The easiest way to get the right meat is to tell us the dish. "Karahi for six" gets you better meat than "a kilo of lamb". Find your dish below and you'll know exactly what to ask for.
I'm making…
| Dish | Ask for | Recipes |
|---|---|---|
| Karahi | Lamb shoulder, karahi cut | Lamb karahi, Chicken karahi |
| Biryani | Lamb shoulder in biryani pieces, or chicken legs cut in two | Lamb biryani, Chicken biryani |
| Pulao | Lamb shoulder or shank in bone-in pieces, or mutton on the bone | Kabuli pulao, Yakhni pulao |
| Nihari | Boneless beef in large chunks, or beef shank | Beef nihari |
| Haleem | Boneless beef or mutton | Haleem |
| Sunday roast | Leg or shoulder of lamb on the bone, or a whole chicken | Roast leg of lamb, Slow-roast lamb shoulder |
| BBQ | Thick lamb chops, chicken thighs and wings, kebab mince | Masala lamb chops, Chicken tikka, Seekh kebab |
| Kebabs | Lamb or beef mince with about 20% fat | Seekh kebab, Chapli kebab, Shami kebab |
| Quick curry | Boneless chicken thigh, or lamb mince for keema | Chicken tikka masala, Keema matar |
| Soup | Lamb neck or shank, or a hard chicken | Afghan shorwa, Chicken yakhni soup, Scotch broth with lamb neck |
| Shawarma and wraps | Boneless chicken thigh | Chicken shawarma |
| Slow-cooked shanks | Lamb shanks | Slow-cooked lamb shanks |
Cut by cut
- Halal lambShoulder, leg, chops, ribs, neck, shanks and mince, and whole or half lambs.
- Halal chickenFillets, boneless thighs, legs, wings, whole birds and hard chicken.
- Halal beefBoneless beef for nihari and haleem, and mince for kebabs.
- MuttonOn the bone, boneless and minced. More flavour than lamb.
Ask for it in your language
Most of our customers grew up with these names. Use whichever you know: we'll understand.
| English | Urdu | Arabic | Dari |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoulder | دستیdasti | كتفkatf | شانهshana |
| Leg | رانraan | فخذfakhdh | رانran |
| Chops | چانپchaanp | ريشreesh | |
| Ribs | پسلیاںpasliyan | ضلوعdulu' | قبرغهqabargha |
| Neck | گردنgardan | رقبةraqaba | گردنgardan |
| Shank | نلیnalli | موزةmooza | |
| Mince | قیمہqeema | لحم مفرومlahm mafroum | قیمهqima |
| Boneless | بوٹیboti | بدون عظمbidoon adhm | بیاستخوانbe-ustukhan |
| Liver | کلیجیkaleji | كبدةkibda | جگرjigar |
| Kidney | گردہgurda | كلاويkalawi | گردهgurda |
| Heart | دلdil | قلبqalb | دلdil |
| Lamb and mutton | چھوٹا گوشتchota gosht | لحم ضأنlahm daan | گوشت گوسفندgosht-e gosfand |
| Beef | بڑا گوشتbara gosht | لحم بقرlahm baqar | گوشت گاوgosht-e gaw |
| Chicken | مرغmurgh | دجاجdajaj | مرغmurgh |
Lamb or mutton?
Lamb comes from a young sheep, usually under a year old: pale, tender and mild. Most cuts cook in under an hour.
Mutton comes from an older sheep: darker, firmer and deeper in flavour. It needs longer, slower cooking, 1½ to 2½ hours for a curry. Our mutton is from sheep, not goat. More about mutton.
Getting what you want at the counter
- Say the dish and how many people. We'll suggest the cut and the amount.
- Say the size of the pieces: karahi pieces, small curry cubes, or big pieces for slow cooking.
- Say if you want the fat trimmed, or left on for flavour.
- Ask us to mince it fresh, slice it thin, or open a chicken out flat. It only takes a minute.
- Cooking for a crowd? Use the crowd calculator before you come in.
New to a word you heard at the counter? Look it up in our butcher's dictionary.