Taking curry on to a bigger platform

|
  • 0

Taking curry on to a bigger platform

Sunday, 15 March 2020 | Shalini Saksena

Taking curry on to a bigger platform

Shalini Saksena speaks with global curry queen Sarah Ali Choudhary, a multi-award winner and Indian food expert from UK, about what brought her to India and how the food from the country is a journey for her which has a story to tell

A UK resident of Indian origin, she is a TV chef and her recipes and articles have been featured globally in the Forbes, The Sun, The Telegraph and Independent. Forbes even titled her — The Curry Queen— and listed her in the top 100 women entrepreneurs in UK. She has received multiple awards, the most recent being for Entrepreneur of the Year by Dorset Food and Drink Awards. Meet Sarah Ali Choudhary who was in India recently on behalf of WonderChef to promote the brand in the UK.

There is a reason why and how she got the title — Curry Queen. “I was given this by Forbes. In England, it is a male-dominated food industry. To be given this title is amazing and is overwhelming at times. It is good because it helped me laugh by podcast where I use this title to build my brand,” Choudhary says.

She tells you that Indian food in England is very popular, the best selling food, so much so that it has become a part of British menu. “One can even go to a pub now, and order chicken tikka masala. Indian food has gone all out. It has increased the economy by millions. In terms of how it changed, the cuisine has been designed for the western  palate in England. The food flavour has been designed in a way so that they can eat the otherwise very spicy food like we have in India. With so many new ideas, there are people who are trying to bring back the authentic recipes,” Choudhary explains.

What they are doing, she says, is giving a twist to the rather rustic looking plating of the Indian food by serving smaller portions, much like the French. “It is part of the whole change that they are bringing in, but I think that we should stick to be traditional way rather than copy the French Michelin style of serving,” Choudhary says.

She tells you each one of us have a perception of what normal is like when she comes to India, her favourite food is Chinese, something that she doesn’t eat even when she is in China. “In England, the food that one finds in the menu has been adjusted to suit them. It is only recently that people have started to eat spicy food,” she says.

She agreed to be associated with WonderChef because she is also has a Swiss company who send her their products as she does a lot of cookery demonstration, it is always good to have this kind of association with the cookware brand as it is mutually beneficial for the parties involved.

What she found strange when she landed in India was how people here no longer wear the sari, something that she does all the time. “I find that people only wear it for formal occasions or for weddings. I wear a sari all the time, even when I am in England. India has gone far ahead in the way they work, their strength and how the industries work. I think in that sense England is backward. I just feel that Indians don’t lose their tradition in their quest to move forward. It would be sad to not see women wearing a sari when one lands here. The good part is that food has not changed. It is so vibrant and colourful,” Choudhary says.

Interestingly, Choudhary never wanted to be in this industry. She was happy to be the face of her parents catering business. “Dealing with people was my strength. But being in the industry has pitfalls. When you go to a restaurant, you know what to expect and would be stressed out and I didn’t want to be part of all that. So I don’t have a restaurant but I am still associated with Indian food. I just want to take the journey of Indian food to another level. I don’t want people to come, eat quickly and leave. I would like to make Indian food a bigger story,” Choudhary says.

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda