Curry Friday!

When I was a young 'un street food pretty much meant that the manky burger van with the dubious meat products had parked itself up in a layby and was offering unremarkable fodder to undiscerning drunkards with the munchies following a night out.

Not any more! I'm so pleased with the way the way the UK seems to be taking the idea of street food under its wing. Now it's about offering a variety of freshly cooked, unusual foods that we just can't walk past without sampling. When I'm outdoors in the cold there's something about the whiff of something yummy cooking floating across the chill that gives me that extra little nudge towards trying something new.

I'm so lucky that the town I work in has welcomed this phenomenon with open arms. The once drab little once weekly market now offers (amongst other things) paella, bean chilli, salt beef and a fabulous Dutch pea soup called Snert. I love saying that; Snert, Snert, Snert!

My favourite of all the street food though comes from the curry stall. Offering a massive variety of freshly cooked curries prepared on site, they add excitement to my Fridays. Each week there's a different spicy offering, meat option, veggie option, rice and a side dish. From chatting to the stallholder (Ken the Curry) I've learnt a lot. This chap really knows his stuff, he lived in Deli as a teenager and picked up a genuine love of the cuisine as well as considerable knowledge. He's told me things about basmati that I'd never imagined. You can't just buy it from the supermarket you know, it has to be aged! I still buy mine from the supermarket, but I'm slightly ashamed to admit that now. This lovely gent takes trips all over the world to buy spices, learn authentic culinary techniques, then he comes back and shares them with us. He's thoughtful too, he says things like I thought it was too chilly for Thai, so I've gone for a nice warming beef curry today" ahhhhh, bless him.

So, thank you Ken the Curry, for this week's Curry Friday. A first for me today, I plumped for a fish curry, plus a bit of everything else. And It was really bloomin' good!