Paye (or paaya) is a traditional dish of Lahore and the Punjab, made from cow or goat trotters slow-cooked for 6 to 8 hours until the connective tissue and marrow dissolve into the broth, creating a thick, gelatinous, deeply savoury curry. The trotters are cleaned and singed, then simmered with onion, ginger, garlic, whole spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cumin) and a masala paste of fried onions. The long cooking is essential: the collagen in the joints must break down completely, thickening the broth into a sticky, lip-coating sauce. In Lahore, paye are a winter breakfast specialty, eaten at dawn with naan at dedicated paye shops that open before sunrise. The dish is considered restorative and is given to the elderly, new mothers and the unwell.
A thick, gelatinous, deeply savoury broth, sticky on the lips, with soft, yielding trotter pieces and the rich taste of marrow. Eaten by tearing naan into the bowl and soaking it in the gravy, each piece loaded with sticky broth.
The technique is a very long simmer that extracts collagen and marrow. The trotters are cleaned (singed over flame to remove hair, scraped, washed in several changes of water) and parboiled. In a separate pot, onions are fried to make a masala base, ginger-garlic paste and whole spices added, then the trotters and a large volume of water. The pot is simmered covered on very low heat for 6 to 8 hours, until the meat falls off the bones and the broth is thick and glossy from the dissolved collagen. No thickening agent is added; the body of the curry comes entirely from the joints' collagen. The dish is finished with fried onions, fresh ginger strips and chopped coriander, and a squeeze of lemon.
Variations
Some use goat trotters, which are smaller and cook faster. A version with Siri (head) is a grander dish.
On the Palate
Where Lahori Paye sits in the Pakistani flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
5 steps · 30 min
- 16 min
Clean and singe 1kg cow trotters; parboil 10 minutes; drain and rinse.
Watch outSinge off every hair and scrub the trotters through several changes of water — leftover hair or grit ruins the whole pot's flavor.
- 26 min
Fry 2 sliced onions in 4 tbsp oil until golden; add 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 2 cardamom, 1 cinnamon, 4 cloves, 1 tsp cumin seeds.
- 38 min
Add the trotters and 2 litres water; bring to a boil, then simmer covered on very low heat for 6 hours.
Watch outSimmer covered on the lowest heat a full 6 hours until the meat falls off the bone and the broth is thick and glossy — that body is all dissolved collagen, no thickener.
- 45 min
When the meat falls off the bone and the broth is thick and glossy, add salt and fried onions.
- 54 min
Garnish with ginger strips and coriander; serve with naan and lemon.
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