Does anyone genuinely consider Tikka Masala to be the UK's national dish?
Posted by Goose-rider3000@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 187 comments
This 'viewpoint' seems to be bandied around with increasing regularity. Sure it's a popular dish, but I would bet my house that more roasts are eaten in the UK than Tikka Masalas. In fact, I don't know anyone that eats it on a regular basis. Most people I know eat Indian food once or twice a month but prefer spicier dishes.
AidenTheDonkey@reddit
chicken tikka isnt actually south asian, and doesnt follow the pattern of other authentic curries. it was created by the british so its technically a british curry.
Fun-Acanthaceae3192@reddit
It has existed in India for long long time. Just because some immigrant chef in UK toned it down for wimpy palates it doesn't make it british.
Darkjolly@reddit
Invented in Britain, makes it British. And you're not cool or baddass just because you like spicier currys
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the input but that isn’t really the point. I was questioning whether it is culturally significant enough or popular enough to be considered the national dish.
Embarrassed-Top-6642@reddit
Ye gore pakode kahin ke India se chura ke Chicken tikka masala apni national dish bata rhe hai. Everyone knows the best lines to people of uk. "GORA PAKODA BEN K OA.
CaptMelonfish@reddit
So the national dish of england is roast beef and Yorkshire puds (close second fish and chips) Scotland, haggis neeps and tatties Ireland, irish stew... Wales is Cawl, again a stew, usually with bacon, lamb, leeks and cabbage. The national dish of the UK, is tikka masala, which really is a british invention by a british bengali resident, iirc in scotland.
So yeah, I do consider it the national dish of the UK the individual nations already have national dishes.
typingbob@reddit
Okay. So, what's English, then?
OriginalObject7462@reddit
roast dinner
chonkyclouds@reddit
Personally I'd say fish & chips is our national dish.
I've no problem with it being tikka masala though, tikka masala is tasty.
Tomatoflee@reddit
I once saw a TV show about British food in the middle ages and it looked awesome. I wish we had more of a movement to revive something of a traditional cuisine. Fish and chips is ok but it's kind of lame for deep-fried bland fast food to be our national dish.
I remember how bad food was generally in the UK in the 80s and we have come a long way since then but it's mainly through importing cuisine from elsewhere.
heretocallthebot@reddit
Duck a l'orange made with orange cordial, and 50 different variations of mince.
Thank fuck we started doing what we do best and stealing from other countries.
OriginalObject7462@reddit
duck with orange? duck with cherries? duck surprise?
typingbob@reddit
What else do the French do with orange cordial?
Xerorei@reddit
It's not theft if they immigrate and bring the food with them.
idkfrfrdeadass@reddit
I knew America picked up that bad habit from someone. Lol
bertiebasit@reddit
No thanks. Bland and beige. Give me spicy goodness
modelmakerman16@reddit
I'm late but you've clearly never had a good roast dinner if you think it's bland and beige
falardeau03@reddit
Descriptions of food in the Redwall series are always wildly unhinged, in a good way, and make me think of medieval British food for some reason (I'm mainly Canada-based but have been over several times, lived there briefly, and have family there).
gourmetguy2000@reddit
We used to eat all sorts of interning things in the Victorian era, but I think the war rationing ruined our pallet.
returningduck@reddit
Hey, hey, hey, don’t diss the crispy pancakes…
Whoisthehypocrite@reddit
It wasn't just the 1980s, realistically it has only been since 2010 that food quality across the spectrum went up significantly.
younevershouldnt@reddit
Roast dinner would be our national dish IMO, probably beef but I'd favour lamb.
typingbob@reddit
British? Surely, anything from the Sawney Bean cookbook is honestly British.
Federal-Feed7689@reddit
I appreciate ur love for Indian food , but please at don’t even steal that now 🤣🤣🤣surely u guys can at last give the source the rightful appreciation then saying it was for some reason invented in uk like that world wide lie
TheCommomPleb@reddit
Yeah it's a load of bollocks. I don't doubt it's the most popular takeaway dish but what kind of bollocks is most popular takeaway dish to decide the nations national dish?
