McCoy's launches curry promo with new crisps

During these difficult financial times the currycouncil are always on the prowl for super money saving offers available to our visitors.

McCoy’s crisps are joining 1,500 Indian restaurants around the country with an offer for two main curry dishes for the price of one with every pack purchased.

Consumers will be able to take their promotional voucher on-pack to any one of the participating restaurants and consumers will receive one free main curry meal when they purchase a main meal of greater or equivalent value.

The promotion which runs until March 2011 will also allow consumers to bring more than one voucher to claim further main curry meals.

McCoy’s are also launching two limited edition curry flavours, also available from mid-September, McCoy’s Chicken Jalfrezi and Lamb Vindaloo.

Greg Johnston, marketing director of Bagged Snacks at United Biscuits UK says: "We’re extremely proud of the promotion and feel that it’s spot on for our target consumer. The curry meal is one of Britain’s great traditions and the restaurants have needed little encouragement getting on-board to take advantage of the extra sales opportunity the promotion will create.”

Consumers can log on to http://www.mccoys.co.uk/rubymurray/details.php to find the nearest restaurant taking part in the promotion.

You can also find additional local and national curry saving offers on our Money Off Vouchers page.

Source: promomarketing.info

Moorlands Restaurant Provides Hot Competition in the Tiffin Cup

The Qarma Tandoori restaurant in Leek is celebrating winning a place in the regional final of the Newby Teas Tiffin Cup 2010.

The national competition is held each year to find the best South Asian restaurant in the country and Karen Bradley MP chose Qarma this year to represent Staffordshire Moorlands. Qarma Tandoori Restaurant will battle with other restaurants in the regional final to go into the national Grand Final.

In the next few weeks a mystery diner will visit the restaurant and judge whether it deserves to respresent the region. Karen said;

"Qarma Tandoori Restaurant was the overwhelming favourite among my constituents so I am delighted that my nomination for them has been accepted. I really hope they will be chosen to represent our region in the Grand Final of such a prestigious award. I am sure everyone in the Moorlands will be supporting them."

Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Tiffin Club said:

"We are delighted with the nomination of the Qarma Tandoori Restaurant. It will really put Staffordshire Moorlands on the culinary map."

Karen is pictured with manager Mohammed Ahmed and staff of Qarma cooking up a - hopefully - prize winning meal.

Currycouncil.com hope to visit Qarma in the near future and will be providing the forthcoming results from the Tiffin Cup 2010.

Source: karenbradley.co.uk

CurryCouncil Monthly Chaat

Welcome to the first edition of our new monthly feature - "CurryCouncil Monthly Chaat". We aim to bring you all the exciting news from the wonderful world of curry and beyond.

Curry Pasty

Ginsters have recently launched the Chicken Balti Pasty. The new pasty is a fusion of two of Britain’s favourite takeaways – the Cornish pasty and curry.

The £1.99 snack sounds perfect for a curry-in-a-hurry and may soon find its way into the lunch boxes of the CurryCouncil.

Health

The extra ordinary health benefits of curry was again in the news this month.

The Daily Star reported how “Curry Could Save Your Life” and that “Chilli-laden dishes such as vindaloo or phall might appear to cause the brave eater to tense up, but they make blood vessels relax. In turn this lowers blood pressure, reducing the risk of deadly heart attacks”

CurryCouncil member and avid Daily Star reader Paul Day (left) demonstrates how a hot curry “may cause the brave eater to tense up” and that curry may actually be good for your health.

New Restaurant

Delish Spice is set to open its doors to the public this week. The new Bramhall restaurant promises its customers “a refreshing twist on traditional Indian cuisine”.

The CurryCouncil are planning a visit to Bramhall's latest eatery very soon. Watch this space for our upcoming review and thoughts on their new venture.

Online Tikka-Away

CurryCouncil member MrMarf last week tested the credentials of the online take-away ordering service at the Red Rose Indian Restaurant in Hazel Grove (Stockport).

The whole process was smooth from beginning to end and made take-away ordering extremely easy. The food was also, quote, "spot on!".

This has resulted in the CurryCouncil's resident Business Naanalyst MrMarf emailing an exciting new idea directly to Mr Bill Gates at Microsoft.

