TWO curry houses had every reason to celebrate after being chosen as among the best in the country.

The Asian Restaurant and Takeaway Awards asked the public to vote for their favourite curry houses and two from Sussex were chosen.

They picked up their awards at a special ceremony which took place at the O2 in London.

Tamasha, in High Street, Lindfield, won the National Newcomer of the Year award.

The New Curry Centre, in London Road, Horsham, was chosen as the Best Restaurant and Takeaway in the South East.

Amaan Zaman, co-manager of The New Curry Centre, said he was absolutely delighted to have won the award.

The 22-year-old said: “It is a fantastic achievement and we are really proud to win this award.

“We want to thank our customers for voting us. We really appreciate the support “It is they who have made it possible.

“It was a very tough competition.

“We were up against 60 other competitors, were then selected to be in the top ten and we eventually won the category.

“The restaurant was started back in 1968.

“It was opened by my dad’s friend’s uncle, who then passed on the business to him.

“I have just finished a business management degree at Southampton University.

“After graduation I helped my dad with the business.

“He has taught me everything I need to know about the business from A to Z.

“I definitely want to follow in his footsteps.”

The impressive restaurant also won a Curry House of the Year award in 2016 and Restaurant of the Year accolade earlier this year to cement its growing reputation.

Tamasha manager Shaman Akmed, 32, said: “This is a splendid result for us. We opened just last year.

“There are a lot of curry houses in the country so naturally competition is very tough. You really need to have the courage and conviction to start a business in this industry. We want to thank our customers for voting us.

“You need to spend time and think about how to stand out. Before I joined Tamasha I was working in another restaurant in Surrey.

“Our chef has more than 25 years’ experience working in the UK. Customers sometimes ask us to cook food that is not on the menu. We get customers’ feedback on new flavours and food combinations.”