Shahi Nan Kabab

I recently paid a return visit to one of the Balti Triangle’s top exponents of a ‘proper’ balti, the Shahi Nan on Stratford Road.

Always offering excellent food and friendly service, if I had one grumble, it would be that following a refurbishment  a few years ago, dining in the restaurant was like having a meal under police interrogation or conversely eating in a hospital operating theatre such was the starkness of the lighting.

Well, following a recent makeover (décor not food thankfully) it’s been transformed. Yet the changes are simple – arty bulb style lamps and planks of wood (or floorboards?) lining the walls giving a mellow and cosy effect.

The menu has been restyled as Pakistani ‘street food’ which the Shahi Nan’s kebabs might well be although otherwise the menu seems pretty much the same. In fact, the guy next to me was devouring a plate of freshly cooked chips but maybe that’s what they’re eating on the streets of Lahore at the moment.

Still it doesn’t really matter, as the food is still top notch and the surroundings now match the quality. Street Food or Streetwise? In reality, it doesn’t really matter.

Recent reports in the paper suggest that the Government are on the cusp of introducing new legislation to make food manufacturers, takeaways and restaurants declare the calorific value of their food.

Whilst to some extent that might be helpful on sweet and chocolate packaging maybe things are going too far. Firstly, will it make any difference other than to diehard ‘professional ‘ slimmers who anyway can spot a calorie count 100 yards away. Secondly, is Joe Public going to be bothered with the hassle of balancing their calorie count with energy expended each and every day.

If I have a couple of poppadoms, a chicken pakora starter,a balti chicken and mushroom and a nice fluffy naan washed down with a couple of bottles of beer, I’m perfectly capable of understanding that (a) it would be unwise to eat that every night (b) a brisk walk or gym session is called for the next day to keep things on an even keel.

Calorie counting seems to me to be a bit of pointless bureaucracy which is unlikely to make jot of difference to either those who are already savvy on weight management or conversely on those who don’t really care enough to bother to get a calculator out at the end of the day.

New Balti Bowl

Seasoned Balti Bowl

There was a recent article in the Guardian lamenting the lack of availability of ‘real’ paella and the growth of pretenders purporting to be the real thing. It struck me that there is a striking similarity to the position on authentic balti not least because paella takes its name from the cooking pan which is a signature element in the dish itself. However, in the case of paella, it’s more about the ingredients but in the case of balti, it’s more about the method but the overall principle of the issue of the not so great pretenders is the same.

So if ‘Paella has been Punked’ then equally ‘Balti has been Blagged’!

If a proper Balti is a culinary invention that many enjoy, I suppose it doesn’t really matter if the burgeoning ‘street’ food scene is the genuine article or really nouveau Indian tapas in disguise and, to be honest, I enjoy my turmeric and masala chips as much as the next curry lover.

Mr Whippy

However, taking this to its fullest extent, if Indian street food has to be the real deal off the streets of Delhi then British ‘street’ food should surely be greasy hamburgers, watery hot dogs, sloppy onions with tomato sauce on an anaemic bap followed by a Mr Whippy ice cream (with flake). I’m not sure that’s a concept with international appeal!

Indian Spices used in Ashas

The ‘prestigous’ Asian Catering Federation have just launched their Asian Curry Awards 2018  and have urged people to vote for their favourite curry restaurant or takeaway citing a plethora of countries who produce variations of the UKs favourite meal. These are listed as Bangladeshi, Burmese, Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Middle Eastern, Singaporean, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese restaurants and takeaways. Can anybody spot the missing country although elsewhere there is a slight reference to the Punjab which does have some Pakistani as well as Indian heritage.

Racism? Surely not! Perhaps just a surprising omission as anybody who has read the fabulous Pakistani recipe book ‘Summers Under the Tamarind Tree’ would acknowledge, never mind our famous Pakistani Brummie dish ‘the Balti’!

Read the full blog post here: http://riaambertesia.com/asian-catering-federation-calls-for-curry-chef-amnesty/

Abduls Café and Diner in Hall Green, on the edge of the Balti Triangle is in fact a rein(curry)carnation of the much loved Saleems until recently operating on the Ladypool Road. It’s certainly a throwback with its basic décor, cold display cabinet and even the old skool metal water jugs for those who haven’t taken advantage of the BYO facility.

Free dips were enough sliced onions to make a grown man cry in a chilli sauce … simple but effective. This was accompanied by paid for poppadoms and then microwaved pakora and chicken tikka … reasonable but not exceptional.

My main was a meat ‘balti’ served up in a silver bowl and whilst the meat was flavoursome and tender, the dark (fenugreek infused?) sauce was too oily which was a shame and, in fairness, it didn’t stop me finishing it. My wife’s Korma was served up in a cereal bowl and oversweet and, in her view, lacking in depth whilst containing leg and thigh rather than breast.

The naan bread was decent as would be expected for a restaurant whose culinary roots stretch to, in many people’s opinion, the best katlamas in Brum. Will I return? Certainly to check out the katlamas but not sure about the ‘balti’!