Currying favour in India: UK firm sending spicy treats to subcontinent

It has long sent tea to China and corned beef to South America, but a British firm has now found an even more curious niche market: exporting curried dishes to India. British Corner Shop, which is based at Iron Acton, near Bristol, is sending out curry sauces, spicy pies and even curried Pot Noodles to the subcontinent. The company specialises in despatching favourite foods such as baked beans and British chocolate that are not always readily available abroad to expats. The increasing popularity of "British" curry products in the UK means that these, too, are now in demand by homesick Brits looking for a bit of comfort eating. The managing director, Mark Callaghan, said there had been a marked rise in the number and variety of curried goods it was sending out across the globe, including to India. "It does sound surprising but I think there is a difference between British curries and Indian ones," he said. Callaghan said among the most popular orders was the Fray Bentos Chicken Curry Pie and Pot Noodle (which come in flavours including Tikka Masala – serving suggestion: a sachet of mango and chutney and a plate of chips – and the Bombay Bad Boy, which boasts "hot fire chilli sauce" that "does kick some serious butt"). Indian Sauces made by Sharwood's, which claims to contribute to 21m curries every year in Britain, and by Patak's, the British company started in a family kitchen in the 1950s, also do well. The company also ships pallet loads of products made by Bombay Authentics and Loyd Grossman's company. Callaghan said the number of curry products being sold to India had risen by 20% in the past year and was continuing to increase. The company exports to 129 countries in all and has sold 800 different products to India alone. But curry still has some way to go before it overtakes the number one product shipped overseas by British Corner Shop: Cadbury chocolate.