Put the ginger, garlic, and 4 tablespoons water in blender. Blend well until you have a smooth paste.

Heat the oil in a wok to medium high heat. Brown the meat cubes in several batches and set to one side. Put the cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, and cinnamon into the same hot oil. Stir once and wait until the cloves swell and the bay leaves begin to take on color. Now put in the onions. Stir and fry for about 5 minutes or until the onions turn a medium brown color. Put in the ginger garlic paste and stir for 30 seconds. Add the fried meat cubes and juices. Stir for 30 seconds. Now put in 1/6 of the yoghurt. Stir and fry for 30 seconds or until the yoghurt is well blended. Add the remaining yoghurt, a tablespoon at a time, in the same way. Stir and fry for another 3-4 minutes.

Now add the rest of the broth (a little more for beef than lamb). Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, scraping in all browned spices on the sides and bottom of the pot. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for about an hour if lamb and two if beef. Every 10 minutes or so, give the meat a good stir. When the meat is tender, take off the lid, turn the heat up to medium and boil away some of the liquid. You should end up with a tender meat in a thick, reddish brown sauce. All the fat that collects in the pot may be spooned off the top. Sprinkle the garam masala and black pepper over the meat before you serve and mix them in.