Making soft Kaleji Masala AKA liver fry is one of those recipes where spices are less important. What matters is technique. Even if you add only salt and pepper you can make the best liver curry. The trick is to make it soft and juicy.
Kaleji literally means liver of any animal usually, beef, lamb, or chicken. Kaleji fry or kaleji masala means to fry bite-size pieces of the beef or lamb liver with spices like chili, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, dried fenugreek, and ginger garlic paste.
Usually, tomatoes, onions, and yogurt are also added to make masala gravy. It is served with naan or roti, rice, or even yellow lentil khidchdi.
Kaleji Masala or liver fry is a must Eid ul Adha recipe like aloo ghost, seekh kebab, lamb karahi and Nihari. So, follow the cooking timings and steps religiously for best tasting juicy lamb or beef liver curry.
Obviously, you can play around with spices, but this recipe is really balanced with aroma spices and gravy, so you better follow it. You may learn more about the benefits of eating liver here.
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How Does This Recipe Work?
- The basic trick in making bhuni kaleji is cooking time and technique. So follow the steps closely.
- Resting kaleji after cooking is magic: After cooking lamb liver for 4-5 minutes. Cover pot and rest it. The steam in the pot cooks the liver completely as the liver has very little cooking time. This resting allows the liver to seal some juices inside which keeps your liver fry soft.
- The resting process will make the liver release juices in gravy that we'll burn on high heat. I do it when reheating the liver fry before serving. This works best.
- If you wish to make kaleji pota then you can sub some kaleji with pota in the recipe. Add kidney pieces earlier in the tomato gravy. Let it cook thoroughly then add liver pieces.
- Here's a completely separate post where I discussed everything you need to know about cooking liver and how to handle mishaps.
Ingredients
All ingredients of Kaleji masala are visible in the photo above so I won't list them except for a few, that I feel need some discussion.
- Kaleji: The liver is the main ingredient in the recipe, hence you must know a little about choosing liver. Always choose a darker, gleaming liver that is fresh and not frozen. It should have a fresh and not very stale smell. The liver of a calf is better than the liver of a cow.
- Salt: Salt can extract a lot of juice from the liver so try to end most of the salt towards the end of the recipe.
- Fenugreek: Fenugreek adds both a lover of Indian curry taste and aroma to the liver curry. But more than that it helps the digestion of the liver which can be difficult to digest for senior citizens.
- Spices: These are basic Indian spices but if do not like any single spice just skip it. You may switch Kashmiri chili and chili flakes with chilies.
- Green Chilies: Smaller green chilies like Thai chili are spicier and I used them to make green chili paste. The medium and thick chilies are more aromatic and less spicy making them a good choice for garnish.
How to make it?
- I'm using a non-stick pan to make this since it has a larger surface for (bhunai) cooking on high heat but a wok or pot will also work well. Fry onion slices on low heat for 7 minutes until very soft, then fry for 1 minute on high to turn onions light golden. (The slow cooking helps onions dissolve easily in gravy.)
- Add spices and give it a stir. Cook for 1 minute. (Protip: Avoid adding salt in the beginning, but a little salt from ginger garlic paste is ok.)
- Next goes in tomatoes, you can use sliced or pureed. Mix well and cover. Cook for 5-7 minutes on medium heat. When tomatoes are soft, stir gravy on high heat to burn tomato water (bhunnofy). (Protip: Add a little water if needed and continue to cook until onion and tomatoes are well cooked, as we will not cook much after adding liver.)
- When you see oil clearly separating on the sides of the pan, add whipped yogurt and dried fenugreek leaves. Cook further for 2-3 minutes on high. Keep stirring. The gravy is ready.
- Add washed liver, mix, and cover the lid. Cook for 2 minutes on medium heat. Remove lid and add salt, cook for another 3 minutes on high heat, and keep stirring. Total cooking is of 5 minutes.
- Rest: Switch off the flame and cover the pot. (The kaleji is not cooked completely, it will continue to cook in a covered pot.) Rest for 10-15 minutes to seal the juices in the liver. The liver will release some water.
