To a lot of folk in South Manchester, the word Gatley is synonymous with its famous tandoori. It’s been part of the village’s high street since 1992, when Mohammed Ashik Miah, better known as Ash, first lit the stoves in the building next door to the Barclay’s bank.
“Gatley’s like your textbook village,” says Ash’s son Jamil, who’s grown up in this place. “Everyone knows each other.”
Ash had learned his trade at curry houses around Manchester, after arriving in Great Britain in the 70s from Sylhet, a city famed for its cooks. These immigrants had begun staffing the restaurants of London as early as the 1870s, with migration hitting its peak a hundred years later when Ash first landed on British soil.
“In the UK, about 70, 80 percent of curry houses, everyone calls them ‘Indian’,” says Jamil. “But most ‘Indian’ curry houses are owned by Bangladeshis.”
If you want a super authentic snapshot of the family’s history, make a beeline for the Naga Spice. It uses the Sylheti red naga chill and shatkura, a citrus fruit also native to Bangladesh, not unlike a grapefruit. It’s often used for chutneys but here adds a pleasing sweet-sourness to the rich gravy.
The naga is among those chillies with ‘a reputation’, shall we say, but while this dish has a definite kick to it, it’s not at the expense of flavour. It’s a stunning curry.
The heat means that ‘it’s not for everyone’, Jamil admits, but it’s one of the most authentic dishes on the menu, and a bestseller, as is their tandoori mixed grill, a heap of chops and kebabs on a hot iron skillet.
Their balti dishes are super authentic too – and in a nod to Anglicisation of the country’s favourite takeaway – they even go to the extra faff of cutting their own chips. They’re exceptionally good, best when dragged through their tikka masala or makhani sauce.
After Ash established the tandoori, in what is now the kitchen and the takeaway counter, things were going so well that they expanded, moving into the premises next door, an old bank right in the centre of the village by the cenotaph.
Being part of the Gatley community doesn’t stop at feeding them. The Tandoori is often found at the centre of charity drives.
“People always get in touch,” says Jamil. “There’s always raffles going on, and we’re always giving prizes. You can’t go wrong with a voucher.
“But on Sundays, after our buffet, we’re always stuck with leftovers right at the end. What we’ve started to do is give it to a local [homelessness] charity. We’ve got into bed with Don’t Walk Past Manchester, and they do a lot of work for the homeless community, so I have to give them a shout out.”
“I guess in Gatley we’ve become a bit of a household name,” he goes on. “I’m not blowing my own trumpet, though it might sound a bit like it. But we’re at a point that we’ve been here that long, we’ve got to give back to the community.
“The food business is a tough game. 99.9 percent of the time, [I think] we hit the spot. And so far, so good. I guess we’ve managed to carry the reputation on.”
Gatley Tandoori, 5 Northenden Rd, Gatley, Cheadle SK8 4EN
This week, until 31st January, they’re offering 30% off, minimum £20 basket size with UberEats.
Just use the code GATLEYTAN30.
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