Topic: Saleem's, Ladypool Road, Birmingham

[andydunn]

Sunday lunch at Saleem's, not the first time but could be the last.

Saleem the owner and all round good person told me a few months back that things were bad and all the fast food outlets up and down Ladypool Road were strangling his business.  I know exactly what he means, there is a desi takeaway 500 yards down the road that sells a curry and 2 roti for ?1.99, obviously at that price it is not freshly made to order like Saleem's food.  But the constant queue out the door tells me things are going well and a myriad of other similar takeaway's have really put the squeeze on the old school balti restaurants.

He told me today that he will close his doors for good the first week in November.  It makes me really sad but it seems to be the way things are going.  I don't know where we will eat as a family from now on, Saleem's was IMHO the last of the old school balti houses where you ate genuine Pakistani food made to the original recipes that were passed down from father to son.

So, what about todays food?  Well it was awesome!

Usual free poppadoms, warm and fresh, which came with a bowl of mango chutney which my kids love.

I had a Katlama to start, along with a Sheekh Kebab.  Feeling greedy today 

Then Meat Balti for main, I asked for it to be made hot today instead of my usual medium.  Even though I had a good sweat on, I was still glad I had the hotter version.  It was full of subtle flavours, not just chilli heat, and I literally finished with a clean bowl aided by the best naan bread in Birmingham (I kid you not).

Wife opted for veg balti, she said it's the best veg curry she's ever had.  Kids had their usual korma and scoffed the lot.

Will try and make it back in 2 weeks before he closes for good. 

[andydunn]

One more piccy of the naan  ;D

[DalPuri]

Perhaps when you return, you could ask for his recipes so that we can continue the restaurants legacy right here on this forum. 

[Garp]

To be brutally honest, Andy, it doesn't look that great   

[andydunn]

Perhaps when you return, you could ask for his recipes so that we can continue the restaurants legacy right here on this forum. 

I wish mate, but you know how secretive these curry chefs are.

[andydunn]

To be brutally honest, Andy, it doesn't look that great   

That's fine mate and I totally respect your honesty.  TBH the pictures look rank compared to when I tweaked them in Photoshop before uploading, especially the first and last ones.

If you mean how plain and colourless the dishes look, well that's actually their charm.  In a traditional Brum Balti house you will be lucky to get a small sprinkle of chopped coriander thrown on top, let alone fancy garnish and edible flowers like some modern balti restaurants (which are Balti only in name).  That's the crux mate, the dishes are so simple that it's all in the taste and all the original balti restaurants in the triangle stuck to this ethos.

Best wishes to you.

[Garp]

I'm the last person in the world who would desire a fresh coriander garnish. A total waste of a good curry IMO.

I've never been to the triangle, but I would assume that there are good ones and bad ones, like anywhere else.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Thanks for the heads-up on this Andy.  Saleem's has been on my list of places to try for some time.  Should be able to get over there before they close the doors.  Great shame when a real-deal balti house goes under.   

Rob 

[livo]

While not overly impressive in aesthetics, it all looks perfectly edible to me.  I'm not huge on garnish and after one recent attempt at improving the appearance of my foil trays with chopped fresh coriander, I'll no longer bother. A bit of colour in a dish never hurts though. Kids love Korma and I'm a big kid.

The naan breads there look exactly like the ones I turned out 2 days ago in my most recent effort to find "The One".  I thought I'd done something wrong as the whole things puffed like balloons rather than getting little bubbles all over.  They were pretty good though and getting closer to the target.  More on that in a different thread on naans though.

[mickdabass]

The Legendary DJ John Peels all time favourite Restaurant. Such sad news Andy