Birmingham Balti, Edible Geography worth protecting or a flash in the pan?

The plight to secure recognition for this famous Birmingham curry.. 

Until quite recently recognition of items of heritage value has generally focused on places and objects - from beautiful buildings to a celebration of the arts. Food has not been considered as a serious heritage resource, at least in the UK (In France and India it has formed an integral part of cultural identity for much longer)

It's becoming more acknowledged that food is an important part of our cultural heritage and identity, telling the story of a place and its people - bringing friends and families together. The story of our food allows us to construct different kinds of historical narratives, both personal and political. And so, the history of Birmingham Balti provides an alternative window into the social, environmental, economic and political history of our city.

Birmingham Balti, a dish first served in Adil’s restaurant Stoney Lane in 1977 By Mohammed Arif– a restaurateur from Asad Kashmir, has contributed to the culinary landscape of Birmingham for almost fifty years. Over this time the dish has become a culinary identifier as part of Birmingham’s story. The restaurants serving the dish have seen rapid growth and slow decline as a mirror to the political, economic and cultural backdrop of the past half a century- the living history of the dish being one that is deeply integrated into the identity of the city, as a hyper local dish that is strongly rooted in its sense of place.

For the past 6 years a volunteer led campaign to preserve the heritage and integrity of the dish- has been in action (led by Andy Munro Author of ‘Going For A Balti’ and 'The Balti, Its Birth, Its Boom and Beyond) that has gathered National Press interest (The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, BBC) to secure recognition for Birmingham Balti.   

Pre Brexit, The Department of Environment Food and rural affairs, DEFRA signed off with approval on the UK side the application for EU recognition - a strong sign Birmingham Balti might have secured the EU status for designation of origin. Ultimately the application was not successful on the grounds that Birmingham Balti is a ‘method of cooking’ and the mark of recognition would only be awarded if the dish was ingredients based. Valencian Paella suffered the same EU application fate; another dish of cultural significance that is a ‘method’ and strictly defined by the ingredients used. Perhaps even more bizarrely, the Arbroath Smokie received recognition when in fact it is all about the process rather than the fish itself.  

Shortly after Britain left the EU, the UK decided to develop its own food mark, yet although DEFRA had supported the original EU application, the new post EU Minister and support staff refused to take the ‘Balti’ forward because the term was now in ‘common usage’! This was despite the issue being taken up by Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands at that time. A frustrating end to a lengthy process with much time already invested. One major plus despite the setback was the publicity around the campaign, bringing the plight to the attention of the media and Birmingham policy makers.

In 2024 Andy Street after invitation by Munro, visited Balti restaurants to meet the owners and learn about the history that led to Birmingham Balti becoming an icon of the city .He set up a meeting with the relevant Minister with DEFRA responsibilities but failed to persuade the Department to take the ‘balti’ through the new UK food mark process because their argument was that the term was ‘in common usage!' Street was still fully on board but shortly after Street was voted out and Birmingham City Council declared itself bankrupt. 

Despite no funding or action from a bankrupt council or yet interest from the new Mayor Richard Parkes and with minimal support by local press to get behind the campaign, the success of safeguarding Birmingham Balti’s legacy is most probably going to be down to local community action. 

Taking matters into their own hands in 2022 an association was formed to bring together restaurant owners serving Birmingham Balti- APAB.org.uk The Association For The Protection Of The Authentic Balti was established. A requirement for acceptance to be listed as a participating restaurant was to agree to adhere to a memorandum of understanding as to the preparation of the dish. A similar scheme was launched in Valencia for Paella. The association currently has 6 members, however there are many more restaurants serving the dish, we estimate as many as 20 and this could be more. To help put that in context, the famed Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, which has achieved both the EU and UK foodmark has less than half a dozen eligible members. Tracking down restaurants that cook baltis authentically is not easy-. there is nothing to stop every restaurant putting balti on its menu but merely cooking in a frying pan and serving in a silver dish does not constitute a balti- the dish losing the smoky flavour and caramelised, charred edges- just two of the many benefits of a Birmingham Balti.  

