UB40 add their backing to efforts to protect Birmingham’s trademark Balti curry
They want to give the meal UNESCO status
Stars from UB40 have added their voices to a campaign for Unesco to recognise the Birmingham Balti by giving the city’s trademark dish protected status.
The reggae icons’ founding guitarist Robin Campbell and his son Matt Campbell said they had long been fans of Baltis, as they tucked into a recipe inspired by the cuisine in Birmingham, Alabama, to celebrate next week’s third International Day of Birmingham.
The Birmingham Balti is being considered for protected status under the UK’s Unesco-backed Inventories of Living Heritage scheme, in a bid to safeguard its authentic cooking traditions.
Several restaurants in the city’s so-called Balti Triangle, centred on the Ladypool Road area, are backing the bid, and the Association for the Protection of the Authentic Balti has been formed to promote the curry being cooked and served using a carbon steel flat-bottomed dish.
Speaking at Shababs balti house on Ladypool Road, Robin Campbell said: “Balti is very much of Birmingham.
“It’s where it was invented and it’s where it’s become famous.
“It’s a Brummie thing. We should be shouting about it because it’s a fine tradition.”
The Birmingham Alabama Balti, using fried chicken, butter beans and peanut butter – staples of the US city – blended with a traditional Balti sauce, was dreamed up by Zaf Hussain, chef and owner of Shababs, and Birmingham Balti Unesco bid director Andy Munro.
After trying the dish, Matt Campbell said: “I’ve always eaten Baltis my whole life, you know, from being very, very young.
“It’s the kind of meal you don’t really need utensils for. All you need is some bread.”
Robin Campbell added: “You don’t even need rice. When I was a kid, there weren’t even knives and forks. You just got the bowl.
“I grew up in Balsall Heath so it wasn’t far to come here. My parents used to bring us here as a treat when we were little kids.”
He said of Birmingham: “It’s a wonderful place and it’s the reason we are who we are.
“It’s an absolute cultural melting pot. It’s not only the food but the music as well.
“The band have long been fans of Birmingham Baltis.
“To taste a new Balti designed with our cousins across the water in mind as part of shared celebrations of our cities is an honour.”
Mr Munro, who has written books tracing the history of the Birmingham Balti back to the mid-1970s, said of the bid for Unesco recognition: “I’m fairly confident, without being overconfident, that we’ll get to where we want to be and it will be the first multicultural dish to get that status, which will be brilliant.”
The amount of iron in an authentic Birmingham Balti is equivalent to 15 pints of Guinness, Mr Munro claimed, describing the caramelisation created during its cooking as a slightly sweet flavour “to die for”.
Shababs’ owner Mr Hussain said: “A lot of restaurants up and down the country wanted to jump on to the Balti bandwagon in the late 80s, early 90s when the Birmingham Balti was just booming.
“They just wanted a piece of the cake, basically. But they weren’t doing it in the right way.
“Proper Birmingham Balti is a thin pressed carbon steel dish.
“It’s cooked in the same dish, served in the same dish and eaten out of the same dish.”
He said of the new crossover Birmingham Alabama Balti: “I think it will be a huge success.
“It will be on the menu on International Day and, who knows, it might appear on the regular menu.”
The annual International Day of Birmingham celebrates the places around the world which share the name, and was started in 2024 by comedian Joe Lycett as part of a TV series exploring their cultural links.