バルチ (料理)

バルティまたはバルティ・ゴシュト（ウルドゥー語: بالٹی گوشت、ヒンディー語: बाल्टी गोश्त）は、「バルティボウル」と呼ばれる薄いプレス鋼製の中華鍋で提供されるカレーの一種である。この名前は、特定の材料や調理法に由来するのではなく、カレーを調理する金属製の器に由来している可能性がある。バルティカレーは、ギーではなく植物油を使い、炒め物のように強火で手早く調理され、骨なしの肉が使われる。この組み合わせは、一日中ゆっくり煮込む伝統的な一品料理のインドカレーとは大きく異なる。バルティソースは、ニンニクと玉ねぎをベースに、ターメリックやガラムマサラなどのスパイスが使われる。

「バルチ・ゴシュト」のラムバージョン

バルティ・ゴシュトは北インドやパキスタンの一部、そしてイギリスなど世界各地で食べられている。イギリス版のバルティは1977年にバーミンガムで開発された。

起源、歴史、語源

パキスタンのバルティ・ゴシュト

食品としてのバルティは、同地域のカラヒと同様に、調理される鋼鉄または鉄製の鍋にちなんで名付けられている。 この言葉はヒンドゥスターニー語、オリヤー語、ベンガル語に見られ、「バケツ」を意味する。この言葉は、バケツまたは手桶を意味するポルトガル語のbaldeに由来し、16世紀初頭のポルトガル人の航海事業を通じてインド亜大陸にもたらされた。この言葉は、おそらくイギリス領インド帝国時代に英語に入ったものと思われる。

According to Pat Chapman, a food writer, the origins of the word can be traced to the area of Baltistan, in the northern part of the region of Kashmir, where a cast-iron wok, similar to the Chinese wok, is used for cooking. Baltistan shares a border with China. In his Curry Club Balti Curry Cookbook, Chapman states:

The balti pan is a round-bottomed, wok-like heavy cast-iron dish with two handles. ... The origins of Balti cooking are wide ranging and owe as much to China (with a slight resemblance to the spicy cooking of Sichuan) and Tibet, as well as to the ancestry of the Mirpuris, the tastes of the Moghul emperors, the aromatic spices of Kashmir, and the 'winter foods' of lands high in the mountains.

However, Colleen Taylor Sen states that the origins of balti gosht are unclear, as the food eaten in Baltistan "bears no resemblance" to balti gosht. As such, the name of the food may have originated from the fact that bāltī gosht is cooked in a pot resembling a baltī, the Hindustani word for bucket.

Another claim regarding the origin of balti cooking in Birmingham was that it was first served in 1977 in a restaurant called Adil's. At that time, the restaurant was located in Stoney Lane, Sparkbrook, and after some time relocated to another area, but since has returned to its original place in Stoney Lane.

Balti houses

Balti restaurant on Essex Street in Birmingham

Balti chicken with rice and naan from Edinburgh, Scotland

Balti restaurants are often known in Birmingham as 'balti houses'. Some balti houses have a plate of glass on the table top with menus secured beneath. Balti houses typically offer large karack naan bread pieces, to be shared by the whole table.

Balti houses were originally clustered along and behind the main road between Sparkhill and Moseley, to the south of Birmingham city centre. This area, comprising Ladypool Road, Stoney Lane, and Stratford Road, is still sometimes referred to as the Balti Triangle, and contains a high concentration of balti restaurants. On 28 July 2005, a tornado caused extensive damage to buildings in the triangle, forcing many restaurants to close. Most reopened by the beginning of 2006 but by 2023 only four remained.

Balti restaurants have now spread beyond the triangle, and can also be found in the south of Birmingham, along the Pershore Rd in Stirchley. Lye near Stourbridge to the west of Birmingham has become known as the 'Balti Mile' with up to a dozen restaurants clustered along the High Street.

The food and its style of presentation proved very popular during the 1980s, and popularity grew in the 1990s. Balti restaurants gradually opened up throughout the West Midlands, and then a large part of Britain. The expanded curry market in Britain is now said to take in 4 billion pounds sterling per year.

Outside Britain, a small number of balti houses are in Ireland and many other English-speaking countries, particularly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Since the late 1990s, British supermarkets have stocked a growing range of prepacked balti meals, and the balti restaurant sector has since faced increasing competition from the retail sector and from changes in customer tastes, along with other traditional South Asian and Indian restaurants.

See also

• Pakistani cuisine
• Chicken tikka masala

参考資料

• 『カリークラブ・バルティカレー・クックブック』、ピアトカス、ロンドン — ISBN 0-7499-1214-6 & ISBN 0-7499-1342-8（1993年）
• 『モダン・バルティカレー』、上記をジョン・ブレイク・パブリッシングより再版、ロンドン（2006年）
• 『パット・チャップマンズ・バルティ・バイブル』、ホッダー&スタウトン、ロンドン — ISBN 0-340-72858-2 & ISBN 0-340-72859-0（1998年）
• 『2009年 コブラ グッド・カリー・ガイド』、ジョン・ブレイク・パブリッシング、ロンドン — ISBN 1-84454-311-0