@@rourib.dutt20the restaurants in UK are mostly owned by the sylheti bengali people from Bangladesh not kolkata.

[@rushikesh3443]

@@peace163 but they cook indian food, mainly North Indian, they don't cook aloo bhorta

[@arko9151]

I'm from Bangladesh but whenever I go to an Indian restaurant I order chicken tikka masala with naan because we don't eat that at home😭

[@TihetrisWeathersby]

It's not hard to believe when they used to rule India

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

Except UK rules 25% of the planet and yet only Indian seems to be very popular throughout the UK. You can’t find others but just not near the same scale

[@Mr.DISRESPECT]

@@Homer-OJ-Simpson there's a common saying, you can find an Indian in every corner of the world. which is in fact true

[@I.____.....__...__]

@@Homer-OJ-Simpson Because only reverse-colonized the UK, the other commonwealth countries weren't overpopulated enough to backflow to Britain.

[@I.____.....__...__]

@@Mr.DISRESPECT Indeed. I live in a nook/cranny where nobody lives on the outskirts of my city and they are here now.

[@praddumnvats6759]

@@I.____.....__...__ yup gonna completely anhilate the natives of British isles.

[@samvishal3450]

"Killing Indian Restaurants." Knowing this, i will order even more.

[@antarmohammed2097]

Thank you for highlighting this up feeling really good ❤❤ 🇧🇩🇧🇩

[@jdjtbgs2]

Really interesting how this phenomenon is mirrored in the US with American-Chinese food. Thanks for the video.

[@adib3011]

The bengali cuisine is very heavy on fish and non veg items. We have the kali puja festival where traditionally a whole goat is sacrificed, and then eaten in a feast. The non veg cuisine of bengal and Bangladesh is far stronger than most other parts of india. Particularly fish based cuisine.

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

This video exceeded my expectations and I think you make some excellent points. I do believe that people getting stuck in their culinary comfort zones is a much broader issue than for "Indian" restaurants though. Few other types of restaurants will regularly revamp the menu either, whether they be ones with an ethnic identity or just something more generic like McDonalds. And the term Bengali people does not necessarily mean Bangladeshis. Bengal isn't just Bangladesh, it's also the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. So Bengali people in India have the same food and culture as the Bangladeshis. It is just that religion is different. Bengali Indians mostly practice Hinduism. This is what Chinese food is to the US. And American Chinese food is very much not authentic, except in big cities with huge populations of immigrants who want a taste of home. The reason that is, is the same reason why British Chinese food isn't either. Because most Americans and Brits won't eat the real deal. Chinese immigrant cooks in the West in the early 20th century weren’t on a mission to bring the authentic tastes of their own country to the US and Europe. They were out to make a living, and in the restaurant business, that means meeting people’s demands. Over time, people in the UK and US who grew up eating that food create associations with it, and it becomes what they want, when they eat Chinese food.

[@stringargs]

Yeah, growing up I hated "Chinese" food in the UK because it was really dumbed down for a Western palate. Now I'm lucky enough to go to a local Cantonese place that serves authentic food and it's amazing.

[@Xceles618]

Indian food is absolutely blowing up in the USA. America's minority population embraced Indian food immediately as they share a love for spicy food. Many people from all over the continent of India brought their cuisine to the States so we have massive variety. In my town New Delhi style was the most popular, whereas Boston had many Bengali owned restaurants. In Seattle many south Indian restaurants dot the landscape.

[@AncientBert]

California checking in. We cook a curry meal once every week as the whole family loves Indian food. One can find a plethora of recipes on the Internet and there are specialty stores for the occasional rare ingredient.

[@thomasbloxham247]

Yeah, and Mexican food is exploding in the UK too, it's just really really bad. Only the VERY best indian restaurants in the US are better than fine, whereas in the UK you can go to any indian restaurant anywhere in the country and get a feast.

[@rebeccahicks2392]

@@thomasbloxham247 Exactly. Indian food and Mexican food as regards the UK and USA are mirror images of each other. Well established and good (though not necessarily on the level of the way it is in India itself or Mexico itself) in the UK/USA, and growing but not really very good in the other place---probably due to people seeing it online and being curious, but that not translating into having the right ingredients or skills.

