Rajasthani-style smoked short rib

Method

Day one

1. Put the rib rack in a snugly fitting container (that can hold 3 litres water). Warm the salt and 2 litres water in a pan over a medium heat, stirring until the salt dissolves. Remove from the heat and add 1 litre cold water or 1kg ice cubes) to cool the brine to room temperature. Pour the cooled brine over the beef so it’s fully submerged. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.

Day two

1. Mix the rest of the beef ingredients, except the cardamom, cloves and ghee, in a bowl to make a marinade. Remove the beef from the brine, pat dry, then transfer to a casserole or deep roasting tray. Smother with the marinade.
2. Get 1-2 pieces of charcoal glowing white hot (it’s easiest to use a chimney starter or a blowtorch). Carefully put the glowing coal/s in a heatproof container (a small metal bowl works well) that fits in the casserole or tray with the beef. Quickly throw the cloves and black cardamom pods over the coal/s, then drizzle over the ghee. Blow the charcoal a few times to get it smoking, then cover the whole dish/tray with a lid or tightly wrapped foil and leave to smoke for 2 hours. Take off the lid/foil, remove the charcoal, then cover the dish/ tray once more and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.
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Day three

1. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Scrape off about 6 tbsp of the marinade from the beef and set it aside in a small bowl in the fridge. Remove the rib rack from the dish/tray, then add all the gravy ingredients (except the crispy onions, cashews and yogurt) to the dish/tray. Sit the rib rack on top of the veg so the meat is out of the stock. Cover the dish/ tray once again (use foil if the lid no longer fits) and cook in the oven for 3-4 hours. The beef should be soft but not falling apart and the bones should easily slide out.
2. Meanwhile, put all the ingredients for the final spice mix in a spice grinder and whizz to a powder.
3. Once the beef is cooked, lift it out of the dish/tray and set aside to rest. You can discard the bones or keep them for presentation if you like. Pass the
   stock through a fine sieve into a clean pan over a medium-high heat, then reduce by about 30%. (If you like, you can save the solids, crisp them up in the oven and serve them with the beef).
4. Put the crispy onions, cashews and yogurt in a blender and whizz until smooth. Once the sauce has reduced, whisk in the yogurt mixture to thicken it. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, then set aside to reheat before serving.
5. Light the barbecue and wait until hot/the coals glow white. Smother the rested beef with the reserved marinade from the fridge. Finish cooking the ribs on the barbecue, using indirect heat (with the coals at the other end/side of the barbecue and the lid down), until the marinade has blistered and darkened (20-40 minutes, depending on the heat of your barbecue).
6. Carve the short ribs against the grain (across the lines in the meat) into slices. Serve sprinkled with the spice mixture, with the reheated sauce on the side.