Diced beef for the long cook

What to ask for

Our beef is lean and firm. It isn't a steak that cooks in four minutes. In chunks it wants time: about 2 hours for a stew or a steak pie filling, 1½ hours for a curry, and 3 hours or more for nihari, lid on and the heat low. Ask for 3 to 4cm pieces for stew and pie, and larger ones for nihari. Beef shank is the traditional nihari cut when we have it; boneless chunks work very well.

Getting it soft

Don't boil it hard. A lazy simmer, covered, is what turns firm beef into something you can break with a spoon. Add potatoes late, the way you would in a lamb curry, or they collapse before the meat is ready.

Pots for diced beef

• Beef stew Tender beef slow-cooked with carrots, potatoes and onions in a deep, savoury gravy. One pot and very little work. 2 hr 50 minMild
• Scottish steak pie Slow-cooked beef in a rich gravy under a golden puff pastry lid. A Scottish classic, and a Sunday favourite all winter. 3 hr 10 minMild
• Beef nihari Beef slow-cooked for hours in a deeply spiced, silky gravy, then finished with ginger, green chilli and lemon. 4 hr 20 minHot
• Haleem Beef slow-cooked with wheat, barley and lentils, then beaten into a thick, savoury porridge and topped with crisp onions, ginger and lemon. 4 hr 30 minWarm

Diced beef questions

Name the pot and we'll dice it at 44 Kilmarnock Road, Shawlands, Glasgow G41 3NH. Find the shop.