British Indian Restaurant Curry Guide

The British Indian Restaurant curry, typically a chicken tikka masala, is often cited as the British national dish, but how much do you actually know about the dishes on that takeaway list?

What makes a Madras a Madras and a korma a korma? If you lack the confidence to branch out from your usual order, read on and order something new with assurance!

British Indian Restaurant Food (BIR)

Like many people I love a good curry.

I’m fully aware most curries found in the UK are nothing like the dishes found in India, but the adaption and fusion of British and Indian cooking has produced a delicious cuisine. There’s something suitable for everyone, from strongly spiced vindaloos to much milder dishes, but many people never venture away from their favourites.

How Curry Became King

The rise of curry in the started in the Georgian era – Hannah Glass’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy published in 1747 has a recipe for a curry; by 1810, the first curry restaurant – the Hindoostane Coffee House opened in London.

Curry received a further boost from the enthusiasm of Queen Victoria, but it was the influx of Indian ex-sailors after the war that spread the word, opening restaurants around the country. In 1926, the first fine dining curry restaurant – Veeraswamy – opened in London.

The arrival of Bangladeshis in the early 1970 put curry restaurants on many high streets. By 2001, chicken tikka masala – the quintessential British curry dish – was proclaimed as a British national dish.

How hot is my curry going to be?

Here is a rough guide, but do check the menu as individual chefs have different recipes and heat levels will vary.

🌶️ Mild: Korma, Pasanda, Tikka & Tikka Masala

🌶️🌶️ Medium: Biryani, Dhansak, Rogan Josh, Bhuna, Dopiaza

🌶️🌶️🌶️ Hot: Jalfrezi

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ Very hot: Madras, Vindaloo, Phaal

Starters

Pakora

Little fritters (chicken or vegetables), mixed with fresh chopped ginger, garlic, coriander and spices, and then deep fried.

Samosa

Triangular pastry parcels with a spiced filling.

Kebab

meat, vegetables or prawns on skewers. The meat is normally marinaded with spices before cooking.

Poppadom

Crispy round, thin, deep fried flatbreads. A great vehicle for chutneys. Frequently served with mango chutney, lime pickle, cucumber raita and raw onion chutney.

Onion Bhaji

Finely chopped onions and spicy gram flour seasoned and fried as individual bit-sized patties.

Mains

Spellings of dishes may vary because of different methods of transliteration

Balti

Balti curries originated in the UK and are named after the dish in which they’re cooked (Balti means bucket in Hindi). Unlike most curries, they’re cooked quickly like a stir fry, rather than low and slow. They tend to be fairly dry curries rather than a saucy curry. The heat will vary according to the chef, so check the menu.

Biryani

Biryani originated in Persia and was a simple dish where meat and rice are slow cooked together, with the emphasis on aromatic and flavourful spicing, rather than heat. This is typically a milder dish; it’s also great dish to cook at home, as it’s quick to prepare and uses only one cooking pot.

Bhuna

A bhuna is a cooking method where meat is simmered in a tomato based spicy sauce, until the sauce is thick and reduced and coats the tender meat.

Butter chicken

Butter chicken, or murgh makhani features a luscious gravy made with tomatoes, butter, and cream, along with a blend of aromatic spices like garam masala, cumin, and coriander. This is a dish that pairs well with naan bread or rice, offering a combination of savory, slightly sweet, and mildly spicy flavours. Rich and delicious, it’s one of my favourites.

Daal

Daal, dal, or dhal – this dish of cooked pulses in a thick soup is one of our favourites. This staple of Southern Asian home cooking is as flexible as you could wish. It can be made as thick or thin; scooping thick dhal with roti, chapattis or naan, or thin it to make a sauce for vegetables or rice dishes. Or add more stock to make dhal soup.

Dhansak

A rich and savoury dish with added lentils and pulses. A curry house menu will describe the dish as hot, sweet and sour. Typically the BIR restaurant version adds pineapple for the fruity twist.

Dopiaza

Dopiaza means “two onions”. Dopiaza is a flavourful South Asian curry known for its generous use of onions, which are included in two forms: one cooked with the sauce for sweetness and the other added later for texture and bite. This dish often features meat or vegetables simmered in a spiced gravy, making it a hearty and aromatic option for curry lovers.

