Lamb Balti Curry (Birmingham Balti)

This lamb balti curry is a great example of a homecooked Birmingham balti. It’s fresh and tangy with plenty of aromatic spice and a good kick of chilli heat. Pre-cooked meat ensures this balti lamb is tender and a joy to scoop up the traditional way, with naan bread.

Confession: I’m a little nervous about presenting my version of lamb balti curry. Why? Well, let’s just say that, for very good reason, the Birmingham balti is a regional speciality of the West Midlands that locals are incredibly proud of. In fact, there’s a widely held belief that an authentic balti curry can only be experienced in the Birmingham balti triangle.

So, I feel as if I’m going out on a limb here and I hope the curry police at not out in force. I’m not a restauranteur. I’ve created this lamb balti curry (or balti gosht) in a home kitchen. It may not be 100% authentic, but it is incredibly tasty. That’s a promise.

Have you seen my collection of Midlands recipes? Take a look – it includes another speciality from Birmingham – Brummie bacon cakes.

What is a Birmingham Balti?

A balti is a type of curry cooked and served in a thin pressed steel wok called a balti bowl. 

The balti first appeared in Birmingham curry houses in the 1970s and quickly won favour with locals. It was invented by the local Pakistani/Kashmiri community who developed the dish loosely based on home-style cooking with a nod to Western tastes and the need for speedy cooking in restaurants to cut the waiting time down for hungry customers.

The name most likely comes from the metal dish in which the curry is cooked (balti translates as bucket), though there is also a place, Baltistan, in Northern Pakistan, that is often linked to this curry too.

Here are a few facts about this curry:

• Authentic Birmingham balti curries are cooked quickly at high heat, rather like a stir fry.
• And they must be cooked and served in a balti bowl (a pressed steel bowl shaped rather like a wok with two serving handles).
• Vegetable oil rather than ghee is used.
• Onion, tomatoes, garlic and ginger form the base of the curry onto which flavours are built.
• Fenugreek, turmeric, cumin and garam masala should feature, though other spices are often added at the discretion of the cook.
• Original spices rather than curry pastes are used.
• Any meat used is always off the bone.
• Balti houses serve naan bread rather than rice to accompany the meal. It is used to scoop up the curry and to wipe up any remaining sauce in the bowl at the end.

How to create a Balti lamb curry at home

In developing this recipe I’ve done considerable research into what goes into making a true Birmingham balti and how best to interpret this methodology to create a noteworthy lamb balti curry at home. I’d like to give credit to The Curry Guy (Dan Toombs), The Birmingham Balti Bowl Co. and Shababs restaurant. Their combined wealth of knowledge shared online has helped in the creation of this rather tasty balti lamb of mine.

There are three key take-away points these sources have identified:

1. Pre-cooking the lamb is essential to ensure it is delicately tender rather than tough and chewy.
2. Using a balti gravy will add an enormous amount of depth to the final flavour of the curry.
3. A true Birmingham balti curry should be cooked and served in a pressed steel bowl.

Let’s take a look at the first 2 points listed.

Pre-cooked lamb

Lamb is a meat that needs slow cooking in order to become tender. The speed at which a balti curry is cooked does not lend itself well to this. It is therefore essential to pre-cook the lamb before the cooking of the actual balti commences.

Pre-cooking the lamb may sound like a chore but it’s actually very simple and, by doing so, not only will the lamb be soft and tender but it’s also an opportunity to add extra depth of flavour to the balti gosht.

I used Dan Toombs’ recipe to pre-cook the meat for this lamb balti. It is simple to prepare and creates deeply aromatic and tender lamb ideal for adding to a great many curry recipes. Of course, such a recipe is open to your own interpretation. Don’t like a particular spice? Leave it out. Favour another one hugely? Add some in.

Balti gravy

Balti gravy, or balti sauce, is the secret to creating an impressive balti curry at home. Loaded up with plenty of onion, ginger, garlic and aromatic spices, a generous dash of this sauce adds so much to the final flavour of a curry, especially this balti lamb.

I have devised my own recipe for this balti sauce. The details are included below.

Although the cooking of the final lamb balti is very quick (7-10 minutes) the lamb and the balti gravy must be prepared in advance. Luckily, these aspects are very easy to do and require very little hands-on time. But allow extra time (90 minutes) for them to cook.

Ingredients and equipment notes

Equipment

The authentic way to cook a Birmingham balti is in a bowl designed exactly for this purpose. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise to hear that the original balti bowl was first developed and manufactured in Birmingham, home of the balti curry and so many balti curry houses.

As I was determined to provide as authentic a recipe for lamb balti as possible for the home cook, I felt obliged to pick up a proper balti bowl. I got mine from The Birmingham Balti Bowl Company and I’ve loved cooking in it. (Pop one on your Christmas list?)

Ideally, the bowl should be placed over a gas flame and ingredients cooked at high heat. But if your hob is electric, just go with that, turning the heat up appropriately high.

Incidentally, the balti bowls can hold enough ingredients for 2 people, so you’ll need a second bowl to cook the curry for 4 people. Alternatively, the first batch can be kept warm until it’s all ready.

If you do not own a balti bowl then the next best alternative would be a wok. Failing that, resort to a good-sized saucepan rather than abandoning hopes of making a banging balti at home.

For the balti gravy

As mentioned previously, whipping up a balti sauce is the way to ensure your balti curry will live up to expectations. Here are the ingredients needed for this base sauce (keep reading to discover what you’ll ALSO need for the lamb balti itself).

