Tag Archives: Balti

A Balti Bard’ …..

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Nice to see balti being heralded in a poem by Keith Bracey (@1truclaretnblu) aka ‘the Brummie Bard’… from his book of poetry From Bearwood & Beyond

Balti Belt n Braceys an Ode to The Birmingham Balti

Ladypool Road or Stoney Lane

No two Curries are the same

Sizzling Tandoori, Tikka too

Balti ‘Buckets’ or Vindaloo

Kashmiri Spices, Herbs and Veg

Chapatis, Roti or Naan Bread

Adil, Imran’s, where will you go…..?

It’s the ‘Taste of Birmingham’ you know

The Colourful Shops in vibrant Streets

Window displays of cut-up Sweets

Silky Saris, Shalwaar Kameez

Bags and Jewellery that will please

Wedding venues for Love’s Celebration

Attended by Guests from every Nation

For Flavours tasted and beautiful odours smelt

I’ve often visited Birmingham’s Balti Belt……..

Balti Buffoonery!

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I’m not a fan of daytime TV which seems generally superficial in its approach to topics but I was tipped off by my daughter that a ‘Balti’ was going to be cooked on ‘This Morning‘.  It didn’t put me in the best of moods when Alison Hammond, the sometimes over cheery Brummie said that she liked her food but had never had a balti … her accent may be showbiz Brummie but one wonders if she is a plastic one if she’s never had Birmingham’s most famous culinary invention! 

To make matters worse the chef cooking it was Mowgli’s Nisha Katona whose culinary style is described as ‘Indian’ which maybe says a lot about her knowledge a dish which came out of Birmingham’s Pakistani community. 

Firstly she described the typical but common spices used as ‘special’ (wrong!) and then she then used the over distinctive olive oil as the medium for cooking up the onions, ginger and garlic (wrong !). She even added sugar which would be superfluous if the dish was fast cooked because of the natural caramelisation that occurs.   Worst of all she used a thick black wok so no wonder it took more than twenty minutes to prepare although the presenters tucked into the ubiquitous ‘one that was made earlier’. Of course, criminally their portions were then shown in shiny black serving bowls.  To round things off she then said that it should be served with rice and not naan perhaps betraying an Indian rather than Pakistani background. In Balti terms, she undoubtedly committed culinary treason but why should I be surprised by the outside media’s ignorance of Birmingham’s signature dish.  

Nice But Not Really Pukka

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Having enjoyed a Pukka ‘balti pie’ I asked Pukka Pies why they called it a balti pie instead of a curry pie and after a few reminders, this is their response..

’Balti is traditionally a fast cooked “stir-fry” style curry cooked with vegetable oil not ghee and is cooked in a large steel or cast iron pot. Most curry houses serve a thick tomato based sauce spiced with cumin, coriander, black pepper and chilli’s with a medium spicy heat. [correct but merely lifted from my book ‘Going For A Balti’ !].

Our Balti sauce is made in this style, using large steel pot to cook in. The recipe uses vegetable oil, and a tomato base with all the classic herbs and spices you’d expect from a Balti sauce. We think our golden pukka pastry is a great base for the tasty curry house classic.’

This might be a storm in a balti bowl  but their reply says it all and illustrates the point that most producers haven’t a clue about a proper balti which can only be served up fresh in the bowl it is cooked in!