THE British love affair with Indian food has had a major impact on one Bolton department store which is now exporting to Iceland.

House of Raja's, based on Fletcher Street, has announced that frozen food sales have increased by more than 40 per cent in the last six months. According to store co-manager Pravin Arjan, sales of ready made frozen foods such as curries, chappaties and samosas are in the shopping baskets of one in every three customers. This time last year it was one in every five customers.

"Last year, food sales accounted for 20 per cent of overall sales at House of Raja's," he said.

"This year, we are on target to see that figure increase to 40 per cent."

Indian food - in particular the feted Chicken Tikka Masala - officially became the most popular food by sales in the UK at the end of the 1990s.

There are now around 9,500 Indian restaurants and take-aways in the UK, employing 72,000 people and turning over around £3.2billion annually - more than coal, steel and shipbuilding put together, while a further 4.5 million ready Indian meals fly off supermarket shelves every year.

Mr Arjan said: "Customers want convenience foods to fit in with their lifestyle. The new generation either can't cook, won't cook or haven't got the time to cook becasue of work commitments."

"They are busy building careers, and we have a new breed of working mothers and a refreshingly large number of career women."

Sital Raja-Arjan, who runs the store with her husband, said that Indian dishes are even being exported from Bolton, as holidaying Brits demand their national dish abroad.

"We have frozen food pallets being delivered to Spain. We have exported to Mallorca for the last five years and Alicante for the last two years.

"Indian food is starting to take off in Iceland and demand will reach an all-time high this year."

House of Raja's also sells Asian style clothing.