Onion: this is the base on which the rest of the sauce is built. You’ll need 450g onions, which is approximately 2 medium-large ones. It’s better to go slightly over this weight than slightly under it, so if your onions weigh a little more just add it all in. There’s no need to get pernickety about a little more here.

Garlic: either use 2 fat cloves or 2 teaspoons of garlic paste.

Ginger: use a 2cm chunk of fresh ginger or 1 ½ teaspoons of ginger paste.

Mild chilli powder: Kashmiri or deggi mirch are great options here. Just avoid medium or hot chilli powders.

Ground spices: garam masala, coriander, cumin and turmeric all feature. These are easy to pick up in most supermarkets.

For the balti lamb curry

Note the bowl of balti gravy in the image. To be absolutely clear, this is the product of the ingredients shown in the previous image.

Also, note the pre-cooked lamb. As stated earlier, it is essential to use meat that has already been slow-cooked. Please don’t be tempted to shortcut this by throwing in pieces of raw lamb, flash-frying with the rest of the ingredients and then serving up. The meat will be chewy and a far cry from the tender flavoursome delight it should be.

Vegetable oil: the Birmingham balti was designed to be cooked in oil rather than ghee, which many other curries require.

Onion and tomato: these are key components of any balti curry. Don’t leave them out.

Peppers: a mix of red and green peppers adds a pop of colour and a nutritional boost to the curry. These can be replaced with other vegetables – mushrooms work well.

Tomato puree: this adds colour and tangy flavour to the sauce.

Lime juice: this curry really benefits from a squeeze of zingy citrus to pull all of the flavours together.

Fenugreek (methi): I used dried fenugreek leaves and crumbled them up using my fingers.

Ground spices: balti curry favours original spices rather than pastes. You’ll need mild paprika, cumin, coriander, garam masala and turmeric.

Fresh coriander: stir some through once cooking is complete and then sprinkle a little more on top for a fresh and vibrant garnish.

Step-by-step-instructions

Make the balti sauce

1. Roughly chop the onion, place in a medium-sized saucepan and fry in oil until translucent.
2. Peel and chop the garlic and onion. Add to the pan and cook for 1 minute.
3. Chop the tomato roughly then add to the pan along with the spices. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add water, pop on the saucepan lid and gently simmer for 30 minutes then add the fresh coriander and stir through.
5. Pour all ingredients into the jug of a blender. Blitz until smooth.

Make the Balti lamb curry

To get the absolute best out of this balti lamb recipe it is best to cook each portion individually, so the instructions that follow assume this course of action. If you want to cook it all in one large pot there is no need to portion up the meat, vegetables or spices.

1. Finely dice the tomatoes and chop the onion relatively small. Deseed and chop the peppers. Chop the chillies (removing seeds is optional – leaving them in will make the dish spicier).
2. Divide the vegetables and chilli into 4 portions.
3. Next measure out the spices and salt, again dividing into 4 portions.
4. Put the balti dish on the stovetop and turn the heat to high.
5. Cook 1 portion of the onion and tomatoes in 1 tablespoon of oil for 2 minutes.
6. Stir in the garlic and ginger pastes along with the chilli.
7. Add in the peppers, cook for 2 minutes.
8. Toss ¼ of the pre-cooked lamb into the pan.
9. Add in 1 portion of the spices and salt. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes.
10. Add in 4 tablespoons of the balti gravy along with 1 tablespoon of the tomato puree and 2 teaspoons of lime juice. Cook for 2-3 minutes until everything is piping hot and the sauce looks thick and is beginning to caramelise around the edges.
11. Stir through some fresh coriander and serve or keep warm while you cook the rest.

Expert tips

• Make double batches of the pre-cooked lamb and balti gravy and freeze them in individual portions, ready to pull out of the freezer for when a speedy lamb balti is the order of the day.
• There might be some balti gravy left over. This can be frozen for later use.
• Cooking a balti curry is quick. It should take no more than 8-10 minutes. For this reason, chopping all vegetables and measuring out the spices and other ingredients before cooking commences is key to success.
• Chop the lamb and vegetables relatively small rather than too chunky. Remember that diners will be scooping up the curry using naan bread.
• Authentic balti dishes can typically hold enough ingredients for 2 people so you can always cook enough for 2 at a time rather than individual portions to speed the cooking up.
• If using a large pan, it is possible that all ingredients will fit into it but it may take a little longer to cook.
• Add more balti gravy for a saucier curry.
• Add a splash of water if the sauce is too thick for your liking.

Frequently asked questions

Balti curry variations

I have made this Birmingham balti for my family using lamb, chicken and paneer. By far the favourite was the lamb balti, made using the recipe presented below. However, should you wish to make a different version here are a few suggestions:

• Chicken – although chunks of raw chicken can be added into the pan and cooked through, again, the balti curry really benefits from using chicken that has been pre-cooked with aromatic spices. Try adding in chunks of tikka chicken.
• Paneer – the same applies here too. At a pinch add in chunks of cheese and all will be well. But for added oomph to a veggie balti try using paneer tikka.
• Chickpeas – these are a great option for making vegan balti with healthy protein. Try adding in these masala roasted chickpeas.
• Alternative veggies – replace the peppers with mushrooms and fold in some spinach leaves at the end of the cooking time.

More recipes from the West Midlands

If you have made this Birmingham balti curry with lamb please give the recipe a rating or leave a comment below. It’s always great to hear from my readers, especially when they have tried a recipe.

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