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Curry on wheels

31/10/2006

THE region's first curry meals on wheels has been launched by two brothers.

Waqas and Adil Bukhari turn up with steaming hot curries for the elderly and the housebound who before had to rely on processed food brought to them by friends and relatives.

The daily delivery service of curries, vegetable dishes and Halal food has proved a huge hit in the Asian community and now the brothers, who deliver throughout south Manchester, want to get more non-Asian pensioners turned on to the exotic spices of traditional Indian fare.

Waqas and Adil work out of the Ashiana take-away on Upper Chorlton Road, which was set up by their father Ashiq 21 years ago.

The brothers have devised five distinct menus - regular, low-sodium, diabetic, no-salt and 'mechanically-soft' - for people with specific health problems.

They cater for the elderly, disabled people, the housebound and people who have just come out of hospital who cannot cook for themselves.

The pair have been contracted by social services to give Asian people better choice in Meals on Wheels provision.

Muslim Waqas, aged 36, who lives with his wife and two boys in Chorlton, said: "We just wanted to give people something healthy and nutritional. It's not just the Asian elderly we cater for but people in all other communities - be they Sikhs, Hindus or whoever.

"There are, however, a lot of non-Asians who have not clocked onto it yet who could really benefit."

Curries are known for their health-enhancing qualities because of their low-fat content and abundance of garlic, ginger and other properties which aid digestion.

Waqas and Adil, 39, have used sunflower oil instead of vegetable oil to prepare their food to reduce the fat content even more. "It makes them really happy to be given a nice meal instead of frozen and processed food," said Waqas.

"They love not being reliant on friends or family to come round and getting something other than horrible frozen food thrown at them."