In many British Pakistani and Indian homes, the first thing cooked after Qurbani on Eid ul-Adha is the kaleji. Before the biryani, before the karahi, there is a pan of liver fried quickly with onions, tomatoes and green chillies, eaten hot with paratha while the rest of the meat is still being portioned. In British kitchens of a certain age, liver and onions with mash was a weeknight staple.
Both traditions understood something that many cooks have forgotten. Lamb liver is cheap, quick and full of flavour, and it is ruined by exactly one thing: overcooking. This guide covers how to buy and prepare it, and three recipes that keep it tender every time.
Why lamb liver
Lamb liver is milder and more tender than beef or ox liver, and smaller than both, which makes it easier to cook evenly. It has a gentle, slightly sweet flavour with less of the strong, metallic edge that puts some people off liver. If you have tried beef liver and not enjoyed it, lamb is worth a second chance. It is also more forgiving to cook than chicken liver, which needs to be cooked right through. In Pakistan, kaleji is just as often made with goat liver, and the recipes below work the same way.
It is also one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can buy, rich in iron, vitamin B12, vitamin A, folate and copper, and low in fat. A small portion goes a long way. (One important note on this follows below.)
THB’s lamb liver is cut fresh, never frozen, and delivered chilled within 24 hours. You will find it with the other lamb offal, including lamb heart, in the lamb range.
Buying and preparing lamb liver
Fresh liver should be a deep, glossy reddish-brown, smooth and moist, with a clean smell. Avoid liver that looks dull, dry or greyish, or that smells sour.
Trimming
Liver is covered in a thin, almost transparent membrane. Peel it off with your fingers, using the tip of a knife to start it. Cut away any visible tubes or veins. The membrane shrinks as it cooks and will make the liver slices curl and toughen if you leave it on.
Slicing
Slice the liver into even pieces. For pan-frying, slices about 1cm thick. For kaleji masala, cubes or strips of about 2cm. Keeping the pieces the same size matters, because liver cooks so quickly that a thicker piece will still be raw when a thinner one is already overdone.
Soaking (optional)
Some cooks soak liver in milk for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking, to soften its flavour. It works, and it is worth doing if you are cooking for someone wary of liver. Many South Asian cooks rinse it instead with a little vinegar or lemon juice in water. Pat it completely dry with kitchen roll before cooking either way; wet liver steams rather than browns.
The golden rule for cooking lamb liver: hot and fast
Liver is the opposite of the slow cooking cuts. It needs high heat and very little time, and it should never be boiled or left to simmer. Cooked fast, it stays soft and tender inside with a browned outside. Cooked slowly or for too long, it turns grainy, dry and rubbery, and develops a bitter edge.
The cook time for 1cm slices in a large frying pan is 90 seconds to 2 minutes per side. The liver is done when it is browned outside, just firm when pressed, and cooked through to a faint blush of pink at the centre with no raw red. Take it off the heat a moment before you think it is ready; it carries on cooking in the pan.
Recipe one: kaleji masala (kaleji curry)
This is the classic Bakra Eid kaleji, and the version most British Asian households will recognise. It serves four as part of a meal.
You will need 500g lamb liver cut into 2cm pieces, 3 tablespoons oil or ghee, 1 large onion finely sliced (or blended onions for a quicker masala base), 1 tablespoon ginger and garlic paste, 2 tomatoes chopped, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon chilli powder, half a teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, half a teaspoon ground cumin, a pinch of black pepper, 3 or 4 green chillies slit, and to finish half a teaspoon garam masala, a handful of finely chopped fresh coriander and a squeeze of lemon.
Heat the oil in a karahi or wide frying pan and fry the onion over a medium-high heat until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes and dry spices (but not the salt) and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the tomatoes have softened into a thick masala and the oil separates.
Turn the heat up to high. Add the liver and the green chillies and stir-fry for 4 to 5 minutes, tossing constantly, until the masala coats the liver and it is browned and just cooked through. Add the salt now rather than earlier; salting liver too early can draw out moisture and toughen it.
