A variety of dishes on display at the at the Taste of Britain food festival, ‘Curry-ishma’, in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, April 20: A culinary fare that serves the tastes of Britain is offering gastronomes in the city a rare platter of Indian curries that have been loved and cherished in the UK for years. Four chefs have flown in to the city from Oxford, London and Kent to let Bhubaneswar celebrate the fact that curry has become Britain’s number one food.

“Bhubaneswar, the temple city of India, is a combination of heritage and growing cosmopolitanism. Therefore, the city is a fitting venue for the Taste of Britain Curry Festival where traditional food is being given a contemporary twist,” said Syed Ahmed, festival director.

From the traditional fish and chips and bland mushy dishes, the Britons have moved to the spices, curries and exotic dishes from India, said the chefs.

“Indian spicy food has been loved in Britain for years. The dishes are also quite often blended with contemporary culture of Britain,” said chef Partha Mittra, who runs a restaurant at Oxford.

He added that the fusion version of Indian curries has turned into a £ 4.2 million business in the UK with 12,000 restaurants serving dishes of the Indian subcontinent.

The festival offers dishes such as pilaff rice, a form of pulao prepared with herbs, lentil and marrow prepared with moong dal and bottle gourd, chicken tikka masala, and faldhari kebab made of fruits. A potato based curry called Bombay aloo, balti fare, which includes Nawabi fish, spicy roast chicken with mushroom, minty lamb bhuna, and lamb roulard are also being served.

“The balti fare, originally from Pakistan, is also an immensely popular preparation in Britain. It includes all elements of tastes of the Indian subcontinent such as sweet, sour and hot,” said chef Abul Monsoor from Kent.

The food fair also gives an array of choices when it comes to sweet dishes. Desserts such as gulab jamun, fruit custard, French panacotta, mishti doi, kheer, and parmesan cauliflower have been given a twist with addition of garnishing of mango, strawberry and other flavoured elements.

Organised at various restaurants across South Asia, the festival is on in the city at a private restaurant at Sriya Square. Epicureans seem to be relishing the platter.

“I had heard from my friends in Britain that Indian restaurants, offering taste from every corner of our country, are found in every major British city and town. The delectable spread here was a wonderful way to enjoy the success of Indian food abroad,” said Prasanta Kumar Patnayak, a visitor.

The lunch and dinner buffet at the festival is priced at Rs 475 per person.