Topic: Karahi/Balti Pans

[stevej]

Could any one advise where to get a set of good Karahi/Baltis pans. I need to be able to cook with them and then serve the dish in them. Preferably the size of each dish should be able to serve two people.

Thanks

Steve

[raygraham]

Hi Steve,

I bought my Balti Pans ( see picture ), at the Bombay Stores which is a very large asian store on Shearbridge Road in Bradford ( 01274 729993 ). They are made from cast iron and are quite heavy. They did two sizes and the larger one can actually be used to cook in. The large one will hold enough to serve four and the smaler one is for an individual serving but holds enough for two.
You need to "season" them with oil over a flame to start with to give them a non-stick surface rather like you would do with a wok. The wooden base is an extra if you want them. I paid about ?4 for the smaller dish and ?1.50p for the wooden base. The larger pan was around ?7.
I am not sure if they do mail-order but if not they may tell you who does.

There is another asian hardware shop up Leeds Rd in Bradford that also do cast iron Balti Pans up to about 3 feet wide, large enough to sit in! The name escapes me at the moment but when I next go to Bradford I will jot the name down for you.

Ray

[Ashes]

They look the real deal Ray, I paid about the same for my from birmingham. But they are unfortuatly alot thinner. one of the disadvangtages of carrying loads of weight back from the U.K to Sweden.

[raygraham]

Hi Ashes,

Yes, these are quite substantial things, I love them.

You can see the shine they have which comes after seasoning the pans with oil and heat and it really does make them non-stick.

Apart from this store which now seem to have a thinner variety in stock I can't find anywhere nearby or on the internet that supply these pans yet many of the local BIR's have them or different shapes and sizes so it might be worth asking who supplies them.

Regards

Ray

[Ashes]

The place i bought mine also had a large variety of pans and dishes including iron balti pans of various sizes, they were just too heavy to carry back homefor me but some of the pots there were 3-4 ft wide and maybe 2-3 ft deep. My friend told me they were used for the temples and in Handsworth there are plenty of them

[raygraham]

Hi Ashes,

I wonder if anyone on the site can point us all in the right direction to a supplier of these pans ( perhaps mail order ).
They do seem a bit hard to come by even near me which has a good number of Asian hardware suppliers.

The ones I bought don't seem to be available anymore, only the thinner type.

They don't do anything for the flavour of a dish as far as I am concerned but do add a lot to the presentation of a curry and add that certain something when serving up a home made BIR to family and friends.

I think they have a psychological effect on anyone I have served a curry to who seem to feel it is more "authentic" when served in a balti pan. But whatever the case to me they are just a nice finishing touch to a curry meal and a pretty cool looking thing to eat a curry out of.

Does anyone have any ideas where they are freely available?

Ray

[Ashes]

I can probably give you the name of the 3 shops on the Soho rd in handsworth where i bought my pans from..
they sell the thick iron balti pans for a reasonable price, i guess you could always contact them and ask them to post them
to you if you send them a check or something.
but the post would add alot to the cost.
Ill ask my friend who lives there if he can write down the names of the places

also came across an interesting link here while searching
http://www.rousette.org.uk/blog/archives/2004/11/24/balti/

[Mark J]

I got my tava from here : http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Spiceologie_Utensils-Dinnerware_W0QQcolZ2QQdirZ1QQftidZ2QQtZkm she also sells balti pans

[raygraham]

Hi All,

Thanks for the links which were interesting.

I seem to find very few clues to sites selling traditional Cast Iron Balti Pans. Most sell pretty shiny stainless steel pans as do a lot of the larger stores we have over here such as Asda, John Lewis etc, etc. These are mainly used for presentation and can't be used to cook in as they are too thin and burn easily. Most of the restaurants I have near me never use stainless steel but only use cast iron balti pans.

The pans I bought came from a large asian outlet near me which ( if big enough ) can be used to cook the final dish which a lot of BIR's near me do.

They are heavy and can be used like a proper saucepan to completely cook a dish if that's what you want to do.
They are then used to serve the dish to the table hot and sizzling which obviously adds to the effect.

The trouble is these pans seem to frequently go out of stock yet to me they are superb to cook in and are a great dish to present a curry in so why are they not available everywhere all of the time??

Ashes,
If you can get an address to contact in Handsworth that would be great.

Regards

Ray

[Ashes]

I can get it, but through a friend and that will take a few weeks if he gets a move on