The house foods corporation is trying to take out a patent on the dish cooked every day by hundreds of millions of people on the Indian subcontinent and which has become a favourite in restaurants throughout Britain.

``Not content with taking over world markets for cars and camcorders, entrepreneurs in the land of the rising sun have developed a taste for tikka masala,'' the Independent on Sunday reported yesterday.

In application no 06090838 to the Japanese patent office, house foods lists two Japanese, Hirayama Makoto and Ohashi Sachiyo, as ``inventors'' of curry, and gives a basic recipe for a curry that would not impress connoisseurs, it said.

The newspaper said that under World Trade Organisation rules the men would, if their application succeeded, be able to claim royalties on all curry and curry products entering Japan.

The Indian Governmentviews the application as ``a matter of concern'', the Independent said.