Jalfrezi

A stir-fried curry dish originating in Bengal. Jalfrezi means “hot-fry”. Meat, fish, paneer or vegetables, stir-fried and served in a thick spicy sauce that includes green chilli peppers. Common further ingredients include bell peppers, onions and tomatoes.

Keema

A popular curry made with minced beef or lamb, often served with added peas.

Korma

A korma is a creamy curry made by slow-cooking meat or vegetables in a sauce enriched with yogurt, cream, or coconut milk. This makes for a milder, less spicy dish that still delivers great flavours.

Madras

Despite the name, Madras curry is a British invention. When you order one you can expect a spicy thick, hot curry in a smooth tomato, garlic and ginger based sauce.

Pasanda

Pasanda is derived from the Urdu word for favourite, and is a mild, creamy and aromatic curry, with a lightly spiced sauce made of yoghurt and cream which has been thickened with ground almonds.

Phaal

Phaals are extremely hot curries, commonly made using very spicy chillies such as scotch bonnets. To me, they’re too hot to savour, and are on the menu more as a dare than as a dish to be enjoyed.

Rogan Josh

Typically made pieces of lamb or mutton slowly braised with a gravy flavoured with garlic, ginger and aromatic spices, sometime onions or yogurt. Its characteristic deep red colour traditionally comes from dried alkanna flowers or root and from liberal amounts of chillies. It is richly flavoured, but generally not too hot.

Tandoori

This simply means cooked in a tandoor oven, a large ceramic vase shaped oven fired with charcoal or wood.

Tikka

Traditionally, meat that’s marinaded in spices and yogurt, and then cooked on skewers over charcoal. Traditional tikka dishes are dry, without sauce.

Tikka masala

Regarded as Britain’s favourite curry the chicken tikka masala is made from pieces of chicken marinated in spices and yoghurt, then are roasted in an oven, served in a creamy tomato sauce. Allegedly it originated when a diner requested some gravy to be served with their chicken tikka.

Vindaloo

Originally from Goa, based on the Portuguese dish carne de vinha d’alhos, which is pork marinated in vinegar and garlic. Now it describes any type of very hot curry. Order with caution.

Side dishes

Aloo

Potato dishes. Saag aloo is a combination of potato and spinach. Bombay potatoes are cubed, par-boiled, and then fried in spices.

Gobi

Cauliflower dishes. Aloo Gobi is made of potato and cauliflower, and cauliflower curries are popular.

Bhindi bhaji

Curried okra or ladies fingers.

Paneer

Fresh cheese made by curdling milk with lemon juice. Can be served in a curry, or with peas (matar paneer) or with spinach (saag paneer)

Pilau rice

Rice (usually basmati) cooked in stock with spices. It can be coloured or left white

Cumin / Jeera Rice

A delicious alternative to pilau rice

Saag

Any dish containing spinach. Often served with potatoes (saag aloo) or with paneer.

BIR Flatbreads

Most menus will have at least half a dozen or more flatbreads to choose from, some of the most popular are.

Chapati

A thin, unleavened flatbread made from whole wheat flour and water. Cooked on a hot griddle, and very similar to rotis. Some differentiate between the two by cooking a chapati on both sides, and a roti only on one side.

Keema naan

A naan bread that is filled with curried meat.

Naan

A leavened flatbread, frequently cooked in a tandoor oven. It has a light and fluffy texture, with golden brown spots from contact with the oven.

Paratha

A flatbread made by layering and folding dough, often with ghee or oil, and cooking it on a griddle. Known for its flaky texture, it can be plain or stuffed with fillings like potatoes, paneer, or spices.

Peshwari Naan

A soft, leavened flat bread stuffed with a sweet mixture of dried fruits, nuts, and coconut. It’s baked in a tandoor and pairs well with rich curries

Roti

Another traditional unleavened flatbread made from whole wheat flour. Cooked on a griddle, it’s soft and versatile, and quick to make.

Fakeaway?

BIR style curry is really easy to make at home – here are all my curry recipes.