Originally Posted by
Lord Dargavel
Yes the Pakistani immigrants set up cafes for the local population back in the 70s. Balti translates to bucket and is the name of the dish that it is both cooked and served in. It has a flatter bottom than similar vessels and the method of balti cooking is similar to stir fry. A real balti from Birmingham cannot be replicated outside of the area in my opinion, and can definitely not be found in South Wales. In the late 80s there were so many good balti houses both inside and outside of the Balti Triangle (an area formed by 3 roads) - Adil’s, Sher Kahn, Royal Alfaisel, Shabab’s, Shereen Kadah, Balti Paradise, Azim’s and more...
Masala means mix or spice mix. A curry powder is a spice mixture. Garam means hot so garam masala is hot spice mix.
The famous chicken tikka masala was supposedly invented when a British diner found their dish too dry and wanted sauce so a chef added a tin of tomato soup and cream. It’s very similar to butter chicken which was “invented” at the Moti Mohal in Delhi.