This delicious vegetable balti recipe features mushrooms, green peppers and potatoes in a boldly spiced. sweet and spicy sauce. Mop up the curry with naan for a nutritious, family-friendly meal that's also soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free.
What is balti?
Balti is a Birmingham-born, Pakistani-inspired curry made quickly by sauteing a spiced tomato sauce with cooked meat or vegetables in a thin steel karahi - a bowl-shaped wok with two handles used in south Asian cooking (like the one in my picture above).
The ingredients are cooked over high heat so the sugars in the sauce caramelize, giving balti curry a rich, smoky, spicy-sweet flavor. The dish is served in the pan it was cooked in, and some believe that's the reason it got its name - "balti" means "bucket" in Hindi and Urdu.
You can find all varieties of balti dishes, from chicken balti to lamb balti and mushroom balti in a British balti restaurant. My favorite way to make a balti curry is with a variety of quick cooking vegetables. In developing my recipe I have tried to stay true to the flavors of the balti cuisine I experienced during the time I spent in England while adapting the flavors to a vegan palate.
This is a simple recipe, in keeping with the spirit of convenience embodied by balti cuisine. The sauce is very easy to make and the recipe below makes enough for two uses. You will find recipes for dry balti spice mixes, but I recommend using a sauce which works better with the balti technique. The liquid in the sauce gives the spices enough time to cook before they can burn.
You can use my balti sauce with the vegetables I used or adapt it for other quick-cooking vegetables. You can also add tofu or tempeh along with the vegetables for more protein.
The most important tip I can give you is to cook the vegetables until they are just tender but not falling apart, before you add the sauce to the karahi or pan. This keeps the sauce from burning too much while the vegetables cook. The sauce should brown at the edges so it develops flavor but you don't want it to scorch. There shouldn't be too much water or any liquid in the pan because balti is meant to be a dry curry.
Traditionally balti curries are served with naan. You can try my vegan naan with garlic butter or whole wheat naan with this recipe.
More curry recipes you might like
- Tofu tikka masala
- Chickpea tikka masala
- Tikka masala curry sauce
- Indian curry paste
- Vegan butter chicken
Recipe card
Vegetable Balti
Ingredients
- 15 cremini mushrooms or button mushrooms (or crimini, halved or quartered)
- 1 medium red onion (diced)
- 2 green peppers (diced)
- 2 potatoes (use waxy potatoes like red potatoes of yellow potatoes. Cook the potatoes until just tender, then cut into 1-inch cubes.)
- 3 green onions (scallions/spring onions, chopped)
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
For the balti sauce
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds or methi seeds
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 dry red chili peppers
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 3 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 medium tomato, (diced)
- 2 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
Instructions
- Make the Balti Sauce:
- Heat a skillet. Dry-roast the bay leaves, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, mustard, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and chilies until they are slightly darker and fragrant, about three to four minutes,
- Turn off the heat, remove the ingredients to a blender, and to the hot skillet add the turmeric, curry powder, onion powder, garlic powder and ginger powder. Stir a bit to roast in the hot skillet without turning on the heat. Add to the blender.
- Add the vinegar, tomato and oil to the blender. Blend into a very smooth paste.
- Make the Vegetable Balti:
- Heat the oil in a wok. Add the onions, stir-fry over high heat for a couple of minutes, then add the green peppers and mushrooms.
- Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, for about eight to 10 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked but still have some bite. Add the potatoes.
- Add a third of the Balti sauce. Stir well, and continue to cook over medium heat for about five to seven minutes. Add salt to taste.
- Garnish with the chopped spring onions. Serve hot.
- Hot tip: this tastes even better the next day, when the flavors have had a chance to sit together and meld.
Nutrition Information
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George mcintosh says
How long will the left over blend stay fresh
Vaishali Honawar says
Store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. You can freeze it for up to three months.
tompbsmith says
This looks great and I'm about to try it but I'm a bit confused. You say to add a third of the balti sauce but I can't see where you say to add the rest of it?
Vaishali says
Hi there, you just need a third for this dish. You can freeze the rest for later!
Laura says
Made this for dinner this evening, sadly missing the odd spice but was still incredibly delish! Also added a little bit of Mango chutney to bring in a bit of sweetness but even the recipe as it is, is fantastic! -laura
Vaishali says
Laura, so happy you liked it!
mimidee7 says
Hi there, I'd like a tip if possible. I've made this twice now, following the recipe exact. But I'm wanting to make more of a sauce to go with everything as the paste isn't very saucy, so I added a can of plum tomatoes and some water and boiled it off. Do you have any tips as to how to make this more saucy please?
