As well as missing out on bread and pasta, being gluten free means people also miss out on another national favourite: katsu curry.
Until now, as lunchtime favourite LEON has just has just launched the UK’s first gluten-free version of katsu curry.
More often associated with fellow high street food chain Wagamama, Katsu Curry has become one of the most popular take away dishes in cities across the UK, although due to the chicken being coated in Japanese-style panko breadcrumbs, it's also notoriously difficult to make gluten free.
LEON's fully coeliac friendly version is instead made in the same way as the restaurant chain's gluten-free chicken nuggets - or GFC as it calls them - as well as a coconut-based curry sauce, to ensure that it's also made without dairy, too.
The new dish follows the success of the brand's GFC nuggets, which have sold over one million portions since launching last August - hardly surprising, considering that one in ten people now follow a gluten free diet and one in every hundred UK citizens are affected by auto-immune digestive condition Coeliac disease.
Already in all LEON restaurants, it will set you back £7.45 and comes served with LEON’s brown rice and vegetable slaw.
LEON’s Head of Food, Erica Molyneaux said “Introducing the UK’s first gluten-free Katsu Curry on the high street is a natural step for us. It’s always been important to drive free-from innovation, to create and reimagine dishes that everyone can enjoy. This has allowed us to take dishes like the Katsu Curry and make it bolder, more flavourful, and conveniently made without gluten or dairy.
We make our Katsu with our GFC recipe and a gluten-free sauce, made by frying off garam masala, ginger and garlic, alongside a seriously good curry powder before adding coconut milk for creaminess and slices of carrots for a sweet finish. We hope that our gluten-free and coeliac fans will finally be able to taste the flavour of a true Katsu curry and really enjoy it!”