MrMarf said "We need to devise some way of giving curry eaters online the best of both worlds. You need to introduce some scratch and sniff technology to give curry fanatics an idea of the spicy scent before ordering curry at their PC".

Landmark Review

The August 2010 curry will be the 40th Indian restaurant review to be placed directly on our home page.

There are even more reviews hidden away in our archives, please feel free to tikka some time to read some of our extensive back catalogue and add your comments.

Twitter

The CurryCouncil now have 300 curry eating followers on Twitter.

Curry house set its sights on top title

A popular Rochdale venue could be named the best South Asian restaurant in the country after topping a public vote.

Miah’s Restaurant will represent the town in the Tiffin Cup – a national competition run by MPs, which aims to find the best South Asian food in the country and raise money for charity.

It came out on top after Simon Danczuk MP appealed to the public to vote for who they thought should represent the town.

And Miah’s, which serves Bengali food, is now waiting to find out if it has made it onto the national short list.

Those that make the final cut will the take part in a MasterChef style cook-off, judged by MPs and guest celebrities, with the proceeds going to charity.

Mr Danczuk said: "The response showed how many great restaurants we have in Rochdale and how passionately people feel about their favourites.

"Miah’s was a clear winner for Rochdale and I hope they’ll make it to the next round.

He added: "There’s a lot of friendly banter among politicians about how good their restaurants are but I really feel our South Asian cuisine can compete with anywhere in the country."

Source: MEN

Tikka temptation: surviving Ramadan on the Curry Mile

The mouth-watering smell of a succulent chicken tikka is tempting enough for anyone visiting Manchester's Curry Mile.

But what must it be like working in a Rusholme curry house or cafe while also trying to fast?

Islam requires all Muslims to abstain from food, water or smoking during the daylight hours of Ramadan.

Rusholme's restaurant staff explain how they're surviving the holy month while surrounded by temptation.

Hectic Mohammad Javed works at Sanam restaurant in the heart of Rusholme, taking orders and serving diners with their meals.

As someone who has fasted every Ramadan for 40 years, he agreed that fasting around food was certainly a challenge but said the hectic nature of his job proved a helpful distraction.

On an ordinary day we barely have time to think about eating," he said.

"During Ramadan it gets even busier as we host nightly celebrations where Muslims open their fast amongst family and friends."

Adding: "Physically, we do feel weaker without drinking water but it's all about mental strength. We don't think of ourselves making food, it is just a business product at the end of the day."

Across the street in fast food outlet Chilli Peri Chicken, chef Mohamed Mahr agreed.

"I used to struggle with hunger pangs when I first started working but it soon becomes such a routine that it's not an issue."

"Giving up food over Ramadan is almost enjoyable because it makes us realize how lucky we are.

"It's the cigarette cravings which cause me more grief," he said.

Smoking

The Curry Mile is also home to a growing number of shisha cafes popular with men from the Asian and Arab communities.

They gather to talk and smoke using shisha or 'hookah' pipes, but this also has to be sacrificed by Muslims during Ramadan.

One such place in Rusholme is the Cafe Lounge run by Faisal Khan.

"In my heart, I'm feeling tempted but in my head I know I should ignore the cravings," he said. "It drives me crazy!"

For the thirty days of Ramadan, Faisal faces the dual challenge of giving up both cigarettes and shisha while continuing to run his business.

"Every year my friends and I try to prepare ourselves with new tactics and strategies," he said.

"But they become useless once Ramadan starts and I see others smoking in front of me!"

"I can just about struggle through the hours of fasting but start smoking again once I open my fast at night.

"I avoid speaking to people during the day as I'm a bit of a wreck."

For other cafe owners, the temptation of working during Ramadan is just too much and they shut up shop for the month.

"I don't think I could avoid picking up a shisha pipe if I was working, I'm so used to it," said shisha cafe owner Lafi Albadri.

"I would rather miss out on business than slip up," he said.

While a busy job may be the answer for those working around food, there is help available to quit smoking during Ramadan.

Co-op pharmacies are holding 'Stop Smoking' sessions for Muslims trying to kick the habit.

These support sessions could provide invaluable support during Ramadan especially for those whose jobs are an everyday temptation.

