Birmingham Balti House Praised By The New York Times
A Birmingham balti house has been praised in the New York Times for aiding Britain’s second city to become one of the most culturally diverse cities in the country.
Adil’s restaurant, which introduced the world-famous dish on its menu in 1978, is considered to be the first restaurant to include the steel pan favourite on its menu and was commended by the American newspaper for its place in the history of curry in the UK.
The owner of Adil’s, Mohammed Arif, told the US paper that he was inspired to serve up the unique in the UK after a two-week trip to his home country of Pakistan where he witnessed curries being cooked and served in the same dish.
The 62-year old said: “It just came into my mind that I could take this idea back.”
The Balsall Heath restaurant, which considers itself the pioneer of Balti cuisine in Britain, was highly praised by the New York Times, which wrote: “Most customers at balti restaurants are non-Asian — a tasty retort to the much-mocked reports that areas of Birmingham, and of a number of other European cities, had become ‘no-go zones’ for anyone but strict Muslims.”
In the 37 years since Adil’s opened, the city’s most famous dish has flourished significantly, leading to the creation of Birmingham’s Balti Triangle and the restaurant, based on Stoney Lane, is described as being a “symbol of culinary cross-fertilization in one of Britain’s most multicultural cities”.
Andy Munro, adviser to the Birmingham Balti Association, has said that the time has come to recognise the dish “that is sizzling, spicy and aromatic – yet easy on the digestive system”.
