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When people say this, what are they referring to?
I’ve eaten plenty of Indian food, from different parts of the country (as well as ****stan and Bangladesh), and know that there’s a HUGE range of food that can get called curry.
Are there takeaway ‘staples’ people are thinking about when they say they want a curry? If so, what are they/is it?
If I have an extra twenty burning a hole in my pocket and want to buy myself some food, I never even think about curry, so I don’t quite get it.
Please educate me.
Lager, primarily. You cannot "go for a curry" on your own 😂
I would guess that 90% of indian restaurants share 90% of their menu items.
So, that.
Was this a real question or some attempt to stir up something? If the former, I'm genuinely puzzled.
I think it would depend entirely on the individual and, to a large extent, where they live. Some people won't look past a Chicken Madras after a night in 'Spoons, whereas other people (especially those living in bigger towns and cities where there is more choice) may well have eaten a wider range of curries from different continents.
And I think people (and restaurants) and getting much more sophisticated with their tastes – I see more places now adding more dishes to the menu, either supplementing the core of rogan josh, korma, madras etc, or surplanting the old dishes altogether. There's a great new place just opened in Harrogate that I am trying shortly - focussed solely on authentic South Indian food. https://illamrestaurant.co.uk/
“Was this a real question or some attempt to stir up something?“
Huh?
It was a question. I have never chosen to ‘go for a curry’ and therefore don’t know what people mean by saying they ‘fancy’ one. I’ve tried many over the years, and know it’s not the same as someone fancying a Nandos. So I’m asking.
Add me to the 'no idea what you are asking' pile. If you're asking what's the most common dish ordered when people say they they are 'going for a curry', then I'd guess chicken tikka masala. That's not a genuine Indian dish so I think might be the kind of thing you mean.
Oh, sorry, when you said "from different parts of the country", you meant from different parts of *India*.
<red face>
then I’d guess chicken tikka masala. That’s not a genuine Indian dish so I think might be the kind of thing you mean.
Well, no, the inventor of the dish was born in Lahore, ****stan (although he grew up in Glasgow) so perhaps it should be classed as Scottish dish with ****stani heritage?
don’t know what people mean by saying they ‘fancy’ one.
It simply means they like 'curry', and would quite enjoy eating one at that moment. Whatever 'curry' means to them - usually whatever is served in their local Indian restaurant. I'm also struggling to understand what the question is, as it seems blindingly obvious to me?
Thanks for the clarification, @thecaptain.
@johndoh has answered with the sort of thing I mean, as has @timmys, despite not seeming to understand the question. I guess I didn't know there were 'standard' dishes that people went for, and didn't think to ask.
I’m thinking Indian takeaway when I say it (EDIT: anything but chicken tikka masala though) Plenty of people would be wanting a Thai Green curry or something else though.
Feels like you’re overthinking it. Would you be just as confused if someone said they fancied a burger? (And don’t you dare say burgers are a simpler foodstuff than curry!)
I think you are trying quite hard to not get what it means.
If i said I fancy burger you would know what i mean. You wouldn't know whether i meant artisanal thrice aged beef or a McDonald's but you'd know what i mean.
Oh god damn it.
Are there takeaway ‘staples’ people are thinking about when they say they want a curry?
Mate, have you not ever 'been for a curry' ?
It means what is referred to as an 'Indian restuarant' however the food is often Bangladeshi or even British in origin. But no-one cares, it's delicious.
Plenty of people would be wanting a Thai Green curry or something else though.
No, they wouldn't. That would be "fancy a Thai?".
If I say "fancy a curry" to anyone, it's an invitation to socialize, usually with a couple of beers as an aperitif with the aim of ending up in a restaurant which sells food of an "Indian" persuasion (but in reality could have originated anywhere vaguely SE Asia).
Typically, it will involve poppadoms, rice and a meat based main course with some spicy sauce and some naan bread. Everyone joining me will invariably order their own choice of meat/sauce combo with their own preferred spiciness. Does that help the OP??
Fancy a curry, to me, usually means a few lads, some spicy food and a few beers in an informal setting, often with a decent amount of food sharing going on. The latter only really occurs with curry and tapas.
I have never chosen to ‘go for a curry’ and therefore don’t know what people mean by saying they ‘fancy’ one. I
Bloody foreigners....
You really need to try and integrate a bit more.
That helps, @Kramer.
