logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
27m 11s

How ‘Bangla Town’ changed a nation's foo...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

An Indian curry house is one of the most popular places to go out for a meal in the UK, and is part of British life. But many people do not know their origins lie in what is now Bangladesh, after a wave of migration from there in the 1970s.

Devina Gupta traces their history and flavours on Brick Lane in east London, where many people settled and started restaurants. Many have closed over the years, but their legacy lives on. And now more diverse and authentic flavours are becoming popular in the capital and elsewhere.

Presenter: Devina Gupta Producer: Hannah Bewley

(Photo: Brick Lane sign with Bangla language version underneath. Credit: BBC)

Up next
Jul 22
When should I eat my evening meal?
When should you eat your evening meal? Is it really better to eat earlier, or does it depend on when you go to bed? And if you do have to eat late, is there anything you can do to reduce the impact on your health?In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander explores what sci ... Show More
26m 29s
Jul 15
The rise of eating alone
Listener Melanie wrote into The Food Chain to ask us to make a programme about the rising numbers of people who eat alone. She told us she often dines solo and sometimes finds the experience daunting. So today Ruth Alexander hears from Melanie and from other solo diners – some wh ... Show More
26m 27s
Jul 8
What do World Cup footballers eat?
Elite footballers are among the world's most finely tuned athletes. Every meal is carefully planned to fuel training, maximise recovery and prepare for the next match. But it wasn't always this way.In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander explores how football's relation ... Show More
26m 29s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
127. Inventing Curry: The British Taste for India
From the beginning of the Raj, British tastes began to turn away from Indian cuisine towards a European palate. The colonial classes sneered at Indian food, instead seeing French food as the height of sophistication. Meanwhile, people in Britain – including Queen Victoria – sough ... Show More
42m 47s
Aug 2022
The city shaped by Ugandan Asians
Thousands of Asians who were expelled from Uganda in 1972, settled in the UK and many made Leicester their home. Their arrival in the East Midlands helped to shape its identity and now Leicester plays host to the largest Diwali celebrations outside of India. Nisha Popat was nine- ... Show More
10m 45s
Jun 2018
Street Food 2018
As part of the BBC Food and Farming Awards Nigel Barden and Tom Parker Bowles met an amazing array of street food vendors. In this programme Nigel tells the finalist's stories and visits KERB market in Camden to hear how the industry is rapidly evolving across the UK.First they m ... Show More
28m 15s
Feb 2023
The Philosophy of Curry
Curry is a word imbued with many meanings and mixed emotions. From the time of colonialism, it was long used to describe Indian food in general, a term that often had derogatory connotations to those of Indian descent. Today, fortunately, we recognize the regionality and diversit ... Show More
45m 22s
Jul 2018
Birmingham's Beloved Balti
For food writer Yasmin Khan, the Balti conjures up family meals out in her childhood home of Birmingham where she would regularly tuck into deep bowls of the city's most iconic dish -- richly spiced chicken or lamb, that she scooped up with freshly made warm naan breads. In it's ... Show More
28m 39s