Balti (food)

For other uses, see Balti.
A lamb version of balti gosht

A balti or bāltī gosht (Urdu: بالٹی گوشت, Hindi: बाल्टी गोश्त) is a type of curry served in a thin, pressed-steel wok called a "balti bowl".[1] The name may have come from the metal dish in which the curry is cooked,[2][3] rather than from any specific ingredient or cooking technique.[4] 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 onions, with turmeric and garam masala, among other spices.[3]

Balti gosht is eaten in North India and some parts of Pakistan,[5] as well as other parts of the world, such as Great Britain.[6] The British version of Balti was developed in Birmingham in 1977.[7][3]

  1. ^ "Richard McComb, Birmingham Post, 20 February 2009". Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Chicken Balti". UK: [homtainment]. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Warwicker, Michelle. "What makes the Birmingham Balti unique?". BBC. Retrieved 15 November 2015. "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".
  4. ^ "Balti". TheFreeDictionary.com. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  5. ^ Dahl, Shawn (1999). Time Out New York's Eating and Drinking, 2000. Time Out. ISBN 9780967524009. 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.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Khanna2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Baltistan's mystery food". The Hindu. 17 July 2003. Archived from the original on 26 December 2004. Retrieved 18 April 2013.