First, that completely excludes the food we make at home, second I personally think that whilst quantity eaten is important, it should also include a bit more input from our culture and history.
typingbob@reddit
"a load of bollocks". There's your national dish.
terryjuicelawson@reddit
Probably is more fish and chips, roast dinner or a full English (Welsh/Scottish/Irish) I would say. But there is something extra about it being a modern dish using non-native cuisine and adapting it for the British palate that speaks of Britain now I think, that is why people say it. There is a romance there.
typingbob@reddit
"full English" (Welsh/Scottish/Irish)?
FireWhiskey5000@reddit
I guess it depends a bit on what or how you’re trying to define a national dish. Or if it’s even one dish. If you asked people from outside the U.K. what dishes we’re known for they’d probably go for one or more of: - Chicken Tikka Masala - Fish and Chips - Sunday Roast - Mean pies/bangers and mash - Beans on toast - Cream/Afternoon tea - Full English breakfast
So I’d say any and all of the above could all be considered.
typingbob@reddit
Beans on toast, to quote Charlie Brooker: "about as interesting as watching cardboard exist."
FairyMachine@reddit
It has to be fish and chips, surely?
Though that said, Tikka Masala is bloody good.
Regarding the subject of roasts, I see more people say they actually aren't that bothered about them / they aren't that good anyway.
typingbob@reddit
I dunno. When Anthony Jeselnik makes a roast ...
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
Really! I've never met anyone who doesn't love a roast.
spellish@reddit
I know more people who don’t like roasts cause they’ve been scarred by grey dry beef and overcooked mushy veg than people who love them
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
Can I ask how old you are? Just wondering if this is a generational thing.
sideone@reddit
Am under forty. Indifferent leaning to disliking roasts, they're boring.
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
My roasts aren't boring. I can assure you of that!
sideone@reddit
Meat, potatoes, vegetables, gravy. How is it exciting?
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
That's like saying Chicken Tikka Masala is chicken and rice!!!
sideone@reddit
No answer to that, then? At least a Tikka has had the meat marinated in spices.
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
Like with anything, it comes down to the seasoning and the preparation.
You clearly have not had a decent roast.
sideone@reddit
You're clearly far too obsessed with roast dinners.
HashBrownsOverEasy@reddit
In a thread about the UK's national dish? Unbelievable!
merrycrow@reddit
What's exciting food? Something the waiter has to set on fire at the table?
sideone@reddit
Exciting flavours. Spices, herbs, sauces etc. Indian, Korean, Caribbean etc.
Wd91@reddit
Can't it just be tasty? I love spicy food too but food doesn't have to be spicy to be tasty and i don't need my food to be exciting to enjoy eating it.
sideone@reddit
That's fine. I can still find a roast boring.
daznat@reddit
I love a roast meal, but not beef. Any other meat is good. But I don't understand apple sauce for pork or mint sauce for lamb. They are too sweet.
ALifeAsAGhost@reddit
I’m not a massive fan tbh, just many other things I’d rather have!
MathematicianBulky40@reddit
I wouldn't call it a national dish.
But it's definitely more British than it is indian.
Kiss_It_Goodbyeee@reddit
It doesn't exist in India. It's a british (Scottish actually) invention.
Fun-Acanthaceae3192@reddit
It was originally an Indian dish. There are many types of tikka masala too. As usual the Brits can never acknowledge origins of anything lol
ThatOneDynamicGuy@reddit
It does exist in India. Like the Koh-i-noor, apart from LOTS of other things, yall also stole our cuisine and made it your national dish. Your version can't even be called tikka "masala". If you call it a british "invention", let me tell you straight:
1. Read this website, https://grandprixgastronomy.substack.com/p/the-national-dish-of-the-british, might stop you from being self-delusional.
ALL sources either point towards South-East Asian origin or people of Indian-origin first making the dish there(It was probably a generational recipe).
Also, if you claim to have invented it, why not give it a Scottish name? Tikka definitely does not sound Scottish to me.
also, for another eye opener, go to youtube/instagram and search for Pushpek Sidhu. Should bring you to reality.
HexAyed@reddit
Because it was created by a Bengali in Scotland
hoffregner@reddit
And it does indeed exist in India. Just not as bland.
