Brief article in MSNBC about Asha Bhosle's latest venture - an upscale Desi restaurant in the UK -
When British pubs shut their doors just after 11 p.m. Burch, and thousands like him, will complete a typical night out by staggering up the road to wash down all that beer with a hybrid Anglo-Indian mix of foods that most Britons call "curry"."There is only one place to head to after the pubs have shut and that's for a curry," said Burch. "The most important thing is to have eight pints before you go, then the hotter the curry the better. It's an English tradition."
... Bhosle, who already has restaurants in Kuwait and Dubai, will provide her name, the decor, music and a rich menu of authentic northwest Indian cuisine to tempt patrons away from the Bengali-inspired dishes that dominate British curry houses.
The two entrepreneurs are also hoping the popularity of the 71-year-old singer, who was the muse for the 1997 hit pop song "Brimful of Asha" will be a lure for emigre Indians.
... Britain's Food Standards Agency said in its 2003 "Curry Factfile" that 2.5 million consumers tuck into "an Indian" every week and that the industy as a whole is worth some 3.2 billion pounds ($5.96 billion).
Some 23 million portions of chicken tikka masala are eaten each year and it is estimated there are more Indian restaurants in London than in Delhi and Bombay.
8 Pints of beer, eh?
