Chicken Balti Curry - Indian Takeaway Recipe

Today we show you how to make your own chicken balti curry recipe at home!

Balti is one of Britain's favourite curries, and for good reason, chicken, beef or lamb, with a delicious blend of spices, tomatoes, chillies, garlic, onions and peppers. Traditionally served in a Balti dish with rice and naan bread on the side.

Jump to:

• 📖 Step by Step Recipe
• What is a balti curry?
• Equipment
• How to serve Balti Curry
• Storage
• More Indian recipes
• 💬 Reviews

See the recipe card below for how to make a balti from scratch. Or read on for more advice in this blog post, including the history, substitutes and spice-level advice below.

📖 Step by Step Recipe

This Chicken Balti Curry Indian Takeaway Recipe was originally posted on 19/01/2022. It was updated on 03/06/2024 to move the recipe card to the top for a better user experience.

What is a balti curry?

Although balti curries are available in most British Indian Restaurants, it is unknown if they originate from a traditional Indian recipe?

There are a few beliefs of where the curry came from;

One view is that the curry originates from the Baltistan region in Northern Pakistan, where the name "Balti" comes from the Urdu word meaning "bucket".

The name may derive from the metal dish the curry’s cooked in, a bowl-like cooking vessel similar to a wok.

Balti houses started appearing in the 1970s in Birmingham, England. Beginning in a small area to the South of the city centre where three roads made up a 'Balti Triangle'.

In the 1980s, they became more popular and spread to other parts of the Midlands. You can now find Balti restaurants and curry houses throughout the UK.

The Balti style of cooking has been adapted and localised to meet the taste of British people. Chicken or lamb is the most popular choice of meat, along with vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, green and red peppers.

Equipment

To make a balti curry, you will need a pan to create the sauce and a wok or large frying pan to stir-fry the chicken onions and peppers.

Traditionally a balti curry is served in a balti dish, but this is optional!

Create the curry sauce first, which simmers and thickens while cooking the chicken pieces.

Balti Curry Sauce

The base sauce for a balti is simple and easy to make; 

Fry off the finely chopped onion in vegetable oil or sunflower oil or for the most authentic balti, ghee can be used.

Add garlic puree, chilli puree and tomato puree; we used purees for this recipe for ease. However, you can use fresh chillies or garlic and chopped finely.

Heat Level

Adjust the amount or types of chillies used in this chicken balti recipe to your desired heat level. Check if the curry powder contains chill powder, and adjust the number of chillies used accordingly.

We used Gia chilli puree, but I will give an equivalent if you use a mild-medium spiced red or green chilli pepper.

Mild Balti - ½ teaspoon Chilli Puree or 1 small chilli pepper

Medium Balti - 2 teaspoons Chilli Puree or 2 chilli pepper

Hot Balti - 3 teaspoons Chilli Puree or 3 chilli peppers or use a spicier variant

Spice Mix

We use a spice mix called garam masala, available from most UK supermarkets. It consists of ground coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric, and paprika.

If you can't find it, you can buy other curry powder mixes; just remember that if the blend you buy contains chilli powder, use fewer chillies. Some combinations may include turmeric, so you won’t need to add more!

To finish the balti sauce add chopped tomatoes (tinned is fine), brown sugar and lime juice, add your desired amount of salt, then finally pour in the water, it may seem watery at this point, but it will thicken up nicely.    

Turn the heat up to bring the sauce to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer for at least 15 minutes. 

Balti Chicken, Peppers and Onion

Whilst the balti sauce simmers, get the chicken, peppers and onion cooked in the other pan.

Add enough oil in a large wok or frying pan to coat all around. Heat the oil, add the chicken, onions, and green and red peppers with your choice of curry powder. 

We used tandoori masala curry powder but you can use a mild, medium, or hot curry powder. 

Stir-fry over medium-hot heat for about 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Check by cutting into a chicken piece.

Add the now thickened balti sauce into the wok with the cooked chicken, onion and peppers.

Sprinkle in a handful of fresh coriander leaves.

How to serve Balti Curry

Serve the balti curry with pilau rice, naan bread, onion bhajis and samosas. Or try some of our other Indian accompaniments; suggestions are below the recipe card.

We used the silver-handled balti dishes for extra authenticity, as seen in many curry houses today.

Storage

Balti curries can be stored in the fridge for up to two days or frozen for a month (defrost before reheating).

Reheat balti curry in a microwave on full power for three minutes or until piping hot.

We hope you enjoyed this Chicken Balti Curry Recipe. Please leave us a comment below letting us know how you got on with making it and what you like to serve yours with.

More Indian recipes

If you're looking for more Indian recipes to try, then look at our prawn masala, chicken pathia, bhuna or biryani recipes for the perfect main meal. We have a wonderful tandoori chicken tikka starter recipe.

Or if you're looking for Indian side dishes to go with this Chicken balti.

Give our Pilau Rice, Onion Rice, Coconut Rice, Raita and Mango Chutney recipes a go! They are effortless to make. One more fantastic Indian recipe to try is a Masala Tea perfect way to start or end your day.