This post was originally published on June 9, 2018 based on the dum kay pasanday recipe from Kausar Ahmed's book, "The Karachi Kitchen". I recently updated it in order to prepare it in the slow cooker with a few spice adjustments.
Katherine Ferguson was kind enough to send me a copy of Kausar Ahmed's book, "The Karachi Kitchen" in December last year. The book is a small collection of classic and contemporary flavors of Pakistan. Born in Karachi, Kausar is a food stylist, chef and cooking instructor that splits her time between Pakistan and the United States. To learn more about her work, check out my interview of her here.
I enjoyed perusing through the book but didn't have time to test out any of her recipes till several months later. I especially enjoyed making dum kay pasanday - beef strips marinated in a glorious spice blend and then slow cooked over a few hours. It's a richer variation of an old recipe, Anita's Bhuna Ghosht that I like to make in the winter. Another recipe that is inspired by Kausar's book is this chicken hara masala.
I recently took another stab at the recipe because I wanted to test it out in the slow cooker. The big change was that I first fried the marinated beef strips in oil before tossing them into the slow cooker with a cup of water. I also tinkered a bit with the spices to soften the flavor.
I'm looking forward to preparing this during the next Eid. It's a flavorful, celebratory main that pairs well with both pulao and roti. Kausar however, specifically recommends serving it with some piping hot naan.
Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Dum Kay Pasanday (Masala-Rubbed Roast Beef)
Ingredients
Spice Rub
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorn
- 1 ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon whole cloves
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 1 inch cinnamon stick broken into small pieces
- 5 dried red chilies
Beef
- 2.2 lbs beef tenderloin trimmed and chopped into thin 2-inch slices
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- ¼ cup oil canola/sunflower/vegetable
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
Instructions
- Toast spices in a dry skillet on medium-low heat for 3 - 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until mustard seeds begin to pop. Cool completely and then grind into a powder using a spice or coffee grinder.
- In a large platter, mix the beef, salt, yogurt, lemon juice, ginger and garlic paste and spice mix. Marinate for 2 hours, or more.
- Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and fry until caramelized, about 10 minutes.
- Add the marinated beef and cook on high heat till the meat is no longer pink, 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from stove. Place in Crock-Pot or any slow cooker, add 1 cup water. Cook on low heat for 6 hours or high heat for 3 hours. Serve warm.
Miriam says
Can the last step be done in a pressure cooker versus slow cooker or would this impact the result?
pakistaneats says
Hi Miriam! This can definitely be done with a pressure cooker or instant pot. I would cook it for around 30 minutes with 1 cup of water. Let me know how it turns out.
Dennis Yannakos says
Thanks for the recipe! Bookmarked to try!
Kitchen Utensils Review
hafsa says
wow nice dish ,sounds good,i love pasanday ?
pakistaneats says
Thank you - me too!
KS says
What is the garnish on top in the photo?
pakistaneats says
It's julienned ginger and chopped cilantro