Oldest BRITISH CURRY Recipe Ever Written (1751 Revival)

Video Description

This dish is a creamy, gently spiced chicken curry (it does NOT taste like a curry of today) first recorded in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse in 1751. It is the earliest known curry recipe written in English. It marks the beginning of Britain’s long culinary relationship with Indian flavours. Unlike modern curries, it’s simple: chicken is lightly boiled and then fried with onions, turmeric, ginger, and pepper. It’s simmered in broth and finished with cream and lemon juice—no chillies, tomatoes, or garlic. The result is subtly aromatic, warming, and rich, showing how 18th-century British cooks adapted Indian dishes using ingredients available through colonial trade. Hannah Glasse was a bestselling cookbook author in Georgian England. Her revolutionary book spoke plainly to housemaids and home cooks, not just professionals. In her 1751 edition, she included “To Make a Currey the Indian Way,” the first known printed curry recipe in English. As the British East India Company expanded its reach, spices like turmeric and ginger became more accessible. Glasse’s recipe shows an early attempt to replicate Indian cuisine using English cooking techniques, bridging two worlds in a single pot. This simple curry is the humble ancestor of the rich and diverse British-Indian dishes we know today—proof that food history starts with bold experiments and borrowed spices. FOR THOSE WHO SAY IT'S SIMPLY INCORRECT: How can it be "simply incorrect" when BIR (British Indian Restaurant) style curry only started developing in the 1950s? Curries—both in India and in Britain—existed long before that. Spices had already been imported, cultivated, and widely used in British kitchens from at least the 1700s and Hannah Glasse’s 1747 recipe is the earliest curry recipe written in English. This marked a clear British interest in Indian flavours, and that taste evolved over the next couple of centuries. When Bangladeshi restaurateurs began introducing their adapted curries in the UK in the mid-20th century, they responded to a palate that had already been exposed to and accepted those spice profiles. So yes, Glasse’s recipe isn’t a BIR curry—but it is part of the story. It’s the foundation that eventually helped shape the British demand for curry, which BIR cuisine later capitalized on and refined. To suggest otherwise is to ignore how culinary history works—it evolves in layers, not isolation. 👇 RECIPE BELOW ❤️Hello, viewers! Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and share the video if you like it! Already subscribed? ▶ Turn on Ringtone 🔔 to be notified of new videos Turn on translation into your language. On a mobile phone, click on “CC” at the top of the video, or press ⚙ and choose your language, but on a computer, it is at the bottom of the video. 🙏 SUPPORT OUR CHANNEL 🙏 I want to say thank you for all the support I received. It really helps with running this channel and sourcing ingredients for the recipes. Thank you to all of you - everyone who has bought a coffee (or more). A huge thank you to all the channel patrons.❤️ Mamalil COLIN H Tina McFarland bobbi nan rinker John Jones Paula Funnell Sean Martin Jean Batty Kelly Angel Janice Vineyard Lori Diaz Jean Batty JPV David Lalonde Alien8you Bill Aronec Michael Ginns Mike Trump Max Currie Belinda Green Ralph Smith Deri and Bob Amason Laura Austan Yvonne, Wales, UK Stephanie Malcolm Peacock John Baird Franz Domurath Kim Kayoda Richard Harris John Bobbi Chrissy Kana Stephen Short Glenn Kelly Wayne Taylor Adrian Bartoli Joanne Brown Elizabeth e.behrendt Adam Conolly Mary Palmer Patricia Dooley Mary Eaton Sharon Wills Christopher Beattie Carol Andrew Eve Adams Heather Torrey Vanessa Walker Dana Fringer Derrick Lewis Budgieboy Kathleen Hayes John Kennington John Baldwin Sharla Hulsey Doug & Sunny Olsen Debbie Evans Jean Buckley Harry Bond Chris Matheson Tez Brennan If you would like Support my little channel on Patreon (only if you want :) https://www.patreon.com/backyard_chef MY BUY ME A COFFEE PAGE: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/backyardchef NEW FACEBOOK PAGE - https://www.facebook.com/groups/backyardchefscasualkitchen NOTE: You have to answer all membership questions to join it's fully automated and accept group rules Ingredients • 5 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless cut into chunks • 1 litre (1000ml / 4 US cups / 3½ UK cups) water • 2 tbsp butter (30g / 1 oz) • 3 large onions, finely chopped (approx. 400g / 14 oz / 2 cups packed) • 1 tsp ground turmeric (3g / 1 tsp UK/US) • 1 tbsp ground ginger (6g / 1 tbsp UK/US) • ½ tsp ground black pepper (1g / ½ tsp) • 60ml (¼ cup) double or heavy cream • Juice of 2 lemons (about 60ml / 4 tbsp) • Salt, to taste (optional) not in the recipe #backyardchef #curry #british #bir #indian #hannahglasse