As part of the International Day of Birminghams, our Birmingham’s own iconic dish, the Balti, was celebrated when legendary Balti restaurant, Shababs, cooked up ‘the BAB’ featuring ingredients popular in Birmingham, Alabama … fried chicken, butter beans and peanut butter.

Tested out by members of the iconic Brummie band, UB40, (who all originally hailed from the Balti Triangle area), they gave this unique dish their seal of approval.

Maybe their next hit single could be ‘Balti In The Kitchen’!

The Birmingham Balti has been submitted under the food category on this UNESCO approved UK scheme. Having passed the first of three stages, there has been an understandable delay due to the summer holiday period but news on the second stage is expected soon.

However, DCMS, the government department taking the lead, are already looking at how any approved applications might work in terms of safeguarding approved applications i.e. tackling the imposters! This will be an interesting (and very important) issue!

On the popular Saturday Kitchen LIve, host Matt Tetburt cooked a ‘Balti’ for Lenny Henry. Now I know Lenny likes going to Shababs in the Balti Triangle and his favourite dish is Balti Keema and Peas so that is what he asked Matt to cook . What was served up was a very tasty keema and peas curry but a Balti it was not. 

Cooked in a cast iron pan with no sign of that unique caramelisation bubbling around the edges. Indeed it was difficult to assess how long it took due to the undoubted editing. And by the way, even the naan bread was sadly burned.

Vittles, the well respected food magazine, did an article recently on pasta/Italian fusion food in South Asia and mentioned a brand flaunting ‘balti macaroni mix’. One can only wonder what will be the next food parody!

The shop scenery along Moseley Road, in the Balti Triangle has changed radically over the years with ‘Bob Shops’ ten a penny if that pun can be excused.

However lurking above one supermarket along from Lidl and the Shereen Kadar is the remains of a sign for the Pakeezah Balti. Pakeeza btw means ‘pure’ in English.

Not included in any of the Essential Street Balti Guides of the nineties, it’s a mystery … does anybody out there remember it?

Under the UK government’s DCMS Trail of Cultural Heritage (as approved by UNESCO) the full bid to safeguard the original and authentic Birmingham Balti has now been submitted. 

Backed by the eight authentic Birmingham restaurants (more hopefully waiting to be discovered) the bid is also backed by some high profile figures who champion Birmingham and Balti including Dr Carl Chinn (Bham Champion and Historian), Tom Cullen (I Choose), Cllr Phil Davies (City Council Heritage Lead) , Steve Heaps (well known curry blogger) ,Lyle Bignon (Birmingham Night Life Champion) and  Becky Frall (Birmingham Tourism Lead). More to follow.

Decisions on bids to this UNESCO approved scheme are likely to take circa 6 months but there is real hope that Birmingham’s famous dish will achieve recognition and the genuine restaurants badged accordingly.

Great for the authentic restaurants, the famous Balti and the City’s profile!

Perusing my local Oxfam bookshop, I happened upon a book published by Francis Frith(the postcard people) called ‘Flavours of Birmingham and the West Midlands’. Squeezed between a recipe for ‘Birmingham Soup’ and ‘Tripe and Onions’ was a more appetising page entitled ‘Balti Triangle’!

What caught my eye was the description of what a balti is which was described far better and more accurately than the plethora of famous and infamous ‘curry’ authors who wouldn’t know a proper balti if they tripped over it!

So here’s the gist of the description in the ‘Flavours of Birmingham’ book …

‘A balti is a spicy aromatic dish originally devised in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham in the 1970s … It is cooked in a special flat bottomed, two handled cooking pot made of thin pressed steel which heats up quickly when placed over a flame and allows food to be cooked very quickly using the stir fry process … The food is both cooked and served in the cooking pot also called a balti …!

Hurrah!!!

Plans are moving forward to secure Government approval for the City’s most famous dish. This is being progressed with DCMS (Dept for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) undfer their Living Heritage initiative. Apart from signing up a number of ‘genuine’ balti restaurants, a number of influential ‘Brummies’ are lending their support. For more information please visit the APAB ( Association for the Protection of the Authentic Balti) website.

An outline application has already been made which it is proposed will be followed by a full bid before the end of March 2026.’

B Music are a charity who run music inspired events at both the Symphony and Town Hall. Working in conjunction with similar organisations across Europe, it was their turn this year to host a get together. Pleasingly, they chose a Balti for their celebration meal  and it was a first experience for delegates from Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, Germany and other European venues.

Organized at the legendary Shababs, they learned all about Brum’s favourite dish before tucking into their food.

It was gratifying to see that , at the end of their meal, without exception, their baltibowls were buffed to a shine with the help of their giant naans.

A first for all bar the UK delegates and it seems a real culinary symphony had been played out!

In my search for more authentic Balti restaurants in Birmingham, I went to an award winning restaurant in Stirchley which will remain nameless in fairness to them.

There were only a few Balti dishes on the menu and I asked a member of staff about them and he insisted that they were genuine with the Balti cooked and served up in a piping hot bowl.

Convinced, I ordered a Balti lamb and mushroom but strangely it turned up in what looked like a small, heavy silver wok without any caramelisation bubbles around the side. 

On questioning the waiter, he admitted that the Balti was first cooked in a frying pan and then transferred to a preheated wok…..

Not a real Balti by any stretch of the imagination although in fairness service and (non Balti) dishes were absolutely fine!

The search goes on …..