We set off on the quest for the perfect curry, having just a tank of petrol to aid our journey we headed ‘up north’ to curry capital – Manchester! As we followed the Sat Navs somewhat chaotic directions we found ourselves at the mouth of the lesser known Wilmslow Road, AKA ‘The Curry Mile’.  And what a sight, a stretch as far as the eye can see of hustle and bustle, neon lights, beeping car horns and shisha pipes galore!

The Curry Mile has been known as such since the early 80s but digging into the history it appears that Rushholme became home to many Asian families in the 50’s and 60’s due to the opening of textile mills and factories in Greater Manchester (historically, it is recalled that up to 95% of the mill workers were Asian).  It is fair to say that now, in 2015, strolling along the Curry Mile feels like walking into a busy street in Pakistan, or perhaps Turkey, or … it was hard to tell.  

By the late 70s, the expansion of the Pakistani community in turn fuelled the expansion of The Curry Mile and the name had firmly stuck by the mid 80s. It wasn’t until 2008 however that the mile was accredited with official flags, naming it The Curry Mile (despite the influx in Middle Eastern and Turkish cuisine)! Manchester crowns itself as a ‘winner from immigration’ and it is our opinion that Britain has benefitted hugely from immigration, especially in terms of cuisine.  I can’t imagine a Fish’n’Chip mile would have quite the same atmosphere that The Curry Mile does!

With the smell of spice filling the air our tummies were rumbling, but with so much choice to tempt us with, the question was where to begin? A strategically placed '3 naans for £1’ sign on the pavement  lured us in to what was effectively a no frills middle eastern fast food joint, 'Atlas Shawarma'. The naans were shaped over a paddle which apparently makes the air bubbles bigger and the naans fluffier – who’s to say, but they were delicious!  We choose to add chicken souvlaki, garlicky tzatziki and salad to our naans to make what they call a ‘Chicken Shawarma’. I don’t know if things just taste better when you’re away from home but, despite the late night takeaway décor, it tasted fantastic and the swarms of hot smoke falling from street vendors and sweet smell of shisha really added to the atmosphere of being in the Middle East. It was hard to believe that we were only a few minutes outside the centre of Manchester. As we continued walking down the mile we couldn’t help but stop at ‘Meezan Superstore’, a world food supermarket. The crates of brightly coloured exotic fruit and veg lined the street, and inside an array of foreign ingredients were stocked high on the shelves. We were told by workers that you can find almost anything that you are looking for at Meezan’s. They sell a wide range of Asian, Arabic, European and British products.

Next we hit the literal ‘Afghan Cuisine’, somewhat newer than some of the more established eateries on the mile but truly authentic and ran by sincere but stern looking chefs!  This place doesn’t serve alcohol so, sipping on diet cokes and sober as judges, we set about tucking into an Afghan lamb kebab, served on yet another naan and finished with a sprinkling of sumac. Even though the meat was slightly overcooked it was bursting with flavours of lemon, garlic and cumin. Luckily we were sharing as the portions were enormous. We left here contemplating how on earth we would be able to squeeze anymore food in, but the night was young and a brisk walk up the mile helped our appetite to grow! The midpoint of Ramadan meant that young children were filling the restaurants with their hungry families, adding to the authenticity and culture shock we weren’t quite expecting and this was more true than ever at our next stop, Punjab Tandoori Restaurant, which claimed to be ‘The True Taste of India’, we were willing to see how true this statement really was.

We were greeted with open arms by manager ‘Pepe’, who regaled us with stories of how his father was a Chef for the for the Maharaja (King of India) and how in 1989, he raised £135,000 for his Hindu temple in Manchester by cooking 14 different vegetarian dishes for 23,000 people over 10 days! As well as showing us his photos of famous guests including John Thompson of Cold Feet fame and a woman who we didn’t recognise but had clearly made Pepe’s day!

We’d read on Trip Advisor to ask for our curries ‘Apna style’, meaning ‘our way’ and Pepe’s eyes lit up at this and described it to mean they cook the curries longer and add more spices to make the curry more intense (we’re well used to a spicy curry so no problems there).

“I started going to the curry mile in 1989 when there weren't as many restaurants around. The Indian cuisine on offer has stayed the same but there has been a recent increase in the number of middle-eastern/eastern European restaurants, such as Lebanese and Turkish food.”  ‘Pepe’ – Punjab Tandoori Restaurant 

Pepe set about asking us for our favourite dishes and racing back and forth from the kitchen to create our dream cuisine.  As avid spicerers, Pepe was interested to hear about what we do at the Spicery and as we munched our way through our poppadoms and chutney tray he went on to  describe his Sister-in-Laws journey with the company Pataks Spices.

Our meal began with a Masala Dosa,  with a brightly lit neon ‘Masala Dosa’ sign on the window we knew that this was their signature dish. Alongside Pepe’s insistence, we ordered the traditional potato dosa (they do a chicken or paneer version too) which he proudly presented to us moments later.  The meter long dosa was cut up in front of us and smeared with a lentil sambal and coconut chutney (of which he gave us their secret recipe, amazing what a flutter of the eyelashes can do!). Nb, it slightly resembles bathroom grout but we weren’t put off, it is unbelievably delicious.

