Azims is located on the Lozells Road and it is where I had my first balti well over 30 years ago. BYO alcohol is frowned upon but if ever there was a case for forsaking a beer for the night then this is it. The food is absolutely top notch and the quality is on a par with the copious quantities served up. My wife’s chicken tikka had a hint of lemon  and  although slightly salty was absolutely superb without the need for a bucketload of red food colouring … she reckons it was one of the best ever. My freshly prepared mushroom pakora was also excellent with the spicy dips ordered with the crispy poppadoms an excellent accompaniment.

Mains were a balti chicken pasanda for her … flavoursome and coconutty and, even better, not diluted out of all proportion by  the usual bucketload of sickly cream beloved of too many ‘Indian’ restaurants in serving pasandas and kormas. My balti chicken and mushroom was also equally superb with my sizzling baltibowl full to the brim with tender chicken languishing in a tasty sauce. In both our cases mopped up with a garlic and cheese naan perfect in its taste and consistency and a worthy contender if there was such a thing as a Nicest Nan competition 

Yet another loss to the Balti Triangle as veteran baltihouse Imrans succumb to the lure of the burger and fast food. Now retitled ‘Phat Buns/Burgers‘ I  always thought that was another name for a build up of fat in the drains. In fairness, their burgers are apparently more than decent as burgers go but … I will be sticking with my balti!

Recently the Sun commissioned TV Chef Nick Nairn to pick his top twelve ‘Indian’ restaurants in the UK. Rubbing shoulders with heavyweights such as the much lauded Dishoom was Stirchley’s very own Royal Watan. Highlighted for its family and home cooked recipes, the picture illustrating the restaurant’s offering showcased its signature Balti.

Perhaps disappointingly it was the only genuine Balti featured in Mr. Cairn’s Top 12 but nether the less, congratulations to an excellent restaurant for flying the Brummie (and Balti) flag!’

I was sent a link from one of my favourite baltihouses, Shabab, who were featured in a video starring talented Brummie balladeer Ahmad Rubani. I can’t speak Punjabi and whilst I couldn’t understand exactly what was sung,  it’s undoubtedly a real soulful piece and the gist includes (I think) the story of a guy who loses his job at Shabab’s. Kitchen shots include baltibowls so maybe there will be a Balti CD?!! 

My wife came back from Morrisons with a Balti Pie for me to try and, as a bonus, it was a ‘Pukka Pie’ one of the iconic pie makers.  The good news is that it was only a quid and the filling was deliciously spicy and undoubtedly the best ‘balti’ pie I’ve ever tasted.  However, I looked at the ingredients of the balti sauce and delicious though it was the ingredients (water, onions, oil, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, ginger, coriander, salt, sugar, herbs and spices) were all ‘stock’ curry ingredients. In fairness, the pie was slightly caramelised like a balti but that’s only because the missus burned the pastry slightly in the oven! Great curry pie but hope to find out from Pukka what makes it a balti pie!

I’ve just finished a second hand copy  (£2-99p courtesy of E Bay!) of Pat Chapman’s ‘Balti Bible’. It was published in the late nineties and represents a comprehensive look at Balti with over 120 recipes.  Pat is undoubtedly curry ‘royalty’ and the book is a good read with some excellent recipes, albeit sometimes a bit overcomplicated as is Pat’s way and including some innovative suggestions on ingredients. The book includes name checks for some great balti houses, such as … the Royal Naim (sadly no longer with us), Adil, Balti Towers, Azims and the Royal Watan.  Amusingly Pat says that he was worried about upsetting people by using the word ‘Bible’. How times have changed although I’m willing to bet there is unlikely to be a ‘Kurry Koran’ anytime soon!

A recent news article in the Birmingham Mail featured Bangladeshi Shahab Uddin who owns Streetly Balti. He makes the valid point that 30% of curry restaurants will probably have to close partly because their owners lack the ability to secure government support that they are eligible to claim. I agree that cutting through the bureaucracy is difficult sometimes but I would ask what the heck the Bangladeshi Restauranteurs Association and the Asian Chamber of Commerce are doing to support their members to access funds … not a lot it seems according to Mr Uddin.

Shahab Uddin owner of Streetly Balti

Like a lot of Bangladeshi curry house owners, he couldn’t resist having an unnecessary pop at the ‘cheap and cheerful’ Balti Triangle regarding the need to raise prices but, in fairness, makes the point that many people may have become used to supermarket curries and takeaways and not bother to return to their favourite restaurant. Well, despite the name of his restaurant, he’s obviously never eaten or served up a proper balti. If he had, he would know that the Balti can’t be replicated except in a restaurant or being cooked in the balti pan at home.

I’m missing my Balti fix and, to be honest, the takeaways I’ve had just don’t compare with the real thing. So, with the possibility of restaurants reopening in July or August, I thought that I’d get a view from one of the leading Balti restaurants, Shababs.

Zaf, their owner, told me that they had ticked over with their own takeaways with a smaller team of staff but obviously this was no substitute for normal restaurant trade. Yet, he remained pleasingly optimistic and still hopes to go ahead after a short delay with some expansion plans.
In the meantime, he had applied for a couple of government support regimes which he was hopeful of securing which would be critical in providing financial stability.

Like a lot of restaurant owners, he would prefer the ‘French’ one metre distancing rule but if the UK Government stick to two metres, this will at least halve his capacity although he has got an upstairs area. In terms of safeguards, he is resigned to the likelihood of employing somebody on duty solely as a cleaner for door handles, table tops, toilets etc but other measures may depend on whether the distancing measures are still in force in the critical (for restaurants), run up to Xmas. This could then well include Perspex screens an expenditure probably demanding a more than decent investment but probably worth doing if it means the restaurant can run at full capacity pre Xmas.

Let’s hope that Shababs and others ride out the storm and balti bounces back!