In case you hadn’t noticed, the greatest 7 days of the year are finally upon us.
That’s right folks, it’s time to munch on some poppadoms and tuck into a tikka masala, because National Curry Week 2018 is already well underway. Now in its 20th year, National Curry Week gives us a full 7 days to celebrate everything we love about curry and Indian food in general, providing us with the perfect excuse to fill our faces with creamy kormas and tasty biryanis.
So, to celebrate the UK’s love for spicy food, we’ve put together 7 of the most amazing curry facts, one for each day of National Curry Week.
- The first ever UK Indian restaurant was a place called The Hindoostanee Coffee House, which opened in London way back in 1810. Unfortunately, it was forced to close just 12 months later due to a lack of business.
- The spiciest curries in the world are cooked with bhut jolokia peppers, a chili so spicy it’s actually used in tear gas, too. The pepper measures just over 1 million Scoville Heat Unites, approximately 10 times hotter than a habanero. Wow.
- There are currently well over 10,000 Indian restaurants and curry houses in the UK, with diners spending over £250 million a year on Indian food. Yep, that’s a lot of Royal Nawaab buffets.
- Nowadays, when we hear the word “curry” we immediately think of tasty Indian food, however the term was first used back in the 13th century and meant something completely different. To be more specific, “curry” referred to the act of rubbing down a horse with a comb. Strange.
- Queen Victoria used to have Indian food cooked in her kitchens every single day, just in case she happened to have an unexpected visitor from India.
- The largest naan bread ever was made in Canada back in 2016, and it measured a whopping 4.96m x 1.26m (16ft x 4ft). Reckon you could eat it all in one sitting?
- You can find the best Indian food in the UK at Royal Nawaab’s two restaurants- based in Manchester and London!
Of course, the only real way to celebrate National Curry Week is to pay a visit to the best halal restaurant Manchester has to offer. Grab a table at Royal Nawaab this week to taste our delicious Indian buffet and to sample as many curries as you like!