THE balti – beloved dish of the Scots curry fan – could soon be banned from menus.
Birmingham, the birthplace of the balti, is seeking legal protection that will entitle only restaurants within the city to use the name.
Councillors there are examining the European legislation that protects products such as champagne, Wensle
ydale cheese and Arbroath smokies to see whether it can be applied to the curry dish that originated in the Sparkhill area of the city in 1977. If they succeed, it could mean a ban on restaurants from outside Birmingham's "Balti Triangle" from serving the dish.
The term "balti" comes from the small steel pot used to cook it. According to curry historians, it was introduced to Britain when immigrants from northern Pakistan settled in Birmingham in the mid-1970s.
It has spread across the UK and became the basis for the name "Balti Triangle", given to the area around Sparkhill and Moseley in Birmingham that has a large number of restaurants specialising in the dish.
The council claims that Birmingham, as the origin of the balti name, has the same right to protect it as champagne for its wine and Wensleydale for its cheese.
A spokeswoman said: "The idea that Birmingham should trademark the term 'balti' is certainly an interesting one, which is not without its merits. The city is not only the birthplace of the dish, but also home to the UK's premier community of balti restaurants and businesses – the Balti Triangle.
"The city council is always seeking new and imaginative ways to promote the city regionally, nationally and internationally, which, if judged to be feasible and to the benefit of local people or businesses, we would not hesitate in pursuing."
According to food historians, the first balti was served by a Pakistani immigrant to the city called Mohammed Ajaib in 1977: he wanted to distinguish himself from the other Indian and Pakistani restaurants in what was a fiercely competitive market. The balti houses that then sprang up were originally inexpensive places to eat, with newspapers for tablecloths.
When the BBC researched the origin of the word on the programme Balderdash and Piffle, they found the earliest use of it was in a menu in 1982.
Yesterday, Chetan Parmar, manager of the Ashoka in Glasgow's Ashton Lane, was bemused by the idea that the balti hailed from Birmingham.
"I wasn't aware of that at all," he said. "It's a common dish and the name comes from the small steel bucket in which it is cooked. We have always done the balti and people would be upset if we took it off the menu.
"It's a great favourite in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and people will not put up with having to call it something else."
The full article contains 471 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
