An introduction to Balti Cooking

Many people in Uganda have heard of Balti Cooking. I had neither heard of it until 1977 during a visit to London. Balti cooking was originally introduced to the West thanks to the Pakistan resident Multani community around 1965, who not only took it up with enthusiasm, but enterprising restaurateurs managed to refine it and adapt it to great commercial success. Thus, saw the birth of Balti curry houses in Great Britain. 

The trick

In essence, Balti is a method of cooking a wide gamut of curries such as chicken, meat, fish and vegetable dishes quickly on a gas or electric cooker or even a sigiri. The trick is to cook the food quickly over high heat while using the stir fry method. It is a given that the generally better known karahi has firmly taken roots in the vernacular of Indian and Pakistani food aficionados. Interestingly, the Luganda word kalayi derives its origins from the Indian word karahi and literally means a wok-shaped cooking apparatus with ring handles on either side and is commonly and widely used for all manner of deep frying, particularly for items such as bhajias, samosas and sweets such as jalebi.

Pakistan is the home of a rich and varied cuisine that derives its influence from its neighbours such as Afghanistan, Iran and India to augment its traditional dishes.  Through the course of history, the dishes of the Mongols, Arabs and even the Greeks have been absorbed into Pakistani’s culinary repertoire. Balti is one such type of cooking which has its roots in northern Pakistan but incorporates many influences, not least those of the cuisine’s popularisers in the West.

Cooking equipment

The Balti pan or karahi, is the traditional cooking vessel for Balti dishes. However, a Chinese wok will suffice. Balti pans are practical and add fun to cooking the Balti way, but they are not indispensable. The other specialist cooking item used in the Pakistan/Indian kitchen is a tava, a flat cast iron frying pan used for cooking parathas and other breads and for roasting spices. However, any sturdy frying pan can be used instead of a tava.

A food processor or blender is a must have in any kitchen and comes in as an invaluable labour-saving tool for making pastes and pureeing ingredients. Whole spices can be freshly ground the traditional way using a mortar and pestle, or if you have one, a coffee grinder will do the job. 

You will probably find that your own kitchen is well equipped with everything else that you need to produce Balti recipes. Good quality saucepans with heavy bases and wooden spoons as well as a slotted spoon to use with them, mixing bowls, sharp knives, a chopping board, a sieve and a rolling pin should complete the basic needs.  

Balti Chicken

Chicken is one of the most expensive meats in Uganda and on the Indian sub-continent and highly flavoured --a chicken dish cooked in one form or another is a must at a Pakistani wedding. Likewise, in Uganda, without a doubt, no meal at a wedding would be complete without chicken. Though sadly, it is cut into small pieces  (almost to shreds) and deep fried (yikes!). Chicken is also incredibly versatile and can be cooked dry or in a sauce or with vegetables and best of all requires less cooking time than other type of meat. Balti chicken is the most popular of all Balti dishes.

Method

1. Wash and trim the chicken pieces and set to one side
2. Heat the oil in a large wok or deep round bottomed frying pan. Toss in the onions and fry until they are golden brown then add the tomatoes and stir well.
3. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamoms, peppercorns, black cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, garam masala, chili powder and salt. Lower the heat and stir fry for 3 – 5 minutes.
4. Add the chicken pieces, 2 at a time and stir fry for at least 10 minutes or until the spice mixture has completely penetrated the chicken pieces.
5. Add the yogurt to the chicken and mix well.
6. Lower the heat and cover the pan with a piece of aluminum foil making certain that the foil does not touch the food. Cook very gently for about 15 minutes.
7. Add the lemon juice, fresh cilantro and green chilies and serve at once.

As a footnote, while chicken cooked on the bone is reckoned to be both tender and flavorsome, feel free to take the liberty to substitute the whole bird with chicken tenderloin in which case the cooking time in step 6 would likewise be reduced.