Birmingham Balti History

Balti was the biggest culinary development on the UK curry scene since Chicken Tikka Masala became a British Indian restaurant curry staple.  A method of one pot cooking, Balti was the brainchild of a Birmingham restauranteur over 40 years ago, who wanted to attract more customers beyond those from the local Pakistani community.  Using a combination of spices, cooked in vegetable oil rather than ghee, Balti is a fast cooking method where the dish is both cooked and served up in the specially designed Balti pan. 

The traditional accompaniment to a Birmingham Balti is a fluffy naan used as a scoop in place of any cutlery.

For further reading visit Balti Birmingham, a site dedicated to Balti.

The book 'Going For A Balti' written by the leading authority on the subject Andy Munro, documents the history from the 70's to present day.