Fakeaway recipes in Manchester

Manchester invented the curry mile and it's been perfecting it ever since. Wilmslow Road in Rusholme has more Indian restaurants per square mile than anywhere else in Europe. The chippy tea — battered fish, chips, mushy peas, bread and butter, a cup of tea — is sacred. The late-night kebab after a night out is a rite of passage.

The curry mile proper starts at the top of Wilmslow Road near the Rusholme police station and stretches south for about a mile. The original restaurants — Sangam, Shere Khan, MyLahore, Akbars — have been doing the same dishes for decades. Chicken Tikka Masala, lamb tikka, sag aloo, peshwari naan, korma. All of them here, all replicable at home from this guide.

Manchester is also famous for its chippy tea. Fish and chips with mushy peas and a chip-shop curry sauce is the canonical Mancunian takeaway. The proper chip shops — Towncroft, The Cod's Scallops, Jonesy's — use beef dripping for frying and Maris Piper potatoes. At home you can match that with a heavy pan and a thermometer.

Late-night kebab culture is a thing here too — after the clubs close, the chip shops become kebab shops. Donner meat, chips, cheese, garlic sauce, salad — all in a wrap or a tray. Manchester invented the doner kebab as we know it in the UK. The German Doner Kebab chain has its origins here.

For chains: McDonald's and KFC are everywhere. Subway and Greggs are on every high street. Nando's has a strong following. Pizza Hut and Domino's dominate the late-night pizza scene. All reproducible at home — and most will taste better made by you.

Northern Soul is the local music and food institution — try the grilled cheese and the Manchester egg. The Manchester egg is a black pudding wrapped Scotch egg, deep-fried. Worth the trip alone.