- Add ginger, chilies, cilantro, and butter to your kaleji curry. Then reheat on high flame and burn any extra water (kaleji juices). Keep stirring on high until oil is visible on the sides of the pan. Consider adding 1-2 tablespoons extra oil if needed.
- Garnish and serve Kaleji Masala immediately.
How to Serve Kaleji Masala?
Kaleji is best served freshly cooked. unlike most Indian foods leftover kaleji is neither tempting nor nutritionally rich. So always prefer to small in a small batch just enough to be consumed in one meal.
You can serve kaleji masala with pao, naan or any bread. We love to eat Kaleji masala with yellow dal khidchri or plain rice. You can even make kaleji masala bun with chutney and onions. Kaleji buns are a very popular street food as well.
Recipe FAQs
If your liver fry turns hard and chewy due to long cooking. To fix it slow cook liver for 40 minutes or until soft. But with this method liver loses its juiciness but it's soft enough to eat with gravy.
Cook liver for 5 minutes on high heat until its color changes completely. Cooking longer can make the liver chewy as it losses most of its juices.
As per food safety washing the liver is not necessary. If your liver is extremely fresh from an animal that was recently slaughtered, you may cook it without washing and it is full of nutrients.
If your liver was stored in the fridge and not as fresh consider, a quick wash that removes most of the blood and clots. Soaking the liver in water or milk for too can remove most of the nutrients and so not recommended.
Hungry for lamb? Check these!
If you try this kaleji recipe, I'd LOVE to hear your feedback in the comments. Your 5-ratings motivate me to do my best. Stay connected for more recipes and videos on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube.
📖 Recipe
Kaleji Fry Masala Recipe | Liver Fry
Ingredients
- ½ cup oil
- 1 medium (125 gram) onion, finely sliced
Spices
- 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ½ tablespoon small green chilli paste
- ½ tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Other
- 2 (200 gram) tomato, purred or sliced
- â…“ cup yogurt
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
- 500 grams ( 1.1 pound) lamb or beef Liver, cut in to small pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon butter or ghee, optional
- 1 fistful coriander leaves, chopped
- 3 medium green chillies, sliced
- 2 inch ginger sliced
- 2 lemon wedges, optional
Instructions
- In a wok, fry onion on slow heat for 7-10 minutes. When onion slices are very soft increase heat to medium and stir constantly until lightly golden.
- Mix in ingredients in the spice list and give it a stir. When spices sizzle adds tomatoes. Cover and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. When tomatoes are soft stir on high heat and dry all tomato water.
- When oil separates on sides of wok pour in yogurt and fenugreek leaves. Sear for another 2 minutes.
- Now, mix in liver pieces and stir for a minute until color changes. Cover and cook for 2 minutes on medium flame. Remove lid, sprinkle salt. Cook for another 2 minutes on high heat with constant stirring.
- Finally, remove from heat and cover the pot and rest it for 10 minutes at least. The steam in the pot will cook the liver completely.
- Reheat on high flame and and add butter, green chillies, green corianders and ginger. Burn any excess water and sear until oil seperate at the side of pan. (Bhunofy for 1-2 minute).
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Notes
- Liver:Â The liver is the main ingredient in the recipe, hence you must know a little about choosing liver. Always choose a darker, gleaming liver that is fresh and not frozen. It should have a fresh and not very stale smell. The liver of a calf is better than the liver of a cow.
- Spices: These are basic Indian spices but if do not like any single spice just skip it. You may switch Kashmiri chili and chili flakes with chilies.
- Salt:Â Salt can extract a lot of juice from the liver so try to end most of the salt towards the end of the recipe.
- Fenugreek: Fenugreek adds both a lover of Indian curry taste and aroma to the liver curry. But more than that it helps the digestion of the liver which can be difficult to digest for senior citizens.
- Green Chilies:Â Smaller green chilies like Thai chili are spicier and I used them to make green chili paste. The medium and thick chilies are more aromatic and less spicy making them a good choice for garnish.