[@bigmofarah9084]

Glad to hear it. Haven't been to the US for about five years now but even back then Indian food seemed to be the target of a lot of jokes and have a bit of an image problem. Now they see what the reat of us do - India is a land of incredible flavours and cookery.

[@cute_axolotl]

@@thomasbloxham247 I don't know if that's true. I've been to plenty of Indian restaurants in the US that were good quality, especially now that the South Asian population in the US is growing even more.

[@zugabdu1]

I might get curry this weekend, but being in the US, it's more likely to be Thai than Indian!

[@BertPdeboy]

very nice video! informative script, nice shots, clean infographics, good editing!

[@vampireslayer263]

As a British Sri Lankan this video speaks a lot to me, thanks for making this amazing video!

[@joshuaciresoli2927]

Brits defaulting to this dish are missing out on so many amazing Indian dishes like Aloo Naan, Vindaloo, Bhaji Masala biryani and Palak Paneer.

[@onlyghosts7152]

I rewatch this video often, the storytelling and research is impeccable.

[@pillmuncher67]

I was sharing an apartment in Munich with a girl from South London in the mid-90s and when we first went out to a Indian restaurant she went nuts over the food and said she never tasted Indian food as good as that in London. Like many Indian restaurants in Munich, it was a restaurant run by Punjabi Sikhs, not Bengalis. Maybe that's the reason.

[@beltingtokra]

You can guarantee, if i spend £10-15 on a curry, it's not going to be something i can grab from a supermarket and microwave 😅 Super video, I'm new here x

[@Faultlinevideos]

Welcome to the channel!

[@YogoYoshi2936]

Andy: Likes Chicken Tikka Masala Thumbnail: "Stop ordering this dish" My man wants all the Chicken Tikka Masala for himself

[@aakankshachopde8811]

😂😂

[@tivo3720]

Believe me we have many types of meat dishes in India other than chicken tikka masala. We have oil less chicken dish too . Its from northeastern region of India 🇮🇳

[@DipakBose-bq1vv]

The Bengalis are only Hindu Bengalis. Bangladeshis are not Bengalis, they are just Bangladeshis. They speak a different language,they eat different food. They have different traditions, different linages.

[@rehan2118]

Bangladeshis are the original Bengalis. The Hindus in Calcutta are Indians and not Bengalis. Stop calling yourself Bengalis when you live in India. Are you ashamed to say youre from Calcutta/Indian?

[@rehan2118]

People from Calcutta call themselves Bengalis cause they are ashamed to call themselves Indian

[@ldnmiah]

Get hell out of here pal...! Ke bengali ke bengali tumi bole debe naki?? You clearly narrow minded and delusional , grow up and broaden your horizon ! Bengalis are bengalis irrespective whether from Bangladesh or west Bengal.

[@convergentradius]

​@@rehan2118"original" Bengalis from a country created in 1971 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@convergentradius]

​@@rehan2118noone wants to be Kanglu 🤢🤢🤢 Return the money you took as loan from Adani, Russia etc. then bark, disgusting Kanglu

[@jjws]

If you "love indian food" but only ever order one dish, you don't actually love indian food, you love that dish, and that's okay. But just be honest with yourself.

[@sourabhmookherjee4218]

I have spoken to the owner of Moti Mahal, and no they did not invent Chicken Tikka Masala. The restaurant is known to have invented the Tandoori Chickeken, and the Butter Chicken (which is also a tomato based dish). Also Boti really means a piece of boneless lean meat. Even when it is cooked in a Kebab.

[@globalcitizenn]

Chicken Tikka Masala is just Butter Chiken with leftover Chicken tikka Peppers and onions instead of just Tandoori chicken. It’s a very similar sauce,

[@KindredBrujah]

Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala are really very similar. I'd wager most palates couldn't discern the difference if they didn't know in advance which was which.