UpstairsDiamond3503@reddit
Tikka masala IS the national dish. Used to be fish & chips.
EntirelyRandom1590@reddit
It's a question of perception and reality.
Rugby is the "national sport" of Wales, but more people play football on the regular.
Fish and Chips might be the national dish, but more chicken tikka is probably consumed on the regular.
UpstairsDiamond3503@reddit
Chicken tikka is the national dish
Glum_Agency2655@reddit
"ssaaarrr our poop food iz yuor national dish" (even tho no Brit agrees nor does the government)
UpstairsDiamond3503@reddit
Are you talking about me? cuz I'm not south Asian. I'm white British.
Ordinary-Row-9869@reddit
You don’t seem very happy
All_within_my_hands@reddit
It's not the national dish of the UK but it is certainly a national dish of the UK.
UpstairsDiamond3503@reddit
It is the national dish..you can't change facts lol.
Own-Round5935@reddit
but they changed the font style LOL
All_within_my_hands@reddit
What kind of person posts a needless argument to someone's personal view on a 2 month old throwaway thread?
Such odd behaviour.
UpstairsDiamond3503@reddit
I just corrected you..don't see how that's odd behaviour.
All_within_my_hands@reddit
It's odd because the thread is two months old, and posting on 2 month old nothing threads adds no value at all.
And the oddest bit is that you did not even "correct me" as you claim. Look at the question asked by OP:
They are asking if people consider this to be the case, and I am responding that with my opinion on the matter.
So in short the only thing you have achieved here is to show that you can't follow a simple conversation!
UpstairsDiamond3503@reddit
You said "It's not the national dish of the uk" and that is incorrect so I then corrected you. You said it as if it was a fact not a opinion. Maybe it's you that can't follow a simple conversation.
All_within_my_hands@reddit
I said that in response to someone asking if other people "generally consider" that to be the case. So no, I did not state it as a fact, I responded with an opinion within the greater context of the conversation.
If you are really struggling this much with basic comprehension then maybe find something more productive to do with your time than make yourself look fucking ridiculous in 2 month old threads.
UpstairsDiamond3503@reddit
Why you in denial? Anyways cba for this have a nice day or whatever.
Moist-Pomegranate943@reddit
I always thought tikka masala was more of an Indian dish
Jalebi_15@reddit
kinda is too
Inevitable-Ad8692@reddit
And the Soup of the Day is bread.
DesignPractical9831@reddit
Well, fish and chips along or a roast should be the dish. Not some imported dish. England is the new Hindustan apparently. What a disaster.
Tay120@reddit
Should definitely be a greggs sausage roll
No_Try5095@reddit
I personally class the SUNDAY ROAST as our National dish…❤️
Rowanx3@reddit
I eat curry all the time yet I hardly eat a roast or any english food really other than sausage and mash or pie. However I would consider a roast out national dish
DontTellHimPike@reddit
It’s funny how we assign nationalities to food isn’t it? Not considering curry as a British dish, yet simultaneously not even questioning potato based dishes is - from a historical point of view - a bit backwards. Curry has, in several forms, been a part of the national menu since the Middle Ages. Whereas potatoes are native to Peru and introduced to Europe via Spain in the late 16th century.
JasontheRaccoon@reddit
How is it backwards? Spices weren't popular in the UK until colonial times
Dogsafe@reddit
Spag Bol is a traditional British dish. Everyone makes it, everyone eats it, everyone has their own recipe/twist, all the ingredients are grown and produced here. Yes it originated from somewhere else but so did the royal family.
DontTellHimPike@reddit
I mean, if you go far back enough, so did we all.
Rowanx3@reddit
Its like fish and chips is technically Portuguese yet we consider it british. Food isn’t supposed to be rigid in my opinion but if i had to say a dish that represented the uk its be a roast or a full breakfast
ShuaigeTiger@reddit
Ice lollies should be rigid, to be fair. And chocolate imo.
wildgoldchai@reddit
I would’ve said a roast too. But then I’m Asian, I hardly ever order an Indian since I can get more authentic dishes at home.
