In this series of articles I’m going to explore how to make super delicious Balti dishes. These are firm favourites every time I cook them and, while it’s certainly true that there are other great Indian dishes, I particularly like the Balti style of curry. This is because it is Balti relatively simple, quick and easy, to prepare and tastes really really good
I’ve decided to put together some of my favourite Balti (and other Indian) recipes in this section so you to can get to know this super tasty, healthy, quick and relatively cheap style of cooking.
Balti is the perfect style of cooking for people who love Indian style food but don’t have hours to spare to prepare it. It is a very tasty, cost effective and quick food to prepare for the whole family.
What is Balti?
This is a style of curry that can be cooked quickly on the top of the stove, in a pan, using a stir-fry techniques.m It doesn’t require much in the way of preparation and uses things most people have in their kitchen anyway.
Originating in northern Pakistan, in a mountainous and isolated state called Baltistan, Balti is a centuries-old cuisine, combining Tibetan influence with Kashmiri-style spicing.
However, because it is so easy to do in a western kitchen, Balti reallv is ideal for today’s busy cooks. You can produce aromatic,
fresh, spicy and very very tasty dishes, like Balti Butter Chicken and Balti Prawns in Hot Sauce, in minutes.
The distinctive characteristic of Balti is the cooking pan, known as a karahi. An authentic Balti pan is a cast-iron, two-handled dish with a rounded bottom. But as with most things you don’t really need any specialist pans – I cook all of my dishes in a 30cm flat bottomed wok style pan and it works just fine. The secret I’ve found that makes a truly good dish great is to use freshly ground herbs – especially coriander and cumin.
A food processor or blender is a great labour-saving tool and will be invaluable for making pastes and puréing ingredients
Whole spices can be freshly ground the traditional way, using a pestle and mortar; or, if you have one, a coffee grinder is much more efficient.
Because Balti is a very quick cooking method, you should always choose good ingredients – especially spices. I buy most of mine from Grape Tree who stock a great range of good quality herbs and spices.
When it comes to meat or sea products like shell fish make certain it’s fresh. The joy of Balti cuisine is that you can take advantage of seasonal produce as well, so don’t be afraid to substitute ingredients for those in the recipes. The great thing about Balti food os that it has no strict rules and you can just go with what sounds good.
To achieve the authentic Balti test though I can’t emphasise strongly enough to use fresh herbs and spices. Whole herbs keep their flavour longer than pre-ground ones, as well as tasting much better to start with.
Now for the real point of Indian food. It is supposed to be aromatic and full of flavour, it is not supposed to “blow your head off” – so be really sparing with things like Chilli Powder – I use very little in my curry’s maybe a level teaspoon for a 4 person curry at most.
Finally no Balti will be complete without Garam Masala. This is a blend of spice that doesn’t need cooking and is sprinkled onto the Balti just before serving. You often see this in pre-prepared form, and I do know people that use it was the basis of their curry. That said home made Garam Masala has by far and away the best flavour. So here’s a recipe to get you started.
