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"THE BIRMINGHAM BALTI TRAIL"

Come to the "Balti in the Park" day on

Sunday 5th. October 2008, Small Heath Park.
Click the graphic for more information.

The Balti is an Indian dish representative of a style of cooking which some say is
native to Baltistan, an ancient city in Pakistan. Others say that it was brought to
Birmingham by Kashmiri immigrants, whilst some others say it derived from the
mountains in North Pakistan!! The word BALTI translates simply as cooking bucket,
this is usually a two handled pan similar to a Chinese Wok. Pakistan borders India,
China, Afghanistan and Iran, so it's style of cooking has been influenced by it's
neighbours over the centuries. The Moguls spent the hot summer months in the cool
mountains of Kashmir bringing with them many exotic spices. The meat used in a
Balti will probably be Lamb but Prawns or Beef can even be used to good effect.
Meat and vegetables are stir fried along with a sauce made from aromatic herbs
and spices. The meal is normally eaten straight from this dish using your fingers and
a naan bread. To finish the meal try a Kulfi (a type of ice cream).

A Balti was unheard of in these places mentioned above and it developed, or was
"discovered", in Birmingham in the "Balti Triangle" in 1976, in the city's Sparkhill and
Sparkbrook areas. It's a kind of curry, its ingredients usually assembled and cooked
quickly in a manner reminiscent of a stir-fry. The heart of this style of cooking is a
cast-iron pot, originally also called the balti. The Balti evolved into a half-hemispherical
pot as likely to be made of steel as iron, and usually called the karahi or karai.
A Balti is usually both cooked in the karahi, and served at the table in it. Typically
served with Balti is naan bread, a thinnish leavened bread (somewhat like pita bread)
torn up and used as an eating implement, to scoop up the Balti and get at the sauce.

The Balti dish has swept into the taste buds of the nation by tailoring its appeal for a
much wider clientele. Fortunately, the focus of this world famous dish remains within the
Birmingham Balti Triangle where there are the oldest and best Balti houses in the
World!! Word of this wonderful, utensil-less cooked, Balti began to spread through
the rest of the UK and elsewhere, with the result that the Balti is rapidly turning into one
of the "hottest" things in the world of food today.

Birmingham is world-famous for its "Balti Triangle" in Sparkbrook, between Highgate
and Moseley, just a few minutes from the City Centre.
Click the map for the A.B.R.A. web site
(Asian Balti Restaurants Association)
for a list of Restaurants and other information.

Here is a site all about "Birmingham's Balti Triangle" and includes a listing of all the
restaurants with photos, and some information about Baltis and typical Indian foods.
Click the Balti below.

For more information, including "The Balti Triangle Essential Guide"
with a list of Balti Restaurants, Recipes, Discovery Trail, and much more,
contact A.B.R.A below, or click this map to
DOWNLOAD the 25 page "Balti Triangle Essential Guide" in .pdf format. (5.1Mb.)

ASIAN BALTI RESTAURANTS ASSOCIATION
321 Clifton Road,
Birmingham,
B12 8RT
phone: +44 (0)121 449 9288
fax: +44 (0)121 449 7688

AND PLEASE DONT FORGET TO MENTION THIS WEB SITE!!