Delicious_Lunch6754@reddit
Dam fuck curry or what, I’m 28 and have only ever had it ONCE lol! Friend wanted to sit down and have it, and the stuff was insanely priced for barely any food. Woulda rather gone to a high end restaurant on the wharf.
What’s your favorite type of roast? You add veggies to yours?
Bearha1r@reddit
Have you ever eaten a tikka masala though? I don't think I've even seen it on a menu for years let alone tried it. Might have to order one next time just to tick it off.
JasontheRaccoon@reddit
It's great but I don't see it as British even though it is, I'd say bangers and mash or fish and chips being the true national dish. Hell maybe toad in the hole! 🤣
EarGroundbreaking532@reddit
No it really isn’t Kantar, a leading market research firm, reports that roast dinners (including Sunday roasts) account for 1.28 billion meals annually in the UK, with 30.5% of Brits enjoying them weekly. This includes midweek variations, but the traditional Sunday roast—featuring roasted meat, potatoes, vegetables, and Yorkshire pudding—remains iconic.
The roast dinner is and the. The most popular take way fish and chips and Chinese. This is utter Russian. It even in the top 20 eaten meals.
It’s not even the most popular meal in Indian restaurants in the uk
Non-Combatant@reddit
I've only heard it described as our national dish by people trying to make a point about something.
It's certainly one of but not the dishes associated with us.
Delicious_Lunch6754@reddit
Like the point that Britain should be an Islamist state? Because apparently it was musbums that brought curry to Britain ☪️
dayus9@reddit
I suppose it depends how you define national dish. Is it the one with the strongest roots, the one eaten the most etc? If it's the one eaten the most then how is that measured?
When it comes down to it, I just don't give a fuck.
Vespaman@reddit
I think the fact that you don't give a fuck is the the problem with food culture in this country. You're right, and a lot people in this country don't give a fuck. Ask an Italian, French or Spanish person and they certainly will give a fuck.
BullFr0gg0@reddit
I agree. I've discovered some amazing dishes by searching up countries' national dishes. You may not care as a resident of your own country, but people that aren't from Britain will benefit from accessing a well chosen national dish.
Interrogatingthecat@reddit
It genuinely doesn't matter though. Naming a national dish is as pointless as naming a national flower
endrukk@reddit
we know one thing about the French: they tend to agree on things
endrukk@reddit
bread it is then
Traditional_Depth811@reddit
real
_Rookwood_@reddit
It is like when some gossip magazine calls some Z-lister a "national treasure" and you get people outraged. "National X" isn't some protected term, any gobshite can describe anything like that. It doesn't actually mean anything.
ResponsibilityOld372@reddit
It's fish and chips or the roast. Whoever says it is a curry is just lying.
Sarkhana@reddit
If roasts all count as the same dish, Chicken Tikka Masala would just be "Thick, Creamy Curry."
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
Not really. Tikka Masala can vary in terms of the meat used too.
ImpressiveGift9921@reddit
It's great, but no.
Strict-Swimming-1211@reddit
It's thrown around by the left as a gotcha, not as a serious definition
joereadsstuff@reddit
If I'm having curry, I ain't having a tikka masala.
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
Exactly! Kormas and Tikka Masalas are for the kids.
AbsurdlyLowBar@reddit
I like spicy food as much as the next guy, but a Korma from an Indian takeaway is bloody lovely. Food doesn't have to be spicy to be nice.
cragglerock93@reddit
But I'm super grown up and that means I like spicy food. I'm a big boy!
pepe612@reddit
Gary, 58 from Romford loves curry but hates Asians. Why are the British like this?
bikky73@reddit
No, it's an Indian dish.
I'd say in this order would be
Krakshotz@reddit
Fish and Chips is number one for me
Chicken Tikka is definitely number two
raceAround126@reddit
No. There is tonnes of great UK food that wins out over Tikka Masala. I would say anybody attempting to push that idea is simply attempting to coerce a very different narrative. Hint, it's not about food.
The good ol' Sunday roast is a hard one to beat! I mean, how can you? Then there is a huge array of pies, pasties, soups. Good hearty meals.
I heard someone slagging off the british lately saying that british food is rubbish and if it wasn't for foreign influence, we would be stuck eating potatoes.
