Balti Birmingham

There has been quite a bit of newsprint recently about the tug of war between Germany and Turkey about who invented the Doner Kebab and who has the right of applying for protected food status under the EU. Maybe there could be a future argument on who invented the Sheekh kebab …. Afghanistan, Pakistan or […]

Michael Portillo For those who like railways or Portillo but not necessarily both(!), it is worth keeping an eye out for Michael Portillo’s latest visit to Birmingham when he samples an authentic balti for the first time at the legendary Shababs.

The search for genuine baltihouses outside the Balti Triangle goes on and my latest mission took me to Shabar on the Coventry Road, Sheldon, just a stone’s throw from the airport.  Although it was a Friday night it was good to see it buzzing with hardly a table to spare in what was a large […]

Apart from Highgate Brewery’s respectful nod to Birmingham’s famous dish, there is one slightly less well known drink also celebrating the Balti . In the nineties, a drink called the ‘Balti Bite’ was all the rage which was a potent mix of 7.5 per cent Barley Wine and Cider … seemed like the ideal foil for […]

Some tactless comments from MP Paul Scully about Sparkhill, part of the Balti Triangle hit the headlines when he suggested the area was a ‘no go’ zone. This area  is one I know well as not only was I born and bred in the area but one I have visited for over forty years to […]

Interesting to see a book entitled from ‘Bombay to Britain‘ brought out to celebrate National Curry Week. However, it was noticeable that in featuring ‘flagship’ restaurants, apart from City centre based Pushkar, no sign of any other Brum restaurant from Opheems and Lasan to Shababs.  Yet again a Brum deal for Brum although as Millwall’s notorious fans used to sing ‘Nobody likes […]

I met a couple of friends in the Balti Triangle (one of whom uses to own a proper Baltihouse called Al Frash) and we visited one of the many new eateries to chew the fat. In fairness, I won’t reveal its name but we ordered a large Mixed Grill Tawa and a ‘Balti’ Chicken. The […]

Approaches have now been made to the City Council to agree to authenticate restaurants that serve the authentic Birmingham Balti.  Although given their financial position. they will be naturally needing more than a few pieces of silver to check out what are probably no more than around twenty restaurants  who serve the pukka version. Overall […]