[@einsteinwallah2]

sourabh mookherjee: he is talking about balti which he at least once pronounces bolti ... where does he talk about boti? ... about balti also his information may be wrong ... there is a place called baltistan

[@utkarsh2746]

Tandoori chicken is just chicken cooked in a tandoor with any marinade of your choice. No one restaurant could have invented tandoori chicken bro.

[@sourabhmookherjee4218]

@@utkarsh2746 actually there was something called the 'Afghani chicken'. Sometime in the 40s, Moti Mahal spiced it up with Indian spices and called it tandoori chicken.

[@goonsbistro1476]

Very nice episode 🎉 Thanks for all the hard work devoted ❤

[@ohnobees8033]

the curry house is dying out because it's just way more expensive than it used to be a curry will set you back at least 15 quid these days, and that's WITHOUT sides like naan, bhajis, drinks

[@joffff]

Great, well-researched video. I'd love to see more around BIR restaurants and cuisine

[@harry.flashman]

theres some good channels on yt. lateefs inspired is decent.

[@idk_whatmynameis]

I myself am a British-Bangladeshi living in London. Both my dad and my mum (and her family) moved to the UK from Sylhet and there are so many of us Sylhetis here that back home, they informally refer to us as লন্ডনি ("lon-do-ni"). In fact, most of the Indian restaurants are owned by Sylhetis. When I go to a restaurant in East London, we never actually get Chicken Tikka Masala and always get the proper Bangladeshi food, actually, I've never had the dish now that I think about it. Anyways, thank you so much for doing a video on our people and diaspora since us "Londoni"s are often made fun of by some back home.

[@xazarl3381]

I feel like Chicken Tikka Masala is for people who dont like change and old people who dont like spicy i dont really know loads of young people who order that so it will probably change over the next 50 years.

[@fridarey]

You're right,@@xazarl3381@ xazarl3381. Whenever I''m in a restaurant (like today for my birthday!) I look for things I've never seen before, but I completely understand why people like familiarity. Hopefully, we will all keep supporting restaurants that provide delicious food, whatever we like to order.

[@SM-kt6zq]

Indian people became doctors, lawyers, or even a PM, rather than the graft of running a restaurant. Great documentary, great quality, well researched.

[@mjm2203]

I'm in the US and a few years ago near where I worked had Indian Lunch buffet.... was the best idea ever since it expanded my horizon on Indian food as opposed to just ordering one thing. People probably order CTM because it's what they know. If they knew better, or didn't have to commit to however much a whole dish costs ($15, £25, or more) I'm sure some may change their meal of choice over time.

[@HenningGu]

Kinda the same for Chinese restaurants as well. They usually serve dishes that would either be heavily customized or completely new creations. Although, from very anecdotal evidence, I think people are also keen on getting proper dishes lately.

[@KhiemNguyen-ly1wz]

Seriously, especially those Chinese buffet places in America. It's honestly downright disgusting at times. They're a disgrace to proper Chinese cuisine

[@stringargs]

@@KhiemNguyen-ly1wz It used to be grim here in the UK too - all "Chinese" dishes were orange food colouring and sugar, and because people didn't know any better that's what they thought it all was. Now we're seeing more authentic Szechuan, Cantonese, Tibetan and Mongolian places pop up and it's opened people's eyes to how delicious the food really is.

[@thatlostgerm]

this video is just so good. absolutely amazing the production value of this video is

[@nplowman1]

Very interesting. Chinese restaurants in America occupy a very similar place in our culture and have a lot of parallels to Indian restaurants in the U.K.

[@fnsmike]

Lots of parallels! Even down to General Tso's Chicken, a dish with uncertain origins that probably originated in NYC and yet is synonymous with ordering Chinese takeout.

[@FromtheWindowSeat]

Great doco! We have very similar menu items in Indian restaurants here in Australia. I’m a sucker for chicken Tikka Masala too but do like to try new things. 😋

[@GearsShifted]

This was very informative and well edited. Thank you for sharing!