Well, frankly, the world has been diversifying for a long time. It is completely inevitable that recipes and ingredients made their way around the world. Hell, tea was such a hugely expensive export at one time that China used its armies to try and protect it and only the wealthiest of wealthy upper classes could drink it. We are however talking a good 1100 years ago... before the East India Company sort of nicked it off the Chinese.
But I digress. To scoff and say that British people would be stuck eating potatoes, yerr right, try and make anything without it is like going to an Indian or Chinese person and telling them they would be eating mud if it wasn't for rice, hurrr go on, make a dish that doesn't include rice! What utter bollocks. It just so happens that China and India produce metric tonnes of rice and have been doing so for a pretty long time now. So of course it's going to feature in their national dishes! Britain and Ireland grow a metric tonne of potatoes. So really, I don't get the jeering and find it just straight up stupid. Not even offensive, just fucking stupid.
If you want a real shock to the system, try that Scottish soup, it's sort of like a fish soup and it really is escaping me now what it's called. It's the sort of the same reaction I had to Indian curry. At first, I had a lot of what is this shite, why would you do this to yourself? After a little time, you realise it's pretty nice actually and want more of it.
Also, us Brits, we're pretty damned good at deserts. Even when we're not trying. Sure the French try to lord it over us with their puff pastry. But screw them. They can't scone like us! Their concept of cream teas is weak at best! They just don't get it. Trifle? Naff off, Euro-slime. The British have that one nailed!
One caveat, the British have been apologising for Christmas Pudding, otherwise known as Festive Misery for long enough. We have said we're sorry, we realise that the brandy butter was only invented to try and take away that horrendous after taste, we realise that you would rather eat a brick than any Christmas Pudding ever again in your life, for once and for all, we are sorry.
(nb, I'm actually Irish... just been living here a long time...)
Sea_Awareness150@reddit
Cullen Skink soup?
raceAround126@reddit
That's the stuff. It's sounding more and more familiar to me at least. Awesome stuff.
geriatrikwaktrik@reddit
Obviously not
waitingatthecross@reddit
Some people prefer gammon
merrycrow@reddit
I love gammon, despite the fact that it resembles the faces of idiots
Numerous_Landscape99@reddit
Chish and Fip's
tmstms@reddit
No, it is used as a polemical example.
But I am not sure how many roasts are now eaten either.
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
Interesting. I think a lot of families still do a Sunday roast.
tmstms@reddit
Yes, I am sure they do. So it is also about how many people are living in families of that kind.
We had one on Monday (delayed from Sunday because we were out), but we don't very often as a household of 2.
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
Also most food serving pubs and a lot of restaurants serve roasts on a Sunday. The pubs near me get fully booked on Sundays. Not to mention Toby Carvery!
tmstms@reddit
That's definitely true, and one can eat a Toby all the other days of the week also. Conversely not everyone in the pub on a Sunday chooses the roast option, although pubs and restaurants themselves often serve a shorter menu on Sundays to foreground the roast option.
But I still think that it is fewer than in the old days now so many meal options are available.
returningduck@reddit
I think it would be harder to quantify. How do you define a Sunday roast dinner? Personally, I’ve never had lamb or anything pig for it (chicken or beef, usually chicken) but others definitely have.
I’ve no doubt that a roast is more popular than tikka masala but it’s harder to define.
steelydan12@reddit
No. It's either fish n chips or a roast.
Who the fuck decided on Tikka Masala? 😂
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
Robin Cook, apparently.
Aromatic_Flight6968@reddit
Now describe British National..... that's your answer
Ceejayncl@reddit
It was created in Scotland
EconomyFreakDust@reddit
By a Bangladeshi.
giganticbuzz@reddit
By a Scottish person originally from Pakistan. He moved when a teenager and considered himself Scottish.
EconomyFreakDust@reddit
More sources claim that it was made by an immigrant Bangladeshi chef.
giganticbuzz@reddit
Conflicting reports but the Scottish guy was from Pakistan originally. The Bangladeshi claim comes from down south.
Ok_Maintenance2513@reddit
Sunday roast I'd say is the most traditional national dish tikka masala might be because it ls more common for people to have it. Fish and chips has it's place too but maybe dying out as it's no longer a particularly affordable dish which was it's strong point decades ago. I'd day they are all national dishes in their own right, theres more competition between them rather than the undisputed champion if a national drink. There's still contenders but alcohol we can only have at specified times unless we want a perpetually discontented life.
propostor@reddit
Tikka masala was at one point a more popular takeaway choice than fish and chips. That might not have been permanent though, as food fads do come and go.
I don't think anyone with any common sense would say it's the UK national dish.
tobotic@reddit
If we're going by how many people eat it regularly, then Tesco Meal Deal is probably Britain's national dish.
Dx_Suss@reddit
The thing is the rest of British food is so shit it makes the country look bad.
ColdCole81@reddit
I don’t think foreigners come here to eat Tikka Masala. I would go with fish and chips, although I hate the fish. You get through the batter and you have bland fish, no salt or season on there. When I have fish and chips I pan fry my own tasty seasoned fish and get chips from the chippie.
SuperVillain85@reddit
No because multiculturalism has failed.
Winter-Metal-9797@reddit
It looks like it’s a dish created in Scotland by a Bangladeshi chef using Indian ingredients. Make of that what you will.
giganticbuzz@reddit
He was specifically from Pakistan although there are lots of Bangladeshi Indian restaurants in Scotland
Gullflyinghigh@reddit
Tikka Masala probably.
Brettstastyburger@reddit
Maybe in Birmingham, lmao.
Kiss_It_Goodbyeee@reddit
Pretty sure you'd lose that bet.
People don't eat a weekly roast any more, but many will have a take-away several times a week.
johnymac8@reddit
It tastes nice but it's not something ive eaten in about 20 years, why eat a tikka masala when you could have a chicken madras?
Purple-Draft-762@reddit
Because you want one
WhiteKnightAlpha@reddit
Anecdotes are not the same as data but in the last year I have definitely eaten more chicken tikka masalas than roast dinners, fish & chips, and fry ups combined. It's an easy meal and I've had at least one a week.
I like the others but they all take a lot more time and effort to prepare or are more expensive to buy ready-made. I suspect that's a fairly common situation and contributes to the sales figures for CTM.
Novel_Ad_8286@reddit
It's one of the nationals dishes, I'd settle for that!
Tikka masala, fish and chips, donner kebab 😂
Roast dinner, chicken chow mein, McDonald's......
The UK has many things that it is never a surprise to see someone eating 😂😂
I like a jaunt to Scotland for a pizza supper personally, now that's a national dish there! King rib as well.
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
No.
A lot of British people like to portray this “we’re more multicultural than you” attitude when dealing with people from some foreign counties, and this is part of it.
“Oh we’re ever so enlightened that our national dish is actually curry”.
It’s bollocks.
I think you’d be hard pushed to say there is a “National dish”. I mean, for the Scots there’s haggis, there’s a lot of English have “full English breakfasts” instead of a personality. Fish & Chips maybe, though chippies seem to be increasingly uncommon.
Sunday roast perhaps?
The simple truth is, there isn’t a national dish.
AkimboFrice@reddit
I know it's popular to hate on the English, and the British for internet points! But at least be smart or funny about it!
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
I'm not hating on the English.
I'm hating on the sort of tosspots who think opinions on whether or not beans should be in a pot or not somehow makes them interesting.
It's just a fucking cooked breakfast.
WhiteKnightAlpha@reddit
Do you think it makes you interesting to have strong opinions about other people's opinions about beans?
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
How incredibly droll to just try and turn it round on me.
You really are incredibly witty.
Arsewhistle@reddit
Or those people that get wound up by the inclusion of röstis or tomatos in a fry-up
ProfPMJ-123@reddit
Absolutely right.
Seriously, who gives a shit? Eat what you enjoy.
Electricbell20@reddit
Better than a "grumpy old men" personality.
royalblue1982@reddit
I doubt that tikka masala is in the top 100 list of most eaten dishes.
Tlou3please@reddit
No, I'd say it's Sunday roast
AutoGnomous@reddit
Not so much a National Dish but certainly a Scottish one, given its origins in Glasgow.
AbsurdlyLowBar@reddit
Scotland is part of the nation, last I checked.
AutoGnomous@reddit
But it's not to my entirely subjective mind a singular dish that best represents a country. Which was my point.
TalynRahl@reddit
It's not about what's cooked at home, though. If that were true, our national dish would probably be a ready meal.
It's about what the most popular dish in the country is, what people would order/eat if they could get anything. And, apparently, the answer to that is Tikka Masala. Personally, that would never be my order, but I understand it's a solid entry level curry. So it makes sense it's so popular.
Freefall84@reddit
Your assumption that most people eat ready meals regularly says a whole lot more about your cooking ability and eating habits than it does about anyone else.
I think I've had one ready meal in the last one or two years.
If it's about frequency I'd say Pizza was up there in the list, shortly followed by curry, shortly followed after that by a full English.
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
There is no evidence that it is the most popular dish in the UK.
rustynoodle3891@reddit
Surely we should batter and deep fry some tikka masala fish and have done with it
Nerds4Yous@reddit
Roast are boring innit.
Tikka isn't
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
If your roasts are boring, you need to up your roast game.
Alternative-Dare-839@reddit
You heard it in the papers first, what do you really think?
rye-ten@reddit
It always surprises me when people say this as to me it's a gateway dish that you order as a child and then quickly progress from.
Goose-rider3000@reddit (OP)
Exactly.
punekar_2018@reddit
It is all silly really. It is like saying Reverse Cowboy is the national se* position of the UK. Well, what of it? People go for what they enjoy the most.
It is not like people stand to rapt attention before the Union Jack while eating it.
usernamethatcounts@reddit
I feel like it’s an answer that google started spitting out after maybe one or two articles claimed that it was the case. I’d be inclined to say it was a Sunday roast, or an English breakfast.
Jack_202@reddit
I think it has to be something everyone has had at least once. I'd say toast was our national dish.
Regenreun@reddit
Never heard of it, doesn’t even sound British. We definitely have fish and chips instead.
Chazlewazleworth@reddit
You've never heard of a chicken tikka masala? You should check out the curry sauce aisle in Tesco next time you're there it'll blow your mind.
While you're there check out this weird thing they have called a "meal, deal".
Roundkittykat@reddit
I eat curry (not Tikka Masala specifically although it is good) significantly more often than I eat a roast. I'd say the same is true of pretty much everyone I know.
pencilrain99@reddit
Beans on toast
Toninho7@reddit
As someone who grew up ‘not liking curry’ I’ve since been converted to the beauty of chicken tikka mossala and I’ve never been ‘brave’ enough to broaden my curry horizons… so if I ever order a curry it’s nailed on.
The_Mercian@reddit
Sunday roast surely?
JosiesSon77@reddit
No I’d always say fish n chips.
NrthnLd75@reddit
The French call us le ros bifs for a reason?
Kid_Kimura@reddit
Is "national dish" even really a thing? Unless it's some kind of objective term for the most popular food and that is tracked somewhere, it's just personal opinion. If it's supposed to be a dish that is strongly associated with national identity then there isn't a single answer.
somaforthesoul@reddit
I'd say fish and chips or a roast dinner.
Curry is very popular too.... but it's not like eveyone orders Tikka Masala when having
ActivatedBiscuit@reddit
Fish and chips or a Sunday roast
Mavz-BigToe@reddit
No, Yorkshire puddings have more chance of being a national dish lol
BaBaFiCo@reddit
No idea. I haven't eaten it in years, but we'd have it fairly regular growing up. I personally wouldn't consider it but my experience is limited.
LDKCP@reddit
I genuinely don't think I've had a tikka masala in years and I probably cook curry at least twice a week.
It's just not close to my top 10.
Realistic-Stay-7352@reddit
Our national dish is a sunday roast. Tikka masala was famously bandied about by Robin Cook as a celebration of multiculturalism but sentiment has moved on from that being something that Britain desires, compared to integration.
barriedalenick@reddit
I never have consicer it to be so but I think the reason it is often held to be is not because it is the most popular dish but because it is a very British version of an Indian dish. It represents the ability of British culture to take external influences and adapt them to our tastes.