Bolton eaterie lauds 40th anniversary of the Balti curry with a ‘Bolti’

A Greater Manchester restaurant has marked 40 years since the creation of one of the UK’s favourite curry dishes by inventing a unique rival recipe. Balti curries are a staple on the menus of Indian restaurants throughout the UK and are enjoyed by thousands of people nationwide every week. The Balti is thought to have been first dished up in a Birmingham restaurant in 1977.

This week, another restaurant in Farnworth, Bolton, has revealed that it has created a new and unique curry recipe, which it has dubbed the ‘Bolti’ in honour of the town where they are based. The new dish is based on a traditional Balti recipe, but has been enhanced with achari pickle, along with one key ingredient – Lancashire Sauce made by family firm Entwistle’s of Ramsbottom.

The Bolti has been developed by The Royal Balti House in Farnworth, which until recently was Greater Manchester’s No 1 Indian restaurant on Trip Advisor and has also won a series of awards. Manager Keith Meah and chef Anwar Hossein say they have created the dish, described as ‘spicier, more tangy and aromatic’, in response to demand from regular customers who had tried everything on the menu and wanted something bigger and bolder. The Bolti has proved such a hit with locals that it is now set to be added to The Royal Balti’s regular menu.

The restaurant has also been asked to launch the dish at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival (BFDF), which takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend (25th – 28th August 2017).

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.”

Bake Off star backs Bolton’s new curry – the Bolti

The Great British Bake Off star Luis Troyano described a unique new curry recipe, which could rival one of the UK’s favourite curry dishes, as ‘delicious’. Last night, (Thursday), Luis was among guests invited to The Royal Balti House, in Farnwood, Bolton, to sample the Bolti for the first time, as part of Bolton Food and Drink Festival.

“Birmingham has always been known as the place to get a Balti, but people need to come to Bolton to try this dish. It’s delicious. It’s going to be a big hit at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival.”

History of the Balti

Balti curries traditionally are 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 nan 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 Balti before it spread throughout the UK, with many Balti houses in the ‘Balti Triangle’, along and behind the main road to the south of the city centre, between Moseley and Sparkhill.

According to the BBC, the Balti was first officially served in the UK by a restaurant called Adil’s in Stoney Lane, Sparkbook in 1977.

Bolton Food and Drink Festival (BFDF)

BFDF is organised by Bolton Council in association with Aldi. It is now in its twelfth year and has grown in both size and popularity since it began in 2006. Last year, more than 263,000 people attended and the festival won a coveted national award for having the best food market in the country.

For more information visit www.boltonfoodanddrinkfestival.com