Hundreds of tributes have been made after the passing of a much-loved Glasgow restaurant owner and chef.
Ali Ahmed Aslam sadly passed away aged 77 on Monday, December 19.
Mr Ali opened the Shish Mahal restaurant in Glasgow's West End in 1964 which became one of the city's most popular curry houses.
Asif Ali, the son of Mr Ali, told the Glasgow Times of his father's humble beginnings and dedication to charity work.
Mr Ali was born on April 1, 1945, in Pakistan and moved to Glasgow as a young boy.
Asif said: "Dad came to the UK in the late 1950s, about 1958 or 1959 and they were from a very, very, very poor background.
“When he came here, he started to work for his uncle in the haberdashery business, called Sher Brothers.
“So he would help out and work there during the day, then he also found a place with his dad to open a café and he would work there at night."
The first cafe opened by the family was called Green Gates Cafe on Bank Street which eventually closed.
Mr Ali went on to open Shish Mahal in 1964. He married his wife Kalsoom Akhtar in 1969 and they had five children, Mr Asif Ali, Mr Omar Ali, Mr Rashaid Ali, and two daughters Mrs Samiya Ali and Mrs Shaista Ali-Sattar.
According to legend, Mr Ali invented chicken tikka masala at the Shish Mahal in Glasgow in the 1970s with a can of tomato soup after a customer complained that his meal 'was too dry'.
Mr Ali is remembered as a huge part of the community and a generous man devoted to charity.
Asif said: “He made Glasgow and Scotland his home, he did not look back.
"He was Glaswegian and Scottish first. He was very, very proud of being Glaswegian, very very proud of being Scottish, and it was very important to him."
Mr Ali supported charities both in Scotland and Pakistan.
Asif said: “He set up a lot of charities and he donated a lot of money because he was from such humble beginnings.
"He knew what it was to be humble, he knew what it was like to be going through hard times.
“But he loved the restaurant business. He felt the customers were his guests, just like any guests that would come to his house.
"He had an amazing life and he did not wish for anything else.
“He had an amazing family and he had an amazing business."
After sharing the news online that Mr Ali had passed away, his family received an outpouring of hundreds of messages of condolence.
Asif said: “All the amazing, kind words and wishes we have had since dad passed on Monday, from social media and emails and telephone calls, we thank every single one that has wished us well."
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