An Indian-origin chef has opened a new Bollywood themed restaurant in the UK, inspired by the concept of dhabas dotting national highways in India.
Sanjeev Sanghara, the executive chef and owner of Papadoms in Sunderland, said he was inspired by a trip to India to create the street food and tapas eatery.
"I remember trying the food at the dhabbas and thinking this is spectacular, why can't you get this in the UK," he said.
"We launched the Papadoms pilot in Ayr (Scotland) to test new ideas in the market in an area where there is a lot of competition from other Indian restaurants. We wanted to see if there was the potential for longevity, to grow as a business," he told the Sunderland Echo.
"It ended up being the No. 1 restaurant on TripAdvisor for the whole time it was open. We developed a really good team, and the opportunity came to scale up and to come to Sunderland," he said.
Around 150,000 pounds has been invested into creating the restaurant, which also features handi and tiffin options, expected to become a UK-wide chain based on its success.
"A lot of the Indian restaurants have Bangladeshi-style food, this is Punjabi-style. What people perceive to be Indian food isn't that authentic, but this is diner and street food, it's what people in India eat every day," explained Sanghara, whose family also owns two traditional Indian restaurants in Scotland.
