Aston Villa’s home ground is very close to a town called Handsworth, on the outskirts of Birmingham, which is a hub for Punjabi immigrants. It had one of the first Sikh temples in England, so there’s a huge Punjabi community here. Growing up in the area, it was either you support West Bromwich Albion or Aston Villa. My dad was a massive influence behind me being a Villa fan, but that’s the way it works – your elders pave the way for who you support.
‘Desi pubs’ first started appearing in the area around 30-odd years ago. In Punjabi, the word desi means something that comes from your old town, your old village. These pubs were originally traditional working-class pubs. The older generation, like my granddad, would go to work in the factories and foundries, and then after work they’d go to these pubs to have a quick pint before heading home. What happened is that, over time, these pubs started to degrade, but then Indian owners came in, took them over and built a barbecue in the back. They would put a bit of chicken on it, marinate it and serve it to customers. So, in essence, we took over these pubs and made them desi.
The whole idea behind Punjabi eating is sharing – there’s no such thing as having a dish for yourself. That’s the idea behind a desi pub. Say there’s ten people. Between ten people, we’d be ordering a couple of mixed grills and a couple of curries, be it chicken, lamb or vegetarian. Then, you have to get some masala chips. You can’t really not have any masala chips. And then a few naans – Indian bread – to soak it all up. That’s pretty much a standard order. Then it comes down to personal choice, whether you’re going to get some fish with it or if you want to be really fancy and get some prawns. But a mixed grill definitely has to be part of it. That’s the staple. It comes in a big heap and you all share.
I’m a member of the Punjabi Villans supporters’ group; I have been for many, many years. As a group, we started using The Grove pub in Handsworth around three to four years ago to meet up before games. The Grove is one of the closest desi pubs to Villa Park, and proximity is a number-one priority when choosing a desi pub for before a game. You’ve always got to be close to where you’re going to end up. Plus, their food is very good and very consistent. It’s not overly spicy, so it suits most palates, and they’ve got good drinks on tap – a lot of choices of beer.
It’s a big place, which helps as it now gets very busy before games. They’re very hospitable to us. We used to bring in 30 or 40 people for every game. Now there’s probably about a hundred there before a kick-off.
In Punjabi culture, your door is open to everybody. People might think that The Grove, being in the heavily Punjabi area of Handsworth, is not open to those who don’t like that kind of food, but it totally is. They cater for everybody. The whole philosophy behind Punjabi culture and desi pubs is that the door is open to anybody. That’s why we do sharing food. That’s the Punjabi culture – we want to share with the people that are in under our roof.
Aston Villa’s home ground is very close to a town called Handsworth, on the outskirts of Birmingham, which is a hub for Punjabi immigrants. It had one of the first Sikh temples in England, so there’s a huge Punjabi community here. Growing up in the area, it was either you support West Bromwich Albion or Aston Villa. My dad was a massive influence behind me being a Villa fan, but that’s the way it works – your elders pave the way for who you support.
‘Desi pubs’ first started appearing in the area around 30-odd years ago. In Punjabi, the word desi means something that comes from your old town, your old village. These pubs were originally traditional working-class pubs. The older generation, like my granddad, would go to work in the factories and foundries, and then after work they’d go to these pubs to have a quick pint before heading home. What happened is that, over time, these pubs started to degrade, but then Indian owners came in, took them over and built a barbecue in the back. They would put a bit of chicken on it, marinate it and serve it to customers. So, in essence, we took over these pubs and made them desi.
The whole idea behind Punjabi eating is sharing – there’s no such thing as having a dish for yourself. That’s the idea behind a desi pub. Say there’s ten people. Between ten people, we’d be ordering a couple of mixed grills and a couple of curries, be it chicken, lamb or vegetarian. Then, you have to get some masala chips. You can’t really not have any masala chips. And then a few naans – Indian bread – to soak it all up. That’s pretty much a standard order. Then it comes down to personal choice, whether you’re going to get some fish with it or if you want to be really fancy and get some prawns. But a mixed grill definitely has to be part of it. That’s the staple. It comes in a big heap and you all share.
I’m a member of the Punjabi Villans supporters’ group; I have been for many, many years. As a group, we started using The Grove pub in Handsworth around three to four years ago to meet up before games. The Grove is one of the closest desi pubs to Villa Park, and proximity is a number-one priority when choosing a desi pub for before a game. You’ve always got to be close to where you’re going to end up. Plus, their food is very good and very consistent. It’s not overly spicy, so it suits most palates, and they’ve got good drinks on tap – a lot of choices of beer.
It’s a big place, which helps as it now gets very busy before games. They’re very hospitable to us. We used to bring in 30 or 40 people for every game. Now there’s probably about a hundred there before a kick-off.
In Punjabi culture, your door is open to everybody. People might think that The Grove, being in the heavily Punjabi area of Handsworth, is not open to those who don’t like that kind of food, but it totally is. They cater for everybody. The whole philosophy behind Punjabi culture and desi pubs is that the door is open to anybody. That’s why we do sharing food. That’s the Punjabi culture – we want to share with the people that are in under our roof.
