Do I like kaleji? Kind of. Do I eat kaleji often? Yup! I do - liver is one of the most nutrient dense food on the planet and is the highest edible source of iron. You’ve probably grown up believing spinach is super high in iron - well, spinach ain’t got nuttin’ over liver. Just google the numbers and you’ll be surprised as to how much iron liver contains in comparison to other ‘iron-rich’ foods we’ve been taught to consume! If you follow me on Instagram, you may know my pregnancy iron story. In summary, I had a lot of liver during my very high risk pregnancy with my son because #health, and I ended up with INSANELY good iron levels. I had higher iron levels than the average non-pregnant woman at full-term! The doctor said she’d never seen anything like it 😂 In a crazy turn of events, I managed to haemorrhage during birth and lost almost 2l of blood… but my iron levels were STILL healthy. I was a female Hulk, ya’ll. True story. Full credit goes to eating liver 1-2x a week. I won’t dive too deep into liver nutrition talk. If that’s something that interests you, there’s a wealth of information available online. I’ll move onto more relevant discussions, lol.
Two mistakes I used to make when cooking kaleji
So whenever I used to try my hand at cooking kaleji in the past, I’d always be left aghast at the results. It was never good, in fact sometimes it was barely edible! Liver has a pretty strong smell and the texture can be off-putting to some, so getting the right balance was really difficult for me. Here are some mistakes I used to make when cooking kaleji:
Not using enough spices - One really bizarre piece of advice I read which I really stuck to, despite the results not being great was: keep the spices minimal so the natural flavour comes through. I truly don’t know why I stuck by this tip for so long. It really isn’t great advice if you aren’t a fan of the smell or texture of kaleji. In fact, I’d argue it’s best practice to spice and cook the liver so much you kinda don’t get a chance to focus on the smell and texture 😂 Not putting the lid on when cooking kaleji - Another tip I stuck by with for quite a while even though it didn’t work for me. I read loads of tips online advising me to never cook liver with the lid on, otherwise the kaleji will go stiff and hard. This really never worked for me. The only time I’ve actually been able to stomach the texture of kaleji is when it’s been cooked with the lid on.
🔪 Method
This recipe is something I’ve worked on with quite a bit of love and dedication, because I really wanted liver to become something I could incorporate regularly into our diets. And that just wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t tasting right, or if the texture was off. As always, full ingredients list and instructions are at the end of this post. We start by marinating the liver with yogurt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, fresh green chilies and a variety of spices. This step allows a lot of crisp, fresh, earthy flavour to really penetrate into the meat, which helps with the smell and gamey taste.
Then, we’ll go on to make a masala using blended onions and tomatoes. Kaleji cooks pretty quick, so we don’t really get much time for the onions to cook down from diced pieces into a masala. I just find using blended onions and tomatoes not only quickens the process but also works better with the recipe. This masala is made by:
First frying some whole spices + finely processed onions and frying them till they’re lightly gold. Please note, the image below doesn’t show the whole spices, but you definitely want to add them in. Then adding in the blended tomatoes and cooking that down till everything is very concentrated.
Next, the marinated kaleji (marinade included) goes into the masala and it gets a pretty heavy sautéing session. By that, I mean I bhoon/sauté as much as the masala, liver and my pan allow. This is where ALL the flavour develops - all those spices and the ginger and garlic are getting all toasted and delicious AND we’re also helping get rid of some of that liver-y smell and texture. Proceed to cook the liver with the lid on for a bit - this in my experience and opinion helps make the kaleji and masala the perfect texture. Finish off with lots of fresh coriander and green chili - it adds a fresh flavour and fragrance and honestly I adore the flavour of a mild-tasting bullet chili with kaleji!
❔ How to get rid of the smell from liver
My top tips, all of which are employed in this recipe are:
🥩 What kind of liver can I use for kaleji masala?
For this recipe, you can use any kind of liver cut into bite sized boti pieces. Chicken, lamb, mutton, beef are all fine. They all take the same amount of time to cook and are all very nutrient dense. On to the recipe! I hope you enjoy it ❤️ with love x
📋 Recipe
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