Nihari Recipe

Nihari Recipe

Nihari is a rich, slow-cooked meat stew flavored with spices and thickened with atta or flour. Nihari is typically made with beef, but Nihari can be made with lamb, goat meat, or chicken.

The word “nihari” comes from the root Arabic word “nahar”, meaning “day” or “morning”. This dish is called Nihari because originally, it was eaten in the morning. The history suggests that it started in Old Delhi, where it was eaten by Mughal nawabs and workmen to fuel them throughout the day.

HOMEMADE NIHARI MASALA

As always, I prefer to use fresh, homemade spices when I can. It took me a while, but I finally created a Nihari Masala Powder that works with this recipe.

Nihari Masala – makes ~1 tbsp, all of which you’ll use

• ½-1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder or paprika, for color
• 1 small black cardamom pod
• 1 small (1- inch) mace blade (or piece of mace)
• 3/4-inch peepli (long pepper)
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
• 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp caraway seeds (shah zeera)
• 1/8 tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)
• pinch cane sugar

To make this Nihari Masala powder, combine all of these ingredients in a spice grinder and process until a powder forms.

          and 1/2 kg beef

NIHARI

HOW TO MAKE NIHARI

The key to a great nihari is intentional depth of flavor. Deeply brown onions, fresh spices infusing the oil, meat that’s properly braised. All this contributes to the revered taste of nihari.

1. 1. Brown the onions & meat. Deeply brown onions (refer to the video rather than the pic for reference) give flavor, body, and depth to Nihari. Like with most stews, searing the meat so that it browns is essential, but don’t sear for too long as it can lead to tough meat.
2. 2. Bloom Spices. Add spices and allow them to cook in the hot oil. If you’re worried about them burning, you can always add a splash of water
3. 3. Cook. For stovetop, allow it to come to a boil before lowering the heat to a simmer. For slow cooker, transfer the mixture to a slow cooker, add water and mix to combine.
4. 4. Thicken. If you try to thicken the gravy by adding in flour, it will result in clumps. To avoid this, remove some of the nihari liquid (I always found using water dilutes the taste) and allow it to cool. Then stir it into the atta flour. Add this slurry to the nihari while stirring to prevent clumps. Allow this to cook and thicken.
5. Then the dish is perfectly ready to serve. Let's enjoy it!
6.