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Paya
Serves 6 Prep 30 min Cook 8 hr Total 8 hr 30 min Type Meal Origin Pakistani

Paya

Lahore's Sunday breakfast: lamb trotters simmered all night in a deep masala until the broth turns silky with gelatin.

Serves 6 Prep 30 minutes Cook 6 hours (or 2 hours pressure cooker) Units Rate

Overview

Cleaned lamb or goat trotters are blanched, scraped clean and then simmered slowly with onion, ginger-garlic, ground spices (turmeric, chilli, coriander, cumin, garam masala), bay leaves and cardamom for 6 hours over the lowest heat. Pressure cookers cut this to 2 hours. The broth that results is thick and gelatinous; the meat on the bones is dark and luscious. Finished with a fried-onion-and-cumin tarka. Garnished generously with fresh ginger, green chilli, coriander and lemon.

Ingredients

Paya (trotters)

  • 8 lamb trotters (or 6 goat trotters, about 1 ½ kg total - your butcher will clean and chop them; ask for "paya cut")
  • 1 tablespoon salt (for blanching)

Masala

  • 5 tablespoons ghee (or sunflower oil)
  • 3 onions (medium, sliced)
  • 3 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • ½ teaspoon ordinary chilli powder
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Garam Masala
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 green cardamom pods
  • 2 black cardamom pods (the smoky kind - important for paya)
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • 2 teaspoons salt (more to taste)
  • 2 ½ litres water

Tarka

  • 4 tablespoons ghee
  • 1 onion (large, sliced thin, fried golden)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

To finish (set at the table)

  • 4 cm fresh ginger (cut into matchsticks)
  • 3 green chillies (sliced)
  • Small bunch coriander (chopped)
  • 4 lemons (cut into wedges)
  • 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
  • Fresh naan (or roti)

Method

Stage 1 - Blanch the trotters

  1. Place trotters in a large pot; cover with cold water; add the 1 tablespoon salt.
  2. Bring to a hard boil.
  3. Boil 10 minutes.
  4. Drain; rinse thoroughly under cold water; scrape off any remaining hair or grime with a small knife.
  5. Reserve.

Stage 2 - Masala base

  1. Heat ghee in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat.
  2. Add sliced onions; cook 12 minutes, stirring, until deep golden brown.
  3. Add ginger-garlic paste; cook 1 minute.
  4. Add chilli powder, turmeric, coriander, cumin, garam masala; cook 30 seconds.

Stage 3 - Combine and simmer

  1. Add the cleaned trotters, whole spices (cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, peppercorns) and salt.
  2. Toss to coat the trotters in the masala.
  3. Pour in 2 ½ litres of water.
  4. Bring to a boil; skim any foam thoroughly.

Stage 4 - The long cook

  1. Stovetop: Reduce to the lowest possible simmer (barely bubbling).
  2. Cover loosely (leaving a small gap for steam to escape).
  3. Cook 6 hours, checking every hour, topping up with hot water if the level drops below the trotters. The broth should reduce by a third and the meat on the trotters should be tender, the bones starting to release the gelatin.
  4. Pressure cooker (alternative): Pressure cook on high 2 hours (cumulative). Natural release.

Stage 5 - Check tenderness

  1. The meat on the trotters should pull off easily; the broth should be visibly thickened and silky.
  2. If not yet tender, simmer 30 minutes more.

Stage 6 - Tarka

  1. In a small pan, heat the 4 tablespoons ghee.
  2. Add the cumin seeds; sizzle 10 seconds until dark.
  3. Off heat; stir in the deep-fried golden onion.

Stage 7 - Combine

  1. Stir the tarka into the paya pot.
  2. Taste; adjust salt - paya needs generous salt.

Stage 8 - Serve

  1. Ladle paya into deep bowls - make sure each gets some meat, broth and bone.
  2. At the table, garnish with ginger matchsticks, green chilli, coriander, garam masala and a lemon wedge to squeeze.
  3. Eat with fresh naan - tear, dip, suck the marrow from any leftover bones.

Notes

  • Slow simmer is the dish: Paya cannot be rushed. 6 hours on the lowest heat is what extracts the gelatin and makes the meat tender. A pressure cooker shortcuts to 2 hours but the texture is slightly less silky.
  • Black cardamom matters: The smoky black cardamom pods are key to paya's traditional flavour. Don't substitute extra green cardamom - the smokiness is missed.
  • Garnish generously: A bowl of paya without lemon, fresh ginger, chilli and coriander on top is ½ bowl. The fresh notes cut the richness.

Storage

  • Refrigerate 5 days - paya sets to a savoury jelly in the fridge as the gelatin firms; reheats gently back to liquid.
  • Freezes 3 months.

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