Glasgow, Birmingham keen to trademark Indian dishes

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London: Can Punjab get a trademark for ‘tandoori chicken’ or Tamil Nadu apply to claim the status for ‘idli sambar’ and prevent the cooking and sale of the delicacies in other parts of India and elsewhere? Food buffs and trade officials would reject the very idea, but two councils in Britain- Birmingham and Glasgow- are trying to trademark two varieties of Indian food that they claim originated in their areas and hope to ban its cooking and sale elsewhere.

The Birmingham City Council is looking at getting a trademark for ‘Balti’ dishes while the Glasgow City Council is supporting Labour MP Mohammad Sarwar’s idea to get a trademark for ‘chicken tikka masala’.

The two councils are examining European legislation that protects products such as Scotch whiskey, champagne, Wensleydale cheese and Arbroath smokies, so that they can apply for similar geographical indicator status to the dishes they claim as their own.

Birmingham is laying claim to the ‘Balti’ dish on the ground that it was invented in the Sparkhill area of the city by immigrants from South Asia in 1977. The city has a reputation for ‘Balti’ dishes and has a popular area called the ‘Balti Triangle’. Sarwar believes Glasgow should claim the trademark for ‘chicken tikka masala’, which is so popular in UK that it is often referred to as national dish. The claim is that the dish was invented in Glasgow by immigrants nearly 40 years ago.

A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: “Curry has a long history in Glasgow and the origins of ‘chicken tikka masala’ are now clearly part of that legend. Glasgow has been declared Curry Capital of Britain three times in recent years and the quality of the food available is unsurpassed.

“Anything that highlights the quality of the curry experience in Glasgow has to be welcomed.”

Expressing Birmingham City Council’s support for ‘Balti’, a spokesman said: “The city is not only the birthplace of the dish, but also home to the UK’s premier community of Balti restaurants and businesses - The Balti Triangle.

“We are always seeking new and imaginative ways to promote the city regionally, nationally and internationally. If it is judged to be feasible and to the benefit of local people and businesses we would not hesitate in pursuing it.”

The ‘chicken tikka masala’ is said to have been created in Glasgow nearly 40 years ago by Ali Ahmed Aslam, the then owner of the Sheesh Mahal restaurant, after a customer complained about the dryness of his chicken.

Asif Ali, manager of Sheesh Mahal, said: “We could call it the Glasgow chicken tikka masala or even Sheesh Mahal chicken tikka masala. We consider ourselves to be Glaswegians first and Scottish second so we are proud to have invented it here.” Sarwar, the Labour MP for Glasgow Central, who plans to table a motion in the House of Commons calling for legal protection for the dish, said: “The ‘chicken tikka masala’ is a favourite dish of mine and I’m proud it was created in Glasgow at the Sheesh Mahal.”

But not everyone is convinced. Mohammed Aslam, a spokesman for the Aagrah chain of restaurants in Bradford, said: “It’s laughable. The Balti is a style of cooking, not a specific dish or creation so there’s no chance it can be protected.”

Muhib Rahman, proprietor of Mother India in Sutton, reacted angrily by saying: “What’s next, banning pizzas outside of Italy? Most people know that Balti technically refers to the vessel in which the meal was cooked or served, so it seems a bit like copyrighting ‘saucer’ or ‘bucket’.”

“It’s just all very silly and I feel pretty aggrieved. I have been selling baltis since I left college and I don’t want to stop, change the name, or pay a royalty,” he said.

According to chefs in Birmingham, the ‘Balti’ dish takes its name from the two-handled, flat-bottomed iron pot (‘karhai’) in which it is traditionally cooked and served. They say that the key to getting a ‘balti’ right is to cook it at searing temperatures in the last ten minutes, providing a stir-fry style flavour.