This beef paya recipe is considered as one of the most popular beef dishes in Pakistan. This dish is prepared by simply marinating the beef in a mixture of tomato sauce and coriander powder, then cooking it in a clay oven for an hour. On the other hand, add cooked trotters to the cooked beef and blend well with the aromatic spices, then add coriander powder and mix very well. Cover the container and cook for half an hour or until the beef becomes tender.
Drain off the juice from the beef paye recipe, then cut it into small pieces. Add the cooked meat, along with all the spice mixture (mixed well) and salt to taste. Cover the container tightly and let the beef stew stand for another half hour or so, while you prepare the rest of the meals. When the first ingredients are ready, use a large sauce pan and heat the oil (oil which are half-hearted in size) over medium heat, and add the onions, garlic, ginger, cumin powder, and green chillies or cilantro.
While the beef paya recipe is mostly baked, it can also be cooked quickly using a pressure cooker. Then add the beef paya pieces and fry them in the heated oil for 2 minutes. Cover the container tightly, open the valve and let the mixture cool down. In case you have used tomato sauce to marinate the beef, do not drain off the paste and keep it aside. Instead, take the paste and put it in a small blender along with a little water. Puree the beef paya recipe to your preferred consistency.
After this, you can add all the ingredients needed for preparing the meals. In case you are using tomatoes, cook them separately until they are soft in texture – they may take some time. Drain off the liquid before serving. Use the same method for other ingredients.
In case you use tomato paste, there are some substitutes which would work just as well. One such substitute is to make beef pouched with tomatoes and onion powder. You can add all the ingredients listed above and puree the beef pouched mixture. You can add all the spices required and cover for about an hour. It can be cooked as normal and served on its own or you can add this to your other meals.
For more intense beef flavor, try cooking beef stew as the recipe paye mentioned earlier. It may need more care as compared to the regular beef stew as it contains more ingredients. You will need to cook the beef in a separate pan and add the following ingredients – whole pepper, onions, garlic, ginger, black pepper, dried oregano, cumin powder, turmeric, salt and celery.
If using yogurt, instead of making a thick curd for the dish, use half of the yogurt and half of the beef paye mix. You can also add cream if you like. Cook the mixture until the mixture thickens.
Once done, you will need to add all the other ingredients into the beef paye mix that you have made previously. Mix the ingredients thoroughly until all the ingredients are completely combined. At this point, you can serve or let the mixture cool down. In case you feel the mixture is too thick, you can add a little bit more milk so that the beef paye is well blended. Add a tablespoon of corn starch to the cooled mixture and serve hot.
When serving, you should first cover the beef paye with a slice of bread. When cooking the bread, remember not to add butter. Then use a teaspoon of flour to make the crust. Put the onions in the middle of the bread and then roll the meat over the onions to seal them together.
Add the tomatoes and garlic to the beef and then spread some yogurt on the top. Once the yogurt is melted, add the cranberries and then put everything into an aluminum foil. Close the foil tightly and then bake at 350F for about 25 minutes. Once done, remove the yogurt from the baking sheet and spread some more cranberry on top.
Put everything back into the slow cooker and cook for another hour. When the beef is cooked, take the cooked beef out of the cooker, add the rest of the ingredients and pour the yogurt on top. Then serve up with some crusty bread. You can find beef trotters that are perfect for this dish at just about any grocery store.