Nihari, haleem & slow-cooked Balochi recipes

Balochi Sajji Recipe

Name: Balochi Sajji
Prep time: 2 h 20 min
Cook time: 3 h 40 min
Total time: 6 h
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 2 kg Leg of mutton or lamb (raan), whole leg with its fat, bone in; 1 tbsp Salt, coarse salt if you have it; adjust to taste; 2 tbsp Lemon (lemon juice), juice, optional; 1 cup Water, for the roasting tray; 2 Lemon (lemon juice), wedges, to serve

بلوچی سجی بنانے کا طریقہ

Balochi sajji at home: a leg of lamb rubbed with only salt and slow-roasted in its own fat until the outside crisps and the meat pulls off the bone.

Prep

20 min

Cook

3 hr 40 min

Marinate / soak

2 hr

Serves

Difficulty

Medium

Spice

Mild

Sajji is how Baloch herders cook a whole lamb: skewered in large pieces, salted, and stood around a slow wood fire for hours until the fat renders and the meat cooks in its own juices. There is no masala at all, so the quality of the meat and the patience of the cook are everything. This home version uses a leg of lamb, a low oven and a final blast of heat to get the same salty, crackling outside and soft, smoky inside.

Ingredients

6 servings

For 6 servings

Cups & chamachGrams & ml

2 kg Leg of mutton or lamb (raan), whole leg with its fat, bone in
1 tbsp Salt, coarse salt if you have it; adjust to taste
2 tbsp Lemon (lemon juice), juice, optional (optional)
1 cup Water, for the roasting tray
2 Lemon (lemon juice), wedges, to serve

Method

Pat the leg dry. With a sharp knife, make deep cuts down to the bone every 2 inches on both sides so the salt and heat get inside.
Rub the salt (and lemon juice, if using) all over and deep into the cuts. Leave it uncovered in the fridge or a cool place so the salt draws in and the surface dries.
⏱ 120 min
Heat the oven to 160°C. Put the leg on a rack over a roasting tray with the cup of water in it, fat side up, and cover the whole tray tightly with foil.
Roast slowly until the meat is very tender and a skewer slides into the thickest part without resistance. Baste with the drippings once or twice.
⏱ 180 min
Remove the foil, turn the oven up to 220°C and roast until the outside is deep brown and crackling, basting once with the fat in the tray.
⏱ 30 min
Rest the leg for 10 minutes, then pull the meat off the bone in large pieces and serve with lemon.
⏱ 10 min

Tips for the best result

For real smoke, finish it over hot charcoal for the last 20 minutes instead of the oven, turning often.
Ask for a leg with its fat left on. In sajji the fat is the only thing keeping the meat moist.
The masala sajji sold in Karachi and Quetta's city stalls, with red spice and stuffed rice, is a later style; the Balochi original is salt only.

Common mistakes

Roasting hot from the start. The outside burns and dries before the bone is cooked; go low first, high at the end.
Adding spices to make up for the simplicity. Sajji is meant to taste of meat, salt and smoke.

How to serve

Serve on a big platter with kaak or roti, sliced onion and lemon. Eat it with your hands.

Storing and reheating

Best eaten fresh. Leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge; warm them covered in a low oven so they do not dry out.

Nutrition and cost

Worked out from the ingredients, not measured in a lab. Treat both as a rough guide.

Per serving Estimate

Calories: 910kcal
Protein: 57g
Fat: 74g
Carbs: 1g
Fibre: 0g
Sodium: 1350mg

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018), public domain values for the raw ingredients (100% of the recipe by weight had data). Deep-frying oil is counted at 20%; bones and water lost in cooking are not subtracted, so bone-in and fried dishes can read high. Not medical advice. Method

Cost per servingEstimate

≈ Rs 800

Whole dish ≈ Rs 4,800 · 95% of ingredients by weight priced

Prices in

From the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly SPI, week ended 29 Oct 2026. Spices, herbs and some vegetables are not in the SPI and are left out unless you add your price, so the real cost is a little higher. How this works