The preparation of siri-paya, like all desi delicacies, is a painstaking job. First the siri and the payas are roasted over an open fire to burn off the hair from the skin. This part of the preparation needs extra care otherwise one can end up burning the skin which will spoil the flavour. On Eidul-Azha, some meat shops offer this service to novice cooks who don't want to waste any part of their sacrificed animal.

Thus prepared, the siri-paya are added to a curry made with the requisite garam-masalas, ginger, fried onions, garlic, etc. and allowed to simmer for hours. This makes the meat tender enough to flake off the bones and also allows all the fat from the skin and marrow to dissolve into the curry, giving the dish its signature richness.

In days of yore, women would put a huge cauldron of siri-paya on a wood or coal fire and leave it overnight to be ready the next morning. In fact, many people still consider it the perfect breakfast dish. I remember, as a young boy, getting up at six in the morning to have siri-paya with tandoori naan at the nearest shop which was about 25 kilometres from my house. That is a long distance for a child to travel through heavy traffic, especially without breakfast, but it was worth it.

As far as the spices and other ingredients go, siri-paya is not very different from other desi meat dishes like quorma, but it has one defining element and that is its finger-sticking jelly-like texture. Due to heavy cooking, the fat of the payas melts into the gravy which makes it very thick and sticky when cold, but thin and watery when hot. Sticky gravy is a sure sign that the siri-paya have been made with good quality meat and cooked just right. The skin on the payas literally melts in your mouth and the gravy is covered by a layer of fat; this heavy richness makes it an ideal dish for winter.

These days most people prefer to indulge in siri-paya at a restaurant rather than go through the tedious preparation at home. Lahore, which is considered the epicurean capital of Pakistan, can boast of many siri-paya outlets, the oldest of which are Hanifa Paya Wala and the Phajja Paya Wala. Personally speaking, Phajja is my favourite. Based in central Lahore and named after its owner, this shop is very famous among Lahoris of all ages.

If you expect soft lighting and a classy ambience you might be disappointed but the food will far exceed your expectations. The shop can often be noisy especially during the morning as many siri-paya aficionados come seeking breakfast but the commotion is no distraction for people who sit there, contentedly slurping and munching on the bones.

Though dishes prepared with organ meat or offal are not to Western tastes, the Arabs and Asians share a taste for the exotic. I remember having a richly fragrant broth in Iran called something that sounded like “kaleeh pache”. Since my hosts spoke very little English and I spoke no Persian it took me a while to get some information about the dish, but after an extended inquiry I realised that it was the Iranian version of siri-paya. It is served with a huge quantity of lemon wedges and different herbs. The meat seemed to be from the sheepshank but there were no identifiable bits of sheep tongue, head or hoof.

The modern trend is to move away from heavy dishes like siri-paya due to accelerating threat of heart disease, obesity and other diet-induced problems. Be that as it may, a little indulgence, in moderation, is not a bad thing. And what better indulgence than a bowl of steaming hot siri-payas with naan on a chilly winter morning.