Birmingham and the Balti

City

⚠ THE BALTI IS BRITISH, NOT SOUTH ASIAN — and specifically it is a Birmingham invention of roughly 1977, cooked fast over high heat in a thin pressed steel bowl and eaten with naan rather than rice, developed by Pakistani-Kashmiri restaurateurs in the Balti Triangle of Sparkbrook, Balsall Heath and Moseley. It has no counterpart in Pakistan or India under that name. Recorded as what it is: a British Pakistani dish of a particular city, in a country where Birmingham’s South Asian communities have been part of the food economy for three generations.

Atlas — where and when

Communities and languages

Languages: English

What is recorded

The balti is a Birmingham invention of approximately 1977, developed by Pakistani-Kashmiri restaurateurs, cooked fast in a thin pressed-steel bowl and served with naan. It has no counterpart in Pakistan or India under that name and is recorded as a British Pakistani dish of a specific city. documented
The balti is developed by Pakistani-Kashmiri restaurateurs in Birmingham. probable

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

part of British South Asian Food Culture documented
A Birmingham British-Pakistani invention of about 1977 with no counterpart in South Asia under that name.