Sheela says
This is truly a very good recipe. The liver turned out very soft and juicy.
Mariam Sodawater says
OoH, Sheela! Thank you so much for sharing your feedback. You've certainly made my day.
Beatrix says
Made this again but with chicken livers. Just changed the method up coz you can’t stir fry chicken livers like you can beef obviously. Made the sauce until finished and then just added the chicken livers that I seared first at the end to cook until pink. Oh wow!!!! I just love this recipe so much!!!
Mariam Sodawater says
Hi Beatrix, yes you are right, chicken liver can be stir-fried easily because they don't get hard upon overcooking. Thanks for the detailed feedback, this must be useful for readers. I'm so glad that you used this as a primary recipe and now you are innovating with it.
Beatrix says
Slm Mariam! What an incredibly delicious dish!!! As a person who east A LOT of Indian food and A LOT of liver, I cannot believe I've never heard of this! I feel cheated haha! It was pure luck I found it, too and I am so glad I did! I will be making this very often for sure! It's addictive! I bookmarked your page and will be trying more of your recipes!
Mariam Sodawater says
Thank you so much for trying my recipe and leaving such a detailed comment Beatrix. It is so pleasing to know you liked it so much!
Harry says
Hi, iss kaleji fry ne to ISB ke melody food court ki yaad kra di! I did make it in 100g of butter though, no oil, but was super easy to follow. Air phir 40 minutes cooking time. Golden star to you 😀
Mariam Sodawater says
Hi Harry, butter is a good choice, this must be killer delicious in butter. I'm so glad you liked it.
saneeah says
Made this today it was delicious.
Mariam Sodawater says
Thank you so much for sharing feedback, I'm so glad you liked it.
Farah says
Thanks ! Tried it and it was lovely..was a big thing for me as our next door always makes kaleji for us and my husband asked me to do it for the first time..so I was nervous..but I'm glad I followed ur recipe
Mariam Sodawater says
Hi, I’m so glad you liked it. Thanks for sharing your story. So sweet!
Suzanne Carver says
Hello. What is garlic ginger paste? Is there a substitute? Thank you
Mariam Sodawater says
Hi Suzanne, it is just what it says. A paste made from half and half ginger and garlic by weight. Just use 1 tablespoon ginger paste and 1 tablespoon garlic. You can also use freshly minced ginger and garlic of the same measure. Looking forward to your feedback on this recipe.
Umm-e-Aimen Taaha says
It turned out amazing perfectly soft and juicy. Flavour was amazing. thanks Marium
Mariam Sodawater says
Thanks for the feedback Aimon, your feedbacks are always encouraging.
Rabab says
I am afraid to try it.. because I am scared of liver not being soft and becoming hard as a rock.. and according to your recipe only 5 minutes cooking time is a huge shock for me :O
Mariam Sodawater says
Hi Rabab, sorry I missed your comment. Don't be afraid and follow the recipe to the dot. Cook for five minutes and you'll have great taste. Make sure to bhunna masala well. After kaleji cooking for 5 minutes, rest the kaleji for 15 minutes so the liquids are locked in. Then bunno again until desired consistency and texture are reached. You may add a little water if you like gravy.
Lastly, if if you still have hard kaleji, you can always add some warm water and cook for 30 minutes like you'll cook mutton. Kaleji will get tender again. Just a little patience and you'll excel it. Good luck.
Aayush says
I love this recipe. I added a 1/2 tsp of paprika and topped it with some extra parsley. Tasted amazing, would definitely recommend! ????
Recipe 52 says
Thanks a lot Aayush for the lovely feedback! ??
Paprika and parsley would be great additions.
Saad says
I tried this today and it turned out amazingly soft and juicy. Thanks!!
Recipe 52 says
I’m so glad to know that. Thanks a lot for leaving a lovely comment.
Saad says
I wish I could post a pic of it.
Recipe 52 says
Post with hashtag #loverecipe52 on Instagram and tag us @recipe52.
Mohammed Ansari says
What is the weight of liver
Recipe 52 says
500 gram approximately.