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British · Pakistani

Chicken balti

Non-vegetarian

A quick, high-heat curry of chicken, peppers, onion and tomato cooked and served in the same thin steel bowl — the dish that made Birmingham's 'Balti Triangle' famous.

Chicken balti is a British curry from United Kingdom, ready in about 40 minutes and made with chicken breast, garam masala and green bell pepper. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Chicken balti curry with peppers and onions over rice with naan
Photo: The Endinburgh Blog / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
25 min
Total
40 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
338

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oil in a balti pan or wok (opens in a new tab) over a high heat. Add the cumin (opens in a new tab), fennel and fenugreek (opens in a new tab) seeds and let them sizzle.

    Ingredients tossed in a hot wok
    How it looks · Photo: Aesthos AR. Photography on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Add the chopped onion (opens in a new tab) and fry until golden, then add the garlic (opens in a new tab) and ginger.

    • 6 min
    • medium-high heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the tomatoes (opens in a new tab), garam masala (opens in a new tab), coriander, turmeric (opens in a new tab), chilli and salt and cook until thick and the oil separates.

    • 6 min
    • medium-high heat
    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Add the chicken and stir-fry on a high heat for 5 minutes, then add the onion (opens in a new tab) chunks, pepper, green chillies and water. Cook, stirring, until the chicken is done and the peppers are just tender.

    • 10 min
    • high heat

    Food safety: Chicken must reach 74 °C.

  5. Step 5

    Stir in plenty of coriander and serve straight from the pan.

    About this dish

    Origin
    Birmingham, England, United Kingdom · Commonly attributedDeveloped by Pakistani and Kashmiri restaurateurs in Birmingham, usually dated to the 1970s; the name refers to the bowl it is cooked in.More food from United Kingdom
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Curries · Main courses
    Cooking method
    Stir-fried, Simmered
    Taste
    spicy (chilli heat), aromatic / warmly spiced, savoury, fresh
    Diet
    No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
    All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    One-pan · Everyday
    Cook more with
    Chicken breast · Garam masala · Green bell pepper · Cumin · Fennel seeds · Fenugreek
    Techniques
    Stir-frying · Simmering · Bhunao

    Allergens

    None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    338 kcal per serving

    Estimated

    1 serving ≈ 395 g · recipe makes 4

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 43%
    • Carbohydrate 17%
    • Fat 40%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy338 kcal86 kcal
    Protein36.5 g9.2 g
    Carbohydrate14.7 g3.7 g
    Net carbohydrate10.4 g2.6 g
    Sugars5.8 g1.5 g
    Added sugars0 g0 g
    Fibre4.3 g1.1 g
    Fat15.1 g3.8 g
    Saturated fat1.7 g0.4 g
    Trans fat0.1 g0 g
    Cholesterol110 mg28 mg
    Sodium811 mg205 mg
    Salt equivalent2 g0.5 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    979 mg
    Calcium
    71 mg
    Iron
    2.3 mg
    Magnesium
    77 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    90 µg
    Vitamin C
    52 mg
    Vitamin D
    0 µg
    Vitamin B12
    0.3 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    47 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Garam masala: Curry powder (FDC 170924) used as a stand-in; both are ground blends of similar dried spices used in teaspoon amounts.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Have everything chopped before you start — a balti is cooked fast over high heat.

    Common mistakes

    • Overcrowding a small pan, which stews rather than fries the chicken.

    Serve with

    • Eat from the pan, scooping it up with a large naan.

    Storage

    • Keeps 3 days refrigerated.

    Reheating

    • Reheat in a hot pan.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    Main ingredient

    Used in steps 3, 4

    Masalas in this recipe

    Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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