Halal Meat

A good butcher understands that buying meat is rarely as simple as asking for a kilogram of chicken or lamb. One customer needs small bone-in chicken pieces for karahi. Another…

One piece of lamb can tell you very little about the dinner it will become. Put it into a karahi, and the aim may be tender meat coated in a concentrated tomato-based masala. Cook…

A beautifully seasoned nihari can still disappoint if the beef is wrong. The gravy might be rich, the spices perfectly balanced and the kitchen filled with the unmistakable aroma…

By five o’clock on a November evening, the garden is already dark. Someone has brought extra blankets, a tray of marinated chicken is waiting in the fridge, and the first guests…

At 6:45 on a Tuesday evening, a complicated chicken recipe is rarely an attractive proposition. The frying pan is still in the cupboard, nobody has prepared the ginger and garlic,…

There is a moment when cooking lamb chops becomes a little uncertain. The outside has developed a beautiful golden crust. The kitchen smells of garlic, rosemary and warm spices.…

A kilogram of chicken means different things in different kitchens. For someone living alone, it might cover several carefully planned meals. In a household with six people, the…

A whole chicken sitting in a roasting tray, boneless pieces sizzling in a karahi, and drumsticks coated in a fragrant marinade have one thing in common: they all begin with…

A packet of minced beef can lead to three very different dinners. Cook it with onions, tomatoes and spices, and you have the beginnings of a comforting keema. Mix it carefully…

The doorbell is expected at seven. By half past five, the kitchen smells wonderful, the onions have melted into the gravy, and the spices have settled into that familiar, rich…

The masala is ready. The onions have turned a beautiful golden brown, the ginger and garlic have lost their raw sharpness, and the kitchen smells exactly as it should. Yet…

The most important instruction in a chicken recipe is sometimes the one that receives the least attention: “Add 750g of chicken.” But what kind of chicken? A boneless breast, a…