Bhuna Gosht (Heritage Food)

Bhuna gosht is a famous Pakistani dish, loved by meat lovers all over the country, that is enjoyed as scrumptious lunch in the afternoon after a long day of hard work. The word ‘Bhuna’ refers to the cooking method or technique, where the meat is first pan fried for few minutes in whole spices using medium high or high heat, to develop flavours and then pressured or slow cooked so the flavour notes develop from the meat juices, it should be fried until no rawness is left and meat juice has broken  down and dried into thick gravy paste, and only after pervious step is complete should the water be added. It can be cooked using mutton or beef, but usually mutton or lamb is preferred (it is also important to mention that there is no rule on type of meat cut, you can choose whatever is available to you, traditionally meat with bones is better choice then boneless cuts).  This dish is a bit demanding as a lot of hand work is required in consistently frying it for 30 to 40 minutes, and time consuming, it takes a while for meat to breakdown and soften up, but the end result is will make it worth the hard work. Many consider Bhuna ghost as a form of simple karahi. The preparation of this dish needs to start early as it can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours to be cooked well and get the tender and juicy meat texture that is both aromatic and flavourful, trapping both the sense of smell and sense of taste of its eater. What really adds the flavour to this meat dish is fresh herbs and whole spices rather then pre packed spice box, using clarified butter instead of regular vegetable oil adds buttery smack into it. One can also substitute it with animal fat which will keep more flavours intact and a lot more juicy taste. It’s simply the best dish for any house party, Eid festival or wedding celebration as an onion based gravy with red meat. In order to get right colour of gravy, make sure to fry onion to golden brown or less otherwise darker onion colour will cause the gravy’s colour to turn too brown or almost black colour additionally giving it a bitter taste. Both fresh and frozen meat from supermarket will work well. Although it can be cooked using any variety of red meat however, beef and camel version can take a bit longer, up to 6 hours. It’s important to use a heavy bottom pan also known as wok or karahi for the frying purpose, this makes for better caramelised onions and meat can cook properly with a lot of space for mixing around when frying. Bhuna gosht is a dish for all and every occasion, it works as just simply a savoury lunch dish. This meat dish can be served with flat bread, paratha, naan or rice, with sides like fresh yoghurt and salad of your choice.

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