If I said that I felt like getting a "Mexican", that could mean a whole number of things, but clearly most people would think of tacos, or burritos, or whatever. I doubt that most people - in the UK at least - would think of chicken mole on rice with a corn tortilla base, for example. Nothing wrong with that; I would just expect there to be simpler 'staples' when it comes to takeaways.
As I suggested, in 20+ years here, I've never gone to an Indian takeaway, and so don't know what people would commonly order. Then, someone mentioned 'an Indian' on the recent 'Glasgow on a Friday night' thread, and I wondered what that might entail, food-wise. Hence the question.
EDIT: "Does that help the OP??"
Yep.
@zilog6128 - forgot to say stay at home, make this - drink Asahi Dry and eat it. (It's too good to share with friends)
For me it would involve me choosing several dishes (starter, main, side(s), rice, bread) from the following menu, paying for it and somebody delivering it. I would eat it in front of the telly.
Not really complicated, you’re over thinking of it.
^^ That Dishoom Makhani is lovely
First had that one in the Dishoom in Shoreditch and would agree it was ace, had it again recently in the Dishoom in Manchester and it was shite.
OH bought the Dishoom cookbook after our Shoreditch experience. Not made the Makhani yet but will be interesting to see how it turns out.
In terms of what food people in the UK are talking about when they say “curry”, then it’s got pretty much sod all to do with the food served in India apart from ancestry.
British Indian restaurant cuisine was developed in the UK throughout the 20th century by immigrants from India, their descendants, and others.
I once asked an Indian visitor what he would call the lunch he’d just (somewhat) enjoyed in our staff canteen - it was billed as a rogan Josh. He replied “tomato curry, but mild”.
that's weird 'cos I had it the other way around. Went to Shoreditch with guys from work a while ago and it was average.
I went to Manchester last month and it was fab (apart from being London prices/expensive)
Fancy a drink?
Plenty of people would be wanting a Thai Green curry or something else though.
But they're idiots.
Diashoom in Shoreditch is always worth a visit, but book a table as the wait can be long.
OH bought the Dishoom cookbook
Which reminds me.... Mate sent it to me as a PDF.
Was going to make a veg biryani for the GF this week. Might take a look at the cookbook and see what else I could do.
Dishoom is on my places to visit.
We have Mowgli due to open in Newcastle this year. That said there are some excellent curry houses already, serving a variety of curries, from BIR to traditional Indian, Sri Lanka and ****stan style.
Current favourites in Newcastle for me are Khai Khai, My Delhi and Dabawalla.
Tharavadu in Leeds is another fantastic place (Keralan)
Lager, primarily. You cannot “go for a curry” on your own
Cobra lager, specificaly 😀
Watch "James may 'our man in india'"
I forget what conclusion he came to exactly, but it was something along the lines that 'Curry' is such a vague term, it basicaly just means a stew type dish with meat or vegies, or both, probably but not neccesarily with a variety of herbs and spices in it...
That's as about as accurate as you can get by saying 'curry'.
For us, fancy a curry usually suggests Indian restaurant or takeaway. My favourite in Newcastle used to be Leelas. I'm assuming, mainly cos I so rarely go out, and no one talks about it, it's not there anymore. I have taken @Drac's on board however!
2 best curries I ever had were a place I think called the Shabina in Bradford (apparently long since gone though I am talking 30 years ago 😂) and a place, who's name I can't remember, in Leicester when I was a student there - also 30 years ago.
I’ve got the Dishoom cook book and their Chicken Ruby is absolutely incredible. As good as any restaurant curry I’ve had.
@fazzini I also forgot Thali Tray
I forget what conclusion he came to exactly, but it was something along the lines that ‘Curry’ is such a vague term, it basicaly just means a stew type dish with meat
Yes, that’s pretty much what they are. Most curry books will tell you that.
Always meant Indian cuisine where i've been, kind of shows how well integrated into the UK this is, i believe it's still the top cuisine in the UK, has been for a long time, and it's where we buck the trend with the rest of the western world.
Personally, i've never liked it, it has all the ingredients i love, but i hate onions, which seems to be the staple of every curry going!
If my circle of friends were to suggest going for a curry, first thing is to decide which of the local curry houses to go to, there’s several, once that decision has been made, then the fun begins - who’s having what. It’s been my experience that the average curry house has a wide variety of options from which one can choose. Much like the Thai restaurant I went to in Bath recently.
In fact, I would hope that most decent restaurants would have a decent selection of dishes from which to choose.
I don’t actually understand what the question was about that the OP was asking. “Fancy a curry/Chinese/kebab/pizza/Italian/etc…” seems a clear-cut question, the answer being, usually, “yeah, which venue?” What’s difficult about that?
Anyone up for an Auvergnat?
A nice bit of aligot, truffade and volcanic vino
Most "Indian" restaurants around here are either Bangladeshi, or next towns along, Nepalese or ****stani. Even if they are Indian, India's a huge place and has huge variety.
IIRC curry basically means 'spiced sauce' as someone noted above, don't look much further than that.
I'm curry hungry now.
I love a curry - restaurant eat in, or home made/prepared. Takeaways never seem the same.
Always fiery whichever we choose
Going against the norm, on a belly full of beer, the last thing I want is a curry
For home cooked when not making a paste from scratch, have just discovered The Spice Tailor - Goan Fire (I think) - just finished off yesterdays. It's the most authentic curry mix (by authentic, I mean similar to curry house) that we've found. Blummin lovely
I think Vlad's post on the first page sums it up.
It's also my first choice if away with work on my own. Often with my work I can be stuck on site without lunch so if I can find an "Indian" restaurant, have a beer and enjoy something filling and tasty that will do me nicely. 🙂
It's also a cook at home dish for us. Everyone in the house loves curry (as loosely defined above) whether that's the very good Dhansak recipe we found online by chance or a "I have a jar of Madras paste let's see what other things I can put with it to make something entirely not authentic but fiery and delicious".
Top tip for home curry making from a packet: Get the Spice Tailor ones with the three sachets; and some lamb chunks or chicken thighs. Fry up the spices and smaller sachet as instructed, then chuck it all in the slow cooker with a bit of water. Then in three hours' time smoosh it up a bit - it's fantastic. You can wait to put in the big sachet in the slow cooker til about an hour before the end if you want - might make it a bit tastier, not sure.
Love going for a 'curry', generally think of it as referring to restaurants run by those of Indian, Bangladeshi or ****stani heritage, but we also have superb Nepalese restaurants round here which also do a mean curry.
I think the variety of dishs in curry houses has increased since I started frequenting them in the late 80s. There seems to be more specialty regional dishes on menus alongside the usual suspects.
The OP did remind me of this classic sketch
Bastards. I’m wanting a curry now.
Spice Tailor are the best ones for quick home curries…especially the Fiery Goan. The Dishoom book has a Chicken Ruby and if followed to the letter is funkin amazeballs - cooked by 2 different people and it’s absolutely one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. My Hindu neighbour’s veg curries are also stunning…come to think of it, they’ve not brought one round for a while 🤔. Again, bastards 🙂
The Naryali Chicken in Khazana in Loughborough is bloody excellent if you’re in the area too!
"The OP did remind me of this classic sketch"
All I've been thinking whilst reading the entire thread... " what'sthe blandest thing on the menu?"
Please don't get into "fancy a naan bread" or "fancy a chai tea"
A discussion about bread bread or tea tea will just about finish me off 🙂
Do you like panzer tanks?
@SaxonRider wow, I'm shocked that someone could be in the country for so long and never had Anglo-Indian food.
The choice can be quite intimidating if you've never tried it before, but I would recommend giving it a go with someone who can suggest things for you to order?
I think us Brits use the term curry to cover a lot of bases.
When I say I fancy a curry here, people ask what kind - Chinese, Indian, Thai?
I flippin' love cooking up a curry and letting it simmer slowly for hours until the meat is tender. Garlic naan, maybe a lil Thandoori chicken to start, poppadoms..... mmmmmmmmm think its (Indian) curry for dinner tomorrow!
In no way answering the OPs question, but thoroughly recommended these 'curry boxes'.
We first got them during lockdown, and have had numerous times since. Each box is PACKED, tastes sublime, and well worth the money:
Am I the only one here who likes Pathia?
**Am I the only one here who likes Pathia?**
Nope – I love it and I batch-make it. It's usually a 50/50 split of big chicken chunks and chick peas. My wife is going out on Thursday so I'm planning on doing one then.
I've had many a curry from The Karachi in Bradford, Adil's and other similar places in Birmingham, quite a few in Sri Lanka and very many from the Bangladeshi and Nepalese curry houses in Stafford.
