Nihari is a stew from the Indian subcontinent consisting of slow-cooked meat, mainly shank meat of beef or lamb and mutton, goat meat and chicken, along with bone marrow. It is flavored with long pepper, a relative of black pepper.
The word “Nihar” originated from the Arabic word, “Nahar” which means “morning”. It was originally eaten by Nawabs in the Mughal Empire as a breakfast item after their morning prayers.
Nihari used to be slow-cooked overnight in large pots in order to be given to labourers when they participated in the substantial construction projects sanctioned by the empire. Nihari was served free to labourers.
After Pakistan gained its independence in 1947, a huge wave of immigrants from Delhi settled in Karachi. As many of these immigrants were already involved in the food industry, restaurants were quickly established in Karachi.
Nihari
Ingredients
- 1 LEG OF LAMB CUT IN BIG PIECES
- 1 BOX OF NIHARI MASALA
- HALF BOX OF MEAT MASALA
- GINGER GARLIC FRESH
- 5 ONIONS ROUGHLY CHOPPED
- SALT
- WHITE VINEGAR FOR WASHING LAMB
- 1 Tablespoon(tbsp) KASHMIRI CHILLI POWDER MILD
- 1 Tablespoon(tbsp) FRESH GROUND JEERA
- 1 Tablespoon(tbsp) DHANA
- FRESH GREEN CHILLIES PASTE
- 3 FRESH TOMATO FINELY CHOPPED
- 8 BIG FRESH LEMON SQUEEZED
- GARAM MASALA
- BUTTER GHEE
- FRIED ONIONS
- A LOT OF FRESH CORRIANDER
- WHOLE WHEAT first toast on the pan to remove raw smell (CHAPATI FLOUR) MIX WITH WATER TO MAKE A LIGHT PASTE (1CUP FLOUR WITH WATER)
Instructions
- WASH LAMB WITH VINEGAR SO IT DOES NOT SMELL.. DISCARD ALL WATER.
- ADD GINGER / GARLIC /HALF NIHARI MASALA/MEAT MASALA HALF PKT/SALT/GREEN CHILLI PASTE/ABIT OF LEMON JUICE.
- MAKE HOT OIL AND MIX IT UP.. LEAVE TO MARINATE FOR 3 HRS BEFORE COOKING BUT I LEAVE IT OVERNIGHT.
- NEXT STEP.. PUT YOUR GHEE IN THE SAUCEPAN ..add onions when light brown add and fry your meat until brown - here you can add more nihari masala/TOMOATO/DHANA JEERA/CHILLIES – when brown.. add hot boiling water to cover the meat up - maybe 2 litters of more.. do not worry if it is a lot water because then you will cook slowly until meat is tender.. I cook in pressure cooker for 20mins and switch off (when I am in a hurry) or leave it to cook until meat is tender .. lamb cooks quickly.
- 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐃𝐃 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐱 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫.. 𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐧.. 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬..𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭.. 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫.. 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧..𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐨𝐤.. 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐌 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫/𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐬/𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧.. 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐇 𝐍𝐀𝐀𝐍
