There was a routine that I had picked up back in the dark days of the lockdown that offered escape every so often. It was an armchair ticket to the glorious [and lesser-known] sights and sounds across the world, courtesy BBC’s The Travel Show. Slickly produced, packed with engaging, off-the-grid content, and anchored by a bunch of diverse presenters [including a wheelchair-bound host], the show appealed to my eclectic senses. It remains one of my favourite unwind viewing sessions till date whenever I yearn for a temporary getaway whilst being stuck within the concrete city.

On a recent episode, in one of the segments, the host, a Vietnamese-American who’s now settled in the UK, goes to Glasgow to find out more about the origins of the chicken tikka masala since the city is believed to be the home of this dish [talk about diversity from every angle!]. He heads to Shish Mahal, a South Asian diner that’s run by current generation owners whose origins trace back to Pakistan. It was fascinating to hear him speak of his father, Ali Ahmed Aslam’s creation, and the hype and hysteria around the dish after it became popular at the restaurant. From black-and-white photos of long queues outside the space, to his father proudly holding the plated dish in his hand, it made for the perfect culinary-meets-nostalgia headline that will draw the attention of all foodies and history buffs. The host also mentioned that the dish’s origins had several claimants but this iconic restaurant continues to earn worldwide fame for this creation, which like most such popular restaurant hits, is made using a secret sauce that remains closely-guarded.