The Royal Balti House in Farnworth has devised its own version of the legendary Balti in time for Bolton Food & Drink Festival
A Greater Manchester restaurant has marked 40 years since the creation of one of the UK’s favourite curry dishes by inventing a unique new recipe.
Thought to have first been dished up in Birmingham in 1977, the Balti is wolfed down by Britons on a daily basis - but a new spicier rival is now set to heat up proceedings and curry favour (sorry) with the locals of Farnworth.
Developed by The Royal Balti House restaurant - thrice nominee at the English Curry Awards 2017 - the ‘Bolti’ is based on the traditional Brummy recipe but has been enhanced with achari pickle, and one other crucial ingredient - Lancashire Sauce made by Entwistle’s of Ramsbottom.
The restaurant claims the Bolti takes flavours to ‘a whole new level’ and will be launching the dish at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival, which takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend (25-28).
Mr Meah said: “We’re great fans of the Balti, we specialise in them, and that’s reflected in our name. We have many regulars who want to try something that’s not on the menu and so we create new dishes for them. This one is more tangy, spicier and more aromatic than the regular Balti and our customers love it.
“To mark the 40th anniversary of the invention of the Balti in Birmingham, and the fact that we’re based in Bolton, we came up with the idea of calling our new dish the ‘Bolti’.
“We were then approached by the festival and asked to launch the dish there. We feel very honoured to be invited to take part and are greatly looking forward to sharing our new dish in August.”
Bolton Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Cllr John Byrne, said: “It’s fantastic that Bolton is home to a new curry recipe which could rival the famous Balti, and I can’t wait to try the unique Bolton version when the festival begins in August.
“Perhaps the restaurant should also change its name to The Royal Bolti, in honour of the dish."
History of the Balti:
Balti curries are traditionally cooked in a steel round-bottomed pan, using high temperatures for the last ten minutes to give them extra flavour. They are traditionally eaten straight from the dish, rather than from plates, with naan bread to scoop up the sauce. The word Balti means ‘bucket’ in Hindi, Urdu and Bengali and is thought to refer to the pan in which the curry is cooked. Birmingham was strongly associated with the dish, hence its ‘Balti Triangle.’