Finish with garam masala, coriander and lemon. Serve immediately with hot paratha or naan. Kaleji does not wait well, so have everything ready before you cook the liver.
Recipe two: British liver and onions
The pub classic, reworked for a halal kitchen. Serves two generously.
You will need 400g lamb liver in 1cm slices, 2 tablespoons plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper, 2 large onions thinly sliced, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 300ml beef stock, 1 teaspoon cornflour mixed with a splash of water, a few sprigs of thyme and a few sage leaves.
Melt half the butter with the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions slowly over a medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, with the thyme, sage and sugar, until soft, sweet and deep golden. Add the stock and simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in the cornflour paste to thicken into a gravy. Tip into a jug and keep warm. Wipe out the pan.
Dust the liver in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess. Heat the pan until very hot, add the rest of the butter, and lay in the liver slices without crowding. Cook for 90 seconds to 2 minutes each side until browned and just cooked through.
Serve on a pile of buttery mash with the onion gravy poured over and some greens on the side. For the full British treatment, fry a few halal beef rashers until crisp and lay them on top, in place of the bacon the original recipe would use.
Recipe three: kaleji tikka
For the grill or the barbecue, a very hot oven, or a heavy non-stick pan. Serves four as a starter.
Cut 500g of lamb liver into 3cm chunks. Mix 4 tablespoons of thick yoghurt with a tablespoon of ginger and garlic paste, a teaspoon each of chilli powder, ground cumin and garam masala, half a teaspoon of turmeric, the juice of half a lemon and a tablespoon of oil. Toss the liver in the marinade and leave for 30 minutes, no longer, because the acid in the yoghurt and lemon starts to change the texture of liver quickly.
Thread onto skewers with chunks of red onion and green pepper. Season with salt just before cooking. Grill under a very hot grill, on a barbecue or in a 240°C (220°C fan) oven for 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until charred at the edges and just cooked inside.
Serve with mint and yoghurt chutney, sliced onions and lemon wedges. If you are planning a full barbecue spread, THB’s BBQ boxes make a good partner.
A note on liver and pregnancy
Because liver is so rich in vitamin A, the NHS advises that anyone who is pregnant should avoid liver and liver products, as too much vitamin A can harm a developing baby. For everyone else, liver is a nutritious food, and a portion once a week is plenty given how concentrated its nutrients are.
For more on what offal and red meat bring to the table, THB Mag covered the forgotten nutrients in red meat.
Frequently asked questions
How long should you cook the liver?
For 1cm slices in a very hot pan, 90 seconds to 2 minutes per side. For kaleji masala cut into 2cm pieces, 4 to 5 minutes of stir-frying over a high heat. It should be cooked through to a faint pink blush, not raw.
Why is my liver tough?
It was overcooked or cooked over too low a heat. Liver toughens quickly once it passes the point of being just cooked. Leaving the membrane on can also make it curl and toughen.
Should I soak lamb liver in milk?
It is optional. Soaking for 30 to 60 minutes softens the flavour, which helps if you are cooking for someone new to liver. Pat it dry before cooking.
Is lamb liver better than beef liver?
Lamb liver is milder, more tender and smaller, which makes it easier to cook well. Beef liver has a stronger flavour. Both are highly nutritious.
What is kaleji?
Kaleji is the Urdu and Hindi word for liver, and also the name of the spiced fried liver dish popular across Pakistan and North India, traditionally the first dish cooked after Qurbani at Eid ul-Adha.
Can I freeze lamb liver?
Yes. Freeze it on the day it arrives, in the vacuum pack, for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and pat dry before cooking. Cooked liver does not reheat well, so freeze it raw.
Order your liver
Lamb liver is one of the quickest, cheapest and most nutritious things you can cook, and it takes ten minutes from pan to plate. Order fresh halal lamb liver from THB today, delivered chilled tomorrow, and browse the rest of the lamb range for everything else on the table.
