Balti (food)

2022-05-10T04:39:37Z

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{{Short description|Type of curry cooked and eaten in a thin, pressed-steel wok called a "balti bowl"}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Other uses|Balti (disambiguation){{!}}Balti}}
[[File:Balti gosht.jpg|thumb|250px|A lamb version of ''balti gosht'']]

A '''balti''' or '''bāltī gosht''' ({{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|بالٹی گوشت}}}}, {{lang-hi|बाल्टी गोश्त}}) is a type of [[curry]] served in a thin, pressed-steel [[wok]] called a "balti bowl".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.balti-birmingham.co.uk/about-balti/bpost-on-the-balti|title=Richard McComb, Birmingham Post, 20 February 2009|access-date=16 June 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930024842/http://www.balti-birmingham.co.uk/about-balti/bpost-on-the-balti|archive-date=30 September 2015}}</ref> The name may have come from the metal dish in which the curry is cooked,<ref>{{cite web| url=https://homtainment.com/balti-chicken-recipe/ | title=Chicken Balti | publisher=[homtainment] | location=UK | access-date=April 16, 2022}}</ref><ref name=BBCBalti/> rather than from any specific ingredient or cooking technique.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/balti | title=Balti | publisher=[[TheFreeDictionary.com]] | access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref> ''Balti'' curries are cooked quickly using [[vegetable oil]] rather than [[ghee]], over high heat in the manner of a stir-fry, and any meat is used off the bone. This combination differs sharply from a traditional one-pot Indian curry which is simmered slowly all day. ''Balti'' sauce is based on [[garlic]] and [[onion]]s, with [[turmeric]] and ''[[garam masala]]'', among other spices.<ref name=BBCBalti/>

''Balti gosht'' is eaten in [[North India]] and some parts of [[Pakistan]],<ref name="Dahl1999">{{cite book|last=Dahl|first=Shawn|title=Time Out New York's Eating and Drinking, 2000|year=1999|publisher=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]|language=en|isbn=9780967524009|quote=In addition to tandoori chicken and ''saag panir'' (India's version of creamed spinach), you'll also find some less common items, like ''balti'', a northwestern Indian specialty of meat or vegetables, served in a bucket with tomato and coriander.}}</ref> as well as other parts of the world, such as Great Britain.<ref name="Khanna2013"/> The food seems to have arrived in England in [[Birmingham]] in 1971; sources suggest that it might have originated from [[Baltistan]] in northern Pakistan, but the exact origin is still unclear.<ref name="Hindu">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/07/17/stories/2003071700130200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041226192245/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/07/17/stories/2003071700130200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 December 2004|title=Baltistan's mystery food|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=17 July 2003|access-date=18 April 2013}}</ref><ref name=BBCBalti>{{cite web |last1=Warwicker |first1=Michelle |title=What makes the Birmingham Balti unique? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-18494918 |publisher=BBC |access-date=15 November 2015 |quote="People like (it)... sizzling and hot and with the naan bread," said Mohammed Arif, owner of Adil Balti and Tandoori Restaurant, in the Balti Triangle in Birmingham. Mr Arif claims to be first man to introduce the ''balti'' to Britain—after bringing the idea from Kashmir—when he opened his restaurant in 1977. He said that before he "recommended the ''balti'' in the UK" in the late '70s, "there was different curry" in Britain, "not like this fresh cooking one".}}</ref>

==Origin, history and etymology==
''Balti'', as a food, is named after the steel or iron pot in which it is cooked, similar to a [[Karahi]] from the same region.
The word is found in [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]], [[Odia language|Odia]] and [[Bengali language|Bengali]], and means "bucket".<ref>''Hobson-Jobson: Being A Glossary of Anglo-Indian Colloquial Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms'', by Col. Henry Yule and the late Arthur C. Burnell. London: John Murray, 1886, at page 40.</ref> The word developed from the Portuguese ''balde'', meaning bucket or pail, and traveled to the [[Indian subcontinent]] via the Portuguese seafaring enterprises of the early 16th century. The word likely made its way into the English language during the time of [[British Raj|British India]].

According to [[Pat Chapman]], a [[food historian]], the origins of the word can be traced to the area of [[Baltistan]], in northern Pakistan, where a cast-iron wok, similar to the Chinese wok, is used for cooking. Baltistan shares a border with China. In his ''[[Curry Club Magazine|Curry Club Balti Curry Cookbook]],'' Chapman states: {{quote|The balti pan is a round-bottomed, wok-like heavy cast-iron dish with two handles. ... The origins of Balti cooking are wide ranging and owe as much to China (with a slight resemblance to the spicy [[Szechuan cuisine|cooking of Szechuan]]) and [[Tibetan cuisine|Tibet]], as well as to the ancestry of the [[Mirpur, Azad Kashmir|Mirpur]]is, the [[Mughlai cuisine|tastes]] of the [[Mughal emperors|Moghul emperors]], the aromatic spices of [[Kashmiri cuisine|Kashmir]], and the 'winter foods' of lands high in the mountains.|author=|title=|source=}}