Aston Villa’s home ground is very close to a town called Handsworth, on the outskirts of Birmingham, which is a hub for Punjabi immigrants. It had one of the first Sikh temples in England, so there’s a huge Punjabi community here. Growing up in the area, it was either you support West Bromwich Albion or Aston Villa. My dad was a massive influence behind me being a Villa fan, but that’s the way it works – your elders pave the way for who you support.
‘Desi pubs’ first started appearing in the area around 30-odd years ago. In Punjabi, the word desi means something that comes from your old town, your old village. These pubs were originally traditional working-class pubs. The older generation, like my granddad, would go to work in the factories and foundries, and then after work they’d go to these pubs to have a quick pint before heading home. What happened is that, over time, these pubs started to degrade, but then Indian owners came in, took them over and built a barbecue in the back. They would put a bit of chicken on it, marinate it and serve it to customers. So, in essence, we took over these pubs and made them desi.
The whole idea behind Punjabi eating is sharing – there’s no such thing as having a dish for yourself. That’s the idea behind a desi pub. Say there’s ten people. Between ten people, we’d be ordering a couple of mixed grills and a couple of curries, be it chicken, lamb or vegetarian. Then, you have to get some masala chips. You can’t really not have any masala chips. And then a few naans – Indian bread – to soak it all up. That’s pretty much a standard order. Then it comes down to personal choice, whether you’re going to get some fish with it or if you want to be really fancy and get some prawns. But a mixed grill definitely has to be part of it. That’s the staple. It comes in a big heap and you all share.
I’m a member of the Punjabi Villans supporters’ group; I have been for many, many years. As a group, we started using The Grove pub in Handsworth around three to four years ago to meet up before games. The Grove is one of the closest desi pubs to Villa Park, and proximity is a number-one priority when choosing a desi pub for before a game. You’ve always got to be close to where you’re going to end up. Plus, their food is very good and very consistent. It’s not overly spicy, so it suits most palates, and they’ve got good drinks on tap – a lot of choices of beer.
It’s a big place, which helps as it now gets very busy before games. They’re very hospitable to us. We used to bring in 30 or 40 people for every game. Now there’s probably about a hundred there before a kick-off.
In Punjabi culture, your door is open to everybody. People might think that The Grove, being in the heavily Punjabi area of Handsworth, is not open to those who don’t like that kind of food, but it totally is. They cater for everybody. The whole philosophy behind Punjabi culture and desi pubs is that the door is open to anybody. That’s why we do sharing food. That’s the Punjabi culture – we want to share with the people that are in under our roof.
Aston Villa’s home ground is very close to a town called Handsworth, on the outskirts of Birmingham, which is a hub for Punjabi immigrants. It had one of the first Sikh temples in England, so there’s a huge Punjabi community here. Growing up in the area, it was either you support West Bromwich Albion or Aston Villa. My dad was a massive influence behind me being a Villa fan, but that’s the way it works – your elders pave the way for who you support.
‘Desi pubs’ first started appearing in the area around 30-odd years ago. In Punjabi, the word desi means something that comes from your old town, your old village. These pubs were originally traditional working-class pubs. The older generation, like my granddad, would go to work in the factories and foundries, and then after work they’d go to these pubs to have a quick pint before heading home. What happened is that, over time, these pubs started to degrade, but then Indian owners came in, took them over and built a barbecue in the back. They would put a bit of chicken on it, marinate it and serve it to customers. So, in essence, we took over these pubs and made them desi.
The whole idea behind Punjabi eating is sharing – there’s no such thing as having a dish for yourself. That’s the idea behind a desi pub. Say there’s ten people. Between ten people, we’d be ordering a couple of mixed grills and a couple of curries, be it chicken, lamb or vegetarian. Then, you have to get some masala chips. You can’t really not have any masala chips. And then a few naans – Indian bread – to soak it all up. That’s pretty much a standard order. Then it comes down to personal choice, whether you’re going to get some fish with it or if you want to be really fancy and get some prawns. But a mixed grill definitely has to be part of it. That’s the staple. It comes in a big heap and you all share.
I’m a member of the Punjabi Villans supporters’ group; I have been for many, many years. As a group, we started using The Grove pub in Handsworth around three to four years ago to meet up before games. The Grove is one of the closest desi pubs to Villa Park, and proximity is a number-one priority when choosing a desi pub for before a game. You’ve always got to be close to where you’re going to end up. Plus, their food is very good and very consistent. It’s not overly spicy, so it suits most palates, and they’ve got good drinks on tap – a lot of choices of beer.
It’s a big place, which helps as it now gets very busy before games. They’re very hospitable to us. We used to bring in 30 or 40 people for every game. Now there’s probably about a hundred there before a kick-off.
In Punjabi culture, your door is open to everybody. People might think that The Grove, being in the heavily Punjabi area of Handsworth, is not open to those who don’t like that kind of food, but it totally is. They cater for everybody. The whole philosophy behind Punjabi culture and desi pubs is that the door is open to anybody. That’s why we do sharing food. That’s the Punjabi culture – we want to share with the people that are in under our roof.