“You roast channa daal, methi (fenugreek) and dried red chillies together. Add coconut powder and a little natural yoghurt with a small amount of fresh green chilli. Add salt to your taste and mix it all together. Get a pan and add a bit of oil, once hot add some mustard seeds, curry leaves, and asafoetida. Once the mustard seeds have crackled add this to the mixture above and allow it all to cool.” [Pepe’s coconut chutney recipe]

The Masala Dosa is traditionally eaten for breakfast in Southern India so he gave us the recipe so we could make them ourselves once we got home (after showing a video he took whilst witnessing a 12ft masala dosa being made in Bangalore!) … Next up was an apna style Butter Chicken and Karahi Paneer (opposite ends of the curry spectrum!) with a Peshwari Naan, filled with cherries, raisins and pistachios to mop it up (yes, more naan!).  The Butter Chicken dish was made with chicken thigh instead of the expected breast which made for an intense flavour but we could feel it sticking to our ribs (and hips, chins, arms etc).

The Karahi Paneer was a welcome freshness, super spicy and enriched with green chillies, peppers and diced ginger.  The paneer was cooked first in the tandoor oven to add a fragrant smoky flavour and then cooked with tomatoes, creating a tart sauce which worked amazingly well with the sweet, cardamom infused mango chutney.

We ended our meal with a rundown of the medical benefits of spices. Here’s the top 5 …

• Stomach Pains – asafoetida, soda water, lemon and black pepper
• Heart conditions – ginger, garlic, vinegar, lemons and honey – every morning.
• Poor eyesight – coriander leaves, wash, squeeze through muslin, drop into eyes (don’t try this at home)
• Arthritis/joint pain – Fenugreek (methi) soaked in ½ pint water over night then drink water and chew up the seeds
• Diabetes – Okra (topped and bottomed) and soaked with fenugreek

With our tummies full to bursting and our pockets brimming with scribbled notes, we said goodbye to Pepe and headed back to our hotel to digest all we had eaten and seen.

On our stumble back we couldn’t resist but pop into Delhi Sweet Centre for a quick pistachio burfi (basically just butter, ghee, sugar and pistachios!) and some Habshi Halwah (made from Weetabix (!), sugar, milk, spices and almonds) for breakfast.

In the morning, the mile looked like a scene from a deserted party.  The vibrant lights and music from the night before were replaced by just the occasional open newsagent – everything else was quiet, the litter and faint remnants of Shisha smoke the only memories of the night before (and the Habshi Halwah obvs!). The Curry Mile is an exciting night time curry haven as well as a cultural journey, with so many different cuisines and restaurants to try we are already planning another visit, after all there’s only so much naan you can eat in one night!

And then we were home and set about re-creating the wonderful Masala Dosa we has experienced in Manchester.  The recipe Pepe gave us was long and laborious to say the least so we worked on a condensed, more user friendly version and et voila … !   

For the Channa Dal (to dip the dosa in)

• 100g channa lentils
• 550ml water
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• ¾ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp amchur
• 1 tsp fenugreek leaves
• pinch asafoetida
• 2 tbsp oil salt fresh coriander

Method:

1. Rinse then soak the lentils for 1 hour.
2. Drain then boil, with the turmeric, for about 30 mins, until soft
3. Heat some oil in a separate pan and fry the cumin seeds until they start to pop then add the garlic.
4. Once browning, add the onions until golden
5. Add the tomatoes, chilli and ginger then stir in the ground spices
6. Saute until the tomatoes are breaking up then add the fenugreek, stir and leave to one side
7. Combine the tomato mixture with the cooked lentils (and cooking stock, season and simmer for a further 10 minutes
8. Garnish with chopped coriander

For the Coconut Chutney

• 200g desiccated coconut
• 2 tbsp roasted channa dal (lentils)
• 1 green chilli
• ½ inch ginger
• salt
• 1 tsp urad dal (lentils)
• ¾ tsp mustard seeds
• ¾ tsp cumin seeds
• pinch curry leaves
• pinch asafoetida
• 1 red chilli
• 1 tbsp oil

1. Grind the coconut, roasted channa lentils (dry fry for a couple of minutes, tossing continuously), green chilli, ginger and salt (adding water as you go) until you have a smooth consistency
2. Heat the oil and fry the mustard seeds until they start to pop.  When they splutter, add the cumin seeds and urad dal.  Fry until the lentils start to brown.
3. Add the curry leaves, red chilli and asafoetida
4. Continue to fry for 1 minute and then pour over the coconut mixture and stir - leave to one side

For the Dosa Filling:

• 4 baking potatoes, cut into small chunks
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 inch ginger, grated
• ½ tsp turmeric
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• Handful of curry leaves
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 2 large handfuls desiccated coconut, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes, then drained
• Juice of 1 lime 

Method:

1. Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 20 minutes until softening
2. heat a glug of oil in a large frying pan and add the mustard, cumin and fennel seeds until they start to pop
3. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft
4. Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric, cayenne and coriander and fry for a further 5 minutes
5. add the cooked potatoes along with the curry leaves, green chilli, coconut and a splash of water.  Continue to stir whilst cooking until the potatoes break down and everything is combined
6. squeeze the lime over the mixture then cover and leave to one side to cool

For the Dosa Batter:

• 60g plain flour
• 60g chickpea (gram) flour
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• oil for frying

Method:

1. Mix the flours with the bicarb and a big pinch of salt
2. slowly whisk in 300ml water to make a very loose batter
3. heat a 30cm frying pan then add a little oil and wipe around with kitchen paper
4. add about 50mls of batter to the pan and quickly swirl it round to reach every corner of the base of the pan (the pancake should be really thin!)
5. Cook for around 5 minutes, on one side only, until the bottom is a pale, golden colour and the top is dry