However, [[Colleen Taylor Sen]] states that the origins of ''balti gosht'' are unclear, as the food eaten in Baltistan "bears no resemblance" to ''balti gosht.''<ref name="Sen2009"/> As such, the name of the food may have originated from the fact that '' bāltī gosht'' is cooked in a pot resembling a ''baltī'', the Hindustani word for bucket.<ref name="Sen2009">{{cite book|last=Sen|first=Colleen Taylor|title=Curry: A Global History|date=15 November 2009|publisher=Reaktion Books|language=en|isbn=9781861897046|page=50|quote=Its origins are unclear. Some claim it originated in Baltistan, a province high in the Pakistan Himalayas, although the food there bears no resemblance to balti cuisine. Another explanation is that the word ''balti'' means bucket in Hindi, perhaps a reference to the wok-like pot called a ''karahi'' or ''karhai''.}}</ref><ref name="Khanna2013">{{cite book|last=Khanna|first=Vikas|title=Savour Mumbai: A Culinary Journey Through India's Melting Pot|date=25 July 2013|publisher=Westland|language=en|isbn=9789382618959|page=327|quote=Balti Gosht (Wok Cooked Mutton): Balti cooking has taken the UK by storm. ''Balti'' in Hindi means bucket, but here it refers to a small pot or ''kadhai'' (wok) in which a dish is cooked and served.}}</ref>

Another claim regarding the origin of ''balti'' cooking in Birmingham was that it was first served in 1977 in a restaurant called Adil's. At that time, the restaurant was located in Stoney Lane, [[Sparkbrook]], and after some time relocated to another area, but since has returned to its original place in Stoney Lane.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.adilbalti.co.uk/ | title=Welcome to Adil — The Home of Balti Cuisine | location=UK | access-date=31 December 2012}}</ref><ref name=BBCBalti/>

==Balti houses==
[[File:Balti Gosht.JPG|thumb|''Balti gosht'' in Pakistan]]
[[File:Chicken Balti Bhuna.jpg|thumb|''Balti'' chicken with rice and naan from Edinburgh, Scotland]]
''Balti'' restaurants are often known in Birmingham as 'balti houses'. Some balti houses have a plate of glass on the table top with menus secured beneath.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=23121&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=260|title=birmingham.gov.uk : A Brief History of the Pakistani Community|access-date=15 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829070451/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=23121&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=260|archive-date=29 August 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> Balti houses typically offer large ''karack'' [[naan]] bread pieces, to be shared by the whole table.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/birmingham--the-latest-hot-destination-for-foodies-525778.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204100757/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/uk/birmingham--the-latest-hot-destination-for-foodies-525778.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 December 2008|title=Birmingham, the latest hot destination for foodies}}</ref>

Balti houses were originally clustered along and behind the main road between [[Sparkhill]] and [[Moseley]], to the south of Birmingham city centre. This area, comprising Ladypool Road, Stoney Lane, and Stratford Road, is still sometimes referred to as the 'Balti Triangle', and contains a high concentration of ''balti'' restaurants. On 28 July 2005, a [[Birmingham Tornado (UK)|tornado]] caused extensive damage to buildings in the triangle,<ref>[http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/tornado birmingham.gov.uk : Birmingham tornado] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514001949/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/tornado |date=14 May 2011 }}</ref> forcing many restaurants to close. Most reopened by the beginning of 2006.

''Balti'' restaurants have now spread beyond the triangle, and can also be found in the south of Birmingham, along the Pershore Rd in [[Stirchley, West Midlands|Stirchley]]. [[Lye, West Midlands|Lye]] near [[Stourbridge]] to the west of Birmingham has become known as the 'Balti Mile' with up to a dozen restaurants clustered along the High Street.

The food and its style of presentation proved very popular during the 1980s, and popularity grew in the 1990s. ''Balti'' restaurants gradually opened up throughout the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], and then a large part of [[United Kingdom|Britain]]. The expanded curry market in Britain is now said to take in 4 billion pounds sterling per year, but some{{who?|date=July 2017}} still claim that it is impossible to get a 'proper' ''balti'' outside the urban West Midlands.{{Citation needed|date=January 2015}}

Outside Britain, a small number of balti houses are in [[Ireland]] and many other English-speaking countries, particularly [[New Zealand]] and [[Australia]].

Since the late 1990s, British supermarkets have stocked a growing range of prepacked balti meals, and the ''balti'' restaurant sector has since faced increasing competition from the retail sector and from changes in customer tastes, along with other traditional South Asian and Indian restaurants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/has-the-great-british-curry-house-finally-had-its-chips-1070723.html:|title=Has the great British curry house finally had its chips?|date=14 February 1999|access-date=16 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://chaisamosa.net/index.php/business-update/20090306998/indian-restaurants-urge-british-government-to-help-as-recession-bites/menu-id-386html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100813144957/http://chaisamosa.net/index.php/business-update/20090306998/indian-restaurants-urge-british-government-to-help-as-recession-bites/menu-id-386html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 August 2010|title=Indian restaurants seek government help as recession bites|date=13 August 2010}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Karahi]]''
*[[Chicken tikka masala]]
*[[Balti wine]]

==References==
{{reflist|28em}}

==Further reading==
* ''Curry Club Balti Curry Cookbook'', [[Piatkus]], London — {{ISBN|0-7499-1214-6}} & {{ISBN|0-7499-1342-8}} (1993)
* ''Modern Balti Curries'', above title republished by [[John Blake Publishing]], London (2006)
* ''[[Pat Chapman]]’s Balti Bible'', [[Hodder & Stoughton]], London — {{ISBN|0-340-72858-2}} & {{ISBN|0-340-72859-0}} (1998)
* ''2009 [[Cobra Beer|Cobra]] Good Curry Guide'', [[John Blake Publishing]], London — {{ISBN|1-84454-311-0}}

==External links==

{{Pakistani dishes|state=collapsed}}
{{Indian Dishes|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Baltistan]]
[[Category:Pakistani cuisine]]
[[Category:Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:British cuisine]]
[[Category:Kashmiri cuisine]]
[[Category:Pakistani cuisine in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Curry in the United Kingdom]]

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Balti (food)