Community turns out for opening of new Hastings Indian take-away

Tulsi Spice, in Plynlimmon Road, will offer freshly cooked Gujarati food and also delivers. On the menu are classic Gujarati dishes such as Dabeli, spiced potato masala served with peanuts, tamarind chutney and chilli chutney stuffed into bread rolls. It has a wide choice of vegetarian dishes as well as chicken and lamb dishes. You can view the full menu here.

Hastings Mayor Cllr Margi O’Callaghan attended the official opening and said: “It is great to see new businesses opening in our town and I wish it every success.”

The business was opened by Jaya Patel, who runs the nearby Whitefriars Stores in Whitefriars Road and is named after her daughter Tulsi.

Jaya said: “I first thought of selling food in the shop when my daughter worked in the West Hill stores and customers would come in the store smelling the aromas coming from the flat upstairs and would say they love the smells and would love to try the food.

"My daughter is the one who pushed me to sell food in the shop to the customers so from then on, we tried a few small items of food which we sold in both stores to see if it would be a success and if the food would sell and from then on, we started making curries, chapattis, bhatoras and much more.

"As I had two shops selling the same things and with very little distance between them, I decided to close West Hill Stores down and convert it into a takeaway. It has been a long road but we have finally made it and Tulsi Spice Hut officially opened on 16th October. All our spices are imported from India as it gives the best taste to the food we sell at the takeaway. We hope to serve many locals in Hastings and can’t wait to meet all the new customers as well as our existing ones who continue to support us in our businesses.”

Have you read? Hastings Bonfire celebrations in 75 pictures

Have you read? 38 pictures of the great storm that caused devastation in Hastings in October 1987