A new dish devised in Suffolk is poised to make its mark on Indian food menus across the world.
Development chef Kristian Wade, of Bury St Edmunds-based Northgate Foods, worked in collaboration with three other food firms to come up with a new duck and chapati meal which is now being rolled out across Indian restaurants in the UK.
The UK's most popular Indian dish is chicken tikka masala which originated in Glasgow, and it is hoped the new recipe - a southern Asia-inspired Indian aromatic duck 'cha-pancake' - could mirror its success.
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Northgate, a specialist distribution company, supplies traceable meat and seafood products - many of which are sourced in the UK - to the food sector.
It worked in partnership with the BR Group, which supplies ducks from the Netherlands, East End Foods which produces the sauce accompaniment, and Ming Foods, which has created the new chapati pancake used in the dish.
Mr Wade described it as "a melting-pot of ideas", which mixes up cooking themes from across all 28 regions of India.
"We are massively proud to say, that like the UK's most popular Indian dish, chicken tikka masala, it has been originated in the UK," he said. "We hope it will fit comfortably alongside the rich and complex flavours and fragrances of traditional Indian cuisine, and make its way across Europe and the rest of the world. We think it deserves a place in global food history."
Jan ijzerman, of Thai-based BR Group, which has a base in Holland, said: "We have specialised in producing quality duck products for over 50 years and we are beyond excited by the potential of this new food concept developed with our partners in the UK. As word is already spreading fast among the restaurant sector, we expect this could be the next big Southern Asian food phenomenon."
Sam Duong, of Ming Foods in Swanley, said the collaboration had brought together "a diverse range" of culinary experts to creat the dish.
Raj Kapoor of East End Foods, which has a spice milling operation in West Bromwich, said the new duck dish provided "a truly authentic taste of the east".
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