Liverpool chef sells curry back along The Spice Road

Dobir and Farid at "Brick Lane" in Dubai

A Liverpool-born chef is proving British curry is now second to "naan", serving a host of subtle dishes back along the ancient "Spice Route" in Dubai.

Dobir Uddin, 32, is tapping-into a huge demand for curry dishes in the middle east, with UK and Indian expats queueing down the street outside his eatery.

Liverpool fan Dobir already had two thriving restaurants in Liverpool - Saffron in Wavertreee and Arong in Aintree.

But he decided to take on the challenge of opening an outlet in the Gulf state of Dubai so that he could tap into the market with Brits yearing for a taste of home and an alternative to fiery-hot native Asian dishes.

Dobir said: "We launched at the start of the year and already we are selling hundreds of dishes a night, seven days a week.

"There are many thousands of Indians in Dubai and other restaurants offer only their more traditional dishes.

"But the feedback we have had is that they also like to try a British-curry style chicken tikka masala or a nice balti, which is virtually unknown in India.

"Add in the fact we have 100,000 Brits here missing a taste of home and we have people queueing-up for our food.

"It is not quite taking coals to Newcastle, but I backed a hunch and I'm glad to say that we have really found a gap in the market."

Liverpool-born Dobir’s curry house "Brick Lane" is located in Al Barsha, which is a hotspot for exotic diners in Dubai.

The curry maestro's success comes as the Dubai government attempts to lure small British businessmen and women to the emigrate by reducing red tape limitations.

And they believe typical UK businesses such as fish and chip shops, garden centres and sports shops can thrive in the city.

He added: "At the moment we have just the one outlet and it is a big family effort to keep up with demand.

"We have relatives over all the time helping out the staff we have employed locally.

"In the future we will expand but for the time-being we will stick with what we are doing in terms of just having British curries on the menu.

"Chicken tikka masala is by far the most popular. I think it is because it is very creamy and aromatic rather than very hot like a lot of the traditional curries.

"But even in Dubai the men of all nationalities often go for the hottest thing on the menu.

"So we do have a smashing vindaloo and a phal but they are not for the faint-hearted."

The only problem Dobir has is getting hold of a few vital ingredients.

He said: "We have a few special ingredients that you cannot find easily and we get them flown-over from England.

"I will not reveal what all of them are but one is Coleman's Mustard. It works well in a few of our curries, so we need to keep a good stock at all times."

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