[@ronchambers3713]

Here in Canada I think the vast majority of Indian restos are Punjabi rather than Bengali. Also South Indian, Tamil, options are very popular for vegetarians. That downplays the Hakka (?) places serving that wild blend of Chinese food spiced in an Indian style. Interesting that our country has a very different option on Indian food, also never heard of chicken tikka masala until English cooking and restaurant shows were brought here. Oops I left out the Trinidadian and Guyanese restaurants that are also Indian influenced, my personal favourite being the trini roti shops and the awesome snack , DOUBLES.

[@revcrussell]

Yeah, butter chicken is clearly a better dish than tikka masala. I do think that we have more Punjab influence in Canada or at least North India.

[@mangopudding5979]

What do you mean by different take on Indian food?

[@ObscureManifesto]

There may be 10,000 Indian restaurants in the U.K, but 90% of them are owned/operated by non-indians. These same restaurants mostly only serve one of 2 hyper regional cuisines that do not represent indian food.

[@rehan2118]

Brits dont want AUTHENTIC Indian food like thalis dosas pani puri and vegetarian dishes. Brits only prefer British Indian food (BIR). I am Bengalis and I would never try an authentic Indian dish yucck.

[@rehan2118]

British Indian food is the best food in the world and I would never try an authentic Indian food in India yuck they have weird and disgusting mix of spices and they eat on thalis and banana leafs. i have seen Indian movie stars eat thalis and on banana leafs ewww gross

[@Endgunner]

Thanks, Ill make sure to order some if I ever find myself in the UK...

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

amazing peek into this food culture. thanks!

[@InugamiTheHound]

i'm pakistani and I've had a lot indian food and I like chicken tikka masala , IMO its very good and sometimes I don't want very spicy dish, a sweet curry is fine with me.

[@KiranVadgama-s2m]

Great content Andy. It was fab meeting you at the Photography and Video Show. We talked about types of Indian foods and Sony cameras if you recall. If you're ever in the Brighton area, would love to catch up and talk photography. All the best.

[@rykehuss3435]

Yay another "This thing is ruining this another thing, but before I tell you about it we need to go back 300 million years ago when the dinosaurs took over the Earth.."

[@Gengar8886]

I'm from Bangladesh and most of my family members have restaurants in the UK that they have been operating for years and years. The food is less spicy but you can still differentiate between Bangladeshi food and Indian food due to the ingredients found in each region.

[@animedc69]

Bangladeshi food is bengali food only and stop using india name over your food

[@Gengar8886]

@@animedc69 Times have changed. Brits are more familiarised with Bengali food now. So when you visit London now you will get to see Bengali food written on most restaurants.

[@jonathanbowen3640]

@@Gengar8886 I have never seen bengali mentioned on the main sign of a restaurants tbh.

[@xenon6947]

@@Gengar8886Bengali food uses Mustard oil and I don’t find it in British restaurants serving Indian food.

[@animedc69]

@@xenon6947 bengali food is also indian food. Indian bengali use mustard oil only

[@MostlyPennyCat]

"British are obsessed with Indian food" Incorrect. The British are obsessed with _FOOD_ Always have been. The French are obsessed with French food The Italians are obsessed with Italian food. We're obsessed with food. Our food Your food Their food There's a reason all the famous chefs are British.

[@fabianauer1986]

Because they cant eat their own food lmao

[@MostlyPennyCat]

@fabianauer1986 Nonsense, that's just an internet meme Americans go on and on armour apple pie, it's British People eat at Indian restaurants all over the world, but there eating British-Indian food, or called Anglo-Indian American Thanksgiving dinner, British A transitional Christmas dinner, British Cheddar cheese, British Most of the ways haddock is prepared and eaten, British Or people mocking baked beans, that one is American So many pies and pastries, savoury or sweet, are British We've been adopting and incorporating food from around the world into our own for hundreds of years, we first published cookbooks with light versions of Indian food in the 1740s, longer than America has existed We colonized the world looking for spices and herbs to import, every cuisine under the sun has been incorporated into ours The bad food thing is just a joke from when we were financially bankrupt as a nation after the two world wars and we just couldn't afford a proper diet, but that was 50 years ago

[@intboom]

I absolutely will not stop ordering chicken tikka masala, under any circumstances.