Food News, with Amanda Killelea

A RESTAURANT owner has launched a nationwide campaign to stop chefs from using potentially harmful artificial food colourings.

Shofiq Raji Mia owns the popular Nila Indian Restaurant, in Bacup Road, Rawtenstall. His chefs use only natural herbs, spices and vegetables to colour and flavour their dishes but not all curry chefs do the same.

Trading Standards officers in Yorkshire tested meals at several Indian restaurants in their area and found a high percentage of them using artificial colourants at dangerously high levels.

Now Shofiq wants to educate chefs, restaurant owners and diners on the dangers of artificial colourings and how their use can be avoided.

He said: "Often when you go into a restaurant or takeaway and order a dish such as chicken tikka masala, the food is brightly coloured. When food is cooked traditionally in Asian homes you just see paler colours, which come from the natural spices.

"What people don't realise is that these artificial colourings can be harmful and some restaurant owners are using them at four times the recommended levels."

Health experts have issued warnings about additives such as tartrazine (E102) and Ponceau (E110), which have been known to cause allergic reactions such as skin rashes, itching, breathing problems, hyperactivity in children and can even make people more susceptible to hay fever and asthma. Shofiq said: "Often restaurant owners and diners alike are not aware of the dangers these additives pose. I am trying to educate people about the problems and show them how food can be made colourful and tasty without using artificial colourants."

Shofiq believes that one of the major factors in why chefs use artificial products instead of natural herbs is cost.

He said: "It costs about 80p for a 1oz jar of yellow colouring, which would colour as many dishes as £400-worth of saffron.

"So money is a big factor but I believe health is more important.

"We colour our dishes using chilli, turmeric, cardamom, and paprika - colourful spices which also taste excellent."

Chicken Tikka Masala

SHOFIQ'S chef Moohibur Rahman prepares a traditional Chicken Tikka Masala using natural products. Here is his recipe:

(SERVES TWO)

1 tbsp mustard oil 1 clove of garlic

Half a fresh onion

Half a green pepper

A pinch of dried mint

A pinch of turmeric

A pinch of paprika

A pinch of green chilli powder

A pinch of coriander

2 tbsp of plain yoghurt

Tsp of lemon juice

A pinch of garam masala

A pinch of ground cardamom

1 sliced tomato

1/4 pint of single cream

Two chicken breasts

MARINATE the chicken in the lemon juice, 1tbsp of yoghurt, green chilli powder and coriander. Bake until the chicken is cooked. Fry the oil, garlic, onion, pepper, tomato, mint, turmeric, paprika, garam masala and cardamom until soft.

Add the chicken and the rest of the yoghurt to the spice mixture and fry.

Add the single cream and mix it in with the spice and chicken mixture. Serve with naan bread and boiled or pilau rice.

All the spices in this recipe can be varied to your personal taste.

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