Food allergies? Intolerances? No Problem! We’re Here for you…
If you suffer from food allergies or intolerances, eating out can be a bit of a challenge. Watching your mates tuck in to all manner of deliciousness while you’re stuck with piecing together a meal from side dishes is no-one’s idea of fun. But it doesn’t have to be like that – especially when you eat with us.
When we started The English Indian back in 2016, there wasn’t as much awareness of food allergies and intolerances as there is today. So when we set about creating that first street food menu, the aim was simply to make it as tasty as possible. We developed our signature pakora-battered fish and chat masala chips with deliciousness as the goal, and we like to think we delivered in spades. (You guys obviously did too because we were named People’s Choice at the British Street Food Awards just a year later!)
But, without really realising it, we’d created a menu which not only tasted great, but was completely gluten-free. The pakora batter which gives our fish (and now halloumi wedges and artichoke ‘vish’) its signature crisp coating is made with gram flour, which is chickpea-based rather than wheat-based and is traditionally used to make pakoras. Authentic, delicious AND gluten-free? It’s a win-win!
We’re proud to be working with Allergy Companions, a brilliant website which provides tons of information to help anyone with food allergies, intolerances and coeliac disease find the best places to eat out, and have recently been certified as a full member.
Liljia Polo-Richards, from Allergy Companions, said: “I am delighted to be working with Anna and the team at The English Indian, and welcome them as a Full Member – my website, AllergyCompanions.com, is all about helping people affected by food allergies and coeliac disease find venues that care about catering for people from this community, and it is fantastic to work with a company that cares so much about the topic.”
As such, we’re happy to be able to say our entire regular menu is still completely gluten-free, with our spiced fried chicken which we serve up at festivals the only dish which features gluten – don’t worry; it’s cooked completely separately to avoid any cross-contamination.
BUT we wanted people with gluten intolerances and coeliac disease to be able to eat everything we offer, without having to think about what they can and can’t have. So, after plenty of research and all-important taste-testing, we’re chuffed to have found tasty, gluten-free breading and seasoning for our chicken from fantastic Allergy Companions star brand Good It’s Gluten Free.
AND you won’t have to wait until festival season to give it a try, because we’re adding a brand new chicken dish or two to our extended street food menu, which will be exclusively available at our Lichfield unit when we reopen there next month! But more on that later…
As well as being completely gluten-free, we’re also dairy-free (apart from our halloumi which is again cooked separately) and nut-free, and offer vegetarian and vegan options, meaning that eating out with allergies and intolerances is no problem when you eat with us.
So next time you’re looking for an utterly delicious – and completely safe – place to cater for whatever dietary requirements life has thrown at you, you know where to come…