Curry in the United Kingdom

Curry, a spicy South Asian-derived dish, is a popular meal in the United Kingdom. Curry recipes have been printed in Britain since 1747, when Hannah Glasse gave a recipe for a chicken curry. In the 19th century, many more recipes appeared in the popular cookbooks of the time. Curries in Britain are widely described using Indian terms, such as korma for a mild sauce with almond and coconut, Madras for a hot, slightly sour sauce, and pasanda for a mild sauce with cream and coconut milk. One type of curry, chicken tikka masala has become widespread enough to be described as the national dish of the United Kingdom.

The first curry house opened in London in 1810. More followed early in the 20th century; Veeraswamy, founded in 1926, is the oldest surviving South Asian restaurant in Britain. By the 1970s, over three-quarters of the South Asian restaurants in the country were owned and run by people of Bengali origin, mainly from the Sylhet area.