But the frozen ones in the centre aisle at our local Co-op are flipping marvellous. Much closer to the home cooking authentic style than the high street curries. Although I like those too.
When people say this, what are they referring to?
Butter chicken (washed down with lager).
I’ve had many a curry from The Karachi in Bradford
You've given me the major nostalgias with that - when I lived in God's Own County I had many a fine curry (no cutlery, chapatis only, never rice!) sat at one of their Formica tables after an evening watching some poncy film at the old Bradford Playhouse and Film Theatre or the NMP! Must be 35 years ago now.
Sighs wistfully...
Any new establishment I'll ask for chicken saag where its on the menu or not
If they can make that well i probably pop in again
Never rice always bread
Ask for recommendation if I'm going a second time
Never go with 'mates' who cannot behave themselves
I will work the equation of rates for the shop and adjust that against what is left for quality ingredients
Never hd a good curry anywhere South of Derby
Mate used to live on Cheshire Street just off Brick Lane....
Only really two things I miss about the UK and that's a proper pub and a decent curry.
In Munich there were two curry houses that were decent. One was run/owned by a guy from Leeds.
Sadly Brick Lane isn't what it used to be. It's now a collection of fairly poor quality curry houses catering for the drunken moron who just wants to say they've had a vindaloo, with an occasional good one. Most have people in the street trying to get you in like girls with flyers in Tenerife in the 90s. It's weird and quite depressing really
What a fascinating thread.
I’ve had many a curry from The Karachi in Bradford,
Haven't been for a long time (it went a bit posh for us 😀 ) we've also now stopped going to the kashmir, round the corner, it's not as good as it used to be. For reasonably cheap and excellent we now go to Grill City on Manningham Lane, which despite it's name and looks is absolutely superb for curry. I normally wouldn't give a place that does burgers, steaks and curry the time of day, but the curry at this place is top notch. If we want to go a bit more up market then Punjab on Lister Hills for their lamb Handi Gosht .
Am I the only one here who likes Pathia?
Hope, one of my favourites especially if you get a good one.
*What a fascinating thread.*
What a pointless post.
while we're on the subject then..... last couple ive had local have had tough bits of chicken in them which has spoilt them for me, and im leaning towards trying a veggie curry next. whats my go-to dish to try? id like a bit of heat but not vindaloo hot these days. last couple i tried were chicken chilli massala (about right heat) and chicken shashlik korai (mild but tasty)? what should i look for as meat replacement, lentils?
cheers
*what should i look for as meat replacement, lentils?*
Egg, cauliflower, potato, chick peas - all good veggie alternatives. Or you could have a fish curry.
Or you could have a fish curry.
why didnt i think of that, yes thats a good idea. and yes chick peas too. mmmmmm.......
God damn it.
Should have come back t this thread.
We used to like Corrianda in Chorlton until the take away bag contained a couple of additional pets.
Mostly cook our own now.
Haven’t been for a long time (it went a bit posh for us 😀 )
Well, I've not been for 30 years so I expect it's changed a bit. Maybe they've even introduced cutlery, menus and wooden tables.
I'm only up in Yorkshire every few months now and that's mainly Harrogate which barely counts but I've noted the others just in case, thanks!
Am I the only one here who likes Pathia?
Hope, one of my favourites especially if you get a good one.
Me too, definitely one of my favourites if it's on, it's not as ubiquitous as the usual BIR usuals. Easier to find a dhansak, which has some of the sweet and sour character and can be good.
*I’m only up in Yorkshire every few months now and that’s mainly Harrogate which barely counts but I’ve noted the others just in case, thanks!*
If you haven't tried them yet, Shalimar is good – it used to be a bit 'curry by numbers' done nicely, but they are now adding some more unique dishes, and it is all very nice. And just down the road is Spice Culture – the Tandoori platter to share is amazing, as is the chicken lababdar (although everyone calls it chicken labrador).
Maybe they’ve even introduced cutlery, menus and wooden tables.
ha, yes the old menu peg board went years ago.
Tiffin Room in Leeds is another good one
Nawaab is best avoided though.
Mint and Mustard in Cardiff. Run by actual chefs who happen to be Indian. The menu is mostly dishes you haven't heard of in the traditional curry house, the restaurant is mostly full of Indian people. I've eaten there with Indian friends and they say it's authentic and top notch.