Peshawari Mutton Karahi (Charsi)
A home-style recipe for Peshawari Mutton Karahi (Charsi). Serves 4, ready in about 60 minutes.
Ingredients
- ½ cup ghee or mutton fat (charbi), melted
- 1 kg mutton, in small pieces with bone
- 1½ tsp salt
- 5 tomatoes (about 600 g), whole
- 4–5 green chillies, slit
- 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely crushed (optional)
- A small piece of ginger, in thin strips (optional)
Missing something?
- No beef or mutton (gosht)? Use chicken (cook for less time).
- No tomato? Use 1 tbsp tomato paste per tomato, or 2 tbsp yogurt for tang.
Method
- Heat the ghee in a karahi or heavy pot. Add the meat and salt and fry on high heat for 5–6 minutes, until it changes colour.
- Add 1 cup water, cover tightly and cook on low heat for 35–40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the meat is tender. Add a splash more water only if it sticks.
- Put the whole tomatoes on top, cover and cook for 5 minutes, until their skins split. Lift them out, peel off the skins and put the tomatoes back.
- Cook uncovered on high heat for 10–12 minutes, stirring and breaking up the tomatoes, until they melt into the meat and the ghee separates.
- Add the green chillies, black pepper and ginger and cook for 2 minutes more.
Tip: With beef, cook the meat for 1–1½ hours in step 2. Ask the butcher for small pieces from the shoulder and ribs with some fat; charsi karahi has no other masala, so the meat gives the taste.