Aston Villa’s home ground is very close to a town called Handsworth, on the outskirts of Birmingham, which is a hub for Punjabi immigrants. It had one of the first Sikh temples in England, so there’s a huge Punjabi community here. Growing up in the area, it was either you support West Bromwich Albion or Aston Villa. My dad was a massive influence behind me being a Villa fan, but that’s the way it works – your elders pave the way for who you support.
‘Desi pubs’ first started appearing in the area around 30-odd years ago. In Punjabi, the word desi means something that comes from your old town, your old village. These pubs were originally traditional working-class pubs. The older generation, like my granddad, would go to work in the factories and foundries, and then after work they’d go to these pubs to have a quick pint before heading home. What happened is that, over time, these pubs started to degrade, but then Indian owners came in, took them over and built a barbecue in the back. They would put a bit of chicken on it, marinate it and serve it to customers. So, in essence, we took over these pubs and made them desi.
The whole idea behind Punjabi eating is sharing – there’s no such thing as having a dish for yourself. That’s the idea behind a desi pub. Say there’s ten people. Between ten people, we’d be ordering a couple of mixed grills and a couple of curries, be it chicken, lamb or vegetarian. Then, you have to get some masala chips. You can’t really not have any masala chips. And then a few naans – Indian bread – to soak it all up. That’s pretty much a standard order. Then it comes down to personal choice, whether you’re going to get some fish with it or if you want to be really fancy and get some prawns. But a mixed grill definitely has to be part of it. That’s the staple. It comes in a big heap and you all share.
I’m a member of the Punjabi Villans supporters’ group; I have been for many, many years. As a group, we started using The Grove pub in Handsworth around three to four years ago to meet up before games. The Grove is one of the closest desi pubs to Villa Park, and proximity is a number-one priority when choosing a desi pub for before a game. You’ve always got to be close to where you’re going to end up. Plus, their food is very good and very consistent. It’s not overly spicy, so it suits most palates, and they’ve got good drinks on tap – a lot of choices of beer.
It’s a big place, which helps as it now gets very busy before games. They’re very hospitable to us. We used to bring in 30 or 40 people for every game. Now there’s probably about a hundred there before a kick-off.
In Punjabi culture, your door is open to everybody. People might think that The Grove, being in the heavily Punjabi area of Handsworth, is not open to those who don’t like that kind of food, but it totally is. They cater for everybody. The whole philosophy behind Punjabi culture and desi pubs is that the door is open to anybody. That’s why we do sharing food. That’s the Punjabi culture – we want to share with the people that are in under our roof.
Aston Villa’s home ground is very close to a town called Handsworth, on the outskirts of Birmingham, which is a hub for Punjabi immigrants. It had one of the first Sikh temples in England, so there’s a huge Punjabi community here. Growing up in the area, it was either you support West Bromwich Albion or Aston Villa. My dad was a massive influence behind me being a Villa fan, but that’s the way it works – your elders pave the way for who you support.
‘Desi pubs’ first started appearing in the area around 30-odd years ago. In Punjabi, the word desi means something that comes from your old town, your old village. These pubs were originally traditional working-class pubs. The older generation, like my granddad, would go to work in the factories and foundries, and then after work they’d go to these pubs to have a quick pint before heading home. What happened is that, over time, these pubs started to degrade, but then Indian owners came in, took them over and built a barbecue in the back. They would put a bit of chicken on it, marinate it and serve it to customers. So, in essence, we took over these pubs and made them desi.
The whole idea behind Punjabi eating is sharing – there’s no such thing as having a dish for yourself. That’s the idea behind a desi pub. Say there’s ten people. Between ten people, we’d be ordering a couple of mixed grills and a couple of curries, be it chicken, lamb or vegetarian. Then, you have to get some masala chips. You can’t really not have any masala chips. And then a few naans – Indian bread – to soak it all up. That’s pretty much a standard order. Then it comes down to personal choice, whether you’re going to get some fish with it or if you want to be really fancy and get some prawns. But a mixed grill definitely has to be part of it. That’s the staple. It comes in a big heap and you all share.
I’m a member of the Punjabi Villans supporters’ group; I have been for many, many years. As a group, we started using The Grove pub in Handsworth around three to four years ago to meet up before games. The Grove is one of the closest desi pubs to Villa Park, and proximity is a number-one priority when choosing a desi pub for before a game. You’ve always got to be close to where you’re going to end up. Plus, their food is very good and very consistent. It’s not overly spicy, so it suits most palates, and they’ve got good drinks on tap – a lot of choices of beer.
It’s a big place, which helps as it now gets very busy before games. They’re very hospitable to us. We used to bring in 30 or 40 people for every game. Now there’s probably about a hundred there before a kick-off.
In Punjabi culture, your door is open to everybody. People might think that The Grove, being in the heavily Punjabi area of Handsworth, is not open to those who don’t like that kind of food, but it totally is. They cater for everybody. The whole philosophy behind Punjabi culture and desi pubs is that the door is open to anybody. That’s why we do sharing food. That’s the Punjabi culture – we want to share with the people that are in under our roof.
