Kaleja Aloo Karhi (Liver and Potato Curry)

I'm always on the lookout for more good liver recipes. I love liver, but I like to have a few different ways of preparing it. Liver and onions is a classic, but I get bored of it pretty quickly. Liver fried rice is nice, but it's also very much a "once-in-a-while" thing for me, especially since I find it a bit fussy to prepare. And the tomato-y Burmese liver curry is alright, but it just doesn't sing to me most days.

This recipe looked interesting, but I have to admit, I was expecting that it would be on the same level as the Burmese liver curry for me: okay, but not great. Just another way to use up liver, without actually being a stand-out dish or something that I'd go out of my way for if I didn't have liver to use up.

I was pleasantly surprised. It was really good! I made a few tiny tweaks, but nothing major. And it produced a lovely, flavourful, harmonious curry that went great with a vegetable stuffed paratha and a bit of spinach-y rice (palak pulao).

Kaleja Aloo Karhi

Slightly adapted from One-Dish Meals of Asia by Jennifer Brennan

Ingredients

• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2-4 Tbsp. water
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp. aniseed
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 c. ghee, divided
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 450g calf/beef liver¹
• 3 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chilies, minced
• 2-3 boiled potatoes, sliced into 1cm (1/2") thick discs
• 1 tsp. tamarind concentrate
• 1/2 c. hot water (or reserved potato cooking water)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. fresh or frozen peas
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine onions, garlic, coconut, water, cinnamon, cumin, aniseed, coriander, and cloves in a blender or food processor and process into a paste. You will likely only need 2 Tbsp. of water if using a food processor. The full 1/4 c. of water is likely to be required if using a blender. Set the paste aside.
2. Heat 3 Tbsp. of ghee over medium-high heat.
3. Add the mustard seeds and cook, covered, until seeds have stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
4. Add liver and cook until seared on both/all sides. Remove from pan with tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside.
5. Add potatoes and chilies to pan and cook until browned. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon.
6. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. of ghee to the pan and pour in the onion-coconut paste.
7. Cook, stirring occastionally, until water has evaporated and mixture begins to fry.
8. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
9. Return liver, potatoes, and chilies to the pan.
10. Add the tamarind paste, water, salt, and peas to the pan and bring to a boil.
11. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
12. Stir in cilantro and cook for another minute or two.
13. Serve with rice, flatbread, and/or vegetable side(s) of your choice.

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¹ The recipe calls for cubing the liver, but I missed that instruction and ended up leaving it as two large slices. I'm sure it would be good chopped into smaller pieces. This would likely make it easier to get a uniform mix of potatoes, liver, and sauce. That said, I quite liked the approach I ended up taking. I found it easier to flip and manage the cooking of two big pieces vs. lots of little pieces. ^Back