Balti Base Gravy (Shababs).  

This recipe was derived by discussions I had with Zaf Hussain, the head chef at the world famous Shababs Balti restaurant in Birmingham. I visited to record some videos for my You Tube channel and had the opportunity to delve deep into the chef’s practices, with a view to recreating that fabulous balti taste at home.

Zaf divulged how he makes his base gravy, which is made in huge batches at the restaurant and involves a whopping 50Kg of onions. Obviously much smaller batch size is all that is needed for use at home. I’ve scaled the recipe down to size which will make enough for approximately 8 balti curries.

Please also read this Balti Insights article, and try out this Balti Chicken recipe.

One of the most important factors in any curry is the base gravy as it forms the underlying foundation of flavour. The Shababs base gravy is a little different from the more typical Bangladeshi Indian restaurant versions – while the only vegetable used is onion (except for the ginger and garlic), it’s cooked with whole spices which are subsequently blended into it, and it’s heavier on the oil and tomato content than usual. Another difference is that there is no generic spice ‘mix’ powder used in Shababs’s base gravy and baltis – the powdered spices are kept simple for the base, with only paprika and turmeric used. Likewise for the balti curries, with individual spices tailored according to each menu item.

This recipe uses a normal amount of salt, so extra is required according to my recipes you use it in. Zaf explained that to keep the salt level consistent he adds no extra salt while cooking a balti curry, but he adds extra to the base to compensate. This is to reduce the risk of over or under seasoning individual dishes during cooking.

Once cooked this balti base gravy will be thicker than is required to make curry with. If freezing, do so in its thick state because it will save on freezer space. Before cooking a balti, dilute it with water to the consistency of somewhere between full fat milk and single cream.

Feel free to use this balti base in any curry, not just baltis. 

There’s something refreshingly unique about a genuine Birmingham Balti. Strictly speaking, to be qualified as such, it must be cooked in an authentic thin pressed steel balti bowl on a high flame and served in it also.