The firiest food festival of them all is upon us – prepare to put on weight, it’s National Curry Week

Let’s face it – for many of us, barely a weekend passes when curry doesn’t form a staple of our diet.

What’s On was filled with glee, therefore, when word reached us that the mighty masala and curried favourites of all varieties have been enshrined with a week of recognition and celebration across the land.

Yes, National Curry Week takes place from Monday, October 13 until Sunday, October 19.

What more explanation is required to eat it every morning, noon and night from beginning to end?

Paul Babra, founder of Canterbury Curry Club and a popular trader at farmers’ markets across Kent, says that some of our favourite Indian dishes don’t come from Asia at all – they were actually devised over here.

“Chicken tikka masala, for example, was the creation of a British chef around 20 or 30-odd years ago,” says Paul, an Indian chef and member of Produced in Kent, who sells his renowned sauces, chutneys and marinades via www.paulbabra.co.uk.

“It was never an Indian dish. We have a similar one, butter chicken, but if you asked for tikka masala in India they would say ‘What are you talking about?’

“We British are fanatics about curry and now every Tom, Dick and Harry is a curry expert.” But, far from being dismayed about this, Paul is glad the dish is being celebrated.

YOUR VOTE
Raj Pavilion in Tunbridge Wells and Cinnamon Culture in Bromley are two Kent restaurants that will be marking National Curry Week, but we want to know about YOUR favourites, and why.

Some early suggestions have included Whitstable’s Star of Bengal, Canterbury’s Kashmir Tandoori, the Mughal Dynasty in Maidstone, the Everest Inns at Ashford and Hythe, and the Ghandi in West Malling. Other curry houses with lots of support include Tumeric Gold at Tudely, near Tonbridge, and Shozna in Rochester.

Share your own top local recommendation for a divine vindaloo, beautiful bhuna, cracking korma or superb saag on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Visit www.facebook.com/KMWhatsOn and @KMWhatsOn and name names! Don’t forget to hashtag #pukkacurry.

We will be printing Kent’s top 10 Indian restaurants in next week’s What's On (Oct 17 issue).

IT’S GOOD FOR YOU
The health benefits of curry:
- Turmeric can help reduce inflammation of the joints
- Cinnamon is a natural antioxidant
- Black pepper alleviates hemorrhoids, gas and constipation, and improves digestion - so there!

See www.nationalcurryweek.co.uk