Thanks for the curry: now try some Indian bangers and mash

Just as Britons’ favourite dish is chicken tikka masala, a London chef reckons that Indians will like an Asian version of bangers and mash.

From next month Manju Malhi will be presenting a 40-episode cookery series on British food for India’s largest commercial television channel. She hopes to improve the dire reputation of British cuisine in India by teaching viewers how to prepare the classic dishes with local ingredients. Ms Malhi, who is filming in Delhi this month, said: “Curry has become so popular in Britain, I thought I’d swap it around.”



The limited availability of some produce and restrictions on the sale of beef for economic and religious reasons mean that Ms Malhi has to be creative. Pseudo-British recipes on her menu include spaghetti bolognese using soya mince; bangers and mash with chicken sausages; mango crumble instead of apple; and roast chicken using black pepper and chilli spice to provide an Indian kick.

NDTV, which reaches 50 million people, invited her to help to inaugurate its English-language lifestyle channel with a daily food show. Smeeta Chakrabarti, of NDTV Lifestyle, said: “She is beginning to be known in India and we thought she represented a happy mix. She’s international, with an Indian face. She brings a personality and a flavour of the West.”

Ms Malhi said: “I cannot name one English restaurant in Delhi and I wondered, why so? “People here think that English food is pizzas and burgers and chips and more chips. Or they consider it to be bland and feel it is meat and nothing else. I am trying to show them that there is good cooking in the UK as well.”