Indian cuisine popular in UK, helps cement cultural ties, says British envoy

If you go around in the UK there are such places where you will find one Indian restaurant in every hundred yards on an average, British high commissioner says.

Indian cuisine enjoys immense popularity in the UK and contributes in cementing cultural ties between the two countries, British high commissioner Sir Dominic Asquith said.

Former foreign secretary Robin Cook had described Chicken Tikka as the national dish of Britain, the envoy said. (File)

“It is true if you go around (in the UK) there are such places where you will find one Indian restaurant in every hundred yards on an average,” Asquith told PTI.

“And former foreign secretary Robin Cook had described Chicken Tikka as the national dish of Britain. So our culinary bonds go deep and will go on,” the British envoy said.

Speaking about Indian foods at British universities, he said his memory of having Indian food was inseparable from his student days at the university.

“In my student days in UK, the only restaurant I could afford was an Indian one. They did not slap any ridiculous charge like pasta-type dishes in Italian restaurants.I liked typical Indian dishes since those days which were also much cheaper,” he recalled.

About his culinary experiences in this country where he was appointed in 2016, the British High Commissioner said, “The culinary tradition is much better here.”