TAKEAWAY MY TAKE AWAY

PROGRAMME 6: KERALA

BACKGROUND

Experts

Jack is mentored by Francis, an expert curry chef.

Chicken tikka masala

Despite being the number-one order in Indian restaurants and takeaways, chicken tikka masala is not an authentic Indian dish. More than half a dozen Indian chefs, from Glasgow to Essex, claim to have invented the dish, which can range from pale and creamy to red and more fiery. One story goes that a British customer wanted a dish with more gravy than there is in a traditional dry Indian curry, so an obliging chef mixed a can of condensed tomato soup with some spices, and chiken tikka masala was born.

In India, most of the food is vegetarian, but chefs in the UK added lamb and chicken to satisfy the demands of their meat-loving clientele.

Shrimp farming

Shrimp farming is a major source of income in Kerala and many other parts of Asia, but it can have serious environmental consequences. Productive land sometimes has to be cleared to make way for these businesses, thus robbing farmers of their livelihood. The shrimp farms use chemicals and pesticides and produce effluent that leaches into surrounding waters, and inefficient trawling methods have a devastating impact on the many other species of marine life that are caught and discarded.

Conditions for workers, usually women, are far from ideal. They sometimes sleep above the shed, which means they inhale noxious fumes from the fish and the chemicals used in production. Working in an uncomfortable crouching or bending position, with their hands constantly in cold water, creates health problems such as respiratory ailments, back ache and arthritis. Child labour has also been reported in the shrimp industry in many countries, including India.

Women workers

Kerala's efforts to eliminate poverty, increase education, improve healthcare and enhance the lives of women are among the best in India. Even so, unskilled women workers, like those in the paddy fields and shrimp-peeling shed in the programme, are found all over Asia and are generally poorly paid and vulnerable to exploitation. Girls, unlike boys, are still often left uneducated, and women often do not have access to good health care. Poor women workers have to contend with discrimination and sometimes violence, both at home and in the workplace. Oxfam and other organisations work to change attitudes towards women, and to improve their conditions.