Source: BBC

Silsila - Cheadle Hulme - Review

T 0161 488 4880
A 22c Station Road Cheadle Hulme Stockport SK8 7AB

“So where is it again?” was the cry from Paul Day as Dave carefully tried to explain the exact location of July's curry venue.

“It’s opposite the Olive Press/Paprika coffee shop, just down from Pizza Hut on Station Road”. “hmmmm” replied the rat, “ok, go through Cheadle Hulme, pass Whittakers chippy, the Garam Massalla and Waitrose on your right, ‘spoons will be on your left, followed by Pizza LaVita and J. PIMLOT Traditional Family Butcher (purveyor of quality farm assured meat, Est. 1869), “got it” exclaimed Dayo.

“...ok so you carry on under the Railway bridge and as you pass under the railway, you’ll spot the Seven spices underneath (to your right), keep going... go past the Natwest bank and Whispers unisex hair salon the Sisila is literally next door to Blackstones Accountancy up the brow on the right”

To most this level of detail would be enough. His response? “Can I meet you at your house and jump in with you”.... which he did!

The visit to the Sisila was a rapidly arranged jaunt, with council members only receiving less than 24 hours notice. Nevertheless a contingent of 6 signed up and made their way to Cheadle Hulme’s newest eatery.

It was a typical July evening: hot, sticky and throwing it down. Most of the CurryCouncil had failed to spot the signage for parking, situated directly behind the restaurant. Instead we made a run for it having parked on Tescos /Blockbusters car park just down the round

We were greeted by two gentlemen who escorted us to our table. The Silsila is a modern looking establishment and the Council felt immediately at home. Several illuminated-bubble -water-features have been installed throughout, which seems to be the norm these days.


Andy “bad-boy” Hague was absent after he was caught by Matt Allwright and sidekick Dan Penteado (stars of the Rogue Traders segment on the BBC hit-show Watchdog) after swindling an old women of £780 during a routine boiler replacement.

Once in situ, we sat as Woodman and Noble arrived to join members Winfield, Dayo, Dave Marchbank-Smith and the lean but mean Gaz Jordan. We began the evening by sampling six 20 imperial fluid ounces of Cobra and thumbed our way through the Silsila menu.

11 popodoms were ordered as Slim-Jim Jord only wanted a pop and a half. A healthy discussion erupted as to which other member would sacrifice half and join Jord in his quest for a size 32 waist. Noble quickly volunteered and then ordered another pop. It was universally agreed that two half-pops is less fattening than one full one.

After discussing exactly how Paul had cut his head open whilst opening his car door and narrowly avoided a visit to A+E we moved onto the starters. The waiter had recommended the house special Banjara kebab. In all honesty the way in which he described the dish did not do justice to this unusual looking starter. The banajara was described as being “different and really, really green”.

The currycouncil think that the restaurant simply need to display a description of each starter on their menu to make ordering that little bit easier for the customer.

What arrived was four “Incredible-hulk-green” pieces of chicken. The chicken was infused with fresh coriander and various spices. It had a real kick and made a welcome change to the typical tandoori/tikka chicken starters served elsewhere. The presentation was also appealing, so far so good.

The Silsila are currently offering a midweek offer. If you call and make a reservation for a table for two or more you receive a complimentary bottle of wine with your meal. We were offered two bottles of “red or white” for our party of six. This was a nice gesture, however it didn’t stop Gaz Jordan from asking “whether or not we could swap the wine for a few more pints of Cobra”...

Two bottles of chilled Pinot Grigio duly arrived and for the first time in my years the Currycouncil actually looked respectable.

The main courses quickly followed with a combination of boiled, pilua and keema pilau rice and assorted breads. The assortment of curries were well received with the Tawah Signiture dish receiving glowing praise from Steve Winfield describing it as “the best curry, so far, this year”. The portions were just about right too.

The Silsila is a welcome addition to the SK8 postcode. It faces fierce competition with the Garam Massalla, Seven Spices, Barinda, The Red Fort and Jalfrezi only a stones throw away. However we would recommend a visit to the Silsila in the near future. Just remember to book in advance to take advantage of the free wine offer.

The bill £23 per head