Vaishali says
Hi there, just add some water, if you want more of a sauce. Tomatoes would change the taste, so I wouldn't advise it.
plasterer bristol says
Sounds really tasty this recipe. thanks for posting.
Simon
Leslie says
I am from the Midwest, and I actually discovered Indian food while living in Scotland in the mid-70s. We always ordered Indian takeaway, but once for a treat decided to eat in at the restaurant, where we discovered that the spicing used for the mostly-Indian/Pakistani customers was very different from that used for takeaway! I had never had anything that spicy hot in my life, and I ordered the same dish I got all the time as takeaway. Over the years I have built up my taste for spicy, but I'm sure I would still have a rude awakening in India.
I love that so much Indian food is vegetarian, but since I went vegan a couple of years ago, I've had fewer choices. So I was delighted to find this site.
By the way, if you have never tried it, Equinox Restaurant in DC has an amazing vegan brunch on Sundays. I can highly recommend it!
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Leslie, thanks for the tip on Equinox-- have never been but would love to go.
Thanks for sharing your story about your introduction to Indian food. Some Indian food can be a rude awakening for my tastebuds too, which are used to considerably less heat than most Indians'. But yes, nothing can beat Indian cuisine for the vast vegetarian tradition. It certainly makes it easy to be a vegan and eat delicious food. 🙂
Minnie@thelady8home says
That looks too good. Very inviting. Loved reading your story too.
Vaishali Honawar says
Thanks, Minnie. 🙂
RC says
Your description of the Indian food in Britain reminds me of a story I heard about a Chicago Bluesman named Sonny Boy Williamson who went to England in the 60's to play for the people there and earn some cash but not necessarily in that order. He had the Yarbirds featuring Eric Clapton on guitar as his backing band. When he got back home he said of the English musicians "They want to play the blues so bad, and they play the blues so bad."
Vaishali Honawar says
😀 That gave me a good laugh. Thanks for sharing that story!
Sarojini (Yogi Vegans) says
Thanks for posting this, and sharing your story too. Funnily enough, I have never tried balti, despite the fact that I work at a school within Birmingham's famous "Balti Triangle". My husband remembers the first balti houses from the late 70s such as Butt's on Ladypool Road (now closed) and Al Faisal's on Stoney Lane (still there). They were indeed originally Pakistani, and to him and his friends as young vegans on a budget, they provided a cheap and tasty way to eat out. In fact for my husband, talking to the proprietors of the local restaurants and groceries sparked off a lifelong passion for Indian cookery; there are a number of Gujarati and Punjabi pure veg places in Birmingham which cater for British Asians wanting food like "back home" and which also do have a number of vegan items on their menus, and even some South Indian places now, such as Chennai Dosa on the Hagley Road. I think you would find British Indian cuisine much changed these days!
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Sarojini, yes, I believe there have been many changes. And how lovely to hear about your and your husband's experiences with balti and Indian cuisine in Birmingham. I would love to visit Birmingham someday, if only to eat at one of those Balti restaurants. 🙂
Paul says
Lovely site .thanks ....just a quick note from the uk .the standard of curry house has improved since you lived here .
We even have proper dosa houses and indian street food stalls in our big cities .
Lovely site .i have signed up for the newsletter .
Paul from Reading Berks .
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Paul, thanks for your kind words! And yes, I have heard about the vast improvements in British Indian restaurants. We were there last year, but didn't have a chance to eat at an Indian restaurant. I will definitely plan to the next time which should be soon because I am a confirmed Anglophile. 🙂
JN says
Thanks for sharing the great story and yes, I lived in London and found the same difference!!! Thank you, for validating and for the laughs this Sunday morning. Most of all THANK YOU, for making recipes less intimidating and for making me feel "I can cook this". You have no idea how much it helps as I only started cooking a yr ago when I turned vegan & Gluten free, thanks to folks like you, Vegan Richa, Chocolate covered Katie. Love the way you gave the history behind Balti, as I had no idea. I will be making these this week as I am off to see the Cherry Blossoms today.
THANK YOU, for your stories & your wonderful, simple yet flavorful recipes that help people like me (intimidated & scared) to cook & surprise themselves & eat healthy.
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi JN, thanks for your kind words, and so happy the blog has been a useful resource. I hope you will try the Balti. And how wonderful you had a chance to see the cherry blossoms this year-- I was hoping to go Sunday but the time got away. Well, maybe next year...
Maryann Backert says
Thank you for sharing your recipes and the stories behind them. They look very good and healthy too. Where can I get all the spices for the recipes? Thanks again. Maryann
Vaishali Honawar says
Hi Maryann, your local Indian grocery store is the best source, but if you don't have one where you live, you can get all of these spices on Amazon.