Saleem's,The Ladypool Road, Birmingham

When the Man of the Place was a long haired and poor photography student in Birmingham he discovered balti houses on the Ladypool Road, in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham. He could eat his fill by using the change in his pocket and stay feeling full. No easy task when you're living on a student grant in the 70's. Birmingham has since recognised this wonderful jewel of Indian/Pakistani cuisine and culture and capitalised on it. One of Henry's favourite haunts back then was Saleem's Restaurant. It is STILL THERE. Saleem's has just had the benefit of remodelling. Thankfully the food has not been compromised, though perhaps the portions have become smaller. I have never before been able to finish my dinner there, but the last two times I have been there, I cleaned my plate. I can only imagine that the portions are smaller. My appetite has not increased. In fact, the opposite has occurred as I grow older. I can hold much less food. I recall the mountains of food that I got through as a teenager and I cringe.

As I was going past Birmingham on the way home, I thought I'd be nice and pick up a bunch of Henry's favourite foods and bring them home. When I got there about 6.30 I decided to stay and have my dinner before I had that long drive home. I had a balti chicken. It was very very good. Complex and spicy with loads of big chunks of chicken breast. Quite a few curry restaurants start off with very good food but as time goes by, indifference creeps in and the food suffers. This hasn't happened at Saleems. Loads of fresh coriander (cilantro) is added in. I love it when I get a big "hit" of coriander while eating a curry. There is heat in the balti chicken, but it isn't painful. I think that one can order a curry here with the heat adjusted. The naan bread that was delivered up with my food was just out of the oven and still steaming. MAN how wonderful was that? I make my own here from time to time, but I will never get the naan perfection that is achieved at Saleem's. It is substantial without being heavy and the texture is open and doesn't get chewy as it cools. I'd love to be an unpaid assistant in their kitchen for a week just so I could get the knack of making this naan bread.
This is the burfi that I purchased yesterday evening at Saleem's. I bought loads, too much in fact. Henry is taking most of it to work so that it isn't lurking around Whitelees over the upcoming three day weekend. I'll only eat it if it is in the house. It won't do me any favours. Henry's favourite is the green pistachio burfi. I think the best one is the caramel-y ones (you can't see them so well in this photo- NO I haven't already eaten them) Like most really good deserts, they're mostly made up of fat and sugar, two of my favourite food groups. I always ask them not to tape the box up so that if I need to, I can pick a chunk out and nibble while I'm driving north.
Saleem's is where Henry took me on my first visit to the UK. I had my first curry in there. The same is true for Ian and Sean. It was where we took my dad on his first visit to the UK. George was maybe all of two weeks old, so it was George's first time out not only his first restaurant.
This is a photo taken on Christmas Day, 1993. Going out for a curry is infinitely better than slaving over a stove for hours and then having loads of leftovers that will languish in the fridge until you throw them out after the New Year. George would have been three months old. Ian and Sean have just finished eating their gulab jaman (another desert). Cousin Helen, did we take you there?
We had a party there on Henry's 50th birthday too. George was thrilled as we had enough people with us to order The Family Naan. As you can see, it is a huge naan bread. George is pointing to the best drink ever invented, mango lassi. Made with among other things mango pulp and yoghurt.
Here are some of our friends. Bigsy, his brother Lal, me, George (slightly obscured) Jameel and his then new bride Mahrukh. Jameel and Mahrukh have since had a beautiful little girl who has just turned one called Hana.
This place covered so many different dietary needs. We needed a place where a vegetarian birthday boy could enjoy himself without having to resort to typical vegetarian restaurant food, "some sort of pasta dish" and our pals needed a place that was halaal. We had such a great time that night. You can see from the 1993 photo and the birthday photos taken in 2004, that the wallpaper had changed. It has since changed again. Have a look on the Saleem's website or better yet stop by this place if you're ever in Birmingham. You won't be sorry.