Genuine balti restaurants range from small café style places (Shahi Nan Stratford Road) frequented largely by the local Asian community to the more tourist friendly ‘Shababs’ (Ladypool road) where you can be guaranteed an experience that is bucket list worthy. Just outside the Balti Triangle area is The Royal Watan on the Pershore Road, serving as a long-loved neighbourhood local restaurant. However, beyond these first two contrasting places- both over 30 years old and carrying the torch for The Balti Triangle area, still in many suburbs of the city you may  find a high street ‘Indian’ restaurant cooking and serving the dish in the recognised Birmingham manner- often using bowls over 40 years old. In the suburbs of Stirchley and King Heath combined there are at least 3 restaurants serving the dish in the Birmingham way. 

These are only two suburbs of over 100 different areas in the city. We are aware of at least 12 restaurants serving the dish, which is considerably more than London offers in dedicated restaurants serving up Pie and Mash in the traditional way- a dish that has been mooted as a candidate for intangible cultural heritage. That this number of small restaurants remain in Birmingham serving up the dish in the same way they have done for decades, despite the many setbacks for hospitality over the past 10 years to stay in business and the explosion of alternative and trending dining options still put Birmingham Balti in a strong position.  

It's perhaps important to note that whilst Birmingham Balti has evolved over the duration of the last half a century from a concentration of restaurants in the Balti Triangle to a nationwide curry craze (largely misinterpreted to just mean a ‘curry’ in a stainless-steel bowl) to its place now in 2025 as an omnipresent dish on the menu across Birmingham and West Midland suburbs as a taste of ‘The City’.  One that embodies a dual heritage story of the City’s Pakistani diaspora’s culinary contribution to Birmingham to the City’s long history for making fine items out of steel. The first balti bowls were made by a Sikh metal worker (designed and commissioned by Arif of Adil’s), another link in the food chain that makes Birmingham Balti a unique product of a city whose modern history is defined by its collective pride as true beacon of diversity and cross-cultural communities.  The bowls have been made in Birmingham since the late 70’s, being an integral part of the preparation of the dish. This element supports local steel industry and has done for decades- now the bowls are made in a small factory in Washwood Heath, family owned and operated. This ongoing production provides an opportunity to support the future of the dish by providing people at home and abroad the chance to cook up their own taste of Birmingham and continuing the hyper local manufacturing of this specialist cookware. 

Today work on an application is officially underway to apply for a mark of ‘Intangible Cultural heritage’ a UNESCO scheme launched in 2003. The UK became a member state of the scheme in 2024 as to seek to increase its inventory of the country’s traditions, including practices inspired by diaspora communities, and to better safeguarding of the most at-risk. To this end, the Government of the United Kingdom launched a public consultation in January 2024 on the creation of a new register onto which communities across the country could “nominate their most cherished local traditions”.

Given its long history and popularity as Birmingham’s signature curry- It’s evident that Birmingham Balti should be under consideration for such recognition.
The food heritage items previously awarded the UNESCO mark, include Gastronomic Meal of the French, Azerbaijan Flat bread and Singaporean Hawker Culture.

Birmingham Balti has been part of the culinary landscape of Birmingham for almost 50 years; In the 90’s it was a major trend in Birmingham that spread nationwide and was the biggest development on the UK curry scene since Chicken Tikka Masala! We hope that in time we can find a way to honour the original restaurants, owned and staffed by a new diaspora community of Kashmiri and Pakistani chefs, who transformed the face of Birmingham’s culinary offerings..  Birmingham Balti put the city on the map for food lovers and sparked imitations nationwide- to such an extent the word ‘balti’ is now taken in common usage to mean simply ‘curry’. 

The originators created something unique and befitting for Birmingham; UNESCO Cultural recognition would be an appropriate achievement for a city whose beating heart is its diversity, cross cultural collaboration, ever evolving food culture and talent to create the new from celebrating and remembering it’s rich heritage.

Further Reading: 

The Guardian 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/31/the-culture-has-changed-end-of-the-boom-for-birminghams-balti-triangle 

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/mar/10/how-paella-got-punked-valenica-chefs-spain-matt-goulding

Ichoose. 

https://mailchi.mp/ichoosebirmingham.com/balti?e=6058510d16

Vittles  

https://www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/tikka-masala-multiculturalism

Nine Foods On The On The Intangible Cultural Heritage List

https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/features/foods-on-unesco-intangible-cultural-heritage-list 

The Balti: Its Birth, Its Boom Years and Beyond 

https://amzn.eu/d/bhOGrT9