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Witness History

The British Love Affair with Curry

Witness History

BBC

Personal Journals, Society & Culture, History

4.51.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2017

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Curry first became popular in the UK in the 1950s with the arrival of immigrants from South Asia. They introduced spicy food to the British diet. Nina Robinson has been speaking to Nurjuman Khan, an early pioneer of the Indian restaurant business in the English Midlands. His story also forms part of the 'Knights of the Raj' exhibition in Birmingham by Soul City Arts.

Photo: A youthful Nurjuman Khan (Credit: Nurjuman Khan)

Transcript

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0:00.0

Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.

0:04.7

My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

0:08.5

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.

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0:29.7

If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC

0:35.4

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0:38.4

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0:50.3

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0:59.0

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1:03.4

Listen on BBC Sounds.

1:05.4

Hello and thank you for downloading the Witness Podcast.

1:09.4

History is told by the people who are there.

1:12.4

I'm Nina Robinson and today I'm taking you back

1:15.8

to the 1950s and the early days of Indian restaurants in the English Midlands.

1:21.5

Nowadays the area is famous for being the home of great curries,

1:26.0

but back in post-war Britain, spicy food was a rarity.

...

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