Food News, with Christine Rutter

BRITAIN now has more Indian restaurants than New Delhi and Bombay put together - and East Lancashire folk just can't get enough spicy food.

One in eight adults are curry crazy with a massive 2.5 million diners eating out in Britain's 8,000 Indian restaurants every week.

More than 12 million cook Indian food at home, with a staggering £205 million being spent on ingredients each year.

By the year 2000, the curry market is forecast to increase by 50 per cent.

During the first-ever National Curry Day on Monday, sponsored by Kingfisher Lager, the nation will be tempted by tandoori, bowled over by baltis and raving about regional curries.

Indian restaurants, hospital canteens and pubs across the country are taking part by serving hot and spicy curry dishes and donating 10 per cent of their takings to Save the Children..

Mohammed Ali, a keen chef with a taste for a challenge, is holding a Curry Day Special at his restaurant, Samrat Asian Cuisine, in Bacup Road, Rawtenstall.

The chef will attempt to make the North West's largest naan bread in front of a crowd of diners, including the Mayor of Rossendale Coun Peter Heyworth and his Mayoress wife Lynne. The three foot naan will be served with, among other dishes, Mr Ali's special chicken balti, which has been raised to almost cult status among curry fans.

Diners travel hundreds of miles in one day to sample it, served in the traditional way in a huge wok-style dish.

Mr Ali, 37, said: "People travel from all over the country for my dishes. One man rode from Lincoln and back on a motorbike in the snow - I couldn't believe it." And no wonder his curries are good.

His talent, which won him a place as a finalist in the Indian Chef of the Year Competition, is a family trait.

His flair was cultivated alongside a man who cooks for royalty - his uncle Mohammed Moshad Ali, one of top chefs in Bangladesh.

"Good cooking seems to run in the family.

"Cooking is my work and my hobby," said Mr Ali, who is the only chef in the North West to be given a Five Star Quality Award from the Asian Food Guide (UK) for the outstanding quality of his fare.

He said: "It was a very nice surprise.

"My secret is that I buy whole spices and grind them myself."

Mr Ali started as manager of a Bradford curry house for £7.50 a week until his boss saw his culinary flair and increased his wage to £35 for him to move to the kitchen.

He has never looked back since then, working for top Indian restaurants and setting up his own eating places across Britain. Now his sole interest is the Samrat, which has won a string of accolades since opening in 1994.

Anyone wanting to book for The National Curry Day Special should call 01706 216183.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.