FLICK through the Yellow Pages under "restaurants" or "takeaways" and nearly every other listing is for Indian cuisine.

For curry is now officially Britain's new fish and chips.

There are more than 8,000 curry restaurants in the country, which are visited by two million people each week, while supermarkets stock 7,000 different curry dishes.

A chicken tikka masala, named by Pasha Indian Cuisine, in St John's, as Worcester people's favourite dish, is now as much a part of British life as football.

Nurul Haque, the manager of Pasha, has been serving curries in the city since 1979.

He has noticed a considerable change in the curry eating culture since then.

"When it first came to Britain, having a curry was all about a quick pint and a vindaloo," he said.

"It was usually men with their mates enjoying a bite to eat after a night out.

"Now, people want to sit down in a modern setting with their families and enjoy food from another country.

Communication

"We don't even have vindaloos on our menu anymore - the best seller is now chicken tikka masala.

"And there is a lot more choice now thanks to improved communication.

"I can put in a quick call to India and the ingredients are in the restaurant the next day.

"In fact, the call for so many varieties of curry in this country mean they are not available in India now - the different ingredients are all over here.

"It is not just young people who enjoy curry either. My oldest customer was a 99-year-old woman who was in here with a group of 16 other people."

A liking for foreign food is not new in this country.

From the 18th Century, travellers brought back a taste of India's national dish. Queen Victoria is even said to have enjoyed the tastes of her far-flung empire.

But it is in the last decade that curry has really taken off.

Nowadays, Prince Charles is a confessed curry convert, while celebrity chefs have simplified the recipes so we can make our own.

"There is so much choice out there, there is something for everyone now," added Mr Haque.

"Curries are not always hot and in fact people prefer the milder ones in a lot of cases.

"We have customers who have been coming for all the 25 years we have been here.

"Once a person develops a taste for curry they never stop."