Nihari (نہاری (Nihari))
Overview
Nihari is a slow-cooked stew of beef or mutton shank in a rich, spicy gravy, one of the best-loved dishes of Pakistan. The meat and marrow bones are cooked for six hours or more in ghee with a blend of spices that includes fennel, ginger, black and long pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and dried ginger. Near the end the gravy is thickened with a little toasted flour, so it is silky and glossy, with a layer of red spiced oil on top. Each bowl is finished with marrow, shredded fresh ginger, green chilli, coriander and lemon, and it is eaten with naan.
History
The name comes from the Arabic word nahar, meaning day or morning, because nihari was eaten after the dawn prayer. It is believed to have started in the kitchens of Old Delhi or Lucknow in the eighteenth century under the Mughals. After 1947, cooks who moved from Delhi to Karachi made it famous there, and today Karachi and Lahore are full of nihari restaurants that keep huge pots simmering through the night.
Main ingredients
Beef shank, bone marrow, nihari spice mix, ginger, flour, ghee. The soup is built on spiced beef broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Beef soups · More soups from Pakistan
Recipe
Method
- 1
Fry the onion in the ghee until golden, then add the ginger-garlic paste and spice mix.
- 25 min
Add the meat and marrow bones and stir well for 5 minutes.
- 36 h
Pour in 2.5 l water and cook on a very low heat, covered, for 5 to 6 hours.
- 420 min
Mix the toasted flour with water and stir it in, then cook for 20 minutes until thick and glossy.
- 5
Serve topped with marrow, ginger, chilli, coriander and lemon, with naan.
- ✓
Serve. About 6h 20m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
