Bradford diners are being urged to vote for the city to be crowned the official national curry capital.

The city is one of 11 UK cities vying for the prestigious title in the Curry Capital of Britain contest. Bradford last held the accolade in 2004 and the competition returns this year after a three-year absence.

To catapult Bradford to the top of the pile, residents need to cast an online vote for their favourite Asian restaurant in the district at nationalcurryweek.co.uk. Gastronomes have until Monday, October 4, to name their favourite restaurant.

The four most popular restaurants will be named a week later and they will represent Bradford’s bid. The merits of each restaurant will be judged by a team of 13 who will examine the standard of their food, service, hygiene, cleanliness and how they serve their communities.

Residents can continue to vote for Bradford until Monday, November 1 and a week later Bradford Council will submit a dossier to the competition organisers to explain why the city deserves to be Britain’s curry capital. This written submission is worth up to 30 per cent of the marks.

Bradford is up against Newcastle, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield and most recent winners, Leicester.

Bobby Prashad, owner of Indian restaurant Prashad in Lidget Green – which is in the running to claim the Gordon Ramsey’s Best Restaurant title, said Bradford’s Asian restaurants are strong enough to clinch the title for the city.

“In Bradford, if you are going to run a food business you can’t consider entering the market unless it is phenomenal,” he said.

“Asian food in Bradford wasn’t created for a Western market. It was born from its origins and as curry became popular, Bradfordians were already exposed to a real curry. Any restaurant running in Bradford for more than three years stands on its own merits otherwise it’s closed.”

The competition is held by the Federation of Specialist Restaurants in association with Mood Food magazine.

All restaurants involved will be invited to hold a special charity dinner in aid of The Curry Tree Charitable Fund which works to help poor and malnourished people around the world. The winning city will be announced in December.

Councillor the Reverend Paul Flowers, the Council’s portfolio holder with responsibility for culture, tourism and sport, said: “Bradford has lost out to some other cities in the past in some closely fought competitions for this title.

"We know that we have the best curry houses in the country, if not in Europe, and we expect the judges to concur with our view that Bradford’s times has come.”