Madras is the most popular curry in Kent, and a Dover tandoori is the cheapest place to buy it, according to the findings of the Kent Curry Survey.

Those questioned in the survey, by bitspicy.com, said Madras was their favourite (35%) followed by Tikka Masala (18%) and Korma (18%).

The survey found that Bromley was the curry capital of Kent with 15 Indian restaurants, followed by Maidstone (14), Chatham (13), Gillingham and Gravesend (12 each).

With more than 250 Indian restaurants throughout the county, and a population of 982,000 adults aged 20 to 74 years, there are approximately 3,500 people to every curry house in Kent.

More than three quarters of those surveyed (76%) said they ate at home with only 24% opting for the restaurant.

Of the home curry eaters, 35% are eating takeaways and 41% now cook their own curry.

The price of a curry varies enormously across the county.

The most expensive meat Madras was £7.95 in Headcorn and the cheapest was £3.85 at the White Cliffs Tandoori in Dover.

It was also the cheapest for meat Jalfrezi (£4.95), compared with the most expensive (£8.50) in Tonbridge.

The most expensive meat Korma was £7.95 in Headcorn whilst the cheapest was £4.50 in Folkestone and Hythe.

Liz and Andrew Anderson (pictured above), founders of bitspicy.com, said there was definitely a trend for healthier and fresher home cooked curries prepared in the traditional way, which has been escalated by people not being able to afford to eat out as much because of the recession.

The company, which is based in Marden, was launched this year and has seen massive growth in the number of spice mixes it is selling, not just in Kent, but throughout the UK and

abroad.

“We teach people the secret of cooking curry, which has been used by Indian restaurants for 40 plus years in the UK. Once you know the secret of how to cook a restaurant style curry at home, you never look back,” said Mr Anderson.

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