A survey of 2,000 adults has crowned the nation’s favourite curry dish, with tikka masala emerging as the clear winner, ahead of milder options like korma and butter chicken in second and third place.
The research, conducted by Onken to coincide with National Curry Week from October 7 to 13, found that a staggering 89 per cent of adults enjoy curry, treating themselves to such dishes around five times a month on average.
As part of its ‘Feed Your Inner Happiness’ campaign, Onken teamed up with Paddy McGuinness and Masterchef 2024 winner Brin Pirathapan to create a ‘Curry In a Hurry’ menu.
Paddy commented: “I’m heading off on tour soon, and trust me, the temptation of a takeaway curry is real. Onken brought me together with Brin to teach me how to make three quick and easy curries that even I can do.”
“And let me tell you, I absolutely nailed it. I even added my own top tips, so you can make time to feed your inner happiness at home.”
Rounding out the top five were biryani and rogan josh, while jalfrezi, Balti, madras, bhuna, and saag made up the rest of the top 10.
Brin Pirathapan added: “There are so many tasty curries bursting with different flavours out there, but a third of us only have one to two curry dishes in our repertoire.”
“So, I created three quick and easy ‘Curry In a Hurry’ recipes, with top tips for you and Paddy to master at home”
Curry enthusiasts in the UK will on average devote 45 minutes to preparing this beloved dish, with stats showing that 34% of people start from scratch, while 35% opt for ready-made sauces.
Interestingly, a study by OnePoll unveils that a notable 58% of Brits don’t believe home-prepared curries can match up to the ones from restaurants or takeaways.
For many, their homemade curry doesn’t quite cut it when compared to professional ones, with reasons including not quite hitting the mark on flavour (cited by 68%), not achieving the desired sauce thickness (34%), lack of spiciness (34%), creaminess of the sauce (31%), and meat tenderness (30%).
Commenting on the findings, Mathilde van Roon, head at Onken, Emmi UK, remarked: “The stats show Brits love curry but are put off by the time it takes to make one at home, plus they struggle to get the same flavours and creaminess.”
PADDY AND BRIN’S TOP HACKS FOR ‘CURRY IN A HURRY’:
- SQUEASY DOES IT: Use garlic and ginger paste to save time chopping.
- TENDER LOVING CARE: Marinate the meat with yoghurt to make it more tender.
- A SPEEDY SIDE: Get your hands on some microwaveable rice and a pack of readymade naan bread.
- FREE-ZE TIME: Batch cook the recipe, put the surplus into a container and pop it in the fridge or freezer for another day.
- TOO HOT TO HANDLE: A spoonful of natural set yogurt works wonders on curries if you’ve gone overboard with heat.