Babul’s Family Ties Forge ‘Railway Lamb’ Partnership To Mark Bangladesh’s Role In 200 Years Of Passenger Travel

Family ties between the railways of West Bengal and Darlington have helped forge a new partnership between a popular restaurant business and an award-winning attraction.

Restaurant group Babul’s is sponsoring the Goods Yard at Hopetown Darlington as part of a new partnership which comes as the 200^th anniversary celebrations of the Stockton and Darlington Railway ramp up.

Babul’s owners Shuhel and Zak Ahmed have revealed how past generations of their family worked on the railway in the Bengal region – now modern-day Bangladesh.

And the restaurant’s own “Railway Lamb” name will feature on the planters in a nod to the hearty curry which kept the hard-working staff of the Indian railways fuelled on their long shifts.

With the birth of passenger railways in our region, railways spread and were set up through the 19^th Century in British India as a by-product, and a mechanism, of colonial rule and trade.

Shuhel and Zak’s great-grandfather, Riyasad Ali Khondokar, was one of many who worked long hours on the railways.

Shuhel said: “India was one of the first to get the infrastructure, and Bengal – Bangladesh now – was one of the biggest hubs for trade and commerce, with the main ports of Chittagong, Kolkata, and Dhaka.

“Everyone in that area who wanted a bit of money or a job, went to work on the railways or the docks.”

Riyasad travelled with his friends from the family village to industrialised Dhaka to work – and secured work on the railways.

They worked long hours on the railways and got to explore the whole region in the process.

And it was often Railway Lamb curry which kept them fuelled.

“The Railway Lamb is a dish which spread throughout India by accident,” explained Shuhel.

“In the train carriages, there would be the British officers at the front and the passengers and workers behind them at the back. In the front, they’d have their pastries, teacakes and sandwiches, while Bengali people had curry.

“They’d cook in a big pot – usually mutton, given Hindus don’t eat beef and Muslim people don’t eat pork.

“That was the food that the staff would eat.

“The idea is the smell would eventually get through to the front of the train – and they’d not be as keen on their tuna sandwich anymore and want to know what this was.

“Originally, the army officers, who went from carriage to carriage, would head back and eat the curry with the staff.”

The Railway Lamb, or Railway Gosht, spread throughout India – with each region putting their own twist on the dish.

Shuhel added: “Our Railway Lamb, in Babul’s, is a homage to that journey – and where that food came from.

“My great-grandfather was one of the cogs in where it came from – he was one of that brotherhood who cooked it and ate it.

“Everyone had their different style of Railway Lamb, but he was part of that necessity to have a nice earthy and meaty food to give them the energy they needed to get through 12, 15 or 16 hours of work.

“After 200 years, we’re now in the home of the railway – we put the railway lamb on the menu in Darlington when until we got it right.

“It’s authentic, the favour is intense and the combination of lamb in a thick sauce with potato is so simple yet extraordinary.

“We took as much advice from our dad as we could as he understood the significance of the dish.”

Shuhel and Zak’s father, Babul, was one of five brothers, and Babul’s father ensured his passage to Britain in the wake of the 1971 civil war in Bangladesh.

Strong connection

“My family was in the war, but my grandfather wanted my father to go to the UK and make a new life for the whole family,” said Shuhel.

“It’s why we have a strong connection with both the UK and my family in Bangladesh.

“My father worked really hard for his family here and his family there. Our family in Bangladesh have a good living standard now, and that’s down to my father’s hard work – and we’re doing well from his hard work.

“When he came to the country, he worked down south and then came up north to North Yorkshire.

“He worked all over and stayed where he worked – we lived in Harrogate, on a council estate, Jennyfields. He worked in Manchester, York and across the North and came to see us once a week on his night off.

“He got sick and tired of that and then worked in Darlington, as it was closer to us.

“He met a handful of people who started the Spice Island chain of restaurants in the 1990s.”

The restaurants have now passed on to the next generation – but the rail link between India and Darlington was a story maintained.

Shuhel added: “One of my father’s business partners, Yogendra from North India, said they did a whole semester on the railways, and did loads of research about Darlington.

“He never thought in his life he’d come and settle and do business in the town he studied about as a young kid.

“At the time, the £5 note had Darlington on it – and whenever he went to India, he’d show the £5 note to everyone to explain where he was from.

Rich heritage

“People in India know about the birthplace of the railway in Darlington – while quite a lot of people in England don’t.”

Shuhel is one of 24 members of the new Local Visitor Economy Partnership board (LVEP) which met together for the first time last week.

And, in this 200^th S&DR anniversary year, he explained why it was important for the region to keep tourism, leisure and hospitality in mind to boost businesses.

“There is a lot the Tees Valley can offer – we’re in a bit of a triangle with Durham and York but this place will get international tourists,” said Shuhel.

“We have the railway heritage, which is a massive thing – but it’s also our own links between Middlesbrough and Darlington, Stockton and Darlington and places within our region. It’s how we look at it internationally, regionally and locally.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, who Chairs the LVEP board, added: “It’s great to have Shuhel on the board given the success of Babul’s and their experience.

“Teesside steel built the world and the railways which link the world together were born on our doorstep 200 years ago.

“It’s stories like these which show the impact we have as a region on a global stage – and how personal stories stretching thousands of miles around the world are tied to Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.”

Leona White-Hannant, Development Director at Hopetown Darlington, said: “It’s fantastic to have the team at Babuls contribute to the 200^th anniversary celebrations with their brilliant Railway Lamb story which will be on display in the Goods Yard for all to see.

“The partnership with Babuls and Hopetown Darlington helps to profile how Darlington’s pioneering railway engineering connected the world throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries, and how that railway link between communities around the world still holds firm right here in Darlington.

“We can’t wait to share in Babul’s expertise and ideas as the partnership progresses.”