The chicken tikka masala, adjudged Britain’s national dish, may soon be out of reach of many Britons as acute staff shortage has forced many Indian restaurants to close down across the United Kingdom.

The one-billion pound Indian food industry is facing an acute shortage of chefs due to restrictions on employing cooks from the Indian subcontinent.

Concerned over the situation, the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS), UK’s largest charity providing representation and advice in immigration and asylum law, has asked the Home Office to ease restrictions on migrant workers entering Britain.

In a letter to the Immigration minister Liam Byrne, the IAS said the restrictions on lower-skilled workers from outside the EU were causing a severe labour shortage that it could cause “irreparable damage” to the Indian food industry.

The industry employs over 50,000 people in nearly 10,000  restaurants and are largely owned by people of Bangladesh origin.