Facts about curries in Britain

• What’s Britain’s national dish?
The most popular dish in Britain is an Indian-style curry called chicken tikka masala.

• How much curry do Brits eat?
British department store Marks & Spencer sells 19 tonnes of the chicken tikka masala every week and Indian restaurants in Britain sell 23 million portions every year.

• Why is tikka masala the national dish?
Former MP Robin Cook remarked: "Chicken tikka masala is now Britain's true national dish, not only because it is the most popular, but because it is a perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences.

• Where is tikka masala from?
Tikka masala is ‘supposed’ to be from India, but it isn’t. In fact nobody knows exactly where or when it was first cooked up.

• Where do they think tikka masala is from?
It’s widely believed that in the 1950s, a Glaswegian went into an Indian restaurant in Glasgow, ordered a traditional tikka and then asked for some “gravy” to be put on it. The quick-thinking chef improvised a sauce from tomato soup, yogurt and spices.

• How do you pronounce ‘tikka masala’?
Since it was reportedly invented in Glasgow, tikka masala should be pronounced with a Glaswegian accent. This means the word "tikka" is with a soft t and short i ("tick-a") rather than a hard t and long i ("teeka").