Curry houses started to become popular in the late 60's, transforming the eating habits of the UK population. Indian cuisine has now become more popular than Chinese.

A good night out is not complete without a visit to an Indian restaurant. Indian take away food has also changed the fast food scene in the UK.

The creation of Cobra beer has added to the curry phenomenon. Cobra beer is heading towards becoming the number one beer in the UK. This has been due to the promotion in the curry houses and now the branding on national TV.

Traditional curry house menus are being replaced fast with healthy and innovative dishes. There is also a wave of authentic cuisine hitting the curry houses.

The traditional Chicken Tikka Massala could one day be replaced by Shatkora Gosth. Some curry houses are now going up market, gone are the velvet wall paper, carpets, dark interior lighting, candles... Now it's the laminated flooring with abstract paintings and well lit glass interiors.

I used to like the traditional atmosphere in the curry houses of the past. The romantic candle lit dinner and the tunes of Ravi Shankar on Sitar repeating in the background like a broken record.

Once you entered a traditional curry house, you were treated like royalty. All for a tip of a couple of pounds. Your coats were taken of and hanged, your chair was pulled out for you. Service with a "Thank You" always.

Now a days it's becoming self service, sometimes the 10% service charge is added to your bill! But then again live is on a fast lane now.

Most people don't want to wait for their food, they want it now, eat it now, and get out now. It's a now, now, now world.

As most curry experts will know an authentic curry takes over 30 minutes to prepare. Most curry houses now reply on ready prepared curry pastes, which is a bonus for the Pataks and Sharwoods.

The curry in a hurry days are with us now, you can now order your curry via the internet. You can even buy your microwave curry from your local super market.

For those of us that are a little adventurous, you can buy ready made curry pastes from the super market. Just add the paste to the chicken, meat or veg and heat and mix, and your done.

We are currently re-developing the UK Asian website