Monday
- Masala omelettegolden folded egg · red onion and tomato · lime
Home · Across the UK · West Midlands · Birmingham
West Midlands · a city
Birmingham: its food, and a week to cook at home.
A city of many cuisines, best known for the balti, and the place where custard powder and a famous chocolate works began.
The photograph is AI-generated.
What people eat here
Dishes from Birmingham
No. 1
The balti
Cooked fast over a high flame and served in its thin steel bowl, with naan to scoop it up. It is widely said to have taken shape in Birmingham in the 1970s, cooked by Pakistani and Kashmiri families.
No. 2
Custard powder
Alfred Bird made the first egg free custard powder in Birmingham in 1837, because his wife could not eat eggs.
No. 3
Bournville
The Cadbury family moved their chocolate works to Bournville, then outside the city, in 1879, and built a village for their workers beside it.
No. 4
Caribbean cooking
Handsworth and other parts of the city have long had Caribbean families, and their cooking: curry goat, rice and peas, patties.
What grows here, and when
Asparagus from late April to June. Warm dals and curries carry the winter.
The Vale of Evesham, south of the city, grows asparagus and plums, and Herefordshire's orchards are a short drive west.
Seven days, seven menus
A sample week from our recipes
A week to cook at home that suits Birmingham and its seasons, using only recipes on this site. Each day reads in the order you eat.
Tuesday
- Tomato and black pepper rasamtamarind broth · cracked black pepper · curry leaf
- Pakistani chicken karahitomato-seared chicken · green chilli · ginger threads
- Soft wholemeal chapatiwholemeal atta · puffed on a hot pan · soft and warm
Wednesday
- Punjabi chana masala with basmati ricespiced chickpeas · slow tomato gravy · fragrant basmati
- Cucumber and mint raitacool cucumber · toasted cumin · garden mint
Thursday
- Jamaican curry goat with white riceslow simmered goat · golden curry gravy · white rice
- Caribbean rice and peascoconut rice · red kidney beans · thyme and pimento
Friday
- Crisp onion bhajiscrisp red onion · spiced gram flour · lemon
- Tarka dal with jeera ricegolden lentils · sizzling garlic tarka · cumin rice
Saturday
- Aloo paratha, flatbreads stuffed with spiced potatocrisp wholemeal · spiced potato · cool coconut yoghurt
- Kachumber saladcrisp cucumber · ripe tomato · lemon and cumin
Sunday
- Roast chicken thighs with leeks and potatoesgolden chicken thighs · sweet roast leeks · crisp potatoes
- Garlicky spring greens with lemonspring greens · golden garlic · lemon
- Gajar halwa, slow cooked carrot puddingslow cooked carrot · cardamom milk · pomegranate
Our nearest dish to a balti is the Pakistani chicken karahi, cooked fast in a similar wide pan.
