London Has the Best Indian Food?
Posted on Jul 30, 2009 under Best Vegetables | 25 Comments
WONG:
Better quality meat, fish and vegetables could very well put London ahead of any Indian city when it comes to high end Indian food.
World renowned London-based Michelin star Indian chef, Atul Kochhar said
Indian needed to reform and reorganise its farming industry, so consumers and
caterers had reliable access to fresh produce.
STORY:
Watch out – be warned! Chefs in India could lose their cutting edge in preparing top quality Indian food to chefs in London.
Atul Kochhar is one of the few Michelin star Indian chefs. He warns that if India’s farming industry is not reorganised – London will become the center of Indian cuisine in terms of quality.
[Atul Kochhar, Owner, Benares Restaurant]:
“It’s not because of lack of good skill, or lack of good spices. It’s purely because of lack of excellent ingredients. India doesn’t have excellent ingredients in terms of fish, meat or vegetables.”
Kochhar is the head chef and owner of Benares – a high-end Indian restaurant in the exclusive Mayfair area of central London.
Back in 2001 Kochhar became the first Indian chef to be awarded the highly coveted Michelin star. Kochhar is looking to return to India and open up restaurants. His biggest worry however is getting a regular supply fresh food.
[Atul Kochhar, Owner, Benares Restaurant]:
“How will get the best produce India has to the restaurants and to the tables of my guests. The lamb farming has to be niche. The goat farming has to be niche. The vegetable farming has to be amazingly good. All those things are there, but there is no organized effort.”
London is home to five Michelin star Indian chefs, New York has one. And there is no reason why more Indian chefs or restaurants in this city will be awarded Michelin stars in the near future given that the reputation of high end Indian food is growing.
[Atul Kochhar, Owner, Benares Restaurant]:
“There are more people traveling to India right now. there are more people conducing business with indians. they are trying to understand the culture and cuisine better now. hence the recognition.”
Kochhar says the corner curry house which churns unique English scorchers such as ‘chicken tikka masala’, or ‘balti chicken’ – are on the decline.
[Atul Kochhar, Owner, Benares Restaurant]:
“It was never an authentic cuisine. I call that British Indian food – because that’s how brutish people liked it. That’s why they were cooking it and thats why it went on for so long.”
The curry house will always be part of the British landscape. But with changing tastes – its high end and expensive Indian food that is on the rise.
Duration : 0:1:56
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Most curry houses …
Most curry houses in Britain are actualy Bangladeshi resturants and not Indian and most of them do not server authentic Indian cuisine. Some of it is quite unhealthy but that doesn’t mean it’s crap food though – I love most of it.
Also enjoy the authetic style indian dishes too. The authentic resurants are generally more up market and are more expensive and the majority of them can be found in London.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
i want to get …
i want to get inside your naan
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
i want naan!!!
i want naan!!!
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I lived in London …
I lived in London for 8 years and found the Indian curries did not have the same taste as the curries in Durban (South Africa has the biggest Indian community outside India). It tastes like it caters for western tastes, and also the variety of sub tropical vegetables, herbs and fruits cost a lot to import so are not placed into the meals in the quantities I was used to.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
plenty of places in …
plenty of places in london. southall, wembley, kenton, tooting…
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
indian food in …
indian food in england isn’t indian food that indians will love! the british like it in England. it’s too mild, lacks the rough indian touch and authentic indian food is hard to get in any place where indians are not the majority.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I guess you have …
I guess you have try the same in India to have a proper comparison. I’ve not had food in London, so I cannot say, but yes, having known how the FPO operates in India, the quality of spices and produce that the locals consume is far inferior to what is exported. However better quality means higher prices, which a majority in India cannot afford. That said, I’ve had the best Indian food in India and not in USA, where I currently live and street food tops whatever any fancy restaurant has to offer.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Im not going to get …
Im not going to get into a debate over this, all i will say, is that when i was very youn and being brought up in london, my dad would frequently take my fmily and friends out to indian restaurants in london, and the food was superb.
Real tandoori food, cooked from fresh, beautiful aroma’s, and i loved it.
London does have some outstanding curry houses, and i LOVE Indian food!
Steve
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
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July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
this guy is an arse …
this guy is an arse…..he sells you a curry with a sprinkle of coriander and a tiny portion of rice served on a huge white plate and charges you 28£……hes a thief…..and his clients are fools…..
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I was born in …
I was born in England and I still hate the Indian food you get in restaurants I would say food in India may not look as neat and tied but it defiently tastes better and is so much cheaper
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
kalsolan by reading …
kalsolan by reading your comment I have come to the conclusion
1 Your a rascist & that usually means you have a low education level& by reading your writing Im pretty sure.
2 Have you ever eaten there? If not, which im 90% sure of, please dont make any comments & if you want to make a comment make sure you have something to back it up.
3 In the end food is subjective, meaning its a personal thing but comparing High end food with street/home food is like comparing a Ferarri with a Rolex, You cant
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Its true that in …
Its true that in the end in comes down to personal taste, but keep in mind that A quality product produces a better result than a B quality product, so what Atul Kochhar says is true in a way. If you for instance would cook exactly the same dish, with exactly I mean with the same amount of ingredients but you use for one dish an A quality product and for the other an B quality product. You will definatly taste the difference and thats the point he wanted ot make and not about style of cooking.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
85 percent of …
85 percent of indian restuarants in the uk are not even indian owned thewy are bangladeshi owned then u got pakistanis and indian owned indian restuarants are not many
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
People
Food in any …
People
Food in any dhaba(kinda like a Indian pub I guess) is many-a-times better than high end restraunts’ .I don’t doubt that London has got the very best ingredients and what not, but in the end, its down to personal tastes.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I agree! Myself …
I agree! Myself and my family always felt so. We live in the US and we always talk about the Indian food we had in London and in Paris.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I don’t know about …
I don’t know about Indian food in India, but my sister spent a month in China (not doing the tourist thing) and she said the genuine Chinese food that Chinese people eat is all around unappetizing.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
all of the high end …
all of the high end Indian restraunts i have been to do not offer better food than normal places. The best indian/pakistani food is to be had at the cafe type places which can be found in central manchester.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
ehhh?? people love …
ehhh?? people love indian food….the curry house cuisine is going no where….its not being taken over by the high end stuff cos there is no difference….
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
So what? New York …
So what? New York got the best chinese food in the world xD I’d still rather have chinese food in china and Indian food in India!
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
atul , i like you …
atul , i like you tell you one thing .
you know what is bharatiya cooking?
like you guy bharatiya cooking test…..
becoz’ you learn from book….and our grandmaa learn from chulha……
i hope you understand…..try to make bharatiya food…..not a british slave indian cooking…
do rasoi …don’t cooking
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Oh okay Thanks! …
Sorry for the lengthy response time!
Oh okay Thanks!
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
I’m not saying that …
I’m not saying that I know which food is better and where you just need to know where to go Like in some parts in India if you eat at the road side restaurants you sometimes get food poisoning my sister had it for 2 weeks Like I said you just need to know where to go and gain some knowlege on what you eat and where
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Actually it depends …
Actually it depends where you go really I’ve tried Indian food here and in India I have to say that some parts in India has better food in England Like Punjab where all the vegetables spices and flour are from Its really fresh if you know where to get it from! Like you have to wake up at 5am to go to the open market where they bid in large quantity’s of fresh foods And for meat if its free range and nothing artifical and all natural and organic that’s the best meat there
July 30th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
all u need to do is …
all u need to do is go to a home in India, and they’ll giv you the real stuff. Its all fake in resteraunts, coz they put little ingredients and more water to save money