Topic: Balti (Shababs)

[Kashmiri Bob]

Ran out of base gravy last weekend so had a rummage around in the freezer for something to eat. Found a small portion of my last Balti chicken TA from Shababs.  Not bad at all and recall this was ordered on a Saturday evening, when presumably the head chef was in.  Heavy on cumin.  Really heavy.  Unsure why I didn't notice this earlier.  But there it is.  Cumin sat on top of Kasuri methi and mustard, with the various whole spices underneath.  Fairly sweet.  Rather nice.  So I have revisited Misty's Shababs Balti base recipe and, this time, looked more closely at the accompanying  balti chicken recipe:

www.mistyricardo.com/balti-base-gravy-recipe/

www.mistyricardo.com/balti-chicken-shababs/

So, base ingredients to spec.  I used rounded tsp measures.  Chucked everything in a pressure cooker.




Cooking time (25 mins) which is to spec.



I next blended it whilst still fairly hot and left it to cool overnight






Fairly thick base.  Needed a good stir.  2/3 of it got frozen down.

I made one or two changes to Richard's Balti recipe.  Pre-fried onions (packet type, soaked in warm water for 30 mins and then blended).  Fresh onion obviously fine; the pre-fried are just a shortcut.  Added 1 1/2 tsp mustard oil (at the start).  English mustard seems to work nicely too, as an alternative to the oil  (1 1l2 tsp budget brand added later, when the tomato chunks etc go in). No green pepper (had none).  3/4 tsp salt.  2 tsp cumin (packet spice).  No chilli powder (the whole green chillies I have are spikey fellows). Jalpur GM.






Just made Balti chicken, Balti lamb, Balti king prawn & mushroom so far.  Identical spice profile and taste Balti chicken compared to the last TA from Shababs.  As an added bonus (for me) it comes with generous amount of oil.  Indeed, overall not bad, at all.  Pleasant even.  Be good with a few beers for sure.  Recall I phoned Shababs 3 or 4 times to query the whereabouts of my balti (delivery took 4 hours).  Could hear quite a din going on.  It sounded like they were rammed full.  Popular.                     

Anyway it's fun and simple to make, albeit distinctly lightweight compared to some of the sublime offerings available elsewhere.  Still, it's a Birmingham balti and another good recipe for anyone wishing to make one.   

Rob

     

[livo]

I enjoyed MR's Balti when I tried it.  I still use his Pre-cooked Chicken and Lamb recipes as my go to.  I rate them.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Misty's Shababs base is pretty much used up.  Done a  little more tinkering with his balti recipe.  Up to 1 tbls mustard oil now.  Also a little chopped fresh mint leaves added towards the end of cooking.  Here are a few examples of the balti dishes (and a couple of starters).


Chicken tikka




Balti lamb




Balti chicken





Balti lamb (tindaloo)







Balti chicken





Balti keema and peas (Smedley's)





Pre-cooked mutton





Tandoori pork belly





Balti chicken





Balti king prawn & mushroom





Some good balti dishes.  I will make them again.  Reckon a batch or two of MDB MKI base will be next though.


Rob

[Kashmiri Bob]

Scraped together a Balti keema (lamb) with the last of Misty's base.





Also defrosted the Balti lamb (tindaloo) I made earlier.  As it is somewhat indulgent (scorching hot) had to spread it out over 3 sittings.  With boiled rice too.  Found a seriously out-of-date but unopened bag of Tilda Jasmine in the cupboard.  It's been that long since I've had rice had to think back how to make it.  Came out OK.  Nice and fragrant.





Plate.  Maze by Gordon Ramsay.  Fork. 18/8 Stainless steel by Oneida.  Finished with a fresh lemon squeezy (not shown)








Manchester (Rusholme) Tandoori chicken for starters.  Small portion (bone out)





Rob

[curryhell]

Don't know how I missed all these very tempting balti delights.  Heavy on the oil which is no doubt essential. If only  you delivered Rob   

[Kashmiri Bob]

Don't know how I missed all these very tempting balti delights.  Heavy on the oil which is no doubt essential. If only  you delivered Rob   

I am a bit heavy on the oil Dave.  About 60 ml including the mustard oil.  I think 30 ml minimum though for a regular (medium/madras) Balti.  Adils and some others were not oily, far from it. 

Here is another one made with Misty's base.


Balti lamb ginger (Vindaloo)








Samosa starter.







Haven't got the patience (or skills) to make my own.  These were rather good for a ready-made though.  Much better than the cheapo vegetable and meat efforts, the latter being mainly spud. Fried in bhaji oil here too.

Rob
 

[Kashmiri Bob]

Made another batch of Misty's base.  This time used 15 g cassia instead of 5 cm.  Did a bit more tinkering with his Balti chicken recipe.  Happy with the following additions/changes.  15 ml mustard oil, 2 heaped tsp kasuri methi, 2 rounded tsp cumin. 1/2 tsp dried mint (mixed in a little water).  1/4 tsp Jalpur GM.   The main ingredient of the Jalpur is black pepper.  If you want to make the balti hotter, finish with freshly ground black pepper,  not more GM.  Most of the dishes came out as good (sometimes better) then the third-time lucky TA I had from Shababs.  However, I have got a bit bored with it.  Really good, but miles off MDB MKI standard. 

So, for what Misty base is left I will be exploring a little tandoori masala powder with a generous amount of Zheng Feng Sichuan pepper.  Done a couple like this earlier this week.  As before, just need to get the balance right.  Mighty fine balti though.  Mighty fine.

Rob

[Onions]

Fantastic looking curries KB  I'm with curryhell, can't we get you on Deliveroo 

[Kashmiri Bob]

From last week.


Main. Balti chicken masala feng.  Side.  Kashmiri paneer and mushroom.






Will be warming up this one tonight.


Balti chicken feng





Qualiko strip.  Must pop out to Asda for fresh coriander and some of their ready-made egg fried rice (a guilty pleasure).


Rob

[Peripatetic Phil]

Balti chicken masala feng.

"feng", Bob ? No earlier occurrence on the forum as far